Category Archives: Blog

Will the pensions crisis cost Gordon Brown his next job?

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Westminster Hour and Mark d’Arcy was holding the fort for Carolyn Quinn. Ed Vaizey was my co-panellist. Gordon Brown and the pension scandal, Iran and various green bits were the key issues of debate.

The sky is darkening over Gordon Brown – and it’s a race as to whether he gets to the Prime Minister finishing line before being engulfed by bad opinion polls and damaging issues – such as this pension scandal. And Labour are doing themselves no favours with the usual New Labour spin: in this case deliberately timing the release of pension papers under a Freedom of Information request from The Times (well done The Times) on the Friday night of the parliamentary recess. Sneaky, disgusting, planned – and it won’t help him.

We will return to Parliament and Gordon Brown will have to face the music – which is not something often seen as most Treasury Question time he puts his minions out front and sits with head below parapet.

The damage to individual pensioners, the pensions industry as a whole and the damage to trust in politicians (if it can go any lower) is immense. But ultimately it may be damage to Gordon that is irreversible. We will see how things panned out. But he cannot say he wasn’t warned. The point is – he needed the money and clearly he didn’t really care about the consequences. That is sooooooo New Labour – live today and let someone else pay tomorrow!

Newroz celebrations

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Campaign Newroz Celebrations 2007 with Mustafa Topkaya, Lynne Featherstone MP, Simon Hughes and Akif Rizgar Wanteam meeting and door knocking to start off and then off to Shoreditch Park in Hackney to speak at the Newroz celebrations. Thousands of members of the Kurdish community come together to celebrate the year’s ‘renewal’. With bands, dancers and political speakers – the sun shone and the fun goes on. Simon Hughes and I were the Liberal Democrat contingent – and Simon is clearly an old favourite with the Kurdish community with whom he has done a great deal of work.

How do we tackle climate change?

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Local community groups came together to discuss and work out a way forward for a sustainable agenda for Haringey. Well, given that the Labour Council and the Labour government between them have not done the necessary – this is probably a move in the right campaigning direction.

The problem is that whilst the presentations were very good – from Friends of the Earth, Haringey Residents Associations and an energy consultant – it is in the end to a great extent about political will. We really do have to work towards a sustainable future and (excuse the number of clichés) there really is no time to lose. But whilst there is a lot of emphasis put – rightly – on individual action, there is much more that need to be done by the different parts of the state, especially giving us not merely an aspirational target for reducing carbon emissions by 2050 in the forthcoming Climate Change Bill but annual targets instead.

And a bit more is required of businesses – such as why not get the FTS100 companies to publish their carbon footprint? And why does Labour Haringey show no interest or desire to take up the local Liberal Democrat manifesto commitment to get businesses to recycle? Lots of individuals recycling their glass bottles is one thing, but imagine the impact of providing more pubs with a glass recycling service – or shops a cardboard box recycling service – and the list of examples goes on.

And one of the biggest carbon emitters of all – our homes – could be so much more energy efficient: not just lagging and cavity walls, but real improvements like in some northern European countries where emissions from peoples’ houses is almost down to nothing. It can be done – and the costs can be covered by savings on fuel bills.

Nevertheless – congratulations to the organisers of the sustainable communities conference, as we sure do need pressure – continual pressure – on both Haringey Council and the Government, particularly as the Climate Change Bill proceeds.

Caring for pets in Haringey

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Next Lynne Featherstone MP visiting the Wood Green Animal Sheltervisit of the day was to the Wood Green Animal Shelter. Dennis Baker (OBE) – the Chief Executive – and Harry Eckman – the Shelter Manager – greeted me as I arrived. Here were really dedicated souls giving virtually free vet services to those who need it for their pets – as well as operating a sanctuary for animals that come their way and a re-homing service for cats.

And all this despite the facility being unbelievably cramped. The X-ray facilities, the operating room, the pre-op room and the waiting rooms are all tiny. I don’t know how they manage – but I do know that this is a vital service to our local community.

Private vets fees costs an arm and a leg – and I should know ‘cos I have a dog (black and tan mutt) who I got as a pup from Crisis at Christmas. Now 9 years old – and because I get to take her almost always out of hours – it truly costs a fortune, but what are you going to do if your pet is ill? So for those who cannot pay much – this service is a godsend.

Just while I am on the subject of vets fees – I would be happy to hear from anyone who has views and stories about vets fees and insurance cover.

Back to the shelter itself: whilst it started here in Wood Green, there is also a bigger facility near Huntingdon – where they have superb facilities and where I once went to look for a dog when I wanted to get one for us. The centre is a charity but forbidden to apply for lottery grant funding to help them expand their premises as those funds are only applicable to humans.

So they manage on legacies and donations – and if you want to help financially, I am sure they would be grateful. Extending the shelter would allow for greater care for poorly animals, and also help the shelter’s expansion into re-homing services. They will be having a Christmas Fare open day. If you don’t know the shelter and want to know more you can visit their website for more information: www.woodgreen.org.uk

Visiting the Cypriot Community Centre

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After Lynne Featherstone MP visiting Haringey's Cypriot Community Centremeeting residents in the morning to talk through individual cases, I went off to the Cypriot Community Centre. It is a model for how community centres can really not only support a particular community but also help perform the functions of the local authority to a group of residents who might not access them through other channels so easily or so happily. I’ve visited previously, but this was my first visit as MP for the area.

Susie Constantinides and Chris Stylianou showed me around and what struck me most was the warmth of the atmosphere and the intermingling of the different groups. The general area was full of older gentleman (I don’t know how to put that more politely) who clearly enjoy coming for a right old natter. And they were all very sweet and welcoming to m. At other times of day women come or young people come. In the same large space, but over to one side, were older disabled people who had a large TV to watch – but were still part of the general community. In other rooms there were older people with various challenges – be that age, mental health or physical – and all cared for. The centre is really several centres rolled into one – providing meals, physio, care, socialisation, occupation, classes, meeting rooms, performance space, advisory services and so on. I can’t go into the details of all that they do here – but suffice to say – that they really do perform a vital function for the community – largely Cypriot although open to all.

One of the services they offer is to provide a Cypriot food version of meals on wheels. They brought up the issue of the price people have to pay for the meals on wheels service if they are not part of a total care package but rather getting just the meals. I promised to take up this point with Haringey Council.

New Sixth Form Centre in Haringey

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Lynne Featherstone with Minister Jim Knight at new sixth form centreFirst visit of the day was to the new Sixth Form Centre in Haringey – which will open for business in September. It is a fantastic building and will deliver top class facilities for students. The Minister Jim Knight was coming to see the building. The new Head seems fantastic – and she will be inspirational for the new students; I wish her well.

Whilst most of the probable feeder schools are on the Tottenham side of the borough, Woodside High School – which is in Hornsey & Wood Green – is a feeder school too. It will also be open to all children in the borough to apply and – for those who don’t want to go onto their own school’s sixth form if they have one – this will be a really vibrant alternative.

Low Copy Number DNA

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After PMQs I dashed over to College Green to shoot for Spotlight – a Northern Ireland news program with a good reputation. They were tracking DNA (so to speak) and in particular Low Copy Number (LCN) DNA.

They had picked up on my track record of challenging some of the issues around this super-detection tool and apparently there is a big case in Northern Ireland concerning DNA. The thing about LCN DNA in particular is that it can use something as small or infinitesimal as a single cell found at a crime scene – which sounds great at first because you think, “that means it’s much easier to track down criminals as you don’t need as much evidence to identify them.”

But – my argument is that I shake hands with people all day long and therefore my LCN DNA will be in their clothes, houses, offices etc. It will end up all over the place, on people and in places I haven’t had anything to do with. So LCN DNA should only be used cautiously – and only with corroborating evidence.

I also met up with World Development Movement who are busy lobbying ahead of the introduction of the Climate Change Bill. We are on the same page apparently (hate that expression!) in the key issues around how climate change will hit the ultra poor countries of the developing world much, much harder than us in the Northern hemisphere – so it is both a development and an environmental issue.

So we talked over how to challenge some of the issues in the current proposals and how to get them amended to include things like annual targets for carbon emissions and a development expert on the panels etc.

Water supplies in the developing world

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Water pipeInternational Development Questions and I have a go at Hilary Benn over water supply in the developing world.

Norway has withdrawn its funding to the Private Partnership International Advisory Facility because its water projects (which involve introducing private companies into the supply of water) keep failing and it is widely criticised – not surprisingly.

Given that the UK also funds the PPIAF I asked Hilary if we would be following Norway’s lead? Professing no preference for private, state or voluntary providers so long as stuff gets delivered, Hilary did then offer to look into the issue I had raised. Well I hope he does – as the point was exactly that – what is getting delivered for our public money? We wouldn’t want it to be water down the drain – or actually – no water down the drain.

International briefings

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A history lesson on Angola and plea for help to raise the issue of the alleged EU, US and British complicity in supporting an undemocratic government – which takes lands and rights and wealth from natural resources from the people to line its own pockets and create elite areas. I will do some independent research and make some enquires, as they say, but if what was presented is true – then only too happy to pursue, raise issues and turn a spotlight.

Followed by a SaferWorld and Amnesty briefing for a group of relevant Liberal Democrats on the forthcoming review of the Export Control License. Basically Government policy talks a good talk – but reality falls way short. There are a number of areas where arms trading is clearly taking place through back door or circuitous routes and the Government does not seem over-keen to find and shut loopholes. So the review will run from May to September – and given Labour’s stopping of the investigation into BAE – one has to wonder why the policy is good but the practise falls so short.