Happy Christmas

I'd like to wish everyone a very Happy Christmas and a peaceful New Year

nick

Don't shoot the messenger Lembit

I know he'll say anything if a television camera is pointed at him, but Lembit misses the point here.

It doesn't matter a jot if it's Telegraph journalists or regular constituents, if the comments made are inappropriate, especially for a Business Secretary. Furthermore, to openly admit you believe in something, but voted for the complete opposite shows contemptible behaviour, but not by the journalists who broke the news!


nick

Radio Maldwyn

I'm saddened by the severe financial problems that have affected Radio Maldwyn. I know it was a regular listen for many people in the area. Hopefully a buyer will be found quickly.


nick

Administration Fee required

If ever central Government needed to get to grips with an abuse of consumers, it's with the farcical practice of 'administration fees'. From budget airlines to banks, from ticket agencies to car insurance, they're all at it. Adding a blanket fee with no explanation of where the fee is going or how it is calculated. They want us to pay for someone already sitting in an office getting paid and who without our custom would be making the tea. In other words, they want us to cough up a little bit more in order to maximise profits.

Legitimate companies getting away with it for years are precisely why scammers and con artists adopt the same line when seeking to fleece innocent victims with scams such as fake lottery and share dealing. 'Administration fee' has become an acceptable term for adding x, y, and z onto the bill with absolutely no explanation and we as consumers have allowed it to wash over our heads and absorbed into our psyche as being perfectly normal.

Why can't we see someone championing our cause to have at least a detailed breakdown of why such fees are added?


nick

What happened to Dave's 'Fair Britain' line?

During the GE campaign, I made no secret of the fact that I had never supported the introduction of tuition fees for university students. I still find it shabby that a collection of people who obtained their degrees courtesy of the state, saw fit to deny generations of young people the same right. We all benefit from having a society with a depth of talent available to fulfil challenging roles.

I'm not happy that my daughters are now both burdened with a shadow of debt that stretches out ahead of them for many years. That's why despite the welcome news of the Assembly Govt's decision to protect Welsh students, I am deeply disappointed that for some young people in our nation, my daughters debts will soon look like chicken feed compared to theirs and worse still, a degree will become a matter of a postcode lottery. That can't be right and I wonder how it fits in with David Cameron's 500-day programme for turning Britain into a “strong and fair society”. If he ever truly meant that, he'd be having a re-think right now and do something positive to bring it about!


nick