Bingo Association Welcomes Tax Reduction After Campaign Supported by Local MP

Hundreds of bingo customers are celebrating, after the Chancellor reduced the tax burden on bingo clubs in following a campaign supported by local MP Dr Eilidh Whiteford.

In yesterday’s Budget, the Chancellor of the Exchequer reduced the duty on bingo clubs from 20% to 10%. It means almost 400 bingo clubs in communities across England, Scotland and Wales can now fulfil their commitment to invest in new premises, modernisation and jobs.

The Boost Bingo campaign, run by The Bingo Association, gathered more than 330,000 petition signatures from bingo players calling for the Government to reduce bingo duty. Eilidh supported the campaign recently by visiting the Carlton Bingo Club in Fraserburgh, where she called the numbers in one of the games.

Commenting on the successful campaign, Eilidh said:

“I was delighted to support the Boost Bingo campaign in Banff & Buchan. Bingo brings adults of all ages together to socialise in a lively and fun environment, and I am fully behind this campaign. I am pleased it has achieved a result for my constituents.”

Miles Baron, Chief Executive of The Bingo Association, said:

“This is brilliant news! Bingo operators and bingo players are delighted that the Government has recognised the importance of bingo clubs in hundreds of communities across Britain.

“I’m sure the constituents of Banff & Buchan who enjoy a visit to their local bingo club will be delighted to hear the game they love has received the boost they campaigned so hard for.

“Bingo operators identified a programme of investment that would be freed up by the tax reduction. Now that’s happened, I look forward to seeing the investment and modernisation that will take the industry forward.

“I’d like to thank the Government for listening to the concerns of bingo players, and thank Eilidh Whiteford for her support for a fair rate of taxation for bingo clubs.”

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Six Months to YES: Gains of Independence Highlighted

'WITH YES WE CAN DO SO MUCH BETTER' - WHITEFORD
With nearly six months to go until the referendum – and support for independence at its highest since last summer - the SNP is today highlighting what people across Scotland stand to gain from independence.

And in the week it was revealed that Scotland’s Future – the blueprint for an independent Scotland – has become a ‘bestseller’, with over 100,000 copies ordered, the SNP is encouraging those who have not yet ordered or downloaded their copy to do so.

Commenting, Banff & Buchan MP Dr Eilidh Whiteford said:

“As September draws nearer, the choice we face between two futures we face becomes ever clearer. And more and more people are moving to Yes, with recent polls showing support for independence at its highest since last summer.

“Scotland’s Future – the blueprint for an independent Scotland – is now a ‘bestseller’, with over 100,000 copies ordered. Over the next six months, we will continue to encourage as many people as possible to order a copy to provide them with the answers they need.

“The gains of independence are clear. With Yes, we can get rid of Trident from Scotland’s soil once and for all. With No, we face a bill of £100bn for a new generation of nuclear weapons.

“With Yes, we can put an end to the democratic deficit we face under Westminster rule. Only independence can ensure Scotland gets the government it votes for – every time.

“With Yes, we can transform childcare, benefitting 240,000 children and their families. With No, Westminster’s austerity agenda threatens to push up to 100,000 more children in Scotland into poverty.

“With Yes, we can scrap the hated Bedroom Tax, saving 82,500 families in Scotland around £50 per month. With No, we are signed up to years of austerity which hit the poorest hardest – Osborne is already signed up to another £25bn of cuts.

“With Yes, we can bring the Royal Mail back into public hands where it belongs. Under Westminster rule, we have seen it privatised despite the fact that a majority of Scottish MPs voted to keep it in public ownership.

“With Yes, we can take action to reverse years of growing inequality as part of the UK, working to close the gap between rich and poor. With No, the gap will continue to grow and we have little chance of stopping what UK Business Secretary Vince Cable called the “giant suction machine” of London “draining the life out of the rest of the country”.

“These are just some of the gains people across Scotland stand to make with independence. I am confident people across Scotland vote Yes on September 18 to put Scotland’s future in Scotland’s hands.”

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Leaked DWP Welfare Report Shows 'Shape of Things to Come'

A leaked document has revealed the UK Government’s controversial welfare reform is at risk because of the speed and depth of the cuts imposed on the Department for Work and Pensions (DWP).

The leaked internal review reveals Iain Duncan Smith’s department is struggling to meet "extremely challenging" demands of over £1bn of efficiency savings over the next two years and these pressures could disrupt plans to roll out benefits reforms.

The review does not include the Universal Credit scheme which a Parliament report had stated was so badly managed, it could write-off up to £425 million - £36 million of which reflects Scotland’s pro-rata share.

Commenting, Banff & Buchan MP and SNP Westminster spokesperson for Work & Pensions Dr Eilidh Whiteford said:

“This is deeply worrying- the review warns that these department cuts could jeopardise public-facing services.

“Following the damning Parliament report on the Universal Credit scheme, this is further evidence that the UK government cannot be trusted when it comes to reforming our pensions, child maintenance and disability benefits. We already knew the Tory- Lib Dem government’s welfare reforms were discriminatory, but we can also see the extent of how badly managed it all is.

“It doesn’t have to be this way. Scotland has already made its opposition to welfare cuts absolutely clear, and a very clear majority of Scots want the Scottish Parliament to be given full powers over taxation and welfare. It is becoming clear to increasing numbers of people that only a Yes vote will deliver the kind of powers they want and Scotland needs.”

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SNP Celebrate 40th Anniversary of Henderson's Historic Win

Over 100 SNP members and supporters gathered in the Palace Hotel, Peterhead, last Friday at a special event held by Peterhead Branch of the SNP commemorating the 40th anniversary of Douglas Henderson gaining the old East Aberdeenshire constituency from the Conservatives to become the area’s first ever SNP MP at the election on 28 February 1974.

Guest speakers at the event were First Minister Alex Salmond, local MSP Stewart Stevenson and Banff & Buchan MP Dr Eilidh Whiteford. Also attending the event was Alex Farquhar, who was the SNP candidate in the 1970 General Election who made the seat winnable by attracting 30% of the vote and over 9,000 votes in what was the SNP’s best showing in the North-east at that time.

Peterhead Branch SNP President, Bob Ritchie, who was the party’s election agent in the 1960s and 1970s regaled the audience with tales from those early elections, including one where a lost election deposit in 1964 had to be financed with a bank loan, backed up by twenty guarantors at the insistence of the bank. And all for the princely sum of £200!

Commenting, Eilidh Whiteford MP said:

“We owe a great debt to Bob Ritchie, Alex Farquhar and the late Douglas Henderson, who could see Scotland’s potential and worked so hard over decades to improve the prospects of people in this area.

“I still get constituents coming to me who remember Douglas Henderson fondly, not only as a hard-working constituency MP but also as a very genuine person. His loss, in 2006, was sorely felt but his legacy lives on and I know he would have been playing a full and active part in the current Referendum campaign had he still been with us.”

Stewart Stevenson MSP added:

“This was a very timely event with the Referendum only 200 days away. It was useful to pause and reflect on the support given by the people of the North-east over the past 40 years which has helped us get to this position in our nation’s history.

“If we are to make the country we all Scotland believe it can be, we need personal tax powers, business tax powers, social security powers, employment powers, powers over Scotland’s budget, powers over the minimum wage, immigration powers and the powers to represent Scotland internationally. In other words, the same toolbox of powers that other independent countries take for granted.”

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