Monthly Archives: May 2009

Sad day for Parliament

Posted on May 19, 2009 | 1 Comment

A sad, but momentous day. 

 At 2.30 pm, the Speaker took the chair and made a short statement:

 Mr. Speaker: Since I came to this House 30 years ago, I have always felt that the House is at its best when it is united. In order that unity can be maintained, I have decided that I will relinquish the office of Speaker on Sunday 21 June. This will allow the House to proceed to elect a new Speaker on Monday 22 June. That is all I have to say on this matter.

Like many Members, I had deep concerns about the continued presence of Michael Martin in the chair.  I was desperately worried that we had days, or even weeks, of dissent ahead of us, culminating in the ignominious ejection of the Speaker – an event that had not occurred for over 300 years.

 As it was, he left quietly and with a certain amount of dignity intact.

 I felt deeply sorry for him.

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Posted in Mr Speaker

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Professional requirement

Posted on May 19, 2009 | Leave a comment

Listening to Andrew Lansley explaining Conservative dental policy on Today this morning, I heard him say: “Clearly, dentists will need to have open access.” 

Quite right, too; in fact, it’s hard to see how they could manage without it.

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Posted in Trivia

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“In the name of God, go!”

Posted on May 18, 2009 | 3 Comments

When Sir Patrick Cormack rises to make a point of order, the House takes notice.

Today, on his 70th birthday, he felt constrained to do so:

Sir Patrick Cormack (South Staffordshire) (Con): Further to that point of order, Mr. Speaker. The times that we are living in are unprecedented, as far as Parliament is concerned. What is at stake is the institution of Parliament and its integrity. May I just say that I very much hope that you will take account of the fact that profound concern is voiced in the motion that is to go down tomorrow? May I ask you to bear in mind that the condition of the House today is rather like the condition of the country at the time of the Norway debate, and could you reflect on that?

The Norway debate is well known to Parliamentarians as the debate that saw off Neville Chamberlain.  It is famous for Leo Amery’s quotation of Oliver Cromwell:

You have sat too long here for any good you have been doing. Depart, I say, and let us have done with you. In the name of God, go!

Coming, as it did, from arguably the most respected member of the House, Cormack’s intervention was the Parliamentary equivalent of an Exocet.  Its damage to the Speaker remains to be assessed.

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Posted in expenses, Mr Speaker

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Only an election will do

Posted on May 18, 2009 | 1 Comment

The Speaker’s statement has not, I fear, settled the issue.  His announcement that he will confer with the party leaders over the next 48 hours, with a view to discussing reforms to the expenses system was, to use an over-employed cliché that is for once the only way of putting it, much too little and far too late. 

I have spent most of today on the telephone, speaking to constituents.  By and large, they were people who would not normally bother their MP, but they were both seriously angry at the conduct displayed by certain Members and seriously concerned about the constitutional health of their country.  They want it put right.  Put simply, they want a decent Parliament.

The Speaker this afternoon tried to contend that Douglas Carswell’s motion of no confidence, which was tabled earlier today, was merely an EDM, i.e. a motion not to be debated.  That caused real anger within the House.  He then backtracked and conceded that it could be debated, but only at a time of the Government’s choosing.

This means that the ball is back in Gordon Brown’s court.  He will have to decide whether to allow Parliamentary time for the motion to be debated.  This is one decision he cannot funk; even he, surely, must be aware of the anger both within and outside Parliament.

But this is a wholly poisonous state of affairs.  In reality, even if the Speaker goes, it will be almost impossible for the people’s confidence in Parliament to be restored in the twelve months that remain of its constitutional span.

The only way to begin to address this foul, appalling mess is to defer to the will of the British electorate.  They have been affronted and they have been let down; they now deserve to be heard and to deliver their judgment.

The Prime Minister, in all honour, must call a general election without delay.

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Posted in expenses, Gordon Brown

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Talented menagerie

Posted on May 18, 2009 | Leave a comment

Scanning the BBC News website whilst waiting for Mr Speaker’s statement this afternoon, I did a double-take when I saw the headline: Bear prepared for new Chief Scout role. 

Closer inspection revealed that congratulations are due to Mr Grylls on his appointment as Chief Scout of the United Kingdom.

 The experience reminded me of the famous 1970s headline: Salmon appointed to Court of Appeal.

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Posted in Trivia

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Don’t forget Lisbon

Posted on May 17, 2009 | 2 Comments

Lost though it sometimes seems amid the continuing wall-to-wall coverage of MPs’ expenses, the European election campaign continues. 

On Friday, I was out on the stump with our excellent Welsh lead candidate, Kay Swinburne.  I found voters concerned, and quite properly, about the continued and relentless accretion of power to the opaque institution of the European Commission.

Specifically, thoughtful electors are appalled that the Government, which had made a manifesto commitment to a referendum before ratifying the proposed European constitution, abandoned that pledge when the Constitution was recast as the Treaty of Lisbon.  They want their vote and are furious that Labour won’t let them have it.

The Conservative party has made it clear that it will give the British people a referendum on the Treaty if it has not been ratified by the time of the next general election.  That is part of the reason the EU is desperate to hustle the Irish into a second referendum (they didn’t get it right last time, you see) as quickly as possible.  A UK referendum that came down against Lisbon, which would be the most likely result, would really screw things up in Brussels.

John Redwood has a typically incisive and intelligent blog post on the Conservative options on Lisbon here.  I strongly recommend you to read it.

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Posted in Treaty of Lisbon

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That plonker feeling

Posted on May 16, 2009 | 2 Comments

North Wales PoliceAn intensely depressing story in this morning’s Mail.

Police officers in North Wales have been instructed to patrol in plain clothes,  in an effort to book people for dropping litter. This is perhaps surprising, given the prevalence of more serious crimes that concern so many people.

What is worse, when they do nab a litter lout, they have to radio a community support officer to issue the fixed penalty notice, because, for some obscure reason, they don’t have the power to do so themselves.

It is hardly surprising, in the circumstances, that Richard Eccles, North Wales Police Federation general secretary, says that the reluctant undercover bobbies are made to feel like “plonkers”.

Moreover, despite the Home Office’s assurances that police targets are being reduced so as to give officers more professional discretion, this does not extend to littering.  Richard Eccles explained:

“The Home Secretary was talking about removing some of the targets and performance indicators at the [Federation] conference, but as she was speaking a colleague received a BlackBerry message saying he had to make sure his team issue 200 tickets for littering by the end of 2009.”

Mr Eccles says that the police are fed up with dealing with minor crimes, which should be left to the council, leaving officers to tackle more serious offences such as burglaries, violent assault and theft.

He is, of course, entirely right.  Litter is a dreadful nuisance, but it is not a problem that demands the priority attention of fully-qualified police officers, particularly when resources are already so stretched.

Last year, I questioned the Home Office Minister, Vernon Coaker, on the floor of the House about the Federation’s survey Perception is Reality, which identified a worrying  incidence of low morale among North Wales officers caused, chiefly, by the target-chasing performance culture within the force.

In response, the Minister said:

The hon. Gentleman… will know of the measures that we are taking to reduce bureaucracy, not least the appointment of Jan Berry as the reducing bureaucracy champion. Furthermore, the hon. Gentleman will know of the confidence measures that we are taking to reduce the number of targets and to have a single force area target. No doubt all those measures will be welcomed in north Wales, as they have been across the rest of the country.”

That was over six months ago.  Commenting on the Minister’s answer, I blogged:

If those measures do work, they will certainly be welcomed. However, if the Federation survey is anything to go by, they’re not working yet.  At least, not in North Wales.

It seems that, notwithstanding Vernon Coaker’s optimism, the target culture remains in full and enthusiastic operation in North Wales.

Time, I think, for me to raise the question again.

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Posted in North Wales Police

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Swine ‘flu hotline

Posted on May 16, 2009 | 1 Comment

Feeling (understandably, I hope) somewhat depressed by the last seven days’ news, I went yesterday evening to a concert at Abergele hospital, given by Côr Meibion Betws-yn-Rhos.  I left two hours later feeling thoroughly cheered up.  There is no sound on Earth more uplifting than that produced by a top-class Welsh male voice choir.

The choir’s resident wag, Gareth Davies, told the audience that he had tried that morning to call the Government’s new swine ‘flu hotline.

“It didn’t work,” he sighed.  “All I got was crackling.”

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Posted in Miscellaneous

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Healthansafety corner

Posted on May 16, 2009 | 4 Comments

Good to see that the British healthansafety industry is continuing its onward march, undaunted by the challenges of the recession.

The BBC News website informs us that 10 schools a week are switching from knotted to clip-on ties:

The Schoolwear Association, the trade body for the school uniform industry, has been identifying this year’s trends.

The emergence of clip-on ties is part of a growing sensitivity towards health and safety, says the association, along with modifications such as high-visibility trimming on scarves.

Clip-on ties take away the risk of pupils having accidents with their knotted ties.

Schools have raised concerns about ties catching fire in science lessons, getting trapped in technology equipment or ties getting caught when pupils were running.

It is impossible to overstate the hazards inherent in the frivolous and quite unnecessary practice of tie-wearing; indeed, I am surprised and disappointed  that the Schoolwear Association hasn’t gone the whole hog and consigned the otiose bourgeois guttural adornment to the dustbin of sartorial history.  

Opting for a clip-on, frankly, is nothing more than a cop-out.

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Posted in health and safety

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Plaid’s alternative reality

Posted on May 15, 2009 | 7 Comments

Yesterday’s launch of Plaid Cymru’s European election manifesto sounds to have been a most entertaining affair.

Plaid’s leader in the Assembly, Ieuan Wyn Jones, said (accurately) that Labour were in “meltdown”: 

“Gordon Brown’s disastrous handling of the economy, coupled with the Treasury cuts into the Welsh budgets with more savage cuts to follow in the next few years, will leave Wales badly exposed.”

To which one might reasonably enquire: “Quite right, Wyn; but, since Labour are so manifestly incompetent, why do you continue to prop them up in Cardiff?”

Indeed, that query was put to Mr Jones, to which he responded: 

“You can have coalition politics at one level and yet be fighting each other at different levels.”

 Ah yes, of course.  Silly me.

 In fact, in Plaid’s alternative reality, you can fight each other on issues of fundamental policy and yet happily remain members of the same party:

 The manifesto underscores Plaid’s “total opposition to the construction of any new nuclear power stations in Wales”.

However, Mr [Adam] Price declined to say that Plaid would try to stop one being built on the site of the Wylfa reactor in Mr Jones’s Anglesey constituency, claiming this was a Westminster decision.

Regular readers will recall that in July last year, Mr Jones declared, as trenchantly as imaginable, that::

“My priority as the local Assembly Member for Ynys Môn has always been to safeguard jobs on the island and if yesterday’s announcement is a step towards securing a future for Wylfa then that is good news.”

Why, then, as Plaid Cymru’s leader, is he allowing a manifesto to be published setting out policies that he doesn’t support?   Policies that, in fact, he obviously considers to be complete nonsense?

Nothing, I suppose, to do with the fact that he has to placate  the likes of anti-nuclear supporters such as Leanne Wood, despite knowing full well that Wylfa B has massive support on Anglesey?

A few days ago, I accused Plaid of opportunism; a Plaid blogger posted a comment objecting to that accusation.

I fear that this post is going to upset him again.

Tough.

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Posted in Ieuan Wyn Jones, Plaid Cymru

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Rhodri’s logic

Posted on May 12, 2009 | 3 Comments

rhodri morganThe strange logic of Rhodri Morgan manifested itself again today.

Quoted in the Western Mail, the Welsh First Minister pronounced that:

“Coalition government [in Cardiff] looks like the norm 50% of the time, with one-party Labour administration always possible as an outcome in Wales, but more likely to be achieved when there are Tory governments in Westminster.”

In the first respect, Mr Morgan is correct.  Labour created the Welsh Assembly as a fiefdom that would preserve its sway in Cardiff, whatever the outcome of a general election.  Labour, they thought, would always hold Wales, come what may.

As it turned out, one-party rule in Cardiff coincided with Labour’s high-water mark nationally.  As Tony Blair’s popularity waned, so Labour were obliged to seek coalition partners in the Assembly.

Labour are very unlikely to enjoy 1997 levels of popularity again for some considerable time; consequently, coalition is, as Rhodri says, likely to be a normal state of affairs in Cardiff.

However, to suggest that a Conservative victory in a general election will be good for Labour in Cardiff is bizarre indeed.  

The people of Wales don’t inhabit another planet; the political tide will move there, to a greater or lesser extent, just as it does in the rest of the country.

Rhodri’s bizarre thesis, however, is that, while  the rest of the country is turning Tory, the Welsh electorate will decide, perversely, to do the very opposite and  back an unpopular Labour party.  In fact, more Conservative MPs across the country as a whole  will also mean more Conservative MPs in Wales and, very likely, more Conservative  Assembly members, too. 

So Rhodri had better get used to coalitions.  Furthermore, he should come to terms with the fact that Labour may not form part of them. 

There is no reason at all why opposition for Labour at Westminster should not go hand in hand with opposition in Cardiff Bay.

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Posted in Labour Party, Rhodri Morgan, Welsh Assembly Government

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The Augean stables

Posted on May 12, 2009 | 3 Comments

Attended a packed Parliamentary party meeting in Portcullis House, when David Cameron presented his proposals to address the expenses issue. 

Outside the room, the press pack was encamped, reminding me of Siberian wolves waiting to pull down the weakest elks of the herd.  The feeding frenzy is still in full swing. 

The plans outlined by Cameron are simple and robust. Some colleagues will be required to return all or part of past claims; all Members will have to post claims on the web as and when they are made; questionable claims will be referred to the adjudication of a scrutiny panel, whose decision will be final.  Failure to accept the panel’s ruling will mean losing the whip and hence the opportunity to stand at the next election. 

Claims will be limited, essentially, to what is reasonably required to provide Members with a second home – as Cameron put it, to what is reasonable to do the job, not the maximum they can get away with. 

Most importantly, the practice of “flipping”, which is generally regarded as the most repugnant practice to have been disclosed over the past few days, will be outlawed.

David Cameron showed strong, sound leadership today and he has the party behind him.  The plans he announced are not the final word on the issue – we must wait for Kelly – but they should reassure electors that the Conservative party is taking their disgust over the abuse of the expenses system very seriously indeed and is determined to put matters right.

 We must hope, for the sake of Parliament’s reputation, that the leaders of the other major parties will now follow suit.

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Posted in David Cameron, Parliament

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Privilege

Posted on May 12, 2009 | 2 Comments

Yesterday the select committee visited Bangor and took evidence for our digital inclusion inquiry at the new Technium in Parc Menai.

It was a particularly interesting session, made all the more enjoyable by the glorious weather: a stunning May day, warm and balmy, with a clear blue sky.  The Technium itself is an impressive modern building set in manicured parkland against the backdrop of the Snowdonia foothills; the weather showed it  to best advantage.

Because I have a statutory instrument committee today, I had to travel back to London last night.  I took the evening train, changing at Chester and arriving at Euston shortly before 10.00.  The journey was a delight, the fields lushly green and the hedgerows heavy with hawthorn blossom.

I turned on the BBC news when I got back to the flat; still wall-to-wall coverage of MPs’ expenses; our reputation continues to be damaged, our credibility undermined.  I could have felt almost terminally depressed.

And yet, I felt that I had undertaken a long day’s work, contributing to a report I hope will be valuable, with the added pleasure of meeting erudite, interesting people.  I had rounded it off with an evening’s journey though our beautiful countryside at the very best time of year.

This job is not easy, but it is, I believe, important and valuable; it is an absolute privilege to be elected to do it.  Nobody should ever take that privilege for granted.

And, despite the current poisonous political climate, I, for one, wouldn’t want to do anything else.

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Posted in Parliament, Welsh Affairs Committee

Brown’s comfort blanket

Posted on May 10, 2009 | Leave a comment

Brown Mandelson

Speculation continues that Gordon Brown is planning a major cabinet reshuffle after the Euro elections.  Commentators seem confident that Jacqui Smith and Hazel Blears will be sacked or demoted and that Ed Balls will replace Alistair Darling as Chancellor.  Time will tell.

The Telegraph, however, delivers an interesting insight into the Prime Minister’s strange and recently-developed reliance on the Business Secretary, Peter Mandelson:

Some reports have suggested that Lord Mandelson, the Business Secretary, could be made Foreign Secretary.

However, Government sources say that is “very unlikely” because of the extensive international travel the job involves.

Mr Brown relies on Lord Mandelson as a close political adviser, and would not want such trusted ally to be out of the country frequently in the months before a general election.

Given that we live in an age of ubiquitous telecommunications and internet coverage, this is surprising; there, after all, is scarcely any part of the world where Mandelson couldn’t be contacted in a matter of minutes.

The relationship between Brown and Mandelson was once so toxic that, by all accounts, they barely spoke for several years.

However, it would appear that Brown now feels so vulnerable that he has taken to using Mandelson as a comfort blanket that must be kept within arm’s reach at all times.

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Posted in Gordon Brown, Peter Mandelson

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Waiting for Kelly

Posted on May 10, 2009 | 5 Comments

To morning service at St Paul’s. 

The other members of the congregation are very kind, saying how awful the expenses issue must be for us.  We appreciate their support; the problem is that the stuff that is coming out in the papers is having the effect of tarring every MP, the innocent as well as the guilty, with the same brush. 

People understand fully that MPs need somewhere to live in London, but find it unacceptable that they should go out of their way to milk the expenses system.  The practice of “flipping” – switching designated second homes to maximise benefits – comes in for particular condemnation, and rightly, too.  Members who have engaged in that have a lot of explaining to do.

Reading the Sundays, which are in the middle of a full-blown feeding frenzy, one might reasonably gain the impression that every single elector wants the blood of every single MP.  My experience at St Paul’s today tells me that they are a lot more grown-up than that.  What they want is proper representation in Westminster by people they can trust.  They can understand the need for Members to charge reasonable expenses, but can’t accept institutionalised shysterism.

The fact is that some MPs have let all of us, and our electors, down.  It can’t go on like this.  Kelly must report as quickly as possible.

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Posted in Parliament

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