In the news

Okay, it's still a slow news day, but there's some old news just come to light.

There appears to have been a bit of a running battle in the papers between Jon Owen Jones and some constituents about student exemption from council tax...

Jon Owen Jones's letter explaining why students are exempt, Students are low earners. A reply, Subsidising drinking and cars. And a newer reply, Jon's words were rubbish.

Of which, some selections:

If, as has been admitted by many students, a considerable part of their money is being spent on drinking, socialising, taxis and running cars - pleasures many tax-payers cannot afford - I see no reason why they should not contribute towards council tax. The properties which many of them rent are of multiple occupancy, so if the council tax was shared among the occupants it would not cost them any more than the price of a pint or two of beer a week.

So they put the students' rent up, they can afford it.

Maybe they would not be able to go out every night, get drunk, buy takeaways and generally make a mess and noise in a residential area.

Why don't they have more student campuses for first, second and third year students built in one place and bring our community back as it was?

A slow news day today obviously, with just three paragraphs in one story, Wonderful reception for these Respect and SSP candidates from Socialist Worker online.