Charlie Elphicke is MP for Dover. In May 2010 the coalition Government came to office with the public finances shot through and the country in bleak recession. Public and private debt was unsustainable and economic growth had been built on debt rather than more solid foundations for almost a decade. The first priority of the […]
Charlie Elphicke is MP for Dover. In the UK one million children have no contact with the non-resident parent three years after separation. What should we do about it? According to today's Norgrove Report into family justice, the answer is that we should just stick our heads in the sand and hope it all goes […]
Charlie Elphicke is MP for Dover and a member of the Public Administration Select Committee. Labour like to say the Coalition is going “too far too fast” on cutting the deficit. What they mean is they would like to saddle you with £8,000 more debt than the Coalition. Yesterday, Ed Balls was at it again, denying […]
Charlie Elphicke is MP for Dover. Small businesses – SMEs – may be small, but that does not mean they should be overlooked. These businesses may employ less than 250 people, yet SMEs account for half of UK business turnover and 6 out of 10 jobs in the private sector. Moreover, the number of small business […]
By Jonathan Isaby On the day that there is news that grandparents are to gain rights to access their grandchildren, it is worth noting the efforts earlier in the week of Dover's Conservative MP to ensure that children grow up knowing and with access to both of their parents. Presenting a Ten Minute Rule Bill […]
Charlie Elphicke is MP for Dover. Click here to read his preview of the Budget. With a Budget so packed with help for jobs, money and growth it's hard to know where to start. Most welcome was the help for low earners. Neglected during the Labour years, we saw real help in this Budget. The […]
Charlie Elphicke is MP for Dover. The Budget cannot be too pro-business, pro-jobs or pro-money, given the total mess Labour made of our economy. The Chancellor did the really difficult stuff in the Emergency Budget last year. Deficit reduction is the cornerstone of recovery. What’s needed in the Growth Budget? Cut corporation tax to 19% […]
By Jonathan Isaby The first of yesterday's opposition day debates in the Commons saw a Labour motion demanding a reversal in January's VAT rise with respect to road fuel and asking where the fuel duty stabiliser was – all in the name of the "hard pressed motorist". The hypocrisy of Labour's position, given its record […]
By Jonathan Isaby Yesterday saw MPs debating the merits of the Big Society on a backbench motion moved by Dover's Tory MP, Charlie Elphicke, which stated its support for the Big Society, "seeking stronger communities where power is decentralised and social action is encouraged." "The big society has been "much discussed in the media", yet […]
Charlie Elphicke is MP for Dover. The Prime Minister’s Big Society initiative has the power to make a fundamental change to the way we live. The situation in Dover is a concrete example why this change is needed. To the people of Dover, the port is an important facility. Yet people feel it has done […]
Smaller businesses have been finding it hard to get the finance they need to create more jobs and money. A substantial new growth fund aimed at small business would help power Britain out of Labour’s recession. SMEs, business with less than 250 employees, have been struggling to get the finance they need to grow. The latest […]
If we want to see more jobs and money, it’s important to get employment law right. Businesses – particularly smaller businesses with less than 250 employees – feel strangled by the weight of employment law. Many are discouraged from expanding until absolutely necessary for fear of the costs that may fall on them if a […]
Charlie Elphicke is Conservative MP for Dover and a member of the Public Administration Select Committee. Lobbying by quangos should be banned and greater efforts should be made to reduce the number and cost of them in line with the Coalition programme. These concerns are highlighted in today’s Public Administration Select Committee report into the […]
Seven Conservative MPs have teamed up with the Centre for Policy Studies and ConHome to propose ideas to turbo charge the UK economy. Yesterday, Jo Johnson set out how Britain should seek new business opportunities in emerging markets. Charlie Elphicke is the Conservative MP for Dover and Deal. Equity and debt finance matters to anyone […]