On Saturday 20 th October at 7pm Wokingham Conservatives are holding supper evening at Victory Hall, Church Road, Farley Hill.

I will give an illustrated talk on the battle of Trafalgar, asking how England managed to win against such long odds, what the wider significance of the battle was, and what it tells us about leadership.

Everyone knows that England defeated France thanks to the inspired leadership of Admiral Nelson, who died in the battle. Fewer realise how long the odds were or how comprehensive the win. The English engaged with a fleet that was almost a quarter more powerful. Each English ship as the attackers sailed slowly in very light winds towards the enemy exposing themselves to heavy raking fire for around half an hour before each English ship could get into position to use its own guns back.

Tickets are available through Bob Hamer dbobhamer@btinternet.com or 01189 733422

Deutschebank reported today as moving assets out of London announced last year it was signing a new 25 year lease on 469,000 square feet of office space in Moorgate London.

There are several options for our departure, but if the Prime Minister says the choice has to be Chequers or just leaving, just leaving is best.
The trouble with Chequers is it offers us a detailed and unattractive Withdrawal Agreement followed by 21 more months in the EU with more uncertainty. Many MPs have no wish to pay the EU £39 bn for that.

People are rightly tired of austerity politics on the continent, where it is an integral part of the Euro scheme which has led to deep cuts in pay and jobs in many of the participating countries. It is important the UK uses its freedom outside the Euro to follow a policy that promotes more jobs and higher pay. The good news is that the last eight years have been good years for jobs growth here, but we could do better on the pay front. We have not had to suffer the cash cuts in pay in the public sector seen in some Euro countries.

The UK economy has been deliberately slowed by policy since March 2017 when I first started highlighting the actions being taken. Tax hikes on homes and cars allied with a marked tightening of credit and money did slow the growth rate, led to a sharp decline in car sales, a big fall in buy to let activity and to a big drop in turnover in parts of the housing market. The policies were designed to do just this and they succeeded. We were told this was necessary for a combination of reasons, including the need to be more prudent and the wish to accelerate electric car sales at the expense of diesel and petrol before there were sufficient good value and attractive electric cars to buy.

The government should now relax policy a bit. Take home pay should be lifted by tax cuts, as the current tax take from employee earnings is too big. Stamp duties should be lowered to make homes a bit more affordable. Sensible rate reductions will also boost tax revenue which has been reduced by penal rates. Vehicle Excise duties should be put back to pre 2017 levels, and car loans to buy new vehicles freed up a bit. Business rates, particularly on shop premises, should be reduced.

The public services including schools, defence, the police and social care are in need of more money. They should be asked to submit bids for what extra service they could supply for increased funding, with payments made for good plans for improvement.

The tax cuts and spending increases should be financed from the EU savings, as I have explained before.

I recently called in with local Councillors to meet the Head, pupils and staff at the school.
The school is in need of some additional money for decorating and improvement works, which the Councillors agreed to assist with.
The children were enthusiastic about what they were doing and the teachers engaged with their pupils. I would like to thank all involved for the work they do.