Nigel Adams Archives - Page 6 of 8

Harrogate district Conservative MPs back controversial social care plan

All three of the Harrogate district’s Conservative MPs voted for controversial new plans for social care in England last night.

The proposal, which will see people with less than £100,000 in assets pay towards the new social care cap, were supported by the House of Commons despite a Conservative backbench rebellion.

Some Tory MPs expressed concern that the move would hit the poorest hardest and 19 of them voted against the government.

However, Andrew Jones, Harrogate and Knaresborough MP, Julian Smith, Skipton and Ripon MP and Nigel Adams, Selby and Ainsty MP which includes rural Harrogate, all voted with the government.

The bill was passed by 272 votes to 246.

The Stray Ferret has contacted the Harrogate district MPs for comment.

Health minister, Edward Argar, told the House of Commons last night that “no one would lose” from the reforms.

What is the government’s plan for social care?

Prime Minister Boris Johnson and his government have tabled plans in an effort to fix the crisis in funding social care.

Under the proposals, there will be a cap of £86,000 which people will have to pay towards the cost of their own care. Once that threshold is met, the government will step in.

The move would mean that those with £20,000 or less in assets would not have to pay anything towards things like washing or dressing at home.

Those with more than £100,000 will have to pay for everything up to the social care cap.

Meanwhile, those with less than £100,000 will have to pay for some of their care – but they can qualify for council support to help meet those costs.

Crucially, however, the support received from the local authority will not contribute towards the social care cap. Instead, that will have to be met from the person’s own income.

This has led to some Conservative MPs expressing concern that the poorest will be hit hardest by the change.

MPs watch: Sewage dumps, commissioner resignations and David Amess

Every month the Stray Ferret tries to find out what our local MPs have been up to in their constituencies and in the House of Commons.

In October, Chancellor Rishi Sunak announced his Autumn budget and MPs were criticised for rejecting an amendment to stop raw sewage being pumped into rivers.

All of our district MPs were urged by North Yorkshire Police to report personal security concerns following the murder of David Amess MP in his constituency.

We asked our three Conservative MPs, Harrogate & Knaresborough’s Andrew Jones, Skipton and Ripon’s Julian Smith, and Selby and Ainsty’s Nigel Adams if they would like to highlight anything in particular that they have been doing this month, but, as usual, we did not receive a response from any of them.

Here is what we know after analysing their online presence.

Andrew Jones, Harrogate and Knaresborough MP.

In Harrogate and Knaresborough, here is what we found on Mr Jones:

Mr Jones did not post any news on his website in October.
On October 20, Mr Jones voted against a House of Lords amendment to put a legal duty on water companies and prevent them discharging waste into rivers and seas.
Mr Jones spoke six times in the House of Commons in October.
Two of those contributions were on the environment, including congratulating Harrogate District Climate Change Coalition for hosting its first climate action festival ahead of COP26.
On October 14, following the resignation of Philip Allott as North Yorkshire Police, Fire and Crime Commissioner, Mr Jones posted onto his Conservative-run site that Mr Allott had “done the right thing”. He also paid tribute to David Amess.
Mr Jones’ Twitter account is for ‘retweets only’.

Julian Smith, MP for Ripon and Skipton.

In Skipton and Ripon, here is what we found on Mr Smith:

Mr Smith updated his website three times in September. He posted about Bilsdale transmitter and visiting Grassington hub.
He tweeted 12 times last month. Among his social media posts were tweets paying tribute to David Amess MP. He also paid tribute to James Brokenshire MP, who died on October 8.
Mr Smith was the only one of our district MPs to call for Philip Allott to resign. On October 11, he tweeted that Mr Allott “should go”.
Mr Smith voted against the House of Lords amendment on river sewage.
Mr Smith posted four times on his Facebook page.
He spoke once in the House of Commons this month. On October 26, Mr Smith made a spoken contribution on Northern Ireland.

Nigel Adams, MP for Selby and Ainsty which includes rural Harrogate.

In rural south Harrogate, here is what we found on Mr Adams:

Mr Adams tweeted six times in October.
On Twitter, he paid tribute to both James Brokenshire MP and David Amess MP.
He posted once on his website on October 26 about road works being carried out on the A1 and A64.
On October 5, the Stray Ferret reported that a former arms tycoon who donated £33,800 to Mr Adams was back under media scrutiny after the leak of the Pandora Papers.
Mr Adams did not post anything on his social media or website about Philip Allott’s resignation of police commissioner.
Mr Adams voted against the House of Lords amendment on river sewage.
He did not make any spoken contributions in the House of Commons in October.

Stray Views: Swearing at ‘odd’ people sets a disturbing example

Stray Views is a weekly column giving you the chance to have your say on issues affecting the Harrogate district. It is an opinion column and does not reflect the views of the Stray Ferret. Send your views to letters@thestrayferret.co.uk.

Swearing at someone for being odd sets a worrying trend

The local MP for Selby and Ainsty, Nigel Adams, was recently filmed telling a peaceful protester who asked him a question as he was passing by, to “f*** off” because he did not wish to talk to him. This was because, as he put it, he was an “odd bloke with a top hat on chasing me down the street” and because he was “annoying”.

Subsequently, that has been applauded as “straight talking”. So I guess because our local MP (now also promoted to a place in the Cabinet Office as Minister without Portfolio) has just shown the way, that now gives permission for anyone to tell anyone to “F*** off” just because they seem “odd” to them.

For instance, a wheelchair user may seem “odd” to them or a woman may seem “odd” to them; or someone with a different skin colour may seem “odd” to them.

And if just seeming odd is enough to allow someone to swear at them, why stop there?

If this is the level of leadership the people who lead the county and country now feel they can demonstrate, we should be careful what we wish for – and be very afraid.

Friedy Luther, Spofforth

New Park roundabout ‘an accident waiting to happen’

Re the proposed new Tesco, it must be stressed that the existing New Park roundabout is an accident waiting to happen with increased traffic flow.

There is a blind spot for traffic approaching from the town centre because of the flats built on the right concealing the approach of traffic from Knaresborough. Also the outside lane allows traffic to either cross straight ahead towards Ripon in the path of traffic in the inside lane or to turn right up the hill towards Knaresborough.

Gillian Long, Harrogate

Why doesn’t covid hotspot Harrogate have a vaccination site?

In light of Harrogate’s extremely high rate of covid infections, why hasn’t the town got a permanent walk-in testing centre / vaccination centre rather than sending the population out of area to achieve any service at all?

Mike Hodgson, Harrogate

Do you have an opinion on the Harrogate district? Email us at letters@thestrayferret.co.uk. Please include your name and approximate location details. Limit your letters to 350 words. We reserve the right to edit letters.

Nigel Adams MP’s £33,000 donation from former Russian businessman back in spotlight

A former arms tycoon who has donated £33,800 to Harrogate district Conservative MP Nigel Adams is back under media scrutiny.

This morning The Guardian and the BBC published revelations from the “Pandora Papers” leaks all week.

The “Pandora Papers” as they have become known were a huge set of leaked tax documents revealing off-shore accounts and tax avoidance across the world.

Yesterday, The Guardian revealed that Russian millionaire and UK citizen, Viktor Fedotov, was the secret owner of a company that, it claimed, syphoned funds from a Russian pipeline and made at least £72m through offshore financial structures and tax havens. He has denied the allegations.

Mr Fedotov is now the majority owner of Aquind, an entirely separate company that is jointly owned by Alexander Temerko. There is no suggestion Mr Temerko had any knowledge of the possible origins of Mr Fedotov’s fortune.

Aquind is currently seeking UK government approval for a controversial electricity cable from France to England.

Between 2015 and 2017 Mr Temerko personally donated £33,800 to Nigel Adams MP, whose Selby constituency includes villages Follifoot, Spofforth, Weeton and Kirkby Overblow.

Mr Temerko and Aquind have donated at least £1.1m in total to the Conservatives. Mr Adams is one of eight MPs and ministers to have received donations.

The company has previously said all political donations had “complied with the relevant legislations”.

Born in Ukraine when it was part of the Soviet Union, Mr Temerko was an oil and arms executive in Russia and is now a UK citizen. He is a member of the Conservative Party.

Aquind’s lawyers told The Guardian that the accusations against the Russian company previously co-owned by Fedotov were “completely false” and came from a “wholly unreliable” report.

The Stray Ferret approached Mr Adams for comment but we did not receive a response at the time of publication.

MPs watch: Sweary outbursts, animal testing and Bilsdale

Every month the Stray Ferret tries to find out what our local MPs have been up to in their constituencies and in the House of Commons.

In September, the House of Commons returned from recess and the government battled an energy crisis and problems with fuel supply.

Here is what we know after analysing their online presence.

Andrew Jones, Harrogate and Knaresborough MP.

In Harrogate and Knaresborough, here is what we found on Mr Jones:

Mr Jones posted 10 times on his MP’s website in September.
Mr Jones published three posts about the Bilsdale transmitter, which has affected television coverage across the district since August.
On September 18, Mr Jones held a constituency surgery at Asda. It was the first since the covid pandemic meant surgeries could not be held.
He asked George Freeman, science minister, to meet him to discuss plans to expand Labcorp on Otley Road. Mr Jones was later criticised by animal rights groups.
On September 27, Mr Jones posted on his Conservative-run site that a planning application to demolish the former Dunlopillo office site in Pannal for apartments should be “called in”. It was later approved because it was submitted under permitted development rights.
Mr Jones’ Twitter account is for ‘retweets only’.

Julian Smith, MP for Ripon and Skipton.

In Skipton and Ripon, here is what we found on Mr Smith:

Mr Smith updated his website six times in September. He also posted about the Bilsdale transmitter and told constituents he was “really sorry” if they were affected by the disruption.
He tweeted 13 times last month. Among his social media posts were tweets congratulating MPs who had been appointed to the cabinet as part of the Prime Minister’s reshuffle.
Mr Smith posted nine times on his Facebook page.
He made no spoken contributions or written questions in the House of Commons last month.

Nigel Adams, MP for Selby and Ainsty which includes rural Harrogate.

In rural south Harrogate, here is what we found on Mr Adams:

A regular Twitter user, Mr Adams tweeted eight times in September.
However, he did not update his website last month. His last post was on August 19.
On September 10, Mr Adams was filmed telling anti-Brexit campaigner Steve Bray to “f*ck off”. He defended his outburst and said his words reflected the views of many MPs.
Mr Adams was appointed minister without portfolio in the Cabinet Office on September 16 as part of Prime Minister Boris Johnson’s cabinet reshuffle.
On September 23, he answered questions in the House of Commons of mandatory vaccine passports. In one answer, he said the government did not expect the passports to be needed from the end of September.

Stray Views: Anti-cycling attitudes have turned Harrogate into a car park

Anti-cycling attitudes have turned Harrogate into a car park

As a Byron Walk Mews resident, I had no problem at all with the small numbers of school pupils and town centre workers and visitors who used this path, which is wide enough to safely accommodate both pedestrians and cyclists.

Councillor Sam Gibbs presumably prefers them to take their chances in the traffic on the A61 or Victoria Road.

A similar anti-cycling attitude, plus complete ignorance of our taxation system, is shown by county councillor Stuart Parsons in the separate report about cyclists annoying motorists by using our roads. Apparently he believes they are “not road taxpayers while using it for their cycles”.

Councillor:
1. There is no such thing as road tax. It was abolished in 1937.
2. Cyclists pay general taxation, which funds the roads, just like everyone else.
3. Motorists (who include most cyclists) pay vehicle excise duty, based on the level of pollution they generate, hence a zero rate for electric cars. It has nothing to do with road maintenance.

No doubt these councillors believe there are votes to be had in attacking cycling. Sadly, such attitudes have helped Harrogate town centre become a giant car park choked with traffic. They show no understanding of the town’s potential for a healthier, safer and quieter future.

Marwood Smith, Harrogate

We need more straight-talking MPs like Nigel Adams

Brilliant to see Nigel Adams, the Selby with Ainsty MP, use a bit of Anglo-Saxon language to the attention seeking London Brexit madman. We need far more straight-talking from our MPs.

Tim Emmott, Harrogate

Paddling pool closed too soon

It is a shame that the paddling pool in the children’s play area at Borrage Green in Ripon has been emptied of water.

Surely, the council could have maintained its use for a little longer, especially while the early evenings are still light and children can enjoy the outdoors.

Liz Jarvis, Low Grantley

Cycle count is a pointless publicity stunt

Mr Margolis is fooling no one with his publicity stunt on Beech Grove. He says his survey of a couple of hours of observation, picked by himself, ‘proves’ that Beech Grove low traffic neighbourhood is working well. The other day I observed Beech Grove low traffic neighbourhood and didn’t see a single cyclist.

By his logic that “proves” nobody is using it and therefore a complete failure! Did he, by any chance, find out how many of those he did observe would have been going along Beech Grove anyway?

I walk along Beech Grove and don’t see a ‘transformation’, other than many more U-turns.

There’s no change for pedestrians as we walked on the pavement before and still do. Like North Yorkshire County Council, which uses the results of un-scientific, self-appointed surveys filled in by a minority of enthusiasts to ‘prove’ what people want, once again we have misleading information trying to prove a point. Is that the best they can do?

Chris Dicken, Harrogate

Harrogate district MP promoted to cabinet

Nigel Adams MP has been promoted as part of Prime Minister Boris Johnson’s cabinet reshuffle.

Mr Adams, whose Selby and Ainsty constituency includes parts of rural Harrogate, has been appointed minister without portfolio in the Cabinet Office.

He moves from his previous position as minister of state for Asia at the Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office.

The new role means he will support coordinating government policy, but will not have responsibility for a specific department.

Mr Adams will, however, sit on the cabinet and have a vote at meetings, which means he is one of the country’s key decision makers.

The Prime Minister said he wanted a “strong and united team to build back better from the pandemic” after his reshuffle.

The appointment comes days after Mr Adams was criticised for telling anti-Brexit campaigner Steve Bray to “f**k off” outside the House of Commons.

He defended his outburst, which he claimed “no doubt reflected” the feelings of other MPs.

Could local MP be promoted in Prime Minister’s cabinet reshuffle?

There is speculation that local MP Nigel Adams could be promoted as part of Prime Minister Boris Johnson’s reshuffle.

Reports on national newspaper websites say Mr Adams could be in line for a position at the Department for Digital, Culture, Media and Sport.

However, the government had yet to confirm any move at the time of publication.

The Prime Minister said he wanted a “strong and united team to build back better from the pandemic”.

Should Mr Adams, whose Selby and Ainsty constituency includes rural parts of the Harrogate district, including Spofforth and Follifoot, take on the brief, it will include overseeing a review of the Gambling Act.

The Stray Ferret reported last month that Mr Adams accepted gifts from three companies for £6,038 worth of hospitality tickets to England’s Euro 2020 games.

Two of those firms, Entain and Power Leisure Bookmakers, were gambling companies, according to his register of interests.

Mr Adams, was criticised last week for telling anti-Brexit campaigner Steve Bray to “f**k off” outside the House of Commons.

He defended his outburst, which he claimed “no doubt reflected” the feelings of other MPs.

Local MP defends ‘colourful language’ after F-word outburst

Local Conservative MP and government minister Nigel Adams has defended telling an anti-Brexit campaigner to ‘”f*ck off” outside Parliament.

Mr Adams, whose Selby and Ainsty constituency includes rural parts of the Harrogate district such as Spofforth, Huby, Weeton and Follifoot, dropped the F-bomb outside the House of Commons on Wednesday after he was approached by anti-Brexit campaigner Steve Bray.

A spokesperson for Mr Adams said his “colourful language” reflected the views of many MPs who had encountered Mr Bray.

The spokesperson said:

“The gentleman in the blue top hat who Mr Adams directed some colourful language towards is a well known political activist known as ‘Stop Brexit Man’.

“He has spent the last few years harassing, following and hurling abuse at elected Parliamentarians as well as interrupting journalists, preventing some from doing their job of reporting the news and conducting interviews.

“Mr Adams’ remarks no doubt reflect those of many democratic representatives trying to deliver on the will of the people and others seeking to go about their business who have been harassed or had their work disrupted by this individual and his handful of followers.”

Mr Bray, who is well-known for wearing an EU top hat and taking part in daily protests outside Parliament, asked the MP a question about the vote on the Health and Care Bill.

In a video of the exchange that followed, Mr Adams said to the campaigner:

“Why don’t you talk to your MP and f*** off, you’re getting on my nerves.”

You can watch the video below. Warning: it contains strong language.

Nigel Adams Tory MP not happy to answer some questions… tells me to fuck off & calls Sylvia a numpty. He also calls me Dave… a far right myth. #BrexitTax pic.twitter.com/OsZyufyuqj

— 4th July – There's gonna be a Tory wipeout! (@snb19692) September 8, 2021

Local MP under fire for telling campaigner to ‘f*** off’

Local Conservative MP and government minister Nigel Adams has been criticised for telling a campaigner to “f*** off” outside the House of Commons yesterday evening.

Mr Adams, whose Selby and Ainsty constituency includes rural parts of the Harrogate district such as Spofforth, Huby, Weeton and Follifoot, was approached by anti-Brexit campaigner Steve Bray at about 8pm.

Mr Bray, who is well-known for wearing an EU top hat and taking part in daily protests outside Parliament, asked the MP a question about last night’s vote on the health and social care bill — which provoked an angry response.

Mr Adams said:

“Why don’t you talk to your MP and f*** off, you’re getting on my nerves.”

“I’m not interested in speaking to an odd bloke with a top hat on chasing me down the street.”

The incident was filmed and posted on Mr Bray’s Twitter page. It has so far received 2,700 likes.

Watch the video in full below:

Nigel Adams Tory MP not happy to answer some questions… tells me to fuck off & calls Sylvia a numpty. He also calls me Dave… a far right myth. #BrexitTax pic.twitter.com/OsZyufyuqj

— 4th July – There's gonna be a Tory wipeout! (@snb19692) September 8, 2021

Arnold Warneken, who stood as a Green Party candidate against Mr Adams at the 2019 General Election, told the Stray Ferret the MP’s comments were “disgraceful”.

He added:

“When you get elected to parliament, members of public asking you questions is part of the job. You don’t tell them to f*** off.

“He didn’t have to say anything. He should hang his head in shame.

“The people of Selby and Ainsty trusted him to argue his case rather than offer two-word expletives. We need to improve standards of ministers.”

The Stray Ferret has approached Mr Adams, who is also the Minister for Asia, for comment.

What is the government’s plan for social care?

Read more:

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Swearing at someone for being odd sets a worrying trend

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New Park roundabout ‘an accident waiting to happen’

Why doesn’t covid hotspot Harrogate have a vaccination site?

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Anti-cycling attitudes have turned Harrogate into a car park

We need more straight-talking MPs like Nigel Adams

Paddling pool closed too soon

Cycle count is a pointless publicity stunt

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