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| David Heathcoat-Amory MP's 'Diary from Westminster' |
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28 January 2008 The economic picture is darkening, and the Government is running out of money. Despite all those extra taxes, the government is borrowing hard. And the Northern Rock collapse means that all taxpayers have in effect lent that company £1300 each, whether they like it or not. One consequence of this is the very tight financial settlement forced on District Councils this year (although Somerset County Council seems to have escaped, with a generous 9% increase). A very unhappy group are the police who came up to Westminster last week for a rare demonstration. They were awarded a 2.5% increase by the independent pay body and the government has cut this back to 1.9%. No government in my memory has done this before. Next, we had to vote on our own pay – always a somewhat embarrassing event. We eventually agreed a 1.9% increase for MPs; but I had a more radical idea. I believe that if the new EU treaty is ratified we should have a pay cut. The Treaty transfers more powers away from parliament to the EU. So if our powers and responsibilities are reduced, we should be paid less. The same applies to ministers’ salaries. I suggested this in the House of Commons, and was backed by two other Conservative MPs. But not surprisingly the idea didn’t catch on. Even if the House of Commons is reduced to the status of a local council it seems that MPs would want to be paid as though they still legislate in a sovereign chamber. Energy policy was debated again last week. I was pleased that the proposed wind farm near Brent Knoll was turned down on appeal. Wind power is expensive and unreliable. A much more interesting idea is to extract energy from the strong tidal flows of the Bristol Channel. The government has announced a study into the possibility of a huge Severn Tidal Barrage. This would probably start from Brean, in this constituency, with major implications for people living nearby and for the Mendip Hills which would provide much of the material. The minister responsible has agreed to keep me closely informed, and I would welcome ideas, both for and against, as the project unfolds. |
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16 July 2007 Gordon Brown has been planning to be Prime Minister for the past 12 years so his opening weeks have been packed with announcements. The first was on a new ‘constitutional settlement’, including a pledge to ‘devolve more power directly to the people.’ Unfortunately this announcement did not include a referendum on the new EU constitution, or ‘reform treaty’ as it is now called. A referendum was promised in the Labour manifesto at the last election, but has now been forgotten. The EU treaty transfers more power to Brussels. The EU becomes very like a state, with powers over foreign policy and criminal justice. If Gordon Brown really wants to listen to the people, he should give us a say on that. Meanwhile Somerset has had its own referendum on whether to abolish the district councils and establish a single unitary council for the whole county. The 82% no vote should bury that idea, but nothing is certain. So on Monday I went to see the new minister for local government and told him to leave Somerset alone and not impose an unnecessary and unpopular reorganisation. And if the government is sincere about listening to the people, they should listen to that 82% no vote. Parliament has only two weeks to go before the summer recess. Security matters are of great concern, following revelations that the failed terrorist bombers were able to come and go almost at will. I believe we need a proper border police with real checks on those entering and leaving the country. We spend far too much time on unnecessary red tape. I have discovered that if a supply teacher takes a three month break from the classroom, another full criminal record check is required before resuming work. This is expensive, time consuming and unnecessary. Meanwhile the real enemies of society go unmolested. |
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05 January 2007 Most votes in the House of Commons are ‘whipped’ which means that MPs are expected to follow the party line unless they have a serious objection. However, there are free votes on many issues of conscience and we have one coming up on the application of sex discrimination laws to adoption agencies. Should homosexual couples adopt children on exactly the same basis as others? Should private and church run adoption agencies have to comply with non-discrimination laws even if it goes against their conscience? I get many letters from individuals about these moral issues, but very few from church leaders. It sometimes seems that the established church only engages with MPs on the subject of third world debt. This is a pity as I would welcome advice on how to decide these difficult questions of ethics and morality. Has the church given up trying to give a lead here? The muddle over tax credits, which I have written about before, has reached a new crescendo. Many constituents have received final demands to repay alleged overpayments of family tax credits. These letters from the Inland Revenue threaten immediate court action, often in a Sheriff’s Court (which only exists in Scotland). No details were given of how the supposed debts arose. Then a few days later, this was all cancelled by yet more letters from the Inland Revenue. But they still insist the money is owing. This behaviour causes great anxiety and distress to people with very little money already. I have written some blistering letters to the Treasury minister responsible. Anyone affected by this new level of incompetence should not hesitate to contact me and I will give advice, and demand an explanation from the Treasury. It was a chance conversation with neighbour which led to my next question to the Chancellor of the Exchequer at question time last week. I was reminded that Gordon Brown sold off half our gold reserves in 1999 at a low price. So I asked him how much we had lost. It turns out that 400 tonnes of gold were sold and at today’s price it would be worth an extra $4.5billion. Back from an interesting visit to Turkey and Cyprus with the Foreign Affairs Committee. Sounds a jaunt? Not really; there was snow on the ground in Turkey and no time for anything but meetings in Cyprus. Cyprus is a divided island and the Greek speaking majority will probably use their membership of the EU to help Turkey out. Meanwhile Turkey has a border with Iraq and is extremely worried at the escalating violence there. Our committee is all-party and we all get on pretty well on these visits. Our next one is to Syria and Lebanon and we will report to the House in July. Finally, your views are sought about the proposed reorganisation of local government in Somerset. The County Council want to have one authority for the whole of Somerset, which means abolishing the district councils like Mendip. In my view this will end up costing more money and will undermine local democracy. If you let me know your views I will ensure they are sent to the Department of Local Government which makes the final decision. |
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23 October 2006 To Rumania and Bulgaria with the Foreign Affairs Committee. These countries join the EU on 1 January next year and bring in a combined population of 30 million. The government here is worried that unrestricted immigration is putting a strain on our housing, education, social security and job markets. A worker registration scheme is planned, to slow down the rate of migration. However, all EU citizens have an automatic right of residence here, so it is doubtful that any such scheme will work. There are also concerns about serious organised crime and people smuggling in Rumania and Bulgaria. Our committee will report by the year end, but it is getting very late for the government to respond. Back home, I am very sorry to see the closure of the Mendip Primary Care Trust. We are now back where we started, with a single authority for the whole of Somerset, based in Taunton. These endless reorganisations cost a lot of money. I have not been able to find out what it will cost to vacate the Priory site in Wells. It is certainly money that would be better spent on front line patient care, particularly as I am getting reports of services being withdrawn: acupuncture is the latest one. The campaign for rural post offices hots up, with a very effective mass lobby of parliament last week. We have lost more than our share of post offices in Somerset already, damaging village life and creating more social isolation. But saving them is not just about signing petitions; it’s about using them. So let’s try and shop locally. Finally, an unusual constituency case with a happy outcome. A lady in Street has two spaniel puppies who chewed up a £20 note. She sent the remaining fragments to the Bank of England but in vain: the watermark was not visible and no replacement was allowed. I took the case up and the Chief Cashier relented, sending a crisp new £20 note with solemn instructions not to feed it to the dogs. 20 March 2006 To New York and Washington as a member of the Foreign Affairs Select Committee, which is doing a report on, ‘The War on Terror’. The meetings in New York were mostly about the United Nations, which is undergoing an internal crisis over its funding. The ‘oil for food’ sanctions against Iraq led to a scandal involving UN staff. The big donor countries, such as America and Britain, are calling for fundamental reform. To anyone who has grappled with the European Union accounts, this is all rather familiar. In Washington we had an intense round of meetings with every department connected with foreign policy, security and defence. They are dogged by the continuing failures in Iraq. Now Iran threatens to become a nuclear power and the Iranian president says he wants to ‘wipe Israel off the face of the earth’. Being a superpower has never been more difficult. Flying back to Britain overnight, the weather was cold and clear and I had a bird’s eye view of the whole of southern England. I was struck by the swath of bright lights which make the country look like one giant conurbation. Every housing development now has its own street lights. And then there are the glaring security lights attached to buildings. A city like Bristol has a permanent orange glow above it. Apart from the waste of energy, all this light pollution means that we never see a really glorious star studded sky. I belong to the Campaign for Dark Skies which argues for more responsible lighting and reminds people that the starry heavens are part of the environment too. Back to more mundane matters, I find that farmers have been let down again over their Single Farm Payments. Delays mean that many farmers are having to sell stock or exceed their overdraft limits. More letters, more answers, and then more delays. What is it about these big government bureaucracies that makes them so inefficient? Other examples are the Child Support Agency and the Tax Credit system. It’s one reason I am against a national identity card: I don’t trust government with all those personal details stored in one giant central computer. 19th December 2005 What is it about these big government bureaucracies that makes them so inefficient? Other examples are the Child Support Agency and the Tax Credit system. It’s one reason I am against a national identity card: I don’t trust government with all those personal details stored in one giant central computer. The election of David Cameron as Leader of the Conservative Party has been like the throwing a large rock into the political pond. Not only has it shaken up the Conservative Party but it has had a disruptive effect on the leaders (and leaders in waiting) of the other two parties. Who knows what will happen in 2006 if this speed of change continues. By agreement with David Cameron I am returning to the backbenches, where I have been twice before. If we win an election he will need experienced ministers again. Meanwhile it is right that he brings on new talent from recent intakes. I am joining the Foreign Affairs Select Committee for the first time, and will also keep my place on the European Standing Committee. This gives me a vantage point to guard our liberties, and I also hope to do more to help the developing world by breaking down barriers to trade and aid. Nearer to home, there is a real threat to our local policing. The government seems determined to merge the Avon and Somerset constabulary into a single South West regional police force. This huge area, covering six counties, is completely artificial and has no popular loyalty or identity. This is Whitehall interference at its worst. I fully support our Police Authority in resisting these changes and I am doing all I can in debates and questions to ministers, to try and get the government to see sense. I have a wider concern. Regional bodies are proliferating: health, fire services, development agencies and the Regional Assembly. And now the police. It suits the bureaucratic mind to go for large impersonal units. And it suits the EU too: there is a South West Regional Office in Brussels, paid for out of our council tax. But parliament has never agreed to this regional break up of the UK, and the only referendum to be held on the subject, in the North East last year, resulted in a resounding no vote by the people. I have been doing the usual round of pre-Christmas visits in the constituency. My Wells office will be closed next week and open again on 3rd January. May I wish everyone a peaceful and happy Christmas. It will be an eventful new year. ------------------------------------------------------------------------------ 31 October 2005 The first of the Conservative leadership contenders came and spoke in the Wells constituency this week. David Cameron addressed a meeting in Burnham on Sea and was questioned by some of the party members who will choose between him and David Davis at the end of the month. This is one election where the result is not known in advance because there is no reliable polling evidence about the 250,000 members nationally who will vote. I will be voting for Cameron, based on two quite lengthy conversations I have had with him about policy. His rise has certainly been meteoric but in my view is based on foundations of principle. Back in the House of Commons we are grappling with the Terrorism bill. I am against the proposal to detain suspects for up to three months without charge or trial. The government say that the police and the security service want this power, but this is the same security service that predicted weapons of mass destruction in Iraq and then couldn’t find them. Our liberties are being eroded in too many ways: ID cards, smoking bans, licensing laws, and endless new regulations. Then there is the proposed ban on, ‘incitement to religious hatred’, which will undoubtedly stifle robust debate about religion. Governments are always inventing new restrictions on grounds of necessity or the supposed public good. It is the job of parliament to stand up for our hard won liberties and I hope that MPs of all parties will uphold this. Nearer to home, I have met our Chief Constable about plans to reorganise the Avon & Somerset Constabulary. This is part of the government’s aim to reduce the number of police forces from the present 43 down to a smaller number of ‘strategic forces’. The worst proposal is for a single South-West Regional Force stretching from Gloucester down to Cornwall. I will fight it hard: we need more local policing, not huge units. Finally, something completely different: bees. Local bee keepers are up in arms about a proposed reduction in government funding for bee protection. Honey bees are susceptible to a number of imported diseases such as European Foul Brood, but the government wants to reduce the number of inspectors.
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