Tag Archives: the westminster hour

Will Downing Street let a cooker in?

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On The Westminster Hour yesterday, Carolyn Quinn wanted to know what it is like being a woman in the House of Commons etc. This on the back of International Women’s Day coming up on Thursday and a debate on gender in the House of Commons.

Well – it’s still a boys school and we need more women. As to the atmosphere – water of a duck’s back in terms of the male testosterone being sprayed about. Having had my political baptism in the Haringey Council Chamber – three Lib Dems with me as Leader of the Opposition and fifty-four Labour members (then – it’s rather different now!) – the Commons seems quite sweet. However, there is a lot of pointing and jeering – by any other name at school this would be called bullying. And we are meant to have bullying policies at every school – so why not the House of Commons?

However, was grateful for opportunity to flag up the difficulty I am having with Downing Street. I want to deliver a solar cooker (looks like an oversized mixing bowl, covered with reflective silver foil) to Tony Blair. The point I am making is that these solar cookers cost around $2 and save women getting raped and murdered. This is because in many war zones when women go outside of the refugee camps to collect wood to make a fire to cook – they literally risk rape and murder. These cookers, which work of the hot sun, prevent them from needing to leave the safe compound.

So I am trying to deliver one to Tony, wrapped in purple and green ribbon for International Women’s day – but whilst I have permission to deliver a petition they will not let the cooker pass. I did threaten on radio to chain myself to the gates outside Downing Street (ever since the suffragettes I have been longing to chain myself to something for a cause) but that part was in jest!

But if the Downing Street media machine reads blogs – come on guys, let the cooker in: it’s not too much to ask.

Back from the Westminster Hour

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Back Lynne Featherstone MP on Radio 4from the Westminster Hour! Tonight was – is Ming too old (Lord Owen’s comments in the week)? No – say I – just a grumpy old man (Lord Owen not Ming).

Then it was on to Ming and his profile on Facebook – which already has over 200 friends. I’ve just got one too – follow my leader! – but with only 23 friends (so far!).

Then David Cameron – does he have a right to a private life? Yes!

Then – should the Government take note of the online petition on the Number 10 website signed by around one million people about road charging? Yes – of course. Clearly folk are not happy and whilst the overall intention of the policy might be right – there ought to be a lot of work going on to find out how to mitigate the problems people see with the proposal. Also – it cannot be about revenue raising, only about sorting out our traffic and transport.

And then it was on to the Tories approaching our Lib Dem David Laws to change sides. Go away – he said. But I am not surprised that the Tories are trying to seduce our brightest and our best! They need a bit of talent on their benches – but b****r off – you can’t have ours!

On arriving home find a listener who has taken pity on me having heard my friend count and become my friend. Thank you Anna!

Holocaust Memorial Day

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Holocaust Memorial Day and Sheila Peacock, one of the local Labour councillors in Haringey has organised the ceremonies this year at Bruce Castle. I may not see eye to eye with Sheila on virtually everything else, but on this she does an excellent job – and full credit to her.

It is such an important occasion – and the symbolism of the Holocaust as a focal point for all the evils that man perpetrates on man pulls us all together as one. You cannot but fail to be moved by listening to a survivor of the Holocaust tell of what is what like actually living through it. It doesn’t matter how many books I have read, films I have seen, newsreels witnessed: listening to someone who lived through the hell of the camps brings it home in a way that no other medium can deliver. And I have never been to a Holocaust ceremony where, in addition to remembering the Holocaust, there was not also a remembrance for all the genocides across the world. Today was no different and we also heard from survivors from Rwanda. Shame on the Muslim Council for refusing to attend these ceremonies.

Evening was off to the Westminster Hour. It’s been a radio fest this weekend. We romp through the troubled Home Office and gay adoption issues – as both of these will come back next week. I raised the issue of the debate on the sale of a radar system to Tanzania – an opposition day debate by the Tories. Nevertheless – hopefully this time the Serious Fraud Office will uncover the truth and be left to do so without Government intervention. The Tories have been oddly silent on the Saudi Arabian arms deal corruption investigation (though the original deal was done by them) – so perhaps their interest in Tanzania is designed to help distracted from the otherwise silent acquiescence at Labour blocking international corruption investigations.

The Westminster Hour

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It is so weird to go out at 9.30pm on a Sunday night to do a live panel discussion. That’s the time of the week when I am normally just relaxing before the onslaught of the week ahead, making sure everything is done and ready.

But last night (Sunday) was the first of the new era of The Westminster Hour with its new presenter Carolyn Quinn. One of the innovations is a live slot with a panel of MPs – myself, Kitty Usher (Labour) and Ed Vaizey (Tory). Some weeks will be the three of us together but more often it will be two of the three in any combination for a chat about what’s coming up in the week ahead, any particular issues of interest to us individually – and as Ed and I are consummate bloggers – what the blogs are saying.

So off I went to Millbank for a 10.15 start. Kitty had been all over the papers as one of those on the Government payroll who was campaigning against closure of health facilities locally while being one of those voting for the cuts on the government whip in the House of Commons. I thought she had a pretty good stab at defending herself.

To my mind, the big problem isn’t whether Labour MPs are being consistent or not, but that MPs from all parties are raising concerns – and Health Secretary Patricia Hewitt isn’t listening. In Hornsey & Wood Green (as I said on air) the local council’s Overview & Scrutiny Committee wrote, as did I, to Patricia – and the reply they got was from the equivalent of the Customer Service department in BT or the Royal Mail. Thank you for your letter – but… Being fobbed off with such a junior reply is hardly the Health Secretary listening.

What makes the fob off more galling is that Patricia Hewitt told Parliament that the correct procedure is indeed for council’s Overview & Scrutiny Committees to write to her and she will use her discretion to intervene and takes this most seriously. Not what happened in Haringey’s case!

Then we had a bash at the Home Office – well it’s an open door on a day when the Government is on the run from yet more scandalous incompetence. If the Government stopped trying to make a new law every day (3,000 new offences since 1997), then their staff might have a chance to get on top of their jobs. But the Government just loves headlines that say: we are going to be active – we are doing things. Just as when John Reid said he would work f***ing 18 hours a day to get it sorted – it makes for good headlines, but the results are rather different!

David Cameron's debut

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Off bright and early to Parliament for a ‘Green Ministers’ breakfast briefing on the proposed Marine Bill – still in its infancy. I am the ‘Green Minister’ for our Home Office team. Our manifesto commitment was to interweave green issues into the heart of all issues – so each Lib Dem team has its own Green Minister.

Today’s subject is really interesting – although not directly related to my constituency (being landlocked). It is helpful to be briefed by the experts in the field of marine life to understand the issues. What strikes me is the point they make about us having land planning laws and regs until they are coming out of our ears – but virtually nothing for our seas. Rare species and environments are disappearing, virtually nothing is protected and there seem to be no rules about priorities in terms of planning at sea. So someone can create a port – anywhere – with no regard to damage by placement and no requirement to even consider it. At least the Government is prepared to bring forward the legislation – but not all the departments seem fully engaged and you need the ODPM and the DTI fully on board!

Home Affairs team meeting is followed by Prime Ministers’ Questions. Of course, it’s David Cameron’s debut! He did really well on his first bite of the cherry, nicely telling off Hilary Armstrong for sitting there shouting childish comments at him. She does this all the time and it is unedifying and a public telling off saw her blush nicely. However, he didn’t make much impact on his environment question – I guess the Tories and environment caring, sharing are still not believable even with that nice David Cameron saying he agreed with Tony Blair on this and education.

Tony B pointed out to the Notting Hill Prince that if he agreed with it all – he had better vote for it and the budget to fund it. They were both well-behaved – which personally I found quite refreshing. However, I suspect that the Tories agreeing with Tony Blair and the Government line is a one trick pony. Tony Cameron can’t say that every time he speaks – it just won’t ring true or (I suspect) be deliverable. Still an adequate start. Style 8 – content 3!

Now Charles Kennedy, on the other hand, asked a stonkingly good question on Extraordinary Rendition (that’s the American policy of picking up suspects around the world, and flying them off on secret flights to secret locations with no trial, no legal representation and no accountability). Charles put Tony B on the back foot for not knowing what he was talking about and not telling Jack Straw – anything! And this is what question time should be about – serious stuff.

Dash back to my office to do an interview with the Westminster Hour to go out Sunday night on Cameron and what it means for the LibDems. Pontificate – but the truth is – who knows fopr sure … yet!

Last port of the day is attendance at St Andrews Church in Alexandra ward to see the local amateur dramatic society perform three plays. This is their last outing after 81 years – as the Church is renovating (lottery money) and is taking away their storage room and the stage which will make it impossible to go on. Such a shame. I don’t quite understand as when I visited the Church recently to look at the plans for the renovation I thought they had built in storage for the theatre company and I didn’t remember the Vicar saying that they would have to go. Must write and ask if any chance of them staying – somehow.

The production was very professional. I used to do a fair amount of am / dram myself from the age of about 9 until about 22! It took me back to those days. And as I have been told that ‘politics is showbiz for ugly people’ I obviously found an alternative outlet for my thespian aspirations.