Prime Minister embarrassed over disabled rod licence rise

The Prime Minister, Gordon Brown, was challenged over the huge rise in rod licences for disabled anglers during Prime Minister’s Questions in the House of Commons yesterday. The visibly uncomfortable Prime Minister pledged to look into the 37% increase saying: “I will look at the facts…and see what has happened to bring that about”.

Leominster MP, Bill Wiggin, raised the issue as part of the Countryside Alliance’s campaign against the 37% rise in the cost of concessionary rod licences for pensioners and disabled anglers imposed by the Environment Agency and Defra Minister Jonathan Shaw. Mr. Wiggin has promised to follow up his question and get a full response from the Prime Minister.

Simon Hart, Chief Executive of the Countryside Alliance, said: “It is too late to redress the damage this year, but we are calling of the Government to commit to a five year freeze on concessionary rod licence fees to bring them back down to a sensible level.”

“The Prime Minister was rightly embarrassed when confronted with the huge rise in the cost of rod licences for disabled anglers. Between 2003 and 2007 anglers contributed an extra £4.4 million through rod licence fees yet the Environment Agency was forced to raise fees further in 2008 in the face of Government funding cuts.

“Whilst budget cuts are beyond the Environment Agency’s control, the decision to raise concessionary licence fees by so much was insensitive and misguided. The Agency should not have proposed the 37% rise for pensioner and disabled anglers and the Minister, Jonathan Shaw, should certainly not have agreed it.”


Prime Minister’s Questions, Wednesday 30th April

Bill Wiggin (Leominster) (Con): While the Prime Minister is on the subject of disabled people, may I ask whether he is aware that Labour’s attack on vulnerable people has been extended to disabled anglers? They have seen the cost of their fishing licence go up by 37 per cent., as opposed to 2 per cent. for able-bodied people—if, that is, they can find a post office from which to buy one

The Prime Minister: I will look at the facts that the hon. Gentleman brings before us and see what has happened to bring that about. However, I have to say to him that this Government have invested in rural communities, and on post offices we are making £1.7 billion available.

Yes it would appear that mr Brown is going to look into a lot of things after his party got a kick in the polls at the weekend, lets face it these t**ts will do all they can now just get the votes they need to stay in power until the next GE which incidently they dont even have call until 2010 so while fuel prices ( and government revenues) keep rising we will all have to sit and take another one for the cause thanks to mostly mr blair and co . Its disgusting that blair claimed to be a man of the people for all those yaers , whilst rumours were abound he wished to convert to catholocism but his ambitions appeared to get in the way of his beliefs as he opted to remain church of england while he served his term as PM seeing as how there has never been a catholic prime minister of this country, but as soon as he resigned his office he converted and now has a position in the catholic church as a political advisor well im sorry mr blair but your politics stink and we are all left to pick up the pieces of your dismal reign, and now he has left gordon brown in charge of a failing economy and impossible foreign policy. rant over.

The Prime Minister, Golden Brown texture like S%$T has not got a clue and as Gaz said any thing for a vote I have seen what they have done to London luckily I don’t have the pleasure of working there any more and as for there grasp on any thing to do with the country side HA!

he should be embarrassed over more than just the rod licence for the disabled,the whole UK is a shambles and I for one am ashamed to live here and call myself british,This is why so many brits move abroad nowadays,I have one word for the british government "B*****ks to the lot of ya,they couldnt sort out a p**s up in a pub,
I could rant for ages about how they are getting it wrong in this country infact I will,let's start with overcrowded prisons,theres a war in iraq thats killing or leaving our men in a right mess and then sending them back to their familes,why not cure the overcrowded prison promlems by sending the rapists,kiddy fiddlers,murderers over to fight the war because they are worthless to the UK expendible I think the word is,let all the soldiers come home to their families,the UK drug problem ok more hostile tactics because to me thats another useless load of spongers,dont legalise them because that will infact raise crime rate because the government will put tax on them making them even more expensive just execute the f***ers that use them,then we have homeless people,near me there was an ex raf base with 850 2 bed and 3 bed houses on there,they have been torn down to make way for a new leisure complex...wtf make use of these you useless B*****ds and finally 3rd world charities,another waste of time,our government pleading to us to give generously,why should we,why dont the government cancel the national debt then they will be able to afford to build the facilities they need and as for foreigners dont even get me started ojn that,my sister was raped by 3 of them last year so in my opinion I will f**k up any foreigner that crosses my path end of story and I will do the time for it.

British government??Load of w****rs the lot of them
I got f**k all to proud of.

Rant over.

CraftyCarper wrote:he should be embarrassed over more than just the rod licence for the disabled,the whole UK is a shambles and I for one am ashamed to live here and call myself british,This is why so many brits move abroad nowadays,I have one word for the british government "B*****ks to the lot of ya,they couldnt sort out a p**s up in a pub,
I could rant for ages about how they are getting it wrong in this country infact I will,let's start with overcrowded prisons,theres a war in iraq thats killing or leaving our men in a right mess and then sending them back to their familes,why not cure the overcrowded prison promlems by sending the rapists,kiddy fiddlers,murderers over to fight the war because they are worthless to the UK expendible I think the word is,let all the soldiers come home to their families,the UK drug problem ok more hostile tactics because to me thats another useless load of spongers,dont legalise them because that will infact raise crime rate because the government will put tax on them making them even more expensive just execute the f***ers that use them,then we have homeless people,near me there was an ex raf base with 850 2 bed and 3 bed houses on there,they have been torn down to make way for a new leisure complex...wtf make use of these you useless B*****ds and finally 3rd world charities,another waste of time,our government pleading to us to give generously,why should we,why dont the government cancel the national debt then they will be able to afford to build the facilities they need and as for foreigners dont even get me started ojn that,my sister was raped by 3 of them last year so in my opinion I will f**k up any foreigner that crosses my path end of story and I will do the time for it.

British government??Load of w****rs the lot of them
I got f**k all to proud of.

Rant over.

This is the attitude of 99% of the people I know so how the hell are these idiots still running the country. The problem now is it’s too little to late.

Gordon Brown sold 60% (400 tonnes)of our gold reserves Brown got an average of $275 an ounce. A few years later the price reached $700 an ounce. Today that same gold is selling for $1000 an ounce top job there mate

well that's as small part of why the economy's up the fritz