October 28 2013

Many of you will have read last Monday’s Telegraph report of my night out on patrol in Cleethorpes with the Humberside Police Commissioner, Matthew Grove, the police and our magnificent ‘Street Angels.’

The role of Police Commissioner was the subject of much debate when the legislation was passing through Parliament a couple of years ago but most of the commissioners are settling into their roles and providing both real accountability and developing links with the local communities throughout the Force area. I can see their role extending over coming years perhaps incorporating responsibility for the other emergency services.

After last week when the three Police Federation officers appeared before Parliament’s Home Affairs Select Committee to be questioned about their part in the downfall of former Cabinet Minister, Andrew Mitchell who can doubt that the police must be democratically accountable.

But I digress; the officers I meet as I go about the constituency are dedicated to serving the public and we owe them our thanks and appreciation. Certainly those I saw in action on the streets of Cleethorpes were able to diffuse some rather tense encounters using a mix of humour, firmness and authority.

Turning to the ‘Street Angels:’ they are a dedicated group of individuals who give up many of their Saturday nights to walk the streets until 2.30 a.m. keeping an eye out for anyone in distress or perhaps a little worse for drink. Organised by Churches Together in North East Lincolnshire they are people of faith who are genuinely concerned about their local community.

Similar groups operate in towns and cities up and down the country. They are admirable in every way.     

As well as the police there was a representative from the Fire and Rescue Service and North East Lincolnshire Council. All of these people on the streets at vast expense to the taxpayer so that people can, in some cases, drink too much.

I’m no killjoy nor do I want to do anything to harm the night-time economy since lots of local people work in the clubs and bars and I supported the introduction of 24 hour licensing in the hope that it would bring about a culture change but, like other north European nations such as Germany and Holland we seem unable to adopt the drinking habits of the more southern European countries and perhaps that means we need to restore a little more regulation.

One culture change that does seem to have taken place is that many of our younger people seem to go out with the intention of getting drunk, something that was very much less prevalent until more recent years. The availability of cheap alcohol from supermarkets seems to be the reason. In years gone by people went to the pub and moved onto a club around 11 o’clock where they were able to enjoy themselves until around 2 a.m.

I’m opposed to minimum unit pricing because it penalises the responsible drinker who wants to enjoy a few beers a bottle of wine at home but I do think there is a case for preventing the supermarkets from selling booze at below cost. Perhaps this coupled with returning to a slightly more regulated system of licensing hours might mean we make life a little less fraught for the taxi operators we spoke to, the police, the staff at A & E, the staff at the Takeaways and as I mentioned earlier ease the burden on the taxpayer. What do you think? Please let me know at martin.vickers.mp@parliament.uk

One rather surreal moment occurred around midnight when we decided to have a bite to eat. On our travels around Cleethorpes we were accompanied by Adrian Gill the feature writer and restaurant critic for the Sunday Times who writes under the name of A.A. Gill. As we took our place in Valentinos Italian restaurant in the Market Place I mused on how often a London restaurant critic turns up unannounced at a Cleethorpes eatery. My pizza was first-rate; will we ever know what Adrian thought of his steak? Check out the Sunday Times for the next few weeks, that’s if it wasn’t in yesterday.   

Sept 30 2013

With the Party Conference season upon us it’s worth asking what, if any, useful purpose they serve. Those of us actively involved in politics tend to love them or at best have a take-it or leave-it attitude toward them but for the public at large they pass almost unnoticed.

Of course the big speeches will get a fair amount of coverage on the main news bulletins and as a result will, for a short time, linger in the memory. A sound-bite may enter the political language for a generation to come; think of Margaret Thatcher’s ‘you turn if you want to, the lady’s not for turning’ or maybe you can remember Neil Kinnock’s attack on the Militant Tendency but most speeches are just a part, however important, of the process of sending a message about the direction of travel of a Party and makes a contribution to the public perception of the Party and its leading players.

Sometimes, for all the wrong reasons, the conference can produce headlines exactly the opposite of what is wanted. Just ask that colourful character UKIP MEP and party leader Nigel Farage. His fellow MEP Godfrey Bloom completely derailed their gathering. The only message to have emerged was based on Mr Bloom’s comments and behaviour. Mr Bloom is of course one of our own MEPs representing as he does the Yorkshire and Humber region; now of course sitting as an Independent and keeping his options open as to his future. The most interesting feature of the way the story developed is the Party’s reaction. Mr Bloom was, to say the least, acting politically incorrect but the party which claims to be the antidote to political correctness felt they had no choice but to get rid of the problem as soon as possible. So Mr Bloom’s political career, which always seemed destined to end in this way, hits the buffers.

This week the Labour Party is doing its best to appear as an alternative government. After a heavy defeat all parties go through a period of rebuilding, reconsideration of their policies in the light of changed circumstances and eventually emerge as a realistic alternative government. Labour doesn’t, as yet, appear to have achieved that stage. The poll ratings for Ed Miliband are awful and on the key measure of which party is considered best able to manage the economy Labour are miles behind the Conservatives. All of this may suggest that the next General Election is a foregone conclusion. Definitely not; our first-past-the-post system will usually give a clear-cut result when two parties dominate but when a third party – the LibDems – win more than a handful of seats things become more unpredictable – witness the 2010 result. A hung parliament becomes more likely. Add another Party – UKIP, Greens or whoever then things become even more unpredictable. A fourth party may not win any seats, indeed it is extremely unusual, but it can help prouce some very unexpected results.

Mr Miliband decided he had to say something dramatic that would catch a headline and to hope that as it unravelled the public’s interest would have moved on. The choice of energy prices and his proposed freeze has some political mileage since we are all suffering from high energy prices. Partly this is a result of market forces but also partly a result of meeting our obligations to promote renewable power generation most of which were agreed to when the minister was no other than one Ed Miliband.

One of the biggest weaknesses of the announcement was that it could make potential investors think twice. Could there be a Labour government in 2015? If there’s just half a chance then they may hold off making a decision. Last Thursday I attended a meeting of the Hull and Humber Chamber of Commerce and one senior businessman asked me if I thought the Miliband announcement could influence whether or not the Siemens or Able UK development goes ahead. I don’t know the answer but the very fact that it is being asked is perhaps cause for concern.

So when David Cameron, George Osborne and others take to the Conference stage next week what can we expect? Well with the marked improvement in the economy they will be anxious to show that by sticking to their policies the country is now beginning to benefit. Had we adopted a Plan B as Labour has been urging we would not now be seeing light at the end of the tunnel.

Boris Johnson will appear, amuse and retire back to London leaving us all with a smile on our face but it is the Leader’s speech that will set the tone and clearly indicate how we can build on the foundations that have now been laid. Highlighting how household budgets will benefit from such as the increased tax-free allowances. As the recovery gathers momentum we must be sure that the lower and middle income families are first to benefit.

So listen to the mood music that emerges it will tell us a lot about how the parties are gearing up for the Election and the policies on which it will be fought.

August 2 2013

Are your main political concerns governed by what issues are in the headlines? In other words does the media contribute, or perhaps even dictate, what political issues worry you?

I ask because at my street surgery in Cleethorpes’ St. Peter’s Avenue last week the issues were markedly different from the previous month. A few weeks ago Europe, in all its forms, was clearly at the forefront of peoples’ minds. That was understandable since Parliament had been discussing the Bill to authorise an IN/OUT referendum and I was asking them to sign up to support the Conservative campaign to legislate for that referendum before the next election; a proposal being opposed by Labour and the LibDems.

Last week I was again asking them to sign up to supporting the ‘Let’s Decide’ campaign as it’s called but hardly anyone wanted to talk about Europe. There had been no bad headlines about ‘Europe’ pushing us around – Abu Qatada is in Jordan, UKIP are down in the polls, the economy is recovering and the sun is shining. Certainly Cleethorpes has had a good few weeks; not just the weather but the fantastic success of the Air Show, the Carnival and Armed Forces Day which all brought thousands into the Town.

So what did people want to talk about last week? Well, since our Police & Crime Commissioner, Matthew Grove, was with me it’s understandable that policing issues were to the fore; but even that, in one sense, is a good news story since crime is at a 30 year low.

Matthew is proving the case that the introduction of Police Commissioners was a good policy, of course there will be some commissioners who fail but we can all pass judgement and choose not to re-elect them. That’s something that could not be said about the anonymous police authorities that preceded the commissioners. Matthew is providing a real opportunity for the public to engage with him and express their concerns about policing in their own area. He is constantly attending residents meetings, parish councils and similar gatherings – if you belong to one of these groups and haven’t had him along invite him he’ll be delighted to meet with you.

There’s no doubting the economy is on the up and as the Telegraph reported on 25^th July there is growing confidence among local businesses. As Ian Kelly, Chief Executive of the Hull and Humber Chamber of Commerce stated in the article their own economic survey reflected the national picture with ‘sales orders, training, turnover the profit expectations all showing sharp increases’ and that 68 per cent of firms said they were planning to recruit new staff.

Certainly there was a buzz down the Avenue and much more of the elusive ‘feel-good’ factor than only a month ago.

If you rummage around in the recycling box and find a newspaper from a month ago it can often feel like another country. Read some of the articles and you think ‘I wonder what happened to that story?’

But, back to my original question, ask yourself what the first three concerns are today and I suspect you would, off the top of your head, say the economy – you want to know if you’ll be better off next year than this – immigration and either policing or the NHS might be next. I say this because these are almost always at the top of the list. I challenge you to ask yourselves in a month’s time and see what you come up with.

Interestingly welfare abuse which was a big issue until recently has slipped down the list, perhaps because people can now see how hard the Government are clamping down on it.

After these issues people will almost always complain about local services such as the state of footpaths, dog-fouling and street cleaning.

Finally I can’t let pass without comment last week’s visit by the Deputy Prime Minister Nick Clegg & Energy Secretary Ed Davey. It’s very rare for two cabinet ministers to visit any constituency on the same day and it shows how committed to developing the area the Government is. They can see the prospects and have shown commitment by investing in improvement to our infrastructure and approving Growth Fund bids and now we can all see the result of both Government support and private investment – regeneration and real jobs.

On Referendum's

The referendum is democracy in its purest form; everyone has a vote and the vote of everyone reading this column will be equal with that of your neighbour, your member of parliament or your prime minister.

It took just under a century for this country to move from only a handful of the population being able to determine who was to represent us in parliament to full equality for all adults. The 1832 Reform Act started the process that was completed in 1928 when the voting age for women was reduced from 30 to 21.

Of course it’s not possible to be holding votes month in month out and as a representative democracy we entrust most of those decisions to either our local or national politicians but for major decisions, particularly ones that divide parties,  the referendum is the most appropriate method of gaining the approval or rejection of the electorate.

Nothing is more important than determining the future direction of the country which is why there will be a referendum in Scotland to decide whether or not to leave the United Kingdom; a policy decided upon by the Coalition with Labour Party support.

Our membership of the European Union must surely be as big an issue as Scottish independence; after all it is an organisation with the aim of European political union – something I and a large number of voters oppose. It may or may not be a majority but the only way to test that is via a referendum.

Europe is a fault line that has run through the British body politic for more than forty years. If after the 1975 referendum there had been further referendum after each of the major treaties it is possible that we might still be EU members. I personally would regret that but the important thing is that as a country it would be with the consent of the British people. Until we repair that fault line it is an issue that will continue to divide the nation.

Last week’s policy statement by Ed Miliband leaves the Labour party policy in a complete muddle as witness headlines in different newspapers last Thursday morning. One announcing that it was Labour policy to hold an in/out referendum and another stating the exact opposite; something that was clearly the result of the Party trying to spin the same story in two opposite directions – what a joke.    

There is no way that the British people will be taken in by such blatant doublespeak.

So why would anyone who favours the democratic process oppose a referendum on such is major issue; and we must assume that Mr Miliband and his colleagues are democrats. Could it be that they fear the people may disagree with them? Or perhaps they consider that we are unable to determine the direction in which our country goes over the next generation or two?

The Labour position is that the Scots have the right to determine their own future but not the British people as a whole.

In the 1975 referendum I campaigned for us to leave the Common Market as it was then called. Since then it has evolved into the European Union. Its aim of political union has always been there despite what politicians such as Wilson, Jenkins, Heath, & Callaghan said at the time. There is a perfectly honourable and reasoned argument in favour. It’s just one that I don’t happen to share but whichever side of the argument you are on it is a decision that should be for all of us. As I said at the start of this article a referendum is for all; David Cameron will have just one vote, and so will you. It seems reasonable to me but not to Ed and his Party.        

Random Thoughts

How big a role would you like to see Britain play in the world and how much are you prepared to pay for whatever role you would like to see? This week there have been reports critical of our reduced defence spending and, in particular that, for the moment, we have no aircraft carrier. The British people are rightly proud of our Armed Forces and would ideally like to see them in larger numbers. 

             

After our Iraq and Afghanistan commitments the country is war-weary and has little appetite for further interventions. Last August when the Government was contemplating intervention in Syria there was little support and certainly after I opposed military action I received only one critical email and that was from someone who was not a constituent.

So at the same time as we want to intervene less, we would still like us to maintain a large military establishment. Yet another circle for the politicians to square.

Last week’s Prime Minister’s Questions was a rather subdued affair but the last question brought us all a smile; this is how Hansard, the Parliamentary record, reports it:

Andrew Bridgen (North West Leicestershire) (Con): The Leader of the Opposition has said, “What Hollande is doing in France I want to do in Britain.” Given recent events across the channel, does my right hon. Friend agree that that is completely at odds with our long-term economic plan?

The Prime Minister: I did not catch all of President Hollande’s press conference yesterday, because I was appearing in front of the Liaison Committee, but one thing that I did notice is that the French proposals now are to cut spending in order to cut taxes in order to make the economy more competitive. Perhaps the shadow Chancellor, in his new silent form, will want to consider some of those ideas and recognise that this revolution of making business more competitive and trying to win in the global race is a proper plan for the economy.

Even Ed Miliband allowed a grin to cross his face. But behind the smiles there was a serious point. The French President came to power with a Labour Party style set of policies. Taxes went up and unemployment stands at over 11 per cent. So what happened? He’s now proposing spending cuts of £41.5 billion – far more than in the UK. So George Osborne hasn't needed a Plan B as the two Edsm Balls and Miliband, have been arguing for over the last three years.

French cuts are going to be painful as have ours but consider four cuts we can all welcome: the deficit cut, unemployment cut, taxation cut, fuel duty cut.

At a local level I received the Hull & Humber Chamber of Commerce’s latest economic forecast last week and it contained yet more good economic news: two-thirds of companies are expecting to increase turnover this year and as I go round the constituency there is certainly increased optimism throughout the local business community.

One final thought; the newly refurbished Cleethorpes Leisure Centre looked pretty impressive in the Telegraph the other day which made me ask- shouldn't the Council have refurbished the Scartho Road pool and had a few million to spend elsewhere? I think we all know the answer except that is, our Labour councillors.           

From the Westminster Column

How big a role would you like to see Britain play in the world and how much are you prepared to pay for whatever role you would like to see? This week there have been reports critical of our reduced defence spending and, in particular that, for the moment, we have no aircraft carrier. The British people are rightly proud of our Armed Forces and would ideally like to see them in larger numbers. 

             

After our Iraq and Afghanistan commitments the country is war-weary and has little appetite for further interventions. Last August when the Government was contemplating intervention in Syria there was little support and certainly after I opposed military action I received only one critical email and that was from someone who was not a constituent.

So at the same time as we want to intervene less, we would still like us to maintain a large military establishment. Yet another circle for the politicians to square.

Last week’s Prime Minister’s Questions was a rather subdued affair but the last question brought us all a smile; this is how Hansard, the Parliamentary record, reports it:

Andrew Bridgen (North West Leicestershire) (Con): The Leader of the Opposition has said, “What Hollande is doing in France I want to do in Britain.” Given recent events across the channel, does my right hon. Friend agree that that is completely at odds with our long-term economic plan?

The Prime Minister: I did not catch all of President Hollande’s press conference yesterday, because I was appearing in front of the Liaison Committee, but one thing that I did notice is that the French proposals now are to cut spending in order to cut taxes in order to make the economy more competitive. Perhaps the shadow Chancellor, in his new silent form, will want to consider some of those ideas and recognise that this revolution of making business more competitive and trying to win in the global race is a proper plan for the economy.

Even Ed Miliband allowed a grin to cross his face. But behind the smiles there was a serious point. The French President came to power with a Labour Party style set of policies. Taxes went up and unemployment stands at over 11 per cent. So what happened? He’s now proposing spending cuts of £41.5 billion – far more than in the UK. So George Osborne hasn’t needed a Plan B as the two Eds Balls and Miliband, have been arguing for over the last three years.

French cuts are going to be painful as have ours but consider four cuts we can all welcome: the deficit cut, unemployment cut, taxation cut, fuel duty cut.

At a local level I received the Hull & Humber Chamber of Commerce’s latest economic forecast last week and it contained yet more good economic news: two-thirds of companies are expecting to increase turnover this year and as I go round the constituency there is certainly increased optimism throughout the local business community.

One final thought; the newly refurbished Cleethorpes Leisure Centre looked pretty impressive in the Telegraph the other day which made me ask- shouldn’t the Council have refurbished the Scartho Road pool and had a few million to spend elsewhere? I think we all know the answer except that is, our Labour councillors.           

Half Full?

Are you a glass half-full or half-empty person? Do you always consider the past better than the future? More of that later.............

Clearly there were many full glasses when the Sunday Times magazine reporter A.A. Gill visited Cleethorpes in October. There has been much comment following on from the article he wrote for last week's Sunday Times magazine that gave a less than flattering, and in some ways totally inaccurate description of both Grimsby and Cleethorpes.

The author had a bad start to his visit. As someone who travels to London and back most weeks I know better than most that we urgently need a direct rail service to the capital. (I'm writing this piece en route from Birmingham where I met with Virgin Trains and I took the opportunity of pressing the case to them as they are bidding for the East Coast franchise). But back to Mr Gill's efforts to get to Cleethorpes which he says took longer than a flight to Moscow. For some bizarre reason his office booked him to travel to Peterborough and then to Lincoln via Sleaford and then Lincoln to Grimsby. No wonder he was a bit grumpy when he arrived!

Gill’s phrase ‘a meagre high street’ is, of course, not referring to the Town’s main shopping street; St. Peter’s Avenue which is certainly not ‘meagre’ and is indeed a thriving ‘high street.’ This sort of inaccurate statement is unacceptable.

‎He clearly chose to ignore easily obtainable facts about the importance about the fish market and that the Grimsby/Immingham dock complex is the largest in the country.

Our area is not without problems; some of them very significant, such as under-achievement by many of our young people who are not obtaining the required educational standards. Of course we need to be addressing these failings but we mustn't pretend it's all doom and gloom.

Cleethorpes, as a resort, has succeeded in turning itself around. The days of decline in the 70s and 80s when the steady expansion of foreign package holidays was damaging for so many UK destinations are gone. 

Did Mr Gill mention our successes in Cleethorpes in Bloom? We certainly mentioned it to him‎.

He says that this corner of Lincolnshire is ‘thin, worn-out, underprivileged, unlovable.’ The scenes he describes could have been in any town in the country. Is there a town without its worn-out and underprivileged area? Of course not. Gill rightly states that there was a friendly sort of atmosphere on the streets and I had the distinct feeling that he was warming to the people he met and was going to produce article similar to the one that subsequently appeared. Take away the reference to Grimsby & Cleethorpes and view it as a commentary on contemporary society and it highlights some issues that can’t be ignored We can't ignore the fact that allowing clubs to open until 3,4 and 5 in the morning costs the taxpayers huge amounts of money and we need to ask if that can be justified.

Will it impact on the tourist trade? In South Yorkshire where many of Cleethorpes’ visitors come from I doubt that on a sunny Sunday morning next summer when considering where to go for the day they’ll be saying ‘we better give Cleethorpes miss – remember that article by A.A. Gill, we better go to Skeggy instead. (If they do they’ll certainly be disappointed!) The best response is to relax, take note of the serious aspects, focus on them and treat the rest for what it was – an article by a waspish journalist who is known for his critical style.

Back to optimism and pessimism; another article I read last week was about what makes a political party an election winner at any one time. The answer, and the accompanying statistics did bear out the conclusion which was that the party must have an optimistic message and the leaders who could deliver the vision.

Too much of our politics is negative and ‘against things’ – the Conservative message at the next election will rest on having seen through the recession and having created conditions to allow businesses to grow. Far from being an underprivileged corner of England we are entering one of the most exciting periods in our recent history. Happy new year.