Paul Clews

Devon County Council Election

I am very disappointed by the quality of the candidates in today’s county council election. I have voted in every election, since I was 18. I have a choice from four candidates.
Paul Crabb (Conservative)
I have been a Conservative voter all my life. In general elections, always Conservative. In local elections often independent. Is Paul Crabb the best the North Devon Conservative’s can offer? http://m.thisisdevon.co.uk/story.html?aid=13493899
Mike Edmunds (Independent, usually Lib Dem)
Mike Edmunds is always a disaster for Ilfracombe. Here is one of his latest.
http://www.ilfracombepeople.co.uk/Cash-seafront-plan-better-spent-says-council/story-12819740-detail/story.html
Where is the money now Mike?
Marianna Holdsworth (Labour)
I don’t think we can afford Labour ever again can we? No chance of winning anyway!
Alan Whittle (UKIP)
UKIP have no local polices except no more wind farms. Well, we need more wind farms! A one policy party, a dumping ground for the protest vote.
I have spoilt my paper today. Very very dissatisfied!

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From the Prime Minister

Dear Paul,
As Prime Minister - and as a Conservative - I’m determined to do everything I can to help people with the cost of living. We’ve already helped freeze council tax, stopped Labour’s fuel duty rise, capped the increase in rail fares and taken two million people out of paying income tax altogether.
Last year, I said we would do something else: take action on the sky-high energy bills that families across the country struggle with. At the moment, people often face a mind-boggling number of tariffs and pay a lot more than they should do.
That’s why I made a personal commitment. I said it was time for energy companies to be straight with their customers and offer them the lowest available tariff. No more tricks, loopholes or small print; time for transparency.
So I’m delighted that yesterday OFGEM - the energy regulator - said it would deliver on my plan to get bills down. Starting this summer, energy companies will need to:
Present clear bills with the cheapest available tariff
Offer no more than 4 tariffs for each type of fuel
Abide by a rigorous code of conduct or face heavy fines
And the Government is going to use its Energy Bill to push things further still. Once this becomes law, suppliers will have to put people on the cheapest variable rate unless they choose otherwise.
These changes will at last help to switch the balance of power in the energy market. People will be in the driving seat and companies will be competing hard for their custom.
We said we’d do everything possible to help the hard-working families of this country - and we are keeping our word.

David Cameron

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JANUARY 2013

RETURNING
FAIRNESS
TO WELFARE

Dear Paul,
This morning, we launched a poster campaign to coincide with a crucial vote that’s happening in Parliament. Today, Labour will vote against capping benefits at 1% for the next 3 years - a double blow to the taxpayer who has to foot the bill.
Under Labour, our welfare system spiralled out of control with the welfare bill rising by 60%, costing every household in Britain an extra £3000 a year.
In the last 5 years, those on out of work benefits have seen their incomes rise almost twice as fast as people in work - at a rate of 20% compared to an increase in average earnings of only 12%.
For Conservatives, this vote is about fairness. Why should the taxpayer pay more to sustain welfare payments while at the same time earning less?

Conservative Party poster timed to coincide with today’s vote
Labour vote time and again against everything this government is doing to get welfare spending under control. But they don’t say how they would pay for all this. By voting against our measures, Labour’s Ed Balls would clearly be happy with more borrowing to pay the welfare bill - this would saddle every working household in the UK with almost £5000 of extra national debt.
It’s clear Labour has learnt nothing. Labour’s plan is to spend more, borrow more and tax more. Where’s the fairness in that?
Our plan is clear - to deliver stability to the public finances and return fairness to welfare.

Iain Duncan Smith
Secretary of State for Work and Pensions

My most used apps of the year

Do you remember the John Peel Festive 50? Well inspired by this I’m doing a Festive 10 apps for 2012. So here goes, in no particular order.

Voxer

The people from voxer call it a walkie-talkie, but I think of it as a free answer phone service. It also texts & is a great way to share photos with friends.

AudioBoo

Set up your own radio station, then broadcast to the world. You can also send & receive private audio messages. Here is my channel http://audioboo.fm/paulkclews also on iTunes https://itunes.apple.com/gb/podcast/paul-clewss-boos/id574252622?mt=2

Flipboard

Turn your Twitter, LinkedIn, Google+ & Facebook into a magazine. You can comment, retweet & repost from here too.

Hootsuite

Great for posting to Twitter, LinkedIn, Facebook & Facebook pages all a the same time. Also great for planning an advertising campaign. Users can plan posts a year in advance.

PolyTune

The best instrument tuning app I’ve come across.

TVCatchUp

Watch live TV on your iPod/iPhone. Loads of channels, what more can I say. It would be good if it worked on 3G, but unfortunately, at the time of posting this, it only works with wifi.

MailOnLine

I know! Dreadful newspaper, but a great app. I like how easy it is to share the news of the day with Twitter & Facebook.

4OD

This app is in because it has so many programs in it. All your favourite Channel 4 programs like Father Ted, going back years. The BBC iplayer & itv player could learn from this.

Techno

A free 6 channel recording studio. Great for recording a quick demo & other audio recording requirements you may have. I paid £300 for a 2nd hand Teac 144 in the 1980’s. it had 4 tracks, & didn’t do much more than this app.

Weebly

Build & manage your own free website with this app. The app itself is a little limiting, but that said, I’ve found it useful to keep an eye on hits & blog comments. Here is my website http://paulclews888.weebly.com/index.html

What apps have you used the most this year?

The North Devon Business Alliance presentation day

North Devon Business Alliance awards

I am so excited to be nominated for a couple of gongs, for my Punk Rock blog http://paulclews.tumblr.com/post/31116079541/punk-rock from a few weeks ago, and my podcasts. http://audioboo.fm/paulkclews
http://www.ndba.org.uk/all-blogs/and-the-nominees-are

http://audioboo.fm/boos/1100599

From George Osborne

Dear Paul,
WE’RE ON THE RIGHT TRACK AND WE WON’T TURN BACK.
My message today on the economy is simple: it’s a hard road, but we’re making progress. And to turn back now would be a disaster. Labour’s plans to borrow even more would take us back to the economic mess they created.
The economy is healing and a steady recovery is forecast. The deficit has fallen by a quarter in just two years and is forecast to go on falling. Exports to emerging markets have doubled and 1.2 million new jobs have been created in the private sector since this Government came to office.
We are doing better than many of our international competitors. We have lower unemployment than in the eurozone or the United States and next year the UK is predicted to grow faster than France or Germany.
We are on the right path, so we are sticking to the deficit plan we set out two years ago. I will not cut spending any further in this Parliament. Because the economic situation is tougher, it will take four years, not three to get our debt falling.
Instead by making savings from bureaucracy, from the benefits bill, and by ensuring that the better off play their part, we will do more to help families and back businesses.
To help Britain win the global race:
£5 billion of capital investment in science, education and roads, paid for by more savings in Whitehall.
Savings to pay off the deficit, with working age welfare uprated by 1% for 3 years, a 1% uprating of some tax thresholds too and restrictions on the very largest pensions pots.
A new gas strategy to ensure we can exploit new shale gas reserves.
To help British businesses compete:
Another 1p cut in corporation tax, so it will have fallen from 28p to 21p under this Government.
An increase in the annual investment allowance to £250,000, this will cover the total annual investment undertaken by 99% of all the businesses in Britain.
To help people who want to work and get on:
Cancelling January’s 3p fuel rise, meaning fuel duty is 10p lower than under Labour’s plans.
Increase in the personal allowance by a further £235. That means in April 2013 the personal allowance will go up by £1,335 - the largest ever cash rise. 24 million people will get a tax cut, with most being £267 better off in cash next year. It also means 2.2 million people will have been taken out of income tax.

Clearing up Labour’s mess was never going to be easy, but we’re making progress. We’re on the right track and we won’t turn back.
Yours sincerely,

George Osborne
Chancellor of the Exchequer

Children in Need

Ilfracombe Ukulele Club Children in Need pub tour of Ilfracombe http://t.co/jznBsK6O
http://t.co/vss2vK4x
http://t.co/lV1mZXbM
http://t.co/6ZH3VFkB