VoteAlexChalk

I've voted for Alex Chalk in 15, 17 and 2019 & 24 Cheltenham was so lucky to have him as its MP Debating's fine, pls be friendly. Happy to bant

[Hannah Carter @HannahC68959767]

20% of the voting population voted for "Change" so far they have got...
* WFA removed from pensioners.
* 3,100 prisoners released
* US Election interference
* Insane speculation on changes to taxation
* 20% VAT on private schools
* 8 Billion to GB energy
* 5 Billion to Ukraine
* 11.5 Billion to climate stuff in other countries
* Jailing people for tweets
It's going great

[VoteAlexChalk @VoteAlexChalk]

@davidvikingflag @HiveHelper I have same issue. Was your resolved ?

[VoteAlexChalk @VoteAlexChalk]

@EmmaGroves1972 @HiveHelper I’ve got the same issue today . Did you get yours sorted ?

[VoteAlexChalk @VoteAlexChalk]

@Elliot_Clarke @HiveHelper My hubs offline too

[VoteAlexChalk @VoteAlexChalk]

@gillypants @HiveHomeUK I’ve got problems today

[VoteAlexChalk @VoteAlexChalk]

@HiveHomeUK is there an issue with Hive this evening ? My app won’t connect at all despite rebooting both the app and the hub

[Michelle Dewberry @MichelleDewbs]

I’ll ignore the cringeworthy nature of this tweet & focus instead on the policy. I have questions for those who support it:

1. We currently have a teacher recruitment / retention crisis in this country. Do you think people will suddenly rush to want to become teachers, just because private schools charge VAT? Also, do you think people are more or less likely to want to become teachers, when class sizes increase due to private/state pupil transfer?

2. As per above, we currently have high vacancy rates in the mental health sector. Again, do you think people will suddenly choose this profession, because, ya know, VAT? (Don’t get me started on the fact we are addressing symptom of children needing extra mental health support, rather than the causes of that).

3. Again we currently have high vacancy rates of school career advisers. Questions as per point 1&2 apply.

4. Those who support this policy because of ‘private schools creating inequality’. Do you realise this will just make private schools more ‘elite’? The truly rich won’t be affected, it will be the strivers / those who sacrifice who are, thus the gap between groups becomes even more stark. BTW - Whose facilities do you think state schools often use?

5. We all like a fair society, so if you think it’s now ‘fair’ that private schools are singled out for VAT, what about other fee-based educational settings; universities & private nurseries as examples…Once you apply VAT to one educational setting, you create an argument for it to be expanded. Would you be ok with that?

6. What about the disproportionate number of SEN pupils who will be cruelly affected by this? If these pupils have to return to state education, there will be an increased cost and an impact on overall learning experiences for broader class. Does this really make sense?

7. Do you honestly think the pupil transfer volumes from private to state have been accurately calculated (especially at younger age levels)?

For what it’s worth; I think this policy does not make sense on any level. I believe it to be purely motivated by envy, idiology and a ‘pull down, rather than pull up’ mentality.

In my view, private school parents should be thanked for removing the burden of educating their children from the state and instead allowing other children to benefit from the school places that they fund, but don’t use….

If we want the UK to succeed, we should have a mindset of abundance, not scarcity. We should aim to pull up, not down and we should encourage financial success, not resent it…

#PrivateSchool #PoliticsOfEnvy

[VoteAlexChalk @VoteAlexChalk]

@KirstieMAllsopp It’s madness. A lot of private schools are holding off on spending large capital outlays until the new year when they can claim the vat back. This kind of policy is lose lose. It’s a race to the bottom and the only thing it achieves is some flashy display of politics of envy

[missy @fedupfish]

Probably the biggest issue facing Gloucestershire and ALL our MPs are silent on the matter. Come on … !!?

[Rory Stewart @RoryStewartUK]

In response to the angry replies below here are some more thoughts:

The fact that I am questioning the risks of this war does not make me an appeaser. Arguing for peace does not make me an apologist for Hezbollah or the Iranian regime.

( I have spent longer in Iran and seen more directly what makes the Iranian regime horrifying than my critics below…)

When I said that the Israeli attacks in Iran and Lebanon will make Iran feel forced to respond + lead to escalation this was a statement of fact not an endorsement of Iran.

• Both sides feel that they are not escalating - they are simply “responding” - it is only the other side who is escalating. But that is how escalation always works.

• The situation is particularly dangerous because the previous shadow war has been ended. Neither Israel nor Iran is now well-placed to predict the reactions of their opponents in the new situation.

If you are interested in engaging with the argument rather than banging a particular twitter drum please try listening to the full discussion on the podcast…

[Jimbo🚴👨‍👩‍👧‍👦💡 @Jim_Mings]

@CheltCivicSoc @cmdjchelt @CheltenhamBC @GlosRoads @iaindobielibdem @MartinChelt @Sustrans @PlanetChelt @Vision21Glos Llbuilding the path behind the hedgerow should have been the chosen design. No one wants to ride next to that road, the hedgerows would have provided useful separation.

[Cheltenham Civic Society @CheltCivicSoc]

We spend £££ on cycle paths to benefit the environment - at the expense of the environment! The carnage is even worse than it looks on Evesham Rd. Why rip out mature hedgerows to replace them with hedgerow that can’t and won’t sustain much wildlife for years? So much for BNG!

[Caroline Farrow @CF_Farrow]

Cranleigh, a Surrey independent school will *only* pass on a 12% VAT raise to parents.

They managed to save on the 8% by abolishing all bursaries & free places & stopping free use of facilities to local youth groups, in order to recoup costs of maintenance.

Nice one Labour.

[Andrew Neil @afneil]

In opposition Keir Starmer railed against gifts for Boris Johnson (“cash for curtains”), Rishi Sunak’s predilection for using private jets and a Downing Street of “cronies”.
Since taking power we’ve learned Starmer and his wife have been gifted clothes (and specs too in his case), he’s jetted all over the place in his official plane or PJ and the guy dressing him and his wife has had a pass for 10 Downing Street.
Yesterday Mrs Starmer was sporting a £1,500 jacket. I have no problem with that, even if she didn’t pay for it. But for years Labour Roundheads have been quick to condemn the least sign of conspicuous consumption.

[Andrew Neil @afneil]

Energy secretary Ed Miliband nationalises National Grid’s electricity system operations unit. It was doing a perfectly good job as currently constituted but Miliband wanted it under public ownership. At a £630m cost paid for by taxpayers but then recouped by charges on household energy bills. So no money for the winter fuel allowance but plenty for an unnecessary nationalisation from which consumers will see no benefit. Got it.

[VoteAlexChalk @VoteAlexChalk]

@nffckez @TheShedOfDreams @cpeedell @TheRacingMan8 @AngelaMagny 2009 was a Labour government 🤔

[John Bell @PlasFron]

@christopherhope If 800,000 people, or even a large proportion of them, receive Pension Credit, and, then Winter Fuel Allowance, that will wipe out all the savings Labour said they had to make to stop an economic collapse..

[VoteAlexChalk @VoteAlexChalk]

@patrickjreddy @James_BG Which is why they have been targeted. It’s just more of the “tax the rich” mania from the left

[Andrew Neil @afneil]

Some Old Etonian chef with zero economic or tax expertise drivelling on BBC One @BBCNews about how a 1% wealth tax would raise over £15 billion a year. Complete nonsense. Ask Sweden. Or France. Or Spain. Of course his nonsense goes unchallenged.

[Nic Millar @NJM71]

@BBCBreakfast WASPI shouldn't receive a penny of taxpayers' money in "compensation". The announcement to increase state pension age from 60 was made in 1993, over 30 years ago. Lots of WASPI women aren't "struggling", many/most repeat the same stories that have been doing the rounds for years.