Richard Spring MP
Member of Parliament for West Suffolk

If there is one thing that Liberal Democrats are good at, it is by-election campaigning. Their unapologetic ruthlessness is at times breathtaking. So it is instructive to know what they are up to in the Ealing Southall by-election.

Like many other Parliamentary colleagues, I have been there to deliver leaflets or canvass. The Liberal Democrats’ literature, at least what I saw, is all about Iraq. It is directed at the nearly 50% of the electorate which is Asian. However, I fear the moment may have passed. It is perfectly obvious that Gordon Brown is intent on withdrawing our troops as quickly as he can, without making it too too obvious.

Media comments about Liberal Democrats are very Ming-centric. But there is a greater underlying reality – we are back increasingly to two party politics; and the Liberals are so obviously being squeezed into greater and greater irrelevance. Meanwhile disaffected councillors locally are defecting to the Tories, who have an exceptional candidate.

No doubt the Liberal Democrats will characteristically try to trash him. However, I have a feeling that their campaign will not wash this time. We may well be in for something of a surprise.

At Gordon Brown’s instigation, Union flags are fluttering all over Westminster and Whitehall.  It is to define our Britishness.  It is curiously self-conscious.  Britishness is not so much about the impact of the extraordinary history of these islands, or our historic adventures abroad, but about openness and tolerance it would seem.

But fairness is also supposedly a distinguishing British characteristic.  The fact is that there are parts of the United Kingdom doing very well out of the Exchequer – namely Scotland.  My constituents see our Scottish compatriots getting 40% more per head in public spending.  Ask any doctor who moves south of the border.

Yet we are told by Jack Straw that even alluding to the Barnett formula, which now so favours the Scots, gets us into “dangerous territory”.  It is not clear to my constituents where fairness comes into this.  It may have more to do with all those Scottish MPs, like the Prime Minister.  They can set down policies for us; we cannot do the same for them.

I think as we watch those fluttering flags, we are entitled to make this point.

This was the line coined by John K Galbraith, and it is undoubtedly true that today people will not put up with this.  People want their creature comforts: if you go into a major supermarket it is immaculate and well presented, so the same expectations hold elsewhere.

I criticised BAA recently on this blog for squalid conditions at Heathrow.  They did write to me to their credit.  Yes, there are huge pressures, but there is no excuse for filthy carpeting on the top the luggage carousels, or Customs signs that are very grubby too.

By contrast I went to the Passport Office in Victoria this morning.  Despite being hugely busy, the staff were efficient and helpful, and the whole process was made as agreeable as possible.  What a contrast.

The enormous country of Ukraine caught the world’s attention during the Orange Revolution. Political stability has eluded the country since then, but economic growth has been robust. Ukraine wants to be part of the European family of nations. Thousands of young Ukrainians study here and many others work in the City of London. If Ukraine succeeds then neighbouring countries like Belarus and Moldova may choose a similar path to success. We must help this country; its geopolitical significance is immense.

We launched the British Ukrainian Society (I am Chairman) in Kyiv last week, with the Foreign Minister and other dignitaries present. We ant to build the links between our two countries at every level. Here is my speech:

May I welcome you, on behalf of the directors of the British Ukrainian society, to the launch this evening. I am Richard Spring, Chairman of the new Society. May I thank all of you for coming, and on behalf of everybody present thank those who have helped organise this evening, notably Azra Zakir, Vladimir Granovski and his staff.

On independence Ukraine inherited a well educated workforce and a high technology base. It is blessed with rich soil which has produced large grain surpluses. It has coal reserves and heavy industry which is increasingly competitive. And on its march towards fully democratic institutions, the orange revolution caught the imagination of the world.

No country in Western Europe is more keen to promote the success of Ukraine than our own. Its geopolitical situation is fully recognised. The importance of Ukraine has been spoken about by our then Foreign Secretary, by our until recently Minister for Europe, who made a very successful and personally much enjoyed visit to Kiev, and Ukraine was specifically mentioned by David Cameron, the Leader of the Opposition, in a keynote speech about Europe which he made in Brussels.

So this is why the British Ukrainian Society has been formed. We have a clear set of objectives.

The Society will seek to strengthen ties between the United Kingdom and Ukraine. It will promote partnership between the Ukrainian community based in Britain (including British citizens of Ukrainian origin) and the British public.

Although focused on its membership both in Ukraine and the United Kingdom, it aims to increase the numbers of those people who understand the importance of promoting good British-Ukrainian relations.

By encouraging a wide range of ties between the United Kingdom and Ukraine, it expects to become an important resource for improved mutual understanding. The Society will, therefore, emphasise direct and personal links between the people and organisations of the two countries through:

The encouragement, organisation and sponsorship of a range of social, economic, trade, cultural, political and media programmes and exchanges:

The preparation and dissemination of education and information material
A strengthening of the bonds between resident, naturalised and British-born
Ukrainians on the one hand and the wider community on the other, enhancing the profile of the Ukrainian community and encouraging it to engage fully in British public life.

There are tens of thousands of Ukrainians living in Britain, from the post war generation to younger Ukrainians, working and studying here, all of whom greatly enriching our national life. We have established a board to reflect a range of experienced individuals committed to strengthening bilateral links at every level, in both countries.

We all believe that it is important to continue to embrace Ukraine into the European family of nations. Many of the States of Central and Eastern Europe were offered the prospect of membership of the EU & NATO as an ultimate reward for their pursuit of democratic and market reforms, but Ukraine received no such serious offer after it declared independence. This made the country’s transition harder. Today the EU considers Ukraine to be a priority partner country. It wants a fuller free trade deal with Ukraine after WTO entry. All of this is a spur to continuing market reforms as the relationship embraces economic, energy, policy and cultural co-operation. Ukraine’s role as an important transit country for Europe’s energy supplies cannot be overstated.  A successful Ukraine can be a role model to countries with particular difficulties like Belarus and Moldova.

This is a difficult time for the political process in Ukraine. But this Society is here for the long haul.  Friends are here in good times and bad.  We wait to see the outcome of elections most probably in September.  As I heard President Yushchenko say last week, the rule of law, freedom of speech, a free press are part of the European political culture which needs to be ingrained here.

The pursuit of EU membership is key to this.  There is no firm date, but an objective of the year 2020 is widely acknowledged.  This is a time of considerable change in those countries which have an impact on Ukraine either directly or indirectly – a new Prime Minister in Britain, a new President of France and relatively soon new Presidents in the USA and Russia.

I agree with the Foreign Minister when he said that Ukraine needs a positive sign of full prospective EU membership, and the setting down of the criteria for progress.

The drive for change is being led in many respects by the Ukrainian business community. Ferrexpo, the UK holding company that owns Ukraine’s largest iron ore exporter, began trading on 20 June on the London Stock Exchange. There will be other companies that will do this.  London is increasingly seen as the world capital of financial services. Young Ukrainians are doing very well professionally in London, including two of our Society’s directors.

I am so grateful to so many of you for coming. I hope many of you will become members.

We are enormously looking forward to strengthening links between the two countries as the Society evolves its programme of activities. We are wholly committed to the success of this venture and feel hugely optimistic about the future of our society.

One of the curious and sometimes unchallenged myths is that social reforms have been initiated by left-wingers only.

The book by William Hague on William Wilberforce is a cracking read, not least because it reminds us of a powerful thread in social reform in this country, notably evangelical Christianity. Wilberforce may have developed his religious faith as a reaction to the wild life led by many of his contemporaries, and Methodist influences. But it did form the basis of his own deeply held Christian beliefs, and spurred him on to attack the slave trade. Indeed throughout the nineteenth century it was this religious force which began to have a considerable impact on social attitudes; threads of which extended into the twentieth century.

More latterly much of this has been nationalised. The dysfunctionality of much of our society arguably arises out of this phenomenon. I wonder what today those pioneering evangelical Christians would make of what is increasingly described as our broken society. The evidence is there for all to see.

July is when most people would expect be getting out their sun-tan lotion, picnic baskets and heading out to soak up the summer sun. Whilst it has always been risky to plan outdoor events in Britain due to the capricious nature of the weather, holding a wedding or party outside from the end of June onwards was seen as a slightly safe bet. However, after experiencing the wettest June in history this year, with many parts of the country left with devastation from the floods resulting in a billion pounds worth of damage, most people have now rather given up on a glorious summer. Weather commentators are predicting that the rain could last well into August.

Once again, it brings us back to the issue of what is causing such stark changes in our weather patterns. It is not just a heavy shower these days, it is a torrential downpour of sometimes monsoon proportions. When the sun shines, it is not just warm, but rivals the temperatures in the Mediterranean. Everyone is now more aware of what they can do to help combat climate change and politicians are helping to raise the profile of the issue. Offsetting your carbon footprint is now relatively simple by looking on one of the many websites dedicating to reducing the level of carbon emissions. Most councils across the country have specific recycling policies to reduce reliance on environmentally damaging waste disposal sites. We can only hope this is enough to try to prevent further extremities in the future.

The advice to heed in terms of the weather in Britain for the foreseeable future seems to be “rely on the unreliable”.

Art and beauty don’t usually appear in the same sentence as corporate and funds. Many see them as two distinct and irreconcilable spheres.

Much has changed, however, in recent times. Modern art is now very much a thriving business thanks, in some part, to the partnerships which fostered during the Nineties between artists such as Damien Hirst, Tracey Emin and other Young British Artists and shrewd business-minded gallery owners and dealers such as Charles Saatchi and Jay Jopling. Evidence that this particular art bubble is very far from bursting was shown this week when Lucien Freud became the world’s most expensive living artist selling his portrait of his friend Bruce Bernard for £7.62 million. This record only lasted a single day until Damien Hirst sold his Lullaby Spring pill cabinet for £9.6 million at Sotheby’s.

Taken in context with the prices achieved this year for legendary names such as Warhol, Rothko and Bacon, and I am sure many investment funds that focus on art as a commodity will rubbing their hands with glee. At the end of May there was a conference at the London Business School devoted to treating art as a serious alternative investment option and highlighting its strong performance in recent years. Yet those who have invested will almost certainly bear in mind the sharp correction that came at the end of the dotcom boom. The question is – will they diversify at the right time or leave it one auction too late? Perhaps there will never be a real answer!

It was inevitable that there would have to be changes to David Cameron’s team because of the new or modified departmental arrangements introduced by the new Prime Minister.

It is particularly pleasing that William Hague and George Osborne have expanded roles. William is a tremendous orator and his speech yesterday on foreign affairs (http://www.globalstrategyforum.org/articleshow.asp?ref=30) is incomparably better than any Foreign Secretary’s in the 10 years of this Government. Party members have real affection for him. I see something of George Osborne through my activities in the City for the Party – he has become a considerable figure who stood up most effectively to Gordon Brown. I have seen how very competently he discusses his brief in large groups and small.

The new Prime Minister is having something of a honeymoon at present. It will not last. Both William Hague and George Osborne are formidable politicians who “get” politics. In due course they will make first rate Cabinet Ministers of the highest rank.

And as for the use of all the talents, as we observe individuals like Sayeeda Warsi and Pauline Neville Jones sitting in on the Shadow Cabinet, it really is a case of roll over Gordon.

It is an expression you will occasionally hear in Suffolk, and I think it will be worth remembering in the next few months.

Gordon Brown inevitably is enjoying a bounce in popularity, and that will be strengthened by the terrorist threats. However, at his age, people find it difficult to change, and his more well known characteristics will re-assert themselves.

It was to be expected that some journalists and commentators did not appreciate the ovation Tony Blair got in the chamber of the House of Commons last week. However, it was a recognition by politicians of a remarkable politician, something somewhat different from whether he was a good or bad Prime Minister. It was an acknowledgement of his political place in our history over 10 years.

I would be very surprised if in due course Gordon Brown will be applauded when he leaves the Prime Ministership. He is not to be underestimated, but as a pure politician and communicator, he is not in the same class.