HOSIE DEMANDS ASSURANCES OVER HBOS VOTE
SNP Treasury spokesperson, Stewart Hosie MP, has demanded assurances from the Halifax Bank of Scotland (HBOS) board today (Tuesday) after receiving complaints from shareholders that they have not received their ballots in advance of this week’s vote on the acquisition by Lloyds TSB.
For shareholders not attending the HBOS shareholders meeting in Birmingham on Friday, the deadline for electronic shareholders was today, while certificated shareholders must vote by tomorrow.
Shareholders have reported not being notified of the electronic ballot and not receiving their voting card for the meeting despite it being scheduled to take place on Friday..
Mr Hosie said:
”Every shareholder must have their say, and it would be outrageous if people did not receive their ballots in time.
“It is bad enough that the UK Government is trying to force a shotgun wedding between HBOS and Lloyds, without shareholders being denied their vote as well.
”I am disturbed to learn from individual shareholders that they have yet to receive their ballots from the bank, and time has all but run out.
“Holding the ballot in Birmingham already makes it harder for Scottish shareholders to get to the meeting now shareholders are missing out on their only other opportunity to vote.
”Bank officials have had weeks to organise and ensure that shareholders receive their papers in good time, and it seems this has been bungled.”
CRASH GORDON IS NO SAVIOUR OF THE UNIVERSE
BROWN DITHERED WHILE OTHER COUNTRIES ACTED
Speaking after Prime Ministers Questions today (Wednesday), during which Mr Brown claimed that “[he]…not only saved the world…”, SNP Treasury spokesperson, Stewart Hosie MP, mocked the Prime Minister’s claims and highlighted the actions taken by other countries to bring forward economic stimulus packages happened well before Gordon Brown initiated any help.
Mr Hosie said:
”Despite his boasts, crash Gordon is no saviour of the universe.
”Indeed while other countries were moving forward with fiscal packages to stimulate their economies, Gordon Brown was dithering. Far from ‘leading’ the world he has had to follow it.
”It is time the Prime Minister stopped strutting the international stage in his attempts to pull the wool over people’s eyes. It’s time he put our own economy centre stage. For a start he should release the £1bn of Scottish resources being withheld by the Treasury, and rule out the £1bn cuts Labour plans to the Scottish Budget.
“The Scottish Government is doing everything it can within its powers by delivering a six-point plan to help families and business. We’ve put more money back in people’s pockets with a council tax freeze and lowering prescription charges; and we’ve put more money back into high street businesses with our small business bonus.
“By failing to do so Gordon Brown is showing that he is falling behind the action the rest of the world is taking.”
HOSIE ON INTEREST RATE CUTS
Commenting on the announcement today (Thursday) of a further 1% cut in interest rates by the Bank of England’s Monetary Policy Committee, SNP Treasury Spokesman Stewart Hosie MP said:
“As we head into a recession, any action to keep it as short and shallow as possible is welcome.
“However, this cut comes one month after a 1.5% cut and just one day after the Prime Minister’s 11th hour mortgage plan announcement.
“In serious times, Scotland needs a Government who will offer a considered approach. While the Scottish Government has laid out a 6-point economic recovery plan, London Labour appear to lurch from one on-the-hoof policy to another.
“If the UK Government was really committed to supporting the Scottish economy, they would scrap their planned £1 billion cut to Scotland’s budget in 2010 and 2011 which pose a major threat to jobs and services in Scotland.”
HOSIE CALLS FOR CLARITY ON MORTGAGE HELP PLAN
SNP Treasury spokesperson, Stewart Hosie MP, has called for real clarity from the Prime Minister over the mortgage help plan announced following the Queen’s Speech today (Wednesday). Mr Hosie said the UK Government must clarify what proportion of mortgage interest could be deferred under the proposals.
Mr Hosie said:
“Just like the fag packet it was written on, this announcement should probably come with a health warning.
“The Prime Minister needs to be up front and tell us what proportion of mortgage interest could be deferred under these proposals.
”While I welcome any genuine steps that help mortgage holders, the way the Prime Minister has gone about his announcement has created more uncertainty at a time when people want clarity and certainty.”
SNP TREASURY SPOKESMAN CONCERN OVER QUEEN’S SPEECH
‘GOVERNMENT STILL HAS ITS HEAD IN THE SAND OVER ECONOMIC REALITY’
SNP Westminster Treasury spokesperson, Stewart Hosie MP, has expressed concern over the lack of economic detail contained in the Queen’s Speech.
“Today we had the glamour but the grim reality is yet to come.
“The Queen’s Speech gave us proof, if any was needed, that the UK Government has its head in the sand over the current economic reality.
“As we enter the worst recession in 80 years, the UK Government will only go as far as acknowledging a “global economic downturn”.
“The elephant in room is already next year’s Budget and Finance Bill.
“The Queen’s Speech gave absolutely no hint of how the UK Government intends to claw back the billions of additional borrowing racked up as a result of Gordon Brown’s decade long mishandling of UK economy.
“Indications from the Pre-Budget Report suggest that the Scottish Government’s budget will be slashed by some £1 billion over the period 2010/11 to 2011/12. The UK Government should reconsider this cut instead of squandering money on flawed ID card schemes and nuclear weapons.
SNP STEP UP CAMPAIGN AGAINST LABOUR SPENDING CUTS
“FIRST THE ‘SLEEKIT BILLION’, NOW UP-FRONT CUTS”
Scottish National Party MP Stewart Hosie today stepped up the campaign against the billion pounds of cuts that the UK Labour government are threatening to impose on Scotland’s budget over 2010/11 and 2011/12.
Applied equally across UK Departmental Expenditure Limit budgets, the £5 billion cuts proposed by the UK Government in each of these two years would cut Scotland’s budget by £380 million a year. And the reduction of the health department’s capital budget in England of £1.4 billion in 2010/11 would cause a recurring cut in the Scottish Government’s capital budget of around £125 million.
Earlier this year, the SNP highlighted £1 billion of spending that was being withheld from Scotland by the Treasury – including the £120 million of Scotland’s fossil fuel levy, the Scottish Government’s own underspend, and the failure to apply the Barnett Formula to spending south of the Border in areas such as prisons spending, London Olympics regeneration, and police and firefighter pensions.
Treasury Spokesman Stewart Hosie said:
“First, we had London Labour’s sleekit, backdoor spending cuts in Scotland – withholding a billion pounds of spending that could and should be flowing through the Scottish economy to help fund a reflationary funding programme.
“And now, Labour are proposing a billion pounds of upfront cuts to the Scottish Government’s budget, at a time when record Scottish oil revenues are flowing to the London Exchequer – £55 billion over the coming six years compared to £41 billion during the previous six.
“Scotland needs to escape from the financial straightjacket imposed by Westminster, which is why we need the full financial freedom of independence – a Scottish parliament and government with real economic powers so that we can make the right decisions for Scotland.
“A range of small European nations – such as Norway and Finland, and indeed the Eurozone as a whole – are projected to keep on growing, while the UK plunges into recession.
“The case for independence is compelling, and Labour’s budget cuts will be a dominating issue in Scottish politics over the next two years in the run up to the Scottish Government’s planned referendum.”