Archive 2009

July 26th Great New Events - Totnes Open Primary - Alright for Some
July 5th A Conservative Manifesto - National Express - Citizen's Convention Bill - Nursery Rhymes for our Times
July 26th

The Conservative party is advertising Great New Events for the Party Conference.   What are these Great New Events?    Are we going to get motions for real debate?   Will speakers from the floor get four minutes to put their case?   Will the Conference be for Party members?   No!   None of these, the Great New Events are A pub quiz with Eric Pickles - A Gay Party Night and A Club Night.   This just about says it all.   Anything to distract members from serious discussion of politics.   At a time when the Country faces its greatest crisis for a generation the Conference is further dumbed down and Party members treated with contempt.

Totnes Open Primary

It has been announced that there will be an Open Primary for the Totnes Parliamentary seat (see below).   Ballot papers will be sent to every elector in Totnes, some 69,000 of them, with a freepost reply.   The cost of this bizarre exercise will be at least £40,000.   Who is paying for this?    Is it the Constituency Association?   Is it a particular benefactor?   Is it the Conservative Party?   Is it the candidates?    I think we should be told.   It is quite clear that there are few, if any, Constituency Associations that could even attempt to pay this kind of money out in selecting their candidate, and in any case why should an Association pay out good money to enable members of the Liberal Democrats and members of the Labour Party to choose the Conservative candidate?   Whoever thought up this ridiculous scheme needs their head examining.   If anyone can now choose the Conservative candidate why should anyone want to be a member of the Conservative Party.    What benefits do they get from being a member?   The right to be continuously hassled for money and that's about it.   No wonder membership is plummeting.

Alright for Some  

At this time of belt tightening some still get preferential treatment.    Tucked away in the small print of the last budget is a clause permitting the Prince of Wales to deduct his son's expenses from his own tax bill.   I would like to deduct my own son's expenses from my tax bill.   I wonder what the Inland Revenue would say if I tried!

July 5th

At the COPOV meeting held on 4th July the following suggestions were made for inclusion in the Conservative Party manifesto:

Abolish quangos,?

Review public sector pensions and bring them into line with pensions in the private sector,

Have the same immigration policy as Immigration Watch - one in, one out,

Abolish stamp duty on houses

Bring in a Glass-Stegal Act separating the investment activities of the banks from their trading activities.

National Express

Citizen's Convention Bill

COPOV is supporting a new law - the Citizen's Convention (Accountability and Ethics) Bill - which will establish a "Citizen's \convention" to look at ways to make the UK political system more ethical and accountable.   The Bill sets out the mechanisms for this and the role of the convention.   For more information visit the following web site: http://www.unlockdemocracy.org.uk/?page_id=2033

 Nursery Rhymes for our Times
> 
>  SING A SONG OF PARLIAMENT,
>  POCKETS FULL OF CASH,
>  FRAUDULENTLY CLAIMING
>  AND ADDING TO THEIR STASH;
>  WITH THEIR PLOY DISCOVERED
>  THEY SAID THEY'LL GIVE IT BACK.
>  IF YOU OR I HAD DONE THE SAME
>  WE'D PROMPTLY GET THE SACK.
> 
>  SING A SONG OF FREEBIES,
>  SNOUTS ALL IN THE TROUGH.
>  GIVING BACK THEIR ILL-GOT GAINS
>  IS JUST NOT GOOD ENOUGH.
>  SPONGING OFF OUR EARNINGS
>  WITH A LIKELY TALE,
>  IF WORKING FOLK HAD DONE
>  THE SAME
>  THEY'D SOON END UP IN JAIL.
> 
>  SING A SONG OF FRAUDSTERS
>  COUNTING OUT THEIR MONEY.
>  THEY SMILE AND LOOK QUITE
>  UNASHAMED,
>  AS THOUGH THEY THINK ITS FUNNY;
>  SITTING IN A SECRET PLACE ,
>  COUNTING OUT THEIR DOSH,
>  ON PLUGS FOR BATHS AND
>  CLEANING MOATS,
>  FOR CRISPS AND ORANGE SQUASH.
> 
>  SING A SONG OF MP's
>  WHO TOOK US FOR A RIDE.
>  IT'S UP TO US ELECTION TIME
>  THEIR FUTURE TO DECIDE.
>  IT'S GONE TOO FAR TO BRING BACK TRUST
> OF ANYONE IN POWER.
>  TO MOST OF US THEY'LL ALWAYS BE
>  A SHIFTY, CROOKED SHOWER.

June 28th Destruction of the Tory Party - Gordon's Dilemma
June 21st MP's expenses - How to Behave - Candidates
June 14th First Past The Post - European Elections - Tony's Lavender List
June 7th Referendum on the Electoral System - MPs expenses

28th June

Destruction of the Tory Party

A large number of safe Conservative seats will soon be choosing their Parliamentary candidates.   I hear that Central Office are proposing that the candidates will be selected in open primaries with every elector in the constituency having a postal vote.   This is madness.   On top of the proposal that the Candidates List is now open to anybody, even if they are not members of the Conservative Party, we are seeing the destruction of the Party.

Ordinary Party members cannot understand why members of the Labour Party should be choosing the Conservative Party candidate.   They also cannot understand why someone who does not believe in basic Conservative philosophy should be a Conservative Candidate.   There is resentment building up in the grass roots of the Party.   What is the point of being a member if anyone can select the candidates of the Party.   What has been lost sight of is that party politics is tribal.   Someone with no allegiance, no commitment to the tribe, has no loyalty.   What will happen is that Party membership will continue its inexorable decline.   Does this matter?   In the short term - No.    The Tory Party will form the biggest Party after the General Election and will almost certainly form the Government.   It will then have to take some very unpopular measures to get the economy straight.   Within a year it will be highly unpopular.   It is at times like these when a strong voluntary party comes into its own, giving you that core support that is essential to carry out your program.   That support will not be there.   It will consist of Councillors, whose anger will be rising as they lose their seats as a result of the unpopularity of the Government.   The Tory Party as such will cease to exist.

For some years there have been those in Central Office who would like the voluntary Party disappear.   They want to see American style politics in the United Kingdom.   Their blueprint is the Republican Party, which does not have members, it has supporters who come together at an election.   The difference is that they then get paid for their help.   This is why the last Presidential election cost $4 billion.   It will not work in the UK.    We do not like money in politics.

What is the answer?   It is very simple but has so far been unacceptable to the Party hierarchy.   Reverse the decline in Party membership.   How do you do that?   Make the Party a democratic organisation.   David Cameron wants to give power to the people.   He could show his credentials for a start by giving power to ordinary Party members.    Will he?   We shall see, but if he doesn't watch the Tory Party go into a slow decline.

Gordon's Dilemma

21st June

MP's Expenses

Concern is being expressed with the Conservative Parliamentary Party about unequal treatment of MPs over their use of expenses.   This saga will not be resolved until there is a list published by the Scrutiny Committee of every Conservative MP showing what action is being taken if any action is required.   There is now sufficient information published in the public domain to give a provisional judgement on MPs.    If the Party does not publish a list we will do so, basing it on the criteria we set out our below on the 7th June, using our own judgement.   It will also show those MPs who have acted honourably throughout this crisis.   It is time they were also named so they are not tarred with the same brush as the dishonourable ones.  

How to behave!

Yesterday, 20th June, Dominic Grieve MP for Beaconsfield, held a public meeting to discuss his expenses and electoral reform.    Over 170 constituents turned up.   He gave everyone present a schedule of the expenses he has claimed and then went through them line by line explaining the expenses.   So thorough was this presentation that when he finished nobody had any questions about his expenses.   The meeting went on to discuss electoral reform.   The meeting was excellently chaired by Earl Howe who was charming but firm in his conduct of the meeting.   This was a brilliant example for all Conservative MPs.   Well done.

Candidates

We are hearing disturbing things about the selection of Parliamentary candidates.    Will we repeat the same mistakes we made in 2005 by parachuting candidates into seats and imposing them on the Constituency Associations?   There is some resentment about opening up the list to anyone, even if they are not members of the Tory Party.   That resentment also applies to Open Primaries where anybody can participate even if they are members of the Labour Party.   What is the point of being a member of the Conservative Party if a member of another Party can choose our candidates?   Rumours abound that the Shadow Cabinet have been asked to put forward five names each of potential candidates.   Will this give them priority treatment?   The Chairman of the Candidates Committee should be elected by and answerable to Party members.   We cannot go on like this.   David Cameron talks about giving power to the people.   He could set an example by giving power to Party members.   One other question.   Why are we having to wait until September for selection meetings to take place?   The quicker candidates are in position the better they will become known to their electorate.

14th June

First Past the Post

This week David Cameron firmly supported First Past the Post as the electoral system for the House of Commons.   More precisely, he went on to say we must keep the constituency link.   You can do this with the Single Transferable Vote or with the Three Member Seat or even the Alternative Vote so all is not lost.    Ironically if the Conservative Party had used First Past the Post for the Conservative Party Leadership Election the Leader today would be David Davis and not David Cameron.   If you remember the votes on the first ballot were as follow:

David Davis                         62

David Cameron                    56

Liam Fox                             42

Ken Clarke                          38

Ken Clarke and Liam Fox were eliminated and in the second and third rounds.    David Cameron went on to win.

European Elections

Which region of the United Kingdom had the highest turnout in the European Election?   Answer - Northern Ireland, which has consistently had the highest turnout in every European election which we have had.   It is the only part of the United Kingdom that uses the Single Transferable Vote method of election rather than the List system used everywhere else.   This means that in Northern Ireland the electors can vote for individuals rather than parties.   It is extraordinary that we have two different methods of voting for the same Parliament.   This must be changed.   The turnout in Northern Ireland was 42.8% compared to 35% in the rest of the U.K.

Tony's Lavender List

We hear that part of the deal between Tony and Gordon was that Tony's friends would be rewarded in the next Queen's Birthday Honours List.   Pass the sick bag Alice.   Update: It didn't happen, but that only leaves one more honours list before the next General Election.   Will it happen then?

7th June

Referendum on the Electoral System

Last week we called for a referendum on the electoral system to be held on the same day as the General Election.   On Any Questions this week Caroline Spellman said it was Conservative policy to have referendums and when pushed she agreed to having a referendum on the electoral system on the day of the General Election.   Is this now Conservative policy?    Incidentally Caroline Spellman is so much better in her new position.    She should never have been moved in the first place!

MPs Expenses

Now that the police have shown a reluctance to prosecute MPs over their expenses it is incumbent on the House of Commons to take action.   The level of offences and the punishments need to be graded.    The House of Commons has so far shown no inclination to do this so we set out our suggestions below.   Not every category is included so if you have any further categories let us know, together with appropriate penalties.

Any monies incorrectly claimed should be repaid.   In addition the following should be applied:

Expulsion

Where an MP has claimed money, which is not a reimbursement of money paid out by the MP, they should be expelled from the House of Commons. e.g.   monies claimed for a non-existent mortgage, or a mortgage that has been paid off.

Suspension without pay

Where an MP has spent money on a second home and then sold it at a profit more than once in five years they should be suspended without pay.   The length of the suspension depending on the severity of the case.

Where an MP has sold a second home at a profit but has told the Inland Revenue that is is the main residence to avoid Capital Gains Tax.

Suspension

Where expenses have been claimed over £5,000 but have not been wholly and necessarily incurred in the performance of parliamentary duties the MP should be suspended from the House of Commons - the length of the suspension depending on the severity of the case. e.g payment of costs of gardening.

Severe Reprimand

Where expenses over £1,000 have been claimed but have not been wholly and necessarily incurred in the performance of parliamentary duties the MP should receive a severe reprimand.  e.g. purchase of a duck house for £1,600.

Reprimand

Where expenses under £1,000 have been claimed but have not been wholly and necessarily incurred in the performance of parliamentary duties then the MP should be reprimanded. e.g purchase of dog food.

May 31st Referendum - Phantom MEPs - MEP's expenses - Newsnight - Recall
May 24th Action from the House of Commons - A Short Guide to Deselection
May 17th Democracy - Referendum
May 10th Parliament's Moral Bankruptcy
May 3rd Ulster Unionists - Iraq War - Ireland's Example - Gordon Resign!

31st May

Referendum

We need to have a referendum at the same time as the General Election on whether the people want to change our electoral system.   The people should be asked to rank in order of preference the following:

First past the post

Alternative vote

Three member seats

Single transferable vote

Phantom MEPs!

18 "ghost MEPs" to cash in on £6!m. Due to the fact that the Lisbon Treaty has not been ratified, 18 MEPs elected in June's European elections will receive normal MEPs' salaries despite the fact that they will not be able to take up full political office for at least two years. The Irish rejection of the Lisbon Treaty means that after June's election 736 instead of 754 MEPs will take office. However, 18 further MEPs will be elected under the Lisbon rules, despite the fact that the Lisbon Treaty is yet to be ratified.

 Amid confusion over when and how they will take up their seats, the European Parliament has decided to give the MEPs only "observer" status from next year. These 'observer members' will receive a normal MEPs' salary, and collectively account for a £6m bill, including their salary, assistant and office allowances, as well as tax-free allowances on a daily basis. (Telegraph, 22 May; Mail, 24 May)

MEP's Expenses

We need to also focus on the scandal of the expenses of MEPs.    We are in the process of cleaning up Westminster.   Let us not forget to clean up Brussels at the same time.

  Newsnight

View the Chairman of COPOV on Newsnight arguing for the expulsion of MPs rather than just allowing them to stand down at the next election.

Recall

24th May

Action from the House of Commons

An increasing number of MPs caught up in the expenses scandal have announced that they will no longer be standing at the next General Election.   Very cosy for them.   With the General Election possibly twelve months away they will pick up £100,000 plus in salaries and expenses plus their termination bonuses of about another £100,000.   Nice work if you can get it.    What needs to happen is for the House of Commons to expel these MPs immediately and force a by-election in their constituencies.   There are at least two precedents for this action.   I show an extract from my forthcoming book "Our Fight for Democracy":

                In December 1930, Thomas Jones, Labour MP for Pontypridd, gave his wife Margaret and their twelve year old daughter two House of Commons vouchers that had been issued to him for his exclusive use for rail journeys between his constituency and Westminster.   They were stopped by ticket inspectors, who decided to prosecute Jones.   He was forced to resign from Parliament, and the following day he and his wife Margaret were fined £2 and ordered to pay costs at Marylebone Magistrates Court or face prison.  

 The last Member of Parliament to be expelled from the House of Commons was the Labour MP Gary Allighan in 1947.   Not only an MP he was also a journalist and wrote an article for the World Press News “exposing” the means lobby correspondents were using to obtain leaks and inside information.   The technique was to ply MPs with drinks until they collapsed and leaked stories to journalists for rewards or favours.   A motion was tabled to the Privileges Committee to discharge Allighan for contempt.   Allighan was accused of leaking stories himself.   The Privileges Report, censuring the MP severely, said Allighan had aggravated his contempt by trying to cast suspicion on other MPs beside himself.

                On 30^th October 1947, with the Privileges Report on the table, the Commons voted to expel Gary Allighan.   Allighan, had wrongly accused fellow MPs of accepting money for disclosing to the press the proceedings of private party meetings.    It turned out that this was precisely what he had done himself.   

                The Leader of the House recommended that he be reprimanded and suspended without pay, but the Conservative MP, Quentin Hogg, moved an amendment calling for his expulsion.    It was passed.   At this time there was also also concern about outside bodies, such as trade unions, attempting to instruct an MP so the House passed a resolution restating its principles:

                 “It is inconsistent with the dignity of the House, with the duty of a member to his constituency, and with the maintenance of the privilege of freedom of speech, for any member of the House to enter into any contractual agreement with an outside body, controlling or limiting the member’s complete independence and freedom of action in Parliament or stipulating that he shall act in any way as the representative of such outside body in regard to any matters to be transacted in Parliament; the duty of a member being to his constituency and to the country as a whole, rather than to any particular section thereof.”

                What a contrast in the standards of Parliament that these cases illustrate compared to the standards applied today.

 A Short Guide to Deselection

The following article appeared on conservativehome.com this week:

A Short Guide To Deselection

by

 John E. Strafford

(Chairman, Beaconsfield Constituency Conservative Association 1985-1990)

Just before the 1997 General Election Tim Smith MP was readopted as the Conservative Parliamentary candidate for Beaconsfield.   Five days later he resigned.  What lessons can be learned?

After the adoption meeting a group of members were unhappy at the decision to readopt Tim Smith due to his admitted involvement in the “Cash for questions affair”.   They decided they wanted a new candidate.   (This was not a light decision and was only taken after serious consideration.)  

Constituency Association Officers are quite rightly, instinctively loyal to their Member of Parliament.   They are usually friends, so cannot be relied upon to be at the forefront of a reselection campaign.

What is critical is that the campaign has to have momentum and be seen to have momentum to the point where reselection appears inevitable.   How is this achieved?

The threat is to call a Special General Meeting at which a motion of no confidence in the sitting MP will be tabled. (It is essential to know the rules by which this can be done.   Get a copy from the Association office.)   It is important to stress here the threat that if a meeting is not called the electors will decide the issue and throw out the MP, whereas a new candidate would more likely be elected.

You then need a list of those members who want a reselection and are prepared to go public in their demand for this.   Once the campaign is launched you need at least three of them to go public each day - the more senior the members the better.   This gives a fresh impetus, every day, to the campaign.

Get the media on board – radio, TV, national press, - in Beaconsfield we got The Times and the Daily Mirror – and most of all the local press.   It is essential that you have several people that will talk to the media.   Unless you can give other names than yourself the media will lose interest.

Increase the pressure on the Officers of the Association by getting your supporters to telephone them.   You will be surprised how after a few calls the Officers become convinced that the whole Association is up in arms.

Put the phone on the hook for calls from Central Office.    Party members do not like interference from Central Office.   This is the member’s decision about who is to represent them at Westminster.

In Beaconsfield, after five days of intensive campaigning the pressure on the Officers and on the MP became so great the MP honourably resigned.

Beaconsfield selected Dominic Grieve as their candidate.   He went on to win the election.   It has proved to be a wise choice.

17th May

Democracy

Another week, more revelations about the way our MPs have behaved.   We are now in a serious democratic crisis.    If the people cannot trust the MPs to handle their personal affairs where they impinge on the public, why should they trust them to handle public issues.    The main requirement from an MP is high moral standing and good judgement.    In both cases our MPs have been found wanting.   This issue goes far beyond just expenses.   Our whole democratic system is broken.   To get the trust of the people we have to do a number of things.   First of all we need to sort out the mess on expenses.   The key to this is accountability, so the steps required to bring accountability are as follows:

• Total transparency showing all the receipts for payments made to MPs.   This also include showing second home addresses.   If MPs have a security problem that is a matter for the police to deal with.

• Every Constituency Association should hold a General Meeting of members by 31st July and at that meeting there should be a motion to re-adopt the sitting MP.   If the motion is lost the MP should be de-selected.   This act brings accountability to the Party members, but this is not enough for those MPs that do not have the support of members will continue to stay in Parliament until the next General Election.   This is not acceptable.    They should resign forthwith.

• Legislation should be introduced immediately so that if 10% of the electors in a constituency sign a petition calling for a by-election the MP is recalled from Parliament and a by-election is held within one month.    This makes the MP accountable to their electors.   It is no longer acceptable that an MP should only be accountable once every five years at a General Election.

For the longer term it is now essential that our political parties are made democratic.   The cosy oligarchies which control the parties have to be brought to an end.   This will bring accountability into the parties at a National level.

The other long term measure must be to set up a Constitutional convention to create a fair democracy in this country.    It is long overdue and now it has become critical.

Hear a discussion on these issues on The World Tonight programme of 15th May

Referendum

The Conservative Party should promise the people a referendum on the Lisbon Treaty when they get into power regardless as to whether it has been ratified or not.

A new Populous poll for the Times has found overwhelming support for a referendum on the Lisbon Treaty, even in a situation where it has already been ratified by Ireland and the rest of the EU.  82% of people agreed with the statement, "If Ireland and other countries ratify the Lisbon Treaty on the future of the European Union, Britain should hold its own referendum on the issue", with 52% strongly agreeing and only 14% disagreeing. 92% of Conservative voters, 76% of Labour voters and 85% of Liberal Democrats voters agreed that Britain should have a referendum on the Treaty. (Times, 13 May)

10th May

Parliament's Moral Bankruptcy

Over the years COPOV has warned that the issue of MP's expenses was a scandal waiting to happen.   This week it did.    Whenever I raised the issue I was told that only a tiny minority of MPs were guilty.   The great majority were honourable people.   Now we know, it is the other way round, a minority are honourable, but the culture of the majority see Parliament as a get rich quick scheme.   Under their own rules expenses should only be claimed by MPs if they have been "wholly and necessarily incurred" in the performance of their duties.   It is quite clear that this has not happened.   So what should be done?

First of all criminal prosecutions should be brought for fraud against all those MPs that have abused the system.

Secondly The Head of the Fees Office that paid them out should be dismissed for failing to perform their duty.

Next, the Inland Revenue should examine all the expenses and those that have not been properly incurred should be taxed as remuneration.   Where Capital Gains have been made they should be taxed.    Where second homes have been manipulated in order to claim expenses the MPs should be charged with tax evasion and charged, with penalties imposed.

Next, the rule recently brought in to hide MPs addresses should be scrapped.   It is clear that this rule would make it much more difficult to see where MPs were manipulating their second homes.

Finally any expenses that do not meet the criteria of "wholly and necessarily incurred" should be recovered.

This week it has become clear that our political system is morally bankrupt.   Parliament should be dissolved and a General Election called.   Immediately after the General Election there should be a Constitutional Convention to devise a new, fair Constitution, where every vote counts.   Whilst that Convention is sitting legislation should be brought in allowing the recall of an MP from Parliament.   If five per cent of the electorate (polled over a period of one month) in an MP's Constituency demand the recall of the MP there should be a by-election called within two months.   It is time MPs were accountable to the people.   Democracy demands nothing less.

One final point, the rottenness in our political system starts in the political parties.   They should be made democratic organisations where the ultimate control rests with their members.    We must see an end to the cosy oligarchies that now control our major parties.   Much needs to be done to clean up the whole stinking mess.

3rd May

Ulster Unionists

I am hearing some disturbing reports regarding the joint working party of the Ulster Unionists and the Conservative Party.   The disgraceful treatment of the Northern Ireland Conservative's Deputy Chairman, Jeffrey Peel increases my concern.   There has been a denial of natural justice which must be remedied.   Watch this space!

Iraq War

With the withdrawal of British troops this week a ceremony was held at which the names of all the British troops who have been killed in Iraq was read out.   It was very moving, but marred by old fashioned class distinction.   The officers had their rank, surname and initial read out; the other ranks had their rank and surname read out.   Couldn't they have been treated the same?   They all gave their lives for their country.

Ireland's Example

To reduce the costs incurred by the political system the Irish government decided to reduce the number of Secretaries of State from 20 to 15.    On 22nd April the 20 Secretaries of State therefore presented their resignation to Prime Minister Brian Cowen who then appointed 15 "new" ones.   In addition to this measure the remuneration of Ministers and Secretaries of State, MPs and the chairman of Parliament was reduced, travel expenses were reduced by 25%, other expenditure was reduced by 10% and the spending regime is now more transparent.    Why don't we do the same?

Gordon Resign!

Sign the petition asking for Gordon Brown's resignation.

If you'd like to tell your friends about this petition, its permanent web address is: http://petitions.number10.gov.uk/please-go/

April 26th *****Star of the Week***** - Labour's contempt for Parliamentary Scrutiny - Support our Troops
April 19th George Orwell's 1984
April 12th MP's expenses - Kettling - Fact
April 5th A Question of Accountability - Congratulations - Don Porter - First Past The Post
March 29th Stuart Wheeler - ***Star of the Week - Wally of the Week
March 22nd European Parliament Election - Why Vote? - Naughty Fiona - Euro Subsidies
March 15th Shambles - Did you Know (1) & (2) - Voting in the European Parliament
March 8th Northern Ireland - Repeal of Legislation Act - Nuclear Submarines - The Surveillance society - All Party Groups
March 1st Convention of Modern Liberty - Froth, Pure Froth - On Open Letter to Gordon Brown - You could not make it up

Three political bloggers came together in the Jubilee Room at the House of Commons at the invitation of the Hansard Society. Traffic and long security procedures made us late arriving at the crowded meeting so I missed most of Jonathan Isaby’s presentation. (conservativehome.blogs.com)

Derek Draper, Labourlist.org, set up his blog 10 weeks ago. He promised that within a year he will divulge how his site is funded! Interestingly he thinks that on line campaigns will (1) influence the media, (2) influence organisations and (3) act as a catalyst. He said that young people aged 18-24 get all their information from on line or a computer. Politics should have a strong on line presence. He went on about Obama’s campaign being opened up, partly by Obama’s charismatic magic and partly by technology. He said that at key moments in a campaign it was possible to tailor quite specific messages to parts of the electorate. A virtual phone bank, with call numbers and a script, would be very effective. Derek Draper thought that in an election campaign there would be three/four days when stories would be started on the internet and the way the story moved would be determined by the blogosphere. Derek made very uncomplimentary remarks about the Tax Payers Alliance – which must mean TPA is really effective. He thought it would be bizarre if in a campaign the candidates were not engaged in using the internet actively. He said that in 1997 some said "Sun wot won it", but this next time if the result is close and was decided by a few hundred votes, then perhaps the saying would be "Internet wot won it".

Mark Pack, Libdemvoice.org, thought every politician should be using the internet and at least update the website three monthly. He himself had editorial independence. He thought that emails to MPs were powerful, but perhaps a letter was even better, particularly if worded differently to identical emails. Mark Pack believed that local impact on internet might well have a dramatic result, and a well established blog might get 300-400 additional votes – enough to affect a result. The Lib Dems don’t think American ideas on running an election campaign can be translated over here.

During the course of questions Derek Draper did not think the idea of the internet would fantastically increase voting turnout, but it can clearly affect the margin.

Jonathan Isaby thought the internet could touch constituencies in ways other media would not.

So the clear message from the morning was that the internet was important and could make all the difference where election results were close, and was an effective tool at reaching young people.

Europe & America: where is our special relationship now?

Bronwen Maddox of The Times made the most revealing point in the Hansard Society debate on Wednesday, 17^th March, when she pointed out that China is the country we should be really worried about. In fact in speaking to the subject she said USA would be her answer, but the matter is not entirely our own choice.

Charles Kennedy, Lib Dem MP, kicked off the debate, revealing that he had first of all in his career supported the Labour Party. He went on that if he lived and worked in America, he would be a Democrat and all along would have voted for Obama. He said that whenever there was a change of President in the States, there was always a frisson as to what their views would be. The current economic scene was altering views, and the popular view of hating Bush had gone now with the new incumbent. Charles Kennedy thought that America might well turn to the Pacific area rather than Europe. He also thought Obama would want more European troops in Afghanistan and whether such a policy took place might affect American opinion about Europe.

Mark Tokola, Minister/counsellor for Economic Affairs at the American Embassy, was very polite in his comments to a British audience. He said there was Britishness in his DNA and having the same language made an enormous difference. He said that the EU was the most important organisation to which the Americans did not belong. Where did that leave the USA. He thought America valued ties with the UK but wanted to work with effective EU. Mark Tokola was ever the diplomat.

Bronwen Maddox of The Times, was for me the most fascinating and informative speaker. The financial problems facing countries now made very difficult times in Europe. Indeed Europe had not yet made up its mind whether to go with the Obama fiscal attitude. The UK had put itself on the Obama side but on a smaller scale. The IMF situation might make matters more complicated. Gordon Brown had bemused the American press by trying to rush over to the States. The Iraq War had strained the American/British relationship. Our role in Iraq and Afghanistan was small compared to the Americans but we could help economically there. Bronwen Maddox said there is basic friendship but we shall have to argue for a voice in Washington. She then developed her theme of really worrying much more about the frightening growth of China who was gobbling up huge amounts of the world’s minerals.

Caroline Flint MP, Minister for Europe, arrived late because of the frequent voting taking place that night in the House. The minister did not think it was an either for Europe or USA situation. She stressed the importance of USA and how Gordon Brown and Obama had shared values, and thinks the situation enhances our role in Europe. The minister thought the EU had different views to America on Russia and Nato, Afghanistan, Iraq and perhaps Israel.

When question time came John Strafford raised the question as to whether Labour would support a socialist as the next EU President, particularly relevant if the Conservatives at the next European Elections left the EPP. Caroline Flint’s response was that Gordon Brown had already said that he would support Barroso! Bronwen Maddox was asked about China whom she said was going to look after its own interests in Africa, and has no interest in helping the IMF. China would think of itself first. This, for me, was the worrying and really important fact I learned from the evening.

Attendance in the European Parliament in Strasbourg is just the same as MP’s at Westminster: in short it is abysmal. On our trip kindly arranged last week by Dan Hannan, a coach load of electors from Berkshire, Buckinghamshire and Surrey went into the glass complex structure to see for ourselves how the European Parliament works at its monthly plenary session. We, with other visitors, outnumbered the MEP’s by roughly 10 to 1. There were about 40 MEPS being given their allotted 1, 1 1/2 or 2 minute slot. The subject was safety at sea. One French lady was even cut off in her minute speech for over-running. No MEPs seemed to be listening. We also learned that in order to speak you have to ask your parliamentary group for permission one week in advance. It is a travesty of democracy. There is no government, merely a Commission who produce legislation which never seems to be rejected, merely sent back.

Our trip began at 4am on Monday, 9^th March. An early start indeed. But our friendly Rondo coach driver collected each group from their nearest railway station and we just caught the 9am ferry from Dover to Calais. Everyone then enjoyed a huge English breakfast on the boat. After a lunch break we arrived in Reims and dashed off to the Mumm champagne "works". It was interesting that John and I had been on a previous trip to Mumm but this time went to a different building and round a different tour, but this visit was enhanced by sampling the various champagnes – all of which are blended. Then it was time to wander round Reims – some visited the cathedral – and find a typical French bistro. We had veal and then discovered on our way out that Alison and Richard Gunner from Penn had found the same restaurant.

Leaving the hotel at what seemed early at 8.30am I decided I had better read Douglas Carswell and Dan Hannan’s book – "The Plan – Twelve Months to Renew Britain" (the main points being to clean up Parliament, have localism in laws and repeal a host of unwanted legislation) before arriving at Strasbourg. We got there mid afternoon and were put through security, labelled, and off to meet Dan. He arranged for us to hear from a Swedish MEP and a wannabee MEP who is standing in Malta in the June elections. Then it was time to watch the MEPs in their chamber before driving off to Obernai, and have dinner hosted by Dan with Chris Heaton-Harris as the guest speaker. Chris is standing down at the next election and has been selected for Daventry where he will replace our old friend Tim Boswell.

Wednesday we were off again at 8.30 back to the European Parliament building and this time heard from James Elles MEP, our longest serving British MEP, who when originally selected looked after Oxfordshire and Buckinghamshire. We then listened to the London MEP, Syed Kamall, who replaced Theresa Villiers when she was elected for Parliament. He said that he hadn’t fought a by election – he just received an e-mail from the returning officer which he found in his Spam telling him that as the next Conservative candidate on the original list, he was now elected. It was time for a lunch break and we sat by the canal having a picnic. The water level in Strasbourg was so high our trip round the canals was cancelled and we walked round Petite France instead. We travelled by tram back to our coach and it was time for the wine tasting at a family vineyard at Obernai. Sampling at least four wines, many present placed orders. Very popular was a Cremont (like a champagne) at 6 Euros a bottle. We found a nice restaurant by the sensible idea of asking a lady walking her dog where she would recommend, so it was off to La Cloche where we were joined by Pam Dibbo and Niki Furneaux.

Thursday started slightly later at 9am. It was the day for driving across France in our comfortable coach. At lunch we learned from a Wycombe couple that the WRVS has been supplanted in Wycombe General Hospital by Costa Coffee – even though the WRVS actually paid the hospital £30,000 per year for the privilege of supplying coffee and tea to visitors. It seemed madness but true. James Holland, who works for Dan, told us in the afternoon that Dan had just heard that Gordon Brown was speaking at Strasbourg in two weeks time at a plenary session and some MEPs will be allowed to ask questions, so Dan was planning to do just that.. Coach passenger suggestions included – when will he resign, and when will we pull out of the EU! Arriving about 5.15 at Ypres, there was time to wander round the town and find a restaurant for an evening meal. Some of our party were seeking delicious Belgian chocolates and Jasper and Meriel Garnham from Chalfont St Peter will certainly be popular with their purchases. By 8pm we were all at the Menin Gate for Last Post – a daily occurrence. Coach loads of British school children had come so perhaps history is back on the education timetable after all. Strangely, after that, all the restaurants were closed, and so it was back to the Novotel where one poor waiter struggled very courteously to deal with a coach load all wanting to eat straightaway. We were joined by Hun-Hun Mai who has political aspirations.

Our last day started in heavy mist as we went round various WW1 cemeteries, which are beautifully tended. Visiting an actual crammed medical dug out by a canal and walking round some of the trenches made the thought of the long drawn out war very vivid. We also learned that though most German soldiers who died were repatriated to Germany for permanent burial, those left behind had their gravestones laid down as the vanquished. There was just time for lunch in Ypres before starting off for Calais. Graham Harris, chairman of Chesham and Amersham, kindly organised a collection for our excellent coach driver, Ronnie. All too soon we were home.

Wednesday, 4^th March 2009

St Margaret’s Church, Westminster was packed for the Service of Thanksgiving for the life of Jack Page (1919-2008) held on Wednesday, 4^th March. Of course many MPs were at Prime Minister’s Questions but scores of old Parliamentary friends came to commemorate one of Wesminster’s colourful characters.

Jack Page lived at Taplow, next door to Terry Wogan who gave a moving address about the well loved family man and extremely hospitable neighbour. Jack’s four sons all took part in the service. Henry Page, piper, played the traditional Scottish theme "My Home". Nathaniel Page read a passage from Romans 8. Hugo Page read the moving anonymous poem found in a slit trench at Alamein called "A Soldier – His Prayer".(Jack had served in the Royal Artillery in WW2 in Egypt). Rupert Page read Jack Page’s own poem "I like the desert". Jean-Claude Banon remembered with affection in his address the many lunches at Brooks Club which he and Jack had enjoyed whilst Jack was a highly successful water company chairman, and recalled suggesting a Christmas present for Jack to give Margaret Thatcher

Lady Thatcher who had often entertained Sir Jack and Lady Page at Chequers at Christmas was present and looked dignified but very frail. Rt. Hon John Gummer MP made a moving address stressing the parliamentary career (1960-87) as Member for Harrow. Lord Mayhew, Lord Cope, Lord and Lady Howe were also present.

I saw Dominic Grieve MP, Shadow Minister of Justice, and MP for Beaconsfield – in whose constituency Jack lived for many years. Jack and Anne supported the Taplow branch and were regular members for years of the Buckinghamshire Supper Club. (You always knew that Jack would put a witty question with an amusing anecdote to any speaker who came to the Club) Taplow members came in a coach and the local Royal British Legion flag was borne through the church, thanks to the organisation of Lt. Cdr George Milne. Former constituency chairmen present included Dr John Kennedy and John Strafford. Pamela Bentley, Alan Frost and his wife were amongst the loyal Taplow contingent.

At the conclusion of the extremely efficiently organised service, the Chairman and Committee of the Interparliamentary Union, British Group, held a reception in the IPU Room at Westminster Hall. Parliamentary security still held sway as the congregation were only slowly able to pass through the strict searching procedures before admission to the House of Commons. It took an hour for Reg Whittome, a former constituent of Jack, to gain admission to the reception but he was revived with three glasses of champagne: Jack would have approved of the liquid fortification!

Sir Christopher Kelly - COPOV Forum - Digital Exclusion - Social Exclusion, - Britain and Afghanistan
Constitution Unit – Tuesday, 24^th February 2009

Speaking as the "chef" it is sometimes difficult to get the flavour of a meeting, but this one was notable for the distance travelled by members wishing to attend. One party left Humberside at 6am that morning: A wonderful example of enthusiastic support. Others travelled up from Hampshire and east Kent. So COPOV supporters are coming from far and near.

Members were surprised to learn that the Chairman of the Convention, Don Porter, was advocating that the Party Board should be enlarged by having three extra MPs voting at the meetings. This would mean that the voluntary party is weakened by having their voting power diluted.. Convention members, mainly constituency chairman, would not be having a meeting before being asked to vote on this major matter.

Learning from the TaxPayers Alliance, COPOV members were in future not being asked for a subscription - if they gave their email addresses. (Postage was a major item when sending out agendas). Of course those attending would still be invited to give a donation towards the room hire and refreshments supplied.

Chairman of COPOV, John Strafford, is slowly managing to squeeze into the Forum meetings a synopsis of his book on the history of democracy, and this time reported on England’s invasion by William (and Mary).

One of the highspots of each Forum meeting is when constituencies report back on their news and any problems or highlights. If only the old Area meetings took place, the Party would communicate again with each other. Cllr Trevor Egleton regularly updates each meeting with council news whether it is about the dreaded regions or refuse disposal.

A glass of wine and ploughman’s lunch concludes the morning’s activities – why not come along to the next meeting on Saturday, 18^th April at All Saints Church Hall, Oval Way, Gerrards Cross at 10.30am.

February 11th

Digital exclusion = social exclusion?

The Bow Group invited three speakers to discuss the question of digital exclusion equalling social exclusion on Wednesday, February 11. Adam Afriyie MP, Shadow Minister for Innovation, sponsored the meeting in the Thatcher Room of Portcullis House: voting in the House kept him from the start of the meeting. So Paul Smith, MD of Cisco commenced and told the audience how lives had been transformed by digital advantage. But he said 17million people over 18 are not using computers – a fact I myself find difficult to believe. He applauded the fact that broadband would be everywhere by 2012.

Adam Afriyie MP then arrived. With his business background he said that the pace of innovation in Britain would control our place in the world. He thought digital exclusion correlates with social exclusion and noted that dyslexic people and some in rural areas have problems getting on the Internet. Adam said 60% of people have access to broadband and he again quoted the figure of 17million people not having computers at all. Adam went on that in an open connected society we needed to open up Government data. Look at Reuters, Google, entertainment like BBC I player, banking with payroll packages etc. It would improve democracy. Look at Open University with much information on line, Learn Direct may help some students. In Healthcare it will be possible to report from a gadget to the GP or specialist directly. Speed of internet access was essential Adam Afriyie said. The Conservative position was that Jeremy Hunt MP had announced high speed should go from 20 megabytes up to 100 megabytes, and duct cabling should be opened up not just to British Telecom.

Charley Leadbeater, former adviser to Tony Blair!, said it was nice to hear from a politician who knows his subject. He himself starts the day by signing up to Facebook and spends much time talking on line. He thought that it was necessary to think about what really matters and focus on relationships – crucial to a sense of well being. Charley agreed speed was critical for the internet. He went on that access and availability was crucial and given the technology people would take advantage: he said think of the third world and the huge number of mobile phones in Kenya. Charley said a vast number of young people leave school with no qualifications so it was necessary to find other radical means to teach. He thought that Barack Obama understood the power of the internet.

With varying viewpoints put to the speakers the Bow Group chairman had to link questions together. The hour passed all too quickly.

10th February

Britain and Afghanistan, 1700-2008

Professor Richard Holmes CBE gave a riveting talk to the All Party History Group packed into the Jubilee Room at the House of Commons on Tuesday, 10^th February. Obviously Professor Holmes did not want to upset his audience and appeared constrained but the message was absolutely clear. The current Afghanistan war is impossible to win.

Professor Holmes explained simply the geographical divide of Afghanistan where culture is hugely important and kept alive in local tradition. There is the physical barrier of the Hindu Kush and the cultural divide of the River Indus. "Butcher and bolt" had been the English tactic in the 19^th century when tribes had rioted, and the idea had been to "flatten a village or 18", retreat, and say "any more of that and we will flatten you". Forward military positions always meant trouble. There are 60 tribes of Pashtun and 400 dominant families. Different tribes would unite to defend the homeland against strangers. It had been in the 1820s that the British crossed into Punjab and sent "antennae" into Afghanistan. Britain had at various times installed a ruler on the throne, and fallen back into India.

More recently the Russians invaded in 1979 but finally decided in 1988 that they had lost. Then came the rise of the Taleban (which literally means students). Rigorous interpretation of Sharia role followed by shocking massacres, and in 2001 the destruction of the Valley of Buddhas.

Professor Holmes said we needed to think strategically and not tactically. The whispered solution should be to pack up now and save more lives. Afghanistan is not a Western nation state. The situation is not like Iraq. The political and physical boundaries are not the same. Professor Holmes said "when in a hole, stop digging".

Mark Fisher MP who chaired the meeting took questions from MPs, some of whom had visited Afghanistan. It was fascinating to note that MPs could not ask short questions.

28th January

This title whetted the political appetite of so many interested people that the Hansard Society had their meeting packed out at Portcullis House last Wednesday (28/01/09). Tony Travers, Director, Greater London Group, thought that government had decided to have consumerism in public life where citizens were before. He spoke of schools with parental choice, hospitals where consultants could be chosen. The reality was that both spheres were always in our lives. He wondered how far it is possible to have consumerism in some fields. The answer was to have devolved powers where individual citizens can express their view in particular parts of public service life.

Ken Livingstone needed no introduction. He began by first talking about the PR voting system where every vote counts and said that when voting for the Mayor of London people had two votes. He thought that the choice for democracy was devolution or rule from the centre. He spoke of the death of Baby P and how statistics had been useless for Haringey had got good results the previous year. This showed you cannot run personal services from central Government. Ken continued that Charles Clarke had not been able to control the Civil Service. London Underground (LU) was the worst example as in the 1970’s they wanted fare increases and Ken had pointed out that 90% of people had no option but to use the service being a captive consumer base. LU had lost any drive in providing good service. Another example Ken Livingstone gave was about the NHS. The choice of consultant was not so important, he said, as cleaning hospitals. MRSA had increased in this country unlike France. So if the NHS brought matters to a local level, things would improve. Turning to the USA powers had been sucked up to the centre, and then starting with Nixon, the shift of power came back, followed by Bush 1 and then Reagan. Political innovation started with Mayors. He concluded – make accountability be way for improvement.

Dr Vince Cable MP said he had struggled with the title. It required serious thought to define difference between consumers and citizens. Citizens take account of wider environmental interests, and he had bought a bit of land at Heathrow (being MP for nearby Twickenham). For self-interested consumers and citizenship electors will provide the answer he thought. There was a dilemma between spending and saving. It seemed natural now to draw in horns so to speak but the Government and academics said this was a bad thing. We are, he said, under saving as a country and people are hoarding cash. Authorities are slashing interest rates. Fiscal studies showed a horrendous rate of Government debt, as also there was huge personal debt. There was a tension as to how we see ourselves as consumers. This was even more so when people lose jobs, and homes are re-possessed. It could be argued that governments need to intervene. The final question was about fairness and equality, income and equality and wealth and equality. It was not possible in many contexts to see everything through the prism of self-interest of individual.

Angela Knight, chief executive of British Bankers Association, arrived a little late having just done another BBC interview. She knew immediately that representing the banks made her a very unpopular with the audience. Turning to the dilemma proposed Angela Knight said – Save the living not the dead. Having the experience of been an MP, she knew that often an MP could not succeed individually but local councils could succeed. If people wanted a change, there was frustration and it was possible to change a MP which empowered citizens. She said banks had serious responsibilities and could see problems day after day. The story was that globalisation was good, but now when grappling with global problem what is the outcome. There is a feeling of anger from the public that it was difficult to influence what is happening. This, said Angela Knight, was when we start having riots. The problem was coming close to home. Were there any answers – no, she said. The problems were hugely difficult but it was necessary to be honest. It wasn’t possible to make it better for people all the time: she said you cannot turn base metal into gold. If there was a pretence than bankers said all would be OK, this would be wrong. It was necessary to give right expectations, and have proper engagement with citizenship

February 22nd Hero of the Week - BBC Parliament - Now they come for the Photographers - Local Democracy
February 15th The Bonus Culture - Our Fight for Democracy - Will they ever learn?
February 8th Torture - Another Week, Another Mess - Terrorism - Carolines Notebook
February 1st Party Constitution - House of Lords Reform - Eligible to Vote - Fat Cats - My Week