Leader of opposition at South Kesteven District Council Councillor Graham Jeal talks about Veterans Tax Relief

We need to be helping the veterans in our district, writes Councillor Graham Jeal, leader of the opposition at South Kesteven District Council.

Danny is a welder. A hard worker, someone you want on a complicated job. Good humoured, we stood admiring the bespoke stillages he created. In a clue to his previous career Danny joked “80 year ago – I’d have been welding tank defences on our southern beaches”.

We joked that I would know where to go for tank defences. Danny was a veteran of active service in Iraq. Asked by his government to do the unimaginable, his civilian career started late after several of his friends were killed in the allied assault on Iraq.

Returning to civilian life was a challenge for Danny. Give him a welding torch and he can create a masterpiece. Drop a spanner and a man who was trained to kill would crumple to the floor in a fit of shell shock.

It was for people like Danny that I supported a small tax relief for veterans from South Kesteven District Council living in the lowest band of housing (band A). Our Armed Forces Covenant aims to ensure that no veteran is disadvantaged by their military service. This strikes me as a low bar. Whilst the Armed Forces Covenant does ensure we meet a minimum standard and it is good we have it in place, for many veterans this is the least we should be doing.

The Rainbow Alliance administration of Independents, Lib Dems and Labour couldn’t hide their contempt for Band A Veterans tax relief calling it a “Brigadiers discount”.

Joe contacted me after this scheme was first discussed. Joe was a veteran of the Coldstream Guards, he was sent to Northern Ireland as an 18-year-old at the height of the turmoil. A victim of many attempts to kill him and today he lives in South Kesteven with injuries sustained whilst on active service. He was attacked in uniform, out of uniform and even within a hospital whilst recovering.

Last week was Armed Forces Week – the Rainbow Alliance of Labour, Independents and Lib Dems were celebrating after voting for “No More Work” to be done on any Band A Tax Relief for Veterans.

Living in Lincolnshire, our most heated debates are about the continued chaos around bin collections, carpeting our countryside with solar panels, creaking leisure services, failure to collect litter on the A1 and other “first world problems” – it is easy to forget that it is a dangerous world. Today, active service personnel are working to protect our way of life and veterans, like Danny and Joe, live with the scars of their service to our nation.

Names have been changed to protect the identity of those referenced in this column.