Richard Spring MP
Member of Parliament for West Suffolk

Some believe it is the European Union that has kept the peace in Europe, others believe it is NATO. Of course there is a considerable overlap between the two in respect of members.

What surely is undisputable is that the European Union collectively suffers from much diminished authority in the world because many of its members will not spend money on defence. The NATO-led force in Afghanistan has brought this into sharp relief, where member states basically decline to put their troops into areas of high danger: Canadian, American and British troops are most at risk.

A number of European politicians who argue most passionately for a common European foreign and defence policy will not argue for additional defence expenditure in their own countries. The ambitious plans of some for a common defence policy have in practice cooled somewhat, but the rhetoric is still well ahead of the reality.

The one institution in our national life which remains so cherished and admired, and which is really so professional, is our armed forces. I make no broader point except to say that we have every right to keep our distance from the pan – European military dream machine when we see how pathetically some of our neighbours have been conducting themselves in Afghanistan. Let us take due note. 

In 1994 the Westminster Foundation for Democracy was established, to help the new democracies of Eastern Europe create institutions and structures which would perpetuate their hard won freedoms. Today we do democracy building work in Africa, the Middle East and elsewhere.

There are political and independent governors. One former governor, Professor Mary Kaldor, once told me that in all her considerable experience, newly established democracy could not be sustained and embedded without supporting structures in civil society, and the acceptance of those structures by the people. In other words, getting the vote was only part of the picture. The notion that all you need to do is have an election and declare that democracy is established is simply not enough.

WFD Governors travel to some difficult parts of the world to offer help and guidance in a practical way. As we reflect on events of the last few years, and the incredible naïveté that surrounded them, a speech in the Commons by my fellow WFD Governor, Gary Streeter MP, excellently made the point. Whether it is Rome, Baghdad, Kabul or Kathmandu – none were built in a day, however much we would wish otherwise.

You can read Gary Streeter’s speech by following the link below:

http://pubs1.tso.parliament.uk/pa/cm200607/cmhansrd/cm061122/debtext/61122-0014.htm#06112238001008 

It has been said of this Government that they have appointed more tsars than there were in the history of the Imperial Russian family. We even had a drugs tsar who parted company with the Government in rather acrimonious circumstances.

The Home Office now tell us that the criminal market in drugs generates £4.5 billion, that drugs-related crime costs us £12 billion, and that cocaine usage in England and Wales is virtually the highest in Europe. Now the Magistrates’ Association has stepped in to complain of the very muddled message about drugs which the Government is sending out.

Ecstasy consumption has apparently fallen somewhat. Is this something to do with the well reported deaths of young people who have taken ecstasy? I suspect so. If you turn on the radio or television, you get messages about preventing heart attacks, fire in the home, or drinking and driving. There are even threats about either the obese or smokers being denied treatment on the NHS.

Yet where are the warning messages about taking drugs, and their often terrible health consequences? Or clarity from the Government on drugs classifications? Drugs abuse is about wrecking people’s lives, and that of their families; it is at the heart of so much of youth crime. If ever there was a case for joined up government, it is between our initiative – crazed Home Office and our (“you’ve never had it so good”) Department of Health. We fail to put our collective minds to this problem at our peril.

The murder of Alexander Litvinenko is indeed murky. My son, who is studying Russian at university, tells me that two years ago he invited Mr Litvinenko to be a guest at the school’s Slav Society. What he remembers most about the visit was the passionate attachment which the former Russian spy had for this country, and his gratitude at being allowed to live here. He said he flew a Union flag outside his house.

We have a proud tradition of giving asylum to people whose lives are at risk in their home countries. It is light years away from the bureaucratic confusions that surround economic migrants versus genuine asylum seekers. In the public’s mind there is a clear distinction which in recent years has been muddied by the failure of this Government to deal with the flagrant abuses in the current system. 

When the National Lottery was launched it was designed to fund those areas of our national life, like sport, which had been under-resourced. Yes, it did good things like help to pay for the beautiful tower at St Edmundsbury Cathedral, and bad things like the ridiculous Dome.

Today childhood obesity is a huge talking point. Over the years, we have seen less sport in schools, school swimming pools have been closed, as well as a shortage of PE teachers.

Whilst I am delighted that we got the Olympic bid for 2012, the spiralling costs threaten local sports projects. Ken Livingstone is having a blazing public row with the Culture Secretary Tessa Jowell. The Treasury failed to budget for the VAT bill accurately.

It is appalling incompetence, entirely typical and predictable. Regrettably as the Government scuttles around trying to find the money it failed to budget for, it will be those vital and valuable less grandiose sports projects that will suffer. 

The policy that if you are living in an area where people are healthier, you should receive less money may sound reasonable until you look at the consequences. If the good burghers of Sedgefield are getting 37% more per capita on NHS spending than people in Suffolk, then you could feel confident that they would not be at the receiving end of a health service financial crisis.

The destruction of community hospitals in the name of modernisation has little to do with patient care, but more to do with financial constraints. In West Suffolk, however, such was the absurdity of a consultation exercise to remove beds at our local community hospitals that now the new Suffolk PCT will reconsider the problem. Hooray!

Do you remember Tony Blair saying that there was 24 hours to save the NHS? Instead it is being ravaged in many parts of the country, and saddled with debts impossible to repay without cuts. Of course patients come first, but let us spare a thought for all those wonderful nurses, doctors and ancillary workers in our hospitals and in our communities who face a very bleak and insecure winter indeed. 

Having written a report on the Financial Services Authority nearly two years ago, it is good to know how committed the FSA has become to principles-based regulation. There has been progress, most recently recognised by the Association of British Insurers. Given the supreme importance of the financial services industry to the British economy, it is vital that it thrives and prospers.

It is interesting how the public understands its importance. For example, NASDAQ, based in New York, is trying to buy our Stock Exchange. It would only be a source of concern to most if that involved our having to be subject to US regulation. Given the mobility of the industry, financial businesses are moving to London, and away from New York. The US regulatory environment is regarded as oppressive. The US Treasury Secretary has warned of its consequences.

Isn’t it ironic that the United States, a beacon of free enterprise, has gone down a regulatory route which is demonstrably backfiring? We are the beneficiaries, but let us not be complacent. Soon the level of sophistication in a city like Shanghai may begin to look compellingly attractive. And so much Brussels-think is wedded to a social model increasingly irrelevant in our globalised market place.

We need to remain very much on our guard. In the meanwhile, what is America’s loss is our gain. 

Many primary producers are benefiting from high mineral and other product prices. We have seen these movements before but it would be unwise to believe that the high prices will last forever. Ultimately it is countries which can embrace and deploy state of the art technology and its applications which will succeed – it will be the great divide of our time.

Harold Wilson captured the imagination of people with his talk of the white heat of the technological revolution. In retrospect, this was nothing more than a good line. Equally, when Tony Blair launched the Lisbon process to bring Europe to the forefront of the knowledge economy, in practice, no such thing happened. It typically sounded good at the time but rumour had it that he had yet to send an email which is quite believable.

George Osborne made a speech last week which is critical reading. Firstly, he wrote it himself. Secondly, he has captured the reality of the world we now inhabit. In contrast to the soufflé speeches of Messrs Wilson and Blair, it has real depth.

Please read it by following the link below:

 http://www.georgeosborne.co.uk/shadow_news.php?id=21

Incredibly, it appears that poisoned umbrellas have given way to poisoned sushi….plus ca change.

Watching the magnificent escapism of the film Casino Royale at the weekend, I could not help but recall my own non-involvement with the security services. There was a don in my college at Cambridge who allegedly did the recruiting (no, the Soviet recruiting was many years before!). Several of my friends were invited to his rooms to discuss their future over a glass of sherry. I never was – much to my then disappointment.

After the end of the Cold War, intelligence gathering became increasingly dependent on sophisticated technology like high vision photography. Regrettably, human intelligence gathering in some of the recent hotspots has been virtually non-existent. In this vacuum, hugely misleading information was dispensed about Saddam Hussein’s capabilities by certain Iraqi exiles.

Our intelligence services are now vitally important again, as we confront new forms of terrorism. They need adequate resourcing but what they also need to know is that politicians will never again bend their assessments to justify the politicians’ objectives. If we are to deploy our armed forces again based on intelligence assessments, the British people must be assured that these assessments are totally unspun. 

When Tony Blair talked about a clunking fist in the Queen’s Speech debate, everybody, including John Prescott – laughed.

Two years ago, I was behind the Deputy Prime Minister in a queue in the House of Commons tea room.   He very menacingly turned around and asked “Why do you persecute me?”   I assured him that I did not do so, had never done so, and had no idea what he was talking about.  It transpired that he thought that I was my Parliamentary colleague, Andrew Robathan, who has indeed greatly interested himself in John Prescott’s various perks.

A year later, Tory and Labour MPs were voting together in the division lobby when a particularly ferocious looking John Prescott inched past me.  He looked as if were about to practice his clunking fist on me so I quickly said “please do not hit me”.  His reply “Don’t worry it’s the other officer type I am after” was something of a relief.

Regrettably, for the enjoyment of the nation, he will not be succeeding Tony Blair.  I can also confidently predict that David Cameron will never receive a knock-out blow from Gordon Brown (we presume) either.  Or even John Reid.  The story may not be quite over yet…..