Parliament is in recess. As a Governor of the Westminster Foundation for Democracy, I am off to Uganda to undertake political capacity building there. It is my annual attempt to assist in building parliamentary accountability and good governance. I am also looking forward to spending time in West Suffolk.
Normal blogging will resume when Parliament re-assembles.
One of the defining characteristics of Britain that is often mentioned by visitors from abroad, apart from our obsession with the weather, is our national love of a good cup of tea. Even with the influx of trendy coffee chains like Starbucks, Café Nero and Coffee Republic that have taken over many of our high streets, they are still not close to rivalling the supremacy of the English cuppa.
Reports now show that the price of tea has fallen considerably, to the point where it now costs approximately a penny a cup. This is a quarter of what it cost thirty years ago and has been attributed to global overproduction, a weak dollar and supermarkets fiercely competing with each other. Whilst this may be good news when you go down to buy a packet of PG tips or Twining’s Earl Grey, it does have repercussions on the producers of tea.
Tea is often grown in some of the poorest countries in the world and provides local people with a chance to earn money and support their families. In Uganda, for example, it is the third-largest export and it appears that in many countries more and more people are planting tea to earn a living leading to excess supply on the markets and a fall in prices. I shall be in Uganda next month.
It is a difficult situation for many who rely on tea for their livelihood and it is something to bear in mind whenever we hear the immortal words “Shall I put the kettle on?”.
When this Government tends to abolish things, many of us are justifiably concerned and speak out publicly over the loss of many of our freedoms – for examples, the right to be tried by a jury, the right to protest, the right to be brought before a court if you are charged with a criminal offence.
However, on this occasion, I welcome the Government’s plans in principle to abolish the East of England Regional Assembly, unaffectionately known as EERA. This bureaucracy has made no actual difference to the day-to-day lives of people living in Suffolk and was simply yet another tier of government. We already have parish councils, town councils, district councils, county councils, and then to have EERA placed on top of all this has been a disaster.
My constituents and I have particular reason to be pleased at this news because EERA, for all its bureaucratic wrangling, did have powers relating to overseeing planning, investment and transport in the region. It was under this remit that I personally experienced one of the worst decisions made during my time as a Member of Parliament. The A11 which runs through my constituency has been classified as one of the most dangerous roads in the country, responsible for countless serious injuries and fatalities. One of the reasons is that it is currently only a single carriageway during one section of the road and I have been campaigning for the past decade to secure the Government funding to dual the road. Shockingly, at the end of 2005, EERA made a recommendation to the Government to push this scheme back by at least five years, without once informing me as the MP that this was their intention. I learned about it six months later when it was publicly announced by the Roads Minister. I was appalled that a project which was of vital importance to the safety of my constituents was simply sidelined without any consultation with directly elected representatives.
Many of the powers of EERA will be passed to the East of England Regional Development Agency and their Chairman, Richard Ellis has now stated that key schemes such as the A11 “will be an even higher priority”. This is welcome news for all those who use the road and I now welcome working together with all interested parties to make this a reality.
They say that lightning never strikes twice, and for that we should at least be grateful. The same it appears cannot be said for the floods. Once again, this weekend, many parts of the country have been disastrously affected by the torrential rain we have seen leading to the worst flooding in England in sixty years.
Thousands of people have been forced to flee their home with only their bare possessions as the rain blocked off roads, submerged cars and flooded houses.
Yet, in amongst all this chaos and confusion, the Government seem to have been at a loss. It is as if this was a complete bolt from the blue for them. It should not have been and it is negligence on their part if it was. There is a general consensus now that climate change is affecting global weather patterns and we have to accept this. Only a few months ago, people living in areas such as Sheffield were similarly affected by the heavy rain leading to floods.
The Met Office exists to collate, analyse and help to advise the Government on issues such as the type of the weather that can be expected, and organisations such as Environment Agency need to act swiftly on that advice. Adequate defence systems were not in place to ensure people were safely evacuated, nor were enough food and water supplies made available leading to looting and water shortages. People fighting in the aisles of supermarkets for bottled water is like something out of a Hollywood disaster movie.
This is deeply tragic for the people who have been affected. They know they will have to return eventually to try and rebuild their homes, but in the interim many have been left without guidance and assistance when they need it most.
It is simply not good enough. Lessons will have to be learnt by the Government, and acted upon, if we are to prevent scenes like this in the future.
When a Government says that they are introducing measures to restore people’s right to an affordable cost of living, it would usually be greeted with gratitude from the population as a sign of a compassion and consideration from their elected representatives.
However, when we take into account that this is Zimbabwe, the alarm bells begin to ring, and not without justification. Robert Mugabe’s rule in Zimbabwe, once one of the leading exporters in Africa, has led it to the brink of collapse. 4 million people living there are expected to go hungry next year as production has collapsed.
Mugabe imposed wide-ranging state price controls which threaten to wreak further havoc for the people of Zimbabwe. Shops are having to sell their goods for a tiny fraction of their true value, leading to widespread shortages of food. Supermarket shelves are empty, and black marketeers are selling the goods at vastly inflated prices. The plight of people in this country should be a concern for us all. Instead, we see Mugabe being invited to an EU Summit this year. William Hague, Shadow Foreign Secretary was absolutely right to call this a ‘disgrace’ and it is time for the new Prime Minister to take a much tougher line in dealing with this heartless and mindless regime.
The people of Zimbabwe deserve so much better. The former breadbasket of Africa is now a basket case. It is truly appalling that a number of the country’s neighbours are so unwilling to be openly critical. Apart from the Zimbabwean people themselves, it is they who are having to deal with the tragic consequences.
Whatever one’s view is of the European Union, it is regrettable that successive British governments have not told the truth about treaties, inter-governmental conferences and the like. At least if there was an honest debate, it would dispel any false impressions, whether one favours these developments or not.
It is truly incredible that by excising the word constitution, somehow the essential elements of the constitution are meant to disappear. It was Giscard d’Estaing who drove on the process towards a constitutional treaty. He has now confirmed, along with virtually every other European leader, that the old constitution is alive and well, and simply re-phrased. It is real Alice in Wonderland stuff. Once again a British Government has failed to set out its stall, or a clear vision of the future architecture of the EU, and then fought for it.
Yet, so far at least, the public appear not to be too passionate, on this occasion, about what has happened. At best, the constitution is a voyage into irrelevance as the EU grapples with problems which pale into insignificance compared with the huge challenge Europe faces in the 21st Century. All very strange indeed.
Paddy Ashdown assembled a remarkable group of very well informed individuals to consider our continuing role in Iraq. They rejected a specific timetable for withdrawal and placed considerable emphasis on training Iraqis for policing and military purposes.
On yesterday’s NewsMax internet site, run by Chris Ruddy, an article in one of the conservative billionaire Richard Scaife’s newspapers has called for the withdrawal of American troops. This is hugely significant. This internet site is one with considerable influence in Republican circles. President Bush’s mental stability is questioned. It really is astonishing stuff.
President Bush was regarded as a good governor of Texas, but the advice he received from his neo-conservative advisers and supporters was not exactly soundly based in retrospect. Where are they now? Iraq cost Tory Blair his job more than anything else, and it has cost President Bush his reputation.
We cannot let this blind us to the crucial importance of the constructive engagement of the United States in the world, and our country’s role in securing this.
London is undoubtedly one of the great capital cities of the world, if not the greatest. Its diversity of people, of businesses and services and vast range of museums, galleries, theatres and green spaces give it an endless fascination for both vistors and residents. Samuel Johnson was quite right when he said “When a man is tired of London, he is tired of life.”
It deserves better than the present Mayor of London, Ken Livingstone. A man who has in the past seven years hugely increased the burearacy of the people working within his headquarters at City Hall. Furthermore, he has introduced innovations such as the notorious “bendy buses” which have been criticised for being environmentally unfriendly, a danger to pedestrians as well as the fact they known are known to many as “free buses” due to the lack of a designated conductor and the ability to simply hop on and off at doors away from the driver. His remarks have offended our Jewish community at a difficult time for them.
Any of the field of Conservative candidates that have put themselves forward for the mayoralty could do the job better than Ken, but as nominations closed at 12 noon yesterday, the name on everybody’s lips was Boris. Such is the popularity and personal appeal of the blond, often dishevelled, MP for Henley that he is known simply as Boris by large sections of the population. His frequent TV appearances and gaffes have only increased his attraction to the electorate at large.
I found his name being frequently mentioned in my constituency at the weekend. All in all it will make for a lively contest, and enable Ken Livingstone to spend more time in countries like Cuba and Venezuala.
And I think Boris, if elected, would thoroughly enjoy himself, as we would too.
One of the pleasures of a weekend in Suffolk is 34 years old – a 1973 Rover 3.5 litre coupe, zircon blue, with buckskin leather upholstery. Incredibly the car has only done just over 58,000 miles. It was the last year of its manufacture, had a modified General Motors V8 engine; the model was used by Harold Wilson and Margaret Thatcher. It is indeed a great, if not expensive, pleasure to drive.
Driving back from Newmarket towards Bury St Edmunds on Saturday morning, the water decided to part company with the radiator. I pulled over on to the verge of the A14, and rang the AA. It was all very efficient. I was told it would be a priority call out. There wasn’t an easy place to sit on the motorway embankment, not least because of all the nettles. However, it was over an hour before assistance arrived, not in the form of a yellow AA van, but a sub-contractor. He was very cheery and helpful but told me that the numbers of AA and RAC personnel had been dramatically reduced in favour of businesses like his. There was no inspection of the Rover; it was unceremoniously hauled on to the top of his vehicle, and we drove to a local garage. We had a nice chat about politics en route.
Watching the A14 traffic was about all I could do that morning. Two Volvo Suffolk Constabulary estate cars sped by on the opposite side, there was a group of leather clad bikers, container lorries heading towards Felixstowe, a small convoy of 1960s Volkswagen Kombis and the occasional ambulance. The sheer volume of traffic was extraordinary.
I now wait to hear from the garage. Things do go wrong with the car from time to time, and the dashboard instruments are very erratic. But when, as often happens, people at filling stations ask if they can buy the car from me, I am afraid the answer is Not for Sale, even at £1 per each very rapidly consumed litre of petrol. In the absence of owning a stately home myself, it really is my own stately home on wheels.
This week I gave lunch to two councillors and an ex-councillor from my constituency, at the House of Commons. I was asked what was the thing I enjoyed most about being a Member of Parliament – not for the first time.
It is true that here every day is different, and that you also have a ringside seat at the heart of the nation’s political process. You also meet extraordinary people, from unsung heroes in your own constituency to the great and the good. I recently met the brilliantly articulate Bill Clinton, and also Gerhard Schroder, who tells stories of his political life with terrific panache and good humour.
However it is the constituency which is the most satisfying not least because you can directly make an impact on people’s lives. For example, yesterday I wrote to the new Health Secretary, Alan Johnson, pleading with him to speed up a decision about the future of Newmarket Hospital in my constituency. The hospital fulfils all the criteria the government favours, something admitted to me by his predecessor, Patricia Hewitt, in our various meetings. However, what with a change of Prime Minister and a Cabinet reshuffle, things have been on hold. It will certainly be a very happy day for me if we can get what my constituents really want. To put it mildly, after all the campaigning, I am on tenterhooks, because I know how much the decision means to the people who elected me, and indeed to their Parliamentary representative.
