Week in Westminster

Planning is a matter for local councils and your councillors are the ones who will make the decision whether to approve or turn down applications but, quite reasonably, people also turn to their MPs, when a particularly contentious application is submitted; such is the case with proposals for Top Field in Barton.

I have received scores of objections from local residents; understandably so as the development is clearly not suitable for the site, at least in its present form. It’s important when framing objections that it must be based on ‘material planning considerations.’ What is or isn’t such a consideration can be found on many websites such as http://www.rtpi.org.uk/media/686895/Material-Planning-Considerations.pdf

As much as we all value ‘the view’ and want to maintain the value of our house but these are not relevant when applications are determined.

The Top Field development is unsuitable for a number of reasons; in particular access. As the Member of Parliament I pass on all representations I receive to the local authority and lobby them but they are the decision makers. It’s one of the most important representative roles that councillors have and one that can have a major impact on shaping the local area. I spent many years as a councillor and use to enjoy dealing with planning matters; it’s a real opportunity to get involved with the local community.

  

It’s one of the anomalies of planning legislation that applicants have the right of appeal but objectors don’t. Last year I introduced a 10 Minute Rule Bill into the House of Commons that would have given objectors this right in certain circumstances. I recognise that the system would very quickly grind to a halt if you could appeal every decision to extend a garage or add a conservatory but criteria could be set that preclude these sort of proposals. For example for major developments of say 100 dwellings or more or when the town or parish council has objected.

10 Minute Rule Bills are a way of highlighting an issue and starting a debate about an issue, they rarely become law. That said it can serve to raise an issue up the political agenda and its one that has considerable support in Parliament, though governments of all colours have refused to consider it. I can see why since appeals cause delays and for business developments that can be a major problem but I’m sure it’s possible to create a system that can deal quickly with applications and ensure that all sides have the opportunity of putting their case and that deliver speedy decisions.

I’ll keep pressing the case.

The changing face of world politics carries on apace. No sooner do we have the Brexit vote and a new British Prime Minister than American voters surprise the world by electing Donald Trump and only earlier this week we hear that former French president, Nicolas Sarkozy, is eliminated from the French elections even before the campaign proper begins. With elections coming up next year in the Netherlands and Germany as well as France European Politics could have a very different look and feel this time next year. If outsiders win any of these elections the EU could become very unstable. We certainly made the right decision on 23rd June.

Who Would You Vote For

WHO YOU would vote for if there was an election tomorrow?

All the polls indicate a substantial Conservative majority but we have a two-party system and we need an alternative government. Sadly, the Labour party is a long way from providing a serious alternative and in fact are not even capable of providing effective opposition.

Has anything you have seen or heard from the Party Conferences that changed your mind, strengthened or weakened your support for any of the parties?

Understandably it's the leader's speech that receives the most coverage and we now have a much more comprehensive picture of Theresa May's style of Conservatism. My assessment of the mood of the Party is that it is delighted and relieved that it now has more of a feel of the traditional Conservative Party, David Cameron can be credited with making the Tories electable in the political era dominated by Tony Blair. Every period demands our politicians to redefine their party based on the dominate theme and public concerns of the time.

What Theresa May made clear was that she recognises the mood of the country and has adapted the Government's policies to address that mood. The challenge as always is converting these aspirations into actions. There will be events completely beyond our Government's control that come along and knock them off course but knowing Mrs May's determination and looking at the quality of those around her I'm confident that a lot will be achieved.

Speaking of those around the Prime Minister one thing that is helpful at party conferences is that, since you are spending three or four days more or less locked away with other politicians, supporters and those mysterious people the 'spads.' That's the jargon for special advisor something that all ministers have and rightly so. The most senior of these is the man dubbed by the media as the man behind the throne. It is Nick Timothy who is the PM's Chief of Staff. I had a brief chat with him on Sunday evening. He's clearly going to have considerable influence so it was worthwhile flagging up with him the issues facing our area. Apart from getting to know more of these influential people I also took part in a number of fringe meetings; one about the Northern Powerhouse, another about the importance of transport connections and one about devolution of power from central government. The devolution debate is of particular relevance to Lincolnshire as we are currently involved in a process that will, hopefully, bring about a Greater Lincolnshire Combined Authority and an elected mayor to pull together the differing priorities from around the county.

The meeting was dominated by councillors – no surprise there – but it highlighted how some of our elected representatives are looking inward rather than outward to the communities they represent. There was too much talk of structures. The fact is that the public are not concerned whether it's the District Council or the County Council who empty the bins, make sure the street lights come on or fill the potholes. What matters is that these things get done. Thankfully in North and North East Lincolnshire we have unitary councils rather than the two-tier structure.

It's the fringe meetings that are far more interesting than what takes place in the main auditorium which is just a series of speeches from leading figures and important though that is when you are the governing power it is on the fringe that the more lively debate takes place.

Back in the constituency after the trip to Birmingham it was encouraging on Thursday to visit two new businesses.

The local economy is still expanding and despite the inevitable setbacks more jobs are being created and opportunities for our young people though there remains a gap in that we still aren't producing enough young people with the skills that they require for many of our industries.

Yes, there have been improvements but as employees repeatedly remind me there is more to be done and I will be discussing the issue with the Skills Minister and the Humber Local Enterprise Partnership who are specifically charged with addressing skills.

Week in Westminster

Who you would vote for if there was an election tomorrow? All the polls indicate a substantial Conservative majority but we have a two-party system and we need an alternative government. Sadly the Labour party is a long way from providing a serious alternative and in fact are not even capable of providing effective opposition.

Has anything you have seen or heard from the Party Conferences that changed your mind, strengthened or weakened your support for any of the parties?

Understandably it’s the leader’s speech that receives the most coverage and we now have a much more comprehensive picture of Theresa May’s style of Conservatism. My assessment of the mood of the Party is that it is delighted and relieved that it now has more of a feel of the traditional Conservative Party, David Cameron can be credited with making the Tories electable in the political era dominated by Tony Blair. Every period demands our politicians to redefine their party based on the dominate theme and public concerns of the time.

What Theresa May made clear was that she recognises the mood of the country and has adapted the Government’s policies to address that mood. The challenge as always is converting these aspirations into actions. There will be events completely beyond our Government’s control that come along and knock them off course but knowing Mrs May’s determination and looking at the quality of those around her I’m confident that a lot will be achieved.

Speaking of those around the Prime Minister one thing that is helpful at party conferences is that, since you are spending three or four days more or less locked away with other politicians, supporters and those mysterious people the ‘spads.’ That’s the jargon for special advisor something that all ministers have and rightly so. The most senior of these is the man dubbed by the media as the man behind the throne. It is Nick Timothy who is the PM’s Chief of Staff. I had a brief chat with him on Sunday evening. He’s clearly going to have considerable influence so it was worthwhile flagging up with him the issues facing our area.

Apart from getting to know more of these influential people I also took part in a number of fringe meetings; one about the Northern Powerhouse, another about the importance of transport connections and one about devolution of power from central government. The devolution debate is of particular relevance to Lincolnshire as we are currently involved in a process that will, hopefully, bring about a Greater Lincolnshire Combined Authority and an elected mayor to pull together the differing priorities from around the county.

The meeting was dominated by councillors – no surprise there – but it highlighted how some of our elected representatives are looking inward rather than outward to the communities they represent. There was too much talk of structures. The fact is that the public are not concerned whether it’s the District Council or the County Council who empty the bins, make sure the street lights come on or fill the potholes. What matters is that these things get done. Thankfully in North and North East Lincolnshire we have unitary councils rather than the two-tier structure.

It’s the fringe meetings that are far more interesting than what takes place in the main auditorium which is just a series of speeches from leading figures and important though that is when you are the governing power it is on the fringe that the more lively debate takes place. 

Back in the constituency after the trip to Birmingham it was encouraging on Thursday to visit two new businesses. The local economy is still expanding and despite the inevitable setbacks more jobs are being created and opportunities for our young people though there remains a gap in that we still aren’t producing enough young people with the skills that they require for many of our industries.
Yes, there have been improvements but as employees repeatedly remind me there is more to be done and I will be discussing the issue with the Skills Minister and the Humber Local Enterprise Partnership who are specifically charged with addressing skills.


To finish where we began; which party would you support if there were an election tomorrow? I suspect you know what my answer would be. Is there an alternative party with a coherent, costed and deliverable set of policies? Not at the moment.

New Directions

Tuesday, 2 August, 2016

The political scene is now much more settled than could be anticipated only a month ago; new ministers are settling in to their jobs, most notably the Prime Minister herself who has already met with her opposite numbers in France and Germany and faced Parliament in her first Prime Minister’s Questions. It is at PMQs when the public pass judgement and they saw her demolish Jeremy Corbyn’s attempts to score points and showed mastery of the whole range of Government when replying to a wide range of questions from backbench members.
With Parliament now in recess new ministers will have more time to brief themselves on their new department and backbenchers more time to catch up on constituency work. As for me I’m continuing with the job I said I wanted when elected - ‘Secretary of State for the Cleethorpes Constituency.’
Cleethorpes is on a high at the moment; we successfully staged the National Armed Forces Event, have continuing successes in the ‘In Bloom’ competition and if the weather is kind during the school holiday period the disappointing weather in the early part of the season can, to some extent, be forgotten.
More needs to be done to ensure coastal towns and seaside resorts attract investment and overcome the seemingly inherent problems that the statistics show namely, lower education standards, a low-skilled workforce, lower wages, and an economy struggling to keep pace with many other parts of the country. Of course we shouldn’t look to Government to solve all our problems but increased recognition that these issues must be tackled will be welcome. I have already questioned and spoken to the new ministerial team about these concerns and will certainly be keeping up the pressure on them. 
Listening to the radio a few days ago I was reminded that last Saturday was the 50th anniversary of England winning the World Cup and recalling that game reminded me of how it had some similarities with the recent political rollercoaster.
Those of you old enough will recall that Jimmy Greaves hoped to play in the game but wasn’t chosen by manager Alf Ramsay. Jimmy was a talented player who could always be relied on to entertain the crowds. That other entertainer Boris Johnson hoped to play in the final of the party leadership but events conspired against him.
Geoff Hurst who replaced Greaves after he was injured in the in the group stage of the competition. Hurst had played badly in the warm-up games against Finland and Poland and had appeared to have fallen out of contention but recovered to become the star player with his hat-trick in the Final. In the same way Theresa May was thought to be out of the running after a quiet few months following last year’s Party Conference and a quiet referendum campaign but in the same way performed well when it really mattered.
In 1966 40 players were named in the extended squad that had to be reduced to 22 by the start of the contest so players such as Terry Venables & Peter Osgood were pushed aside without getting onto the pitch. Remember George Osborne who the commentators expected to be in the running?
Andrea Leadsom made it to the final but was fouled and retired hurt.
As the game came towards its end some people were on the pitch thinking it was all over just like Theresa May’s supporters gathering round her even before Andrea quit the race.
And just as in 1966 the Queen presented the winner with the prize.           

Politics, like football, can be very unpredictable each competition usually throws up an unexpected competitor - Iceland and Andrea Leadsom - who after a good start eventually lose out.

Referendum

hursday, 7 July, 2016

That was the Week that was: the country voted to leave the EU, the Prime Minister resigned, the Labour Party MPs passed a motion of no confidence in their leader as they continue along the road to political oblivion, two of the three frontrunners to become Conservative leader have fallen by the wayside and Cleethorpes took centre-stage with the National Event to mark Armed Forces Day. And, just to take our minds off the politics, our football team lost to Iceland.
All of these political changes are taking place and yet almost everyone is going about their business; a few hundred can always be relied on to turn up at a moment’s notice to demonstrate in Parliament Square costing the rest of us millions in police time, but for everyone else the world goes on and, yet again, Britain demonstrates what a mature democracy it is. In many countries, probably the majority, troops would be on the streets and a real, rather than manufactured, crisis, would exist.
The referendum result was in the balance until polling day itself when, as I always hoped, the British people would vote in the way that they truly believed. The truth is that British people has never been anything other than half-hearted about EU membership. Year after year successive prime ministers have been forced to travel to Brussels telling us they were determined to get a better deal. They have returned telling us that they have gained some sort of privileged position, that they have opted out of this or that policy so why should we be surprised when the British people said ‘if that’s the case let’s opt out of the whole thing.’ The most repeated comment on the doorsteps was ‘we want our democracy, our country back.’ It was a heartfelt plea and one that I have always shared.
The Tories in having major figures on both sides of the EU argument were speaking for the electors who themselves were almost equally divided but Labour, with a few notable exceptions, batted for the Remain side despite knowing, or at least they should have known, that at least half of their supporters would be voting Leave. If they continue to ignore the views of their supporters it’s going to be a long road back for them.  
The condescending remarks from some commentators that it is the ‘uneducated’ who voted to leave or that we are all racists is insulting and quite simply wrong. They should get out into the provincial towns and villages of Lincolnshire and elsewhere rather than hiding within the M25. Are two-thirds of the people in North East Lincolnshire uneducated and racists? Of course not and to suggest so is deeply offensive.
I’m genuinely saddened that David Cameron has chosen to stand down but he has taken an honourable course. It’s a major personal blow to someone who has served his country well and it is to his great credit that he travelled to Cleethorpes to pay tribute to our Armed Forces past and present, and as we remember the Battle of the Somme and, in particular the role of the Grimsby Chums, we recall how much we owe to those who serve, both past and present.      
My reflections on the referendum campaign are that, though it was somewhat bruising, it was passionate and clearly engaged the electorate to the extent that 72 per cent voted – much higher than in recent general elections. In the early stages the debate was pretty poor but once we reached the later stages and the TV debates began people became more engaged. What is very clear is that people in this area feel too distant from the decision-makers and neglected.
Now that we are bringing the European dimension of decision-making back from Brussels to London, coupled with the devolution policies of our Government that is being addressed but the new prime minister must recognise there is something of a north-south divide that must be recognised and policies devised to reverse the drift south.
Politics will soon return to normal, the one or maybe two new party leaders will get down to work and, hopefully, those in the media will recognise that it is the Government who are responsible for delivering Brexit not the Vote Leave campaign. David Cameron deserves credit for granting the referendum, delivering it, and accepting the result as an instruction from the people. That instruction will be carried out and talk of a second referendum should be forgotten; quite simply it isn’t going to happen.          
It’s now time to come together as a country, accept the majority decision, and work together to build a better future.

Education & Skills

Monday, 4 April, 2016

Last Monday evening I was one of the sponsors of what turned out to be an interesting debate about Educational Attainment in Yorkshire and the Humber. The debate centred on a report from the Social Market Foundation that drew attention to the depressingly low levels of attainment in the region.
Although there was a certain amount of political point-scoring most contributors recognised that this was as serious issue deserving of serious consideration and that the statistics showing poor performance don’t just happen when one or other party comes to power; they are deep-seated and have come about over many years.
The report stated that “GCSE performance at age 16 across England and Wales reveals marked disparities between regions, with over 70% of pupils in London achieving 5 good GCSEs compared to 63% in Yorkshire & Humber.”
It goes on “Regional differences in attainment are already apparent by the end of primary school”. It also says: “Regional disparities persist, with some areas such as Yorkshire and the Humber falling further behind and London’s performance surging over the last three decades.”
Some of the political argument centred around the Government’s proposal that all schools should become academies. In North East Lincolnshire where all secondary schools are academies we are fortunate to have some excellent performing schools, with good sponsors, first-rate teachers and leadership of the highest quality. They score well in the league tables and yet we have, as the SMF report notes some extremely disappointing overall attainment.
I have raised this conundrum previously and in February the David Cameron wrote to me following a question I put to him at Prime Minister’s Questions. He made clear that the Government recognised the problem and said “…the Government is committed to educational excellence everywhere and we want to eradicate the pockets of underperformance where too few children have access to a good school.”
If our young people are not given a good grounding at school and shown what can be achieved then they may grow up lacking ambition. The truth is that from whatever background and wherever you live you can succeed. However hard governments work to ensure equal opportunity background and home circumstances make a difference and one of the factors that contribute to success is the active involvement and support from parents.
In the past the core industry in most towns be it fishing, steel, mining or whatever provided work for the youngsters coming out of school but nowadays you need qualifications even for low-skilled jobs. Around the area we have some excellent work being done by our Further and Higher Education colleges and by training facilities such as CATCH in Stallingborough where I was pleased to visit last week to open their new workshop.
Despite their hard work when I visit many local businesses they will tell me about the difficulty they have finding a sufficient supply of skilled labour. This isn’t just a local problem; major infrastructure projects struggle to recruit skilled people in the numbers required, often have to bring in workers from abroad.
I welcome North East Lincolnshire Councils decision to employ a Director of Skills and Learning. If we are to overcome some of the inherent problems facing the area we must be prepared to bring in top people to improve things.  
Parliament is often assumed to be a political knockabout akin to Prime Minister’s Questions from dawn till dusk day-in, day-out but anyone following these things closely will know better. Not only did we have the three hour education debate mentioned above but on Wednesday afternoon a debate about the genocide been perpetrated on the Yazidis, Christians and other ethnic and religious minorities.
My Conservative colleague Fiona Bruce initiated the debate saying that “Christians, Yazidis, and other ethnic and religious minorities in Iraq and Syria are suffering genocide at the hands of Daesh; and calls on the Government to make an immediate referral to the UN Security Council with a view to conferring jurisdiction upon the International Criminal Court so that perpetrators can be brought to justice.”
Exactly why the Government seem to be resisting referring the matter to the International Court wasn’t entirely clear and when a vote was taken it was passed by 258 to none. The vote is not binding on the Government but it may, in time, well result in a change of policy.
After which we discussed continuing printing Acts of Parliament on Vellum – of course we should. Magna Carta wouldn’t have survived had it been on paper. Fortunately there was a large majority in favour.

Autumn Statement

The big political event of last week was the Chancellor’s Autumn Statement though locally confirmation that through trains between Cleethorpes, Scunthorpe and Manchester would be retained in the new franchise to be finalised next year was the decision that would have resulted in a collective sigh of relief. It was the result of a massive campaign. As well as the Telegraph’s highly successful campaign that resulted in around 7000 coupons being delivered to the minister by myself and Michelle Lalor, editor of the Grimsby edition. I and my colleagues asked countless questions in Parliament, held a full-scale debate, Select Committee hearings and lots of meetings both formal and informal with ministers, in particular the quiet word here and there cannot be underestimated showing that Government backbenchers with access to ministers can use their influence effectively. It also demonstrates that if the public engage with the consultation processes that governments carry out then ministers must take note – the system works. The temptation, when a decision goes against you, is always to claim that no one listens, it was all a done deal and so on; not so democracy is a two-way process, get involved and things can change.

The Autumn Statement itself ‎was well-balanced and responsible.

At local level there was really good news for those affected by, not just last year’s tidal surge, but also previous floods. £80 million has been allocated as the first instalment of funding for the various projects needed to strengthen the Humber defences and specifically mentioned is the area in the Barrow Haven/New Holland area. The plans put together by the local authorities and the Environment Agency to increase the level of defences from what is described in the jargon as a ‘one in fifty year event’ will be upgraded to ‘one in 200 year event’ are being trawled over by officials at the Department of Environment and in the Treasury. The proposals are estimated at £1.2 billion spread over seventeen years. Obviously before expenditure at this level is given the go-ahead there is much work to be done but the £80 million is a positive message from Government that the work is not just necessary but vital for both residents and to protect industry much of which is of strategic importance.

There was also funding for housing developments on brownfield sites, and the abolition of Air Passenger Duty for children will be welcome news not just for families but Humberside Airport as well; abolition of National Insurance contributions for apprentices, a boost for the High Street with help on Business Rates and the very welcome reform of stamp duty.

George Osborne has stuck to his strategy outlined at the start of the Coalition Government and we are now the fastest-growing of the world's major economies. It will take a few more months before the benefits filter through with further increases in personal tax allowances and the like but we can all feel that little more confident that better times are ahead.

Locally there is much to be optimistic about with growing confidence in the business community and 2015 will be the year when everyone starts to feel the benefit.