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Agriculture,
Housing, Food Security & Immigration.
We should be taking the advantage of the technology we have,
work less, job share, have time for other people, not
cut our military services, but employ personnel under the armed
forces manner, to go out where there is a need to help make
countries become better places, so people don’t want to leave
their homeland. People are moving to Europe to get a better
life. Drought and conflict are creating this issue, but by moving
to Europe, will make Europe unable to cope with the extra people
: food & water will run out, and services will
collapse, then Europe will become the same as the African lands.
We should look at making the continent of Africa a wonderful
place it could be done.
May I invite you to visit my websites at www.campaign-for-change.co.uk there
is a powerpoint presentation on housing and one on care &
pensions, then go to www.the-democratic-link.co.uk there
is a menu which can be a template to start the debate.
SOME FACTS
1- 69% of Britain is
owned by less than1% of the population.
2 –A
third of the uk is owned by the aristocracy.
3 –
House prices rarely go up, it is the land they are built on that
increases in value; the housing crisis is a land crisis.
4 –
Over £3 billion of public money is given out every year in
farming subsidies, most of this money goes to people who already
have huge amounts of money, be it capital or property assets.
5 –
Much of the £3 billion given out in farm subsidies does not go
to producing food, but activities like racing and grouse
shooting
6- It should not matter what or how much one owns,
it's what
you do with it that matters. Governments seem to value property
then tax you on it. In order to allow more young people to get
into farming we should encourage tenant farming, rents based on
income not land values.
7 –
As the UK comes out of the European Union, there should be more
capital available to
help our own food producers produce quality meats
and dairy products, and health and well being of livestock should
be of a high standard.
8- There are many working people earning £8/ £9 an hour
then
pay £5 an hour in rent or mortgage payments.
I have visited some of the new estates which are being built
in the South East, and I can well understand why we are seeing
an increase illness, self- harming and depression; there is
no real open space or community feeling and people consider
their neighbour with suspicion.
A lot of our broken society is because we are building what
developers want to sell, and not what is needed. building contractor, not a developer.
● The
average household debt is £13,900. If we had different ways to
house ourselves this would not be the case; too much of one's income is going on rents or mortgages.
● We
have a report that children can't play in the street as there
are too many cars. The answer is to have a large area in the center
of a development for open space and activities; we need
to employ a developing contractor, not a developer who is out
for their own gains,.
●Interest
rates have been kept deliberately low to keep the housing market
vibrant and to keep raising values, thus conning the people that
they are getting better off; what a con that is! If one is to
save for older age, one needs a reasonable return, at least 6%.
Once interest rates go up, repossessions will be rife, so who is
holding the safety net? There should be a running track, an
indoor cricket and football pitch on all new large developments
for all ages to use.
● A
self - sufficient garden for residents would be a health and
well-being benefit to residents.
Every village should find a site for 15 / 20 low cost homes,
this would revitalize village life and prevent villages becoming
dormitories.
We are spending £24 billion a year on housing benefits and
£34 billion a year on helping first time buyers to get on to
the housing ladder. This capital could build all the houses we
need by having a building contactor, and not a developer who is
out for his own gains. Using the Community Land Trust as
enclosed would answer many of the nation's problems.
At the same time we are paying £34 million a day net into
the European Union; That money would be better spent at home for
example, on transport, NHS, care and housing.
We are seeing technology replacing
the need to employ people.
The transport system are trying to be fully automatic , Banks
are heading that way, supermarkets are going self service, the
managers won't be putting the prices down , instead the savings
will go to the top managers to
give themselves a bonus for saving the company money.
Those savings should go into an unemployment pot,
or still pay the staff
who have been taken off the payroll. is this progress? The
saving should be put by for those being put out of a job We
should be creating cooperatives, where share holders and workers
have equal invested interest, and profit sharing.
Let`s look at Education,
We
have students going to university coming out with debt. We could
save millions of pounds by having a practical school locally
where one could be taught tradesmen's skills for different
levels. Large sites could accommodate such a school and
startup businesses should
be included.
There should be less testing. Offer those age 14 a two year
training course in the job they feel they have aptitude for and
would like to do; then at 16 take a job with a company that can
help them progress. Education can be there for
anyone at any time there is too much generalizing, in that
you must go to college / university / rubbish. Let's change the way we teach people .We are told we must
bring people into the UK as we don`t have the
skills.
What a statement
that just proves the Education system
is out of touch; its bad leadership from the top.
Why not on new large estates have
a school from 5 to 16, thus saving
the transporting of children to schools.
Maybe enlarge the present village schools to
take pupils to 13; this would create space at senior schools
for practical education. While the government
is spending a large amount to help with apprenticeships, its not
local, and much could be achieved at the
present schools if the above was put in place;
many children are not ready for secondary school at age 11.
Not saying for one moment women that should not work,
but they should not have to, because one wage
cannot pay the cost of keeping a house, or pay the rents
or mortgages.
Create a hub for employment on new
developments to save the traffic gridlock on our roads.
NHS, employ doctors to work solely for the
NHS. If the doctors want to go private they should build their
own hospitals, even if it means paying
them more to do so.
Different housing
, care and pension plans are required.
Land costs nothing to make. If you go back far enough the
land was given by kings & Queens to their friends;
no one had to sweat for
it, but many bled for
it.
See community land trust vision, and a separate presentation
on care and pensions, at www.campaign-for-change.co.uk
unspent funds could be transferred to other family
pension schemes. While there would be issues with divorce etc,
this could be worked out with fair division of assets at the
time.
SOME SOLUTIONS,
It is said that a third
of the world`s population go to bed hungry. With the
global population now 6 billion, it is estimated it will be 9
billion in twenty years. If we don’t act on pollution
and the environment, the population could quickly go down to
five billion with mass famine and disease.
Whilst
supermarkets promote cheap food, this is short-term gain, Since
Eastern Europe has joined the E.U. we find, with cheap labour
and unused land in the East, the West will be getting even
cheaper food. British farms will be unable to continue in
food production, the countryside will become bramble and
rabbits. When wages and values rise in Eastern Europe,
food in Western Europe will become expensive, and the people
will say; why don’t we grow food here? Sadly there won’t
be anyone left to grow food, unless we take a long-term view
now.
One
solution is to create small farms that one can enjoy and create
employment. Instead of paying set-aside or countryside
stewardship. The money could be used to help create new local
produce i.e. cheese, a smokery, cutting room for meat, bakery,
local pies etc. Local milk dairy and egg suppliers, free
range poultry for egg and meats, fruit storage, freezers for
storage, and energy crops should be grown.
It
would be better for 10 farmers to have 40 cows each,rather than
to have one farmer with a few hundred; Animals would have better
care and attention.
Farmers who have no charge on their land are paying high
rents for short term lettings so the price is spread over the
whole. If they were paying a yearly charge they may not be
so keen. The young farmer can’t bid on fair
ground. In order to encourage more family farms we should
introduce a land tax for those who farm a large acreage. The
following table suggests a guideline as to rental value; English
rates:-
Grade
One
-
£50 per acre
Grade
Two
-
£40 per acre
Grade
Three
-
£30 per acre
Grade
Four
-
£20 per acre
Therefore
if one inherited a farm one would only pay tax equivalent of
rental value and this could be paid annually into the National
Fund. For example, if one inherited Grade Three land the
following table would apply:-1-100
acres
- no
tax
101-200
acres
-
50% of rental value i.e. 200 acres = £3,000 p.a.
201-300
acres
-
50% of rental value i.e. 300 acres = £4,500 p.a.
over 300
acres
-
100% of rental value
Where land is let, no tax
should be payable.
This would prevent multi-nationals from purchasing and
controlling large estates. They could own but only become
the landlord. Rents would have to be within income from
produce, anyone buying new land would have all subsidies
stopped. The land would come under any new scheme.
The
above rules would help some of the African nations sort out the
land problems where white farmers could own, but let some land
to local people while still owning and farming some themselves.
If
Africa was to establish boundaries similar to the European
module, in order to concentrate on making their local land more
fertile, then Africa could feed itself.
oney the UK spends on the
EU could be used to help young people into farming, by means of
giving them financial help.
In order to keep a policy for food security, we need to make
producing food a paying enterprise. We would not then need to
consider GM crops. Council owned farms should be transferred to
a farming company to stop councils being able to sell them off.
There needs to be a minimum price at which producers are
paid. Items like milk,could be guaranteed up to a certain number
of cows on a holding,thus stopping multi-cow units; we should
Create animal welfare,not animal factories.
There are too many speculators in forward buying of food, and
land investors. A new concept is needed for land use.
We are spending £24 billion a year on housing benefits, £34
billion on helping first time buyers to get on the housing
ladder, all this could be stopped, and we pay £34 million a day
net, into the European Union,this money would be better spent at
home.
Health & Well-being.
In new developments the third bedroom is no more than a walk
in cupboard, and the main bedroom usually is too small for a
kings size bed and adequate furniture. Couples need room, so on
a hot summer night they can have space, & not disturb each
other by not getting a good nights sleep.
With the design below, one could have movable internal
sections, so to add or divide rooms so as to accommodate family
circumstances.
There is a need to stop building for market houses, but build
one million houses that one can buy, but can't sell on build
for the need not the greed.
ps,
I am putting together a community farm project,
visit Land
and Leisure
for details.
NHS & CARE:
As above
build a similar design in all villages and extra
ones in towns have some carers living on site,
also there should be self-sufficient garden on all new
developments. We should not be covering our fields with
houses. Community restaurants on new large developments
would save energy by using solar panels.. And water
saving with one roof span would save water, and be
there for the community food growing area.
Laurence Keeley,
6 Fairfield, Herstmonceux,East Sussex, BN27 4NE.
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