Week in Westminster

The Government is entering that phase in its five year existence when some of the complex pieces of legislation are being hotly debated in the House of Lords. Such was the fate of the Welfare Reform Bill which became law last Wednesday and the Health and Social Care Bill.

Possibly the most reported part of the Welfare Bill is the £26,000 per household a year cap on benefits which equates to £35,000 before deductions. Most constituents that contacted me about it have complained about its generosity and when set against an average wage in this area of around £20,000 you can see why.

At the General Election the two most mentioned subjects on the doorstep were what was repeatedly described as the far too generous benefits system and immigration. The Government has now brought in caps on both.

The Health Bill is still in the Upper House. What matters to most people is not which group of people commission the treatments they require but will it get me better again. Nothing will change in that treatment will still be free. The arguments have become too bogged down in structures rather than in why change is needed and how the proposals will best cater for the challenges that face the NHS over coming years.

I mentioned the House of Lords that the Government is set to reform into a mostly-elected assembly. It's interesting the amount of space this has covered in the press and how much airtime when most of the reports say that it's a subject that most people are not interested in.

Of course it doesn't reckon alongside tax, jobs, energy prices, schools and the Health Service in most people's day-to-day concerns. But, ask your neighbour whether he or she would rather be ruled by an unelected quango such as the European Commission or someone they can vote in and out and I rather suspect the EU commission wouldn't get too many votes.

As you may well have seen from last week’s Government minister, Greg Clark visited North East Lincolnshire. His responsibilities include decentralisation and regeneration – something that is urgently needed in this area. It is something that must be led by the private sector, co-ordinated by the Local Enterprise Partnership but it will need Government resources and the minister was able to offer some valuable advice when he met local business leaders on what assistance is on offer and the help that is available from his Department in preparing bids to, for example, the Regional Growth Fund.

We’ve been fortunate in recent months to have a succession of ministerial visits over the last eight or nine months. These can often appear irrelevant and brief and only touching on the area’s problems but it’s only possible to fully appreciate these problems if you can relate to the area. After a drive down Freeman Street and Grimsby/Cleethorpe Roads he can now clearly picture some of the issues facing North East Lincolnshire. Readers may recall that the same minister also visited the Killingholme/East Halton in North Lincolnshire only a few months ago so his knowledge and appreciation of both the problems and possibilities for the area are imprinted on his mind.

Incidentally, he enjoyed a fish and chip lunch in Cleethorpes for which he was full of praise!

Finally just an observation on some of the recent Telegraph correspondence about regeneration that included talk of moving railway stations, Moving both Grimsby and Cleethorpes stations has been talked about over the years. Apart from the fact that neither is feasible because of the costs involved it needs to be recognised that one of the biggest plus points Cleethorpes has is a railway station right in the heart of the Town alongside the beach. What could be better. The resort was developed because the Manchester, Sheffield and Lincolnshire Railway Company extended the line from Grimsby and, in effect, created the resort. They got it right what is needed is to improve the journey into the Town and the area around the station. It’s fanciful to think that finance exists for grandiose schemes. It doesn’t.

Week in Westminster

It's good to see that North East Lincolnshire Council has taken advantage of the Government's offer of additional funding in order to freeze the council tax for another year. This taken in with other commitments to the area such as the reduction in Humber Bridge tolls, Enterprise Zone status, the go-ahead for the Immingham by-pass, successful bids to the Regional Growth Fund and the ability to retain and reinvest some of the income from Business Rates, has provided a much-needed boost.The Council though must take some blame for its lack of support to the Tourism Trade. It's of great importance to the Town and yet NELC's lack of commitment is disappointing. There's been a gradual lessening of involvement over the years and the demise of the Cleethorpes Carnival seems to epitomise this.

Though not a 'Council Event' the Carnival relies on their support and co-operation; Leonor Pidgen and her team have done a tremendous job in recent years but now they feel unable to continue; now the Council should do all it can to ensure the event, which gives a real boost to local traders, continues.  Whilst, after many years as a councillor, I do realise the difficulties in determining spending priorities and balancing the books many constituents have expressed doubts over some recent decisions. Because so much council spending is 'ring-fenced' for funding the Council's statutory responsibilities it does mean that only a few areas of spending are within the Council's discretion.

 The Scottish referendum on independence is again in the headlines and it prompts the question as to whether or not it's a decision entirely for the Scots. If the break up of the Union is damaging surely all citizens of the Union should have a say in its break-up.

It was good to see the Transport Secretary's intention to go along to the Network Rail Annual General Meeting and vote against the directors' bonuses was enough to see them abandon the scheme. More power to her elbow and I hope more ministers follow her example.

During Parliament's recesses I always like to fit in visits to parish council meetings. This week I went to one in the north end of the constituency in New Holland. It's good that so many people are prepared to give up their time to serve on these councils. Good parish councils can make a significant difference to our villages. If you've ever complained about your council at any time --and most of us have - then offer your services to these councils - they need you.

Week in Westminster

As ever Westminster this week was a mixture of political theatre epitomised by Prime Minister’s Questions and serious debate such as Care of the Dying, Access to music venues for deaf and disabled people, Maternity Services, Funding for Tennis, Melanoma, the Daylight Saving Bill, the Northern Railway Hub, and the Prohibition of Keeping Primates as Pets – and that’s just a tiny sample.

The Care of the Dying debate was tucked away in Westminster Hall on a Tuesday morning and, I suspect, has received little national media coverage. The main emphasis was on palliative care and many members took advantage to draw attention to the work of the Hospice Movement. I did just that and acknowledged the wonderful work that our own St. Andrew’s Hospice does.

I visited them just a couple of weeks ago and witnessed some of the love and care that exists there. St. Andrew’s is held in great affection by the local community as is shown by their generosity in support of the many fund-raising events that are necessary to keep it afloat.

The State of our Shopping Centres and High Streets was an important debate that emerged from the Government commissioned Report authored by Shops Queen Mary Portas. I have to say that I was not greatly impressed by it. Having served many years as a councillor I have heard it all before. The Report was really a good-practice guide; a collection of schemes and initiatives that have been tried in towns up and down the country. Some will work others will be complete failures depending on different circumstances.

The High Streets debate was, yet again, another opportunity for members to draw examples from their own constituencies about the successes and failures of town centres and the curses and benefits of out-of-town centres.

In Cleethorpes we are fortunate in having St. Peter’s Avenue and Sea View Street which give a nice mix and attract thousands every week. But only a mile or two away at Hewitt’s Circus there’s the Superstore and some other retailers surrounding it. Have we got it right? It’s not possible to deny that customers flock to these out-of-town centres and to have retained a vibrant traditional high street means we have probably got the mix about right.

Whether this was by accident or design is debatable. The then Cleethorpes Council rejected the Tesco development at Hewitt’s Circus which was approved by a government inspector. Conduct any survey and the result will almost always show a majority against out-of-town centres and massive support for traditional high streets. Where then do the thousands who go to out-of-town centres come from?

Shopping habits have changed and we must recognise this. We certainly need less shop units and need initiatives to rid ourselves of many of the empty units within the many parades of shops that line so many of our streets.

I suspect it will be another Report to line the shelves of councils and government departments. The customer is king; if we collectively shop at the supermarkets and increase internet buying our shops will slowly die.

I concluded my speech by referring to the demise of the Past Times chain of shops:

“Past Times went into administration a day or two ago; we must hope that high streets do not belong to times past.”

Defying Stereotypes

We all have stereotypes in our mind, sometimes, indeed often, completely the opposite of reality.

When asked to describe a typical Conservative MP what comes to mind? Could it be public school, Oxbridge, stockbroker, toff? Perhaps not, straight from state school to work, redundancy and unemployment.

On the Monday before Christmas the House of Commons staged a debate on apprenticeships and skills. Look at these extracts from some of the speeches in that debate and note the political party the speakers represent.

Stuart Andrew (Pudsey) (Conservative): It is a pleasure to take part in this very important debate. Being unemployed is a terrifying experience that I went through a number of years ago. For me, that new year’s eve was not about looking forward to welcoming in the next year and everything that was hoped for, but about receiving my P45 and thinking what the prospect of unemployment would hold for me.

Graham Evans (Weaver Vale) (Conservative): I am very pleased to have a chance to speak in this debate, which is very timely given the recent focus on youth unemployment. Like my hon. Friends the Members for Pudsey (Stuart Andrew) and for Burton (Andrew Griffiths), I left school with few qualifications. I did not go to university, and I spent a wee while as an unemployed person. That is why I believe that apprenticeships are so important.

Oliver Colvile (Plymouth, Sutton and Devonport) (Conservative): Thank you for inviting me to speak in this debate, Mr Deputy Speaker, and I shall begin by setting out the context to my remarks. I, like many on this side of the fence, did not go to university, and I have always felt slightly ashamed that I did not have the academic qualifications to do that.

Martin Vickers (Cleethorpes) (Conservative): It has been fashionable for Government Members to say that they did not go to university. I went to university at the age of 48 to study politics, and look what happened to me............................. I experienced redundancy. It is not pleasant and we must do everything we can to encourage and support our young people with the training and apprenticeships they need. I congratulate the Government on what they have achieved in the past 18 months.

Study the backgrounds of MPs and it may surprise you that a considerable number across the political spectrum defy the stereotype. The democratic process throws up a varied array of politicians. Like the society they represent some are bad, some good, some indifferent, just what an assembly representative of the community could be expected to produce.

The great thing about democracy is that is injects a vitality and vision into our process of government that rule by experts can never achieve. One of the many reasons that we should be wary of the European Union is that it has forced undemocratic change in two governments.

But I digress (it doesn’t take much to get me to criticise the EU – with good reason!) perhaps we should all take a step back at the beginning of what is likely to be a difficult year ahead and reassess the stereotypes that we can all so easily form in our minds and find rather difficult to shake off.

If you would like to read the full Apprenticeships debate you can do so at

http://www.publications.parliament.uk/pa/cm201011/cmhansrd/cm111219/debtext/111219-0002.htm#11121912000001

Week in Westminster

It’s sad that Prime Minister’s Questions (PMQs) is what gets the media coverage – and yes it’s great political theatre, a modern-day gladiatorial contest. Parliament is at its best in the less exciting debates on legislation or as last Thursday when voting rights for prisoners was debated.

The Government are in a real dilemma on this one. The previous Labour administration had done their best to avoid making a decision I’m sure the present Government will try and keep it running for as long as they can.

The European Court of Human Rights was born after the Second World War in the wake of the horrors of that conflict but when that generation of political titans such Churchill and Attlee signed the Convention I’m sure they could never imagine that it would evolve and deliver the sort of judgements we are now seeing.

Human Rights should be something precious and if we lived under some tyrannical regime we would be looking for the protection the Convention offers. But we now deride its rulings. As I said in the debate talk in the pubs and clubs, highways and byways is that we link human rights with ‘health and safety’ as something that is damaging and constraining our way of life. Yes it’s true that the Health & Safety zealots have taken things too far but that shouldn’t be confused with such things as the right to a free trial and that torture should be outlawed.

To my way of thinking there is a contract between the State and its citizens that exchanges rights for responsibilities and the right to vote goes with obligations to society as a whole.

Governments almost always come to power on a tide of goodwill. This one was no exception but each time they make a decision that clearly flies in the face of those they represent they lengthen the distance between the elected and the electorate and start shuffling along the road that leads, eventually to defeat. That is the last things this country needs; it needs a period of firm and stable government.

The vote of itself changes nothing but it is a clear message to Government as to the feelings in Parliament which on this issue clearly reflected public opinion.

The Localism Bill is going through Parliament; generally speaking it’s good news. We’ve grown far too centralised over recent years – Whitehall knows best, or so Whitehall thinks. The reality is that locally accountable representatives should be making far more decisions and the Bill does devolve down much more authority than has existed in recent years.

That doesn’t mean that it’s perfect. One of its clauses allows social landlords such as Havelok or Shoreline to limit the length of its new tenancies to two years. I emphasise it is new tenancies and this doesn’t affect existing tenants, but I think it’s too short. I’ve met with a number of organisations who are lobbying to extend this and on Tuesday I put the case to ministers in the hope that they may consider extending the period.

I suspect they will stick to their guns and I acknowledge there are arguments in favour of creating a more flexible market and free up more properties to meet the demand which far exceeds supply, but I can’t go along with it.

Along with the other Yorkshire and Humberside Conservative members I met with the Home Secretary last Wednesday to talk through a host of issues. There was much talk of neighbourhood policing and the importance of PCSOs. We were assured that the Nei gbourhood Policing Fund was guaranteed for the coming two years and that the Government was pressing ahead with the introduction of elected police and crime commissioners who will be directly elected and give all electors some choice about police priorities and budgets. A welcome change.

This year’s budget was set by the Police Authority – one of the most anonymous organisations imaginable.

We can now look forward to electing our first Police Commissioner in 2012 and given the understandable concerns about crime and policing I urge everyone to take the opportunity of taking part.

Week in Westminster

It’s Thursday evening and, as usual I’m writing this article on my way back to the constituency. Most weeks I manage to catch the 19.03 from King’s Cross which, with a change at Doncaster, will get me in by ten. Occasionally things don’t go according to plan but on the whole I have few complaints about my weekly commute as even the first or last leg – the Tube between Westminster and King’s Cross despite been hot and crowded is part of an amazing network of people coming together to provide an intricate service that moves hundreds of thousands of people around every day.

I’ve always been fascinated by transport, most especially railways. I guess it all started in my pre-school years when we lived in Fuller Street, only about a hundred yards from where the trains passed under the old footbridge on their way into and out of Cleethorpes station. In those days steam predominated and rail enthusiasts among readers will recognise such classes as K3s, B1s and K2s.

On my journeys to London, as we pass through Retford, I still think back to my schoolboy trainspotting visits. Retford, of course, is on the East Coast main line and trains between London , the North & Scotland use to roar through Retford hauled by A2s, A3s & the streamlined A4s – ‘streaks’ as they were nicknamed.

Despite looking back through rose-coloured spectacles at those days I must acknowledge that the services today are vastly superior. In part this is because of track improvements, but today’s railways provide far more services than was the case, certainly in the 1960s. The oldest timetable I have is from 1963 and although Grimsby & Cleethorpes had a two through trains each day it has to be admitted that the hourly service we now enjoy is, overall better, but O how we could do with a through train. Not just for people like me but because it would be yet another plus point as we try to attract investment and the jobs come with it.

Alliance Railways are currently negotiating with the various authorities with a view providing four trains in each direction daily. It won’t happen until 2014 because the plans include new units that can run on electricity whilst on the main line but switch to diesel for the Doncaster to Cleethorpes section.

I mentioned earlier what a complex operation running a railway is; one glitch in the system can very quickly cascade down. The system must have sufficient slack in it to provide for the signalman who rings in ill or the driver who arrives late. When you get off the train in London even before you have time to walk to the end of the platform the cleaners are on board, the rubbish is being collected, new catering supplies are being loaded and pipes connected to empty the toilets, all aimed at turning the unit round as quickly as possible and getting it back into action.

It’s also been ‘transport day’ at Westminster the day having started with Transport Question Time. It tends to be only Prime Minister’s Question Time that ever hits the headlines but each day at least one set of Departmental ministers face the Commons. Today I and two of my colleagues from the area raised issues connected with the Humber Bridge.

Last week’s announcement that the Inquiry Inspector had recommended that the Board’s application for an increased toll be approved was, I’m afraid, inevitable given the anachronistic legislative framework in which they operate. All our hopes are now centred on the Treasury review that will report later this year. The Board should have waited until the outcome of the Review rather than implement the increase from October. All this is just another reason why irrespective of Review’s finding the Bridge Board must be reconstituted so that the councillors who sit as the peoples’ representatives can truly represent their constituents rather than the interest of the Board. 

Week in Westminster

The Autumn Statement delivered by Chancellor George Osborne a couple of weeks ago was a grim reminder of the fragile state of the world economy but it also highlighted the recognition by our Government of the need for growth and jobs in this corner of Lincolnshire and, as the Telegraph recognised in its ‘Opinion’ column last week the visits by key ministers to the area over recent months has certainly played a major part. Indeed Business Secretary Vince Cable acknowledged the fact in the House of Commons last week when I complimented the Government on delivery two Enterprise Zones, the Immingham Bypass project, successful Regional Growth Fund bids and, of course, the halving of the Humber Bridge Tolls.

It’s also worth noting that the meeting I, along with my colleagues from Scunthorpe and Brigg, had with David Cameron in late July to discuss how best to boost jobs and give a lift to the local economy has delivered – we had a wish-list when we went into the meeting and only one item as yet to be delivered – the upgrading of the A160 into Immingham Docks and all the indications are that it will be brought forward from its post-2015 start date.

 

Collectively these announcements will provide a much-needed boost to the local economy.

Last Tuesday I was able to attend an Awards Event at Central Hall, Westminster where schools within the Oasis Trust were gathered. It included The Immingham Academy from my own constituency and the Wintringham Academy from Grimsby.

It’s remarkable what these young people have achieved with various campaigns and initiatives. It’s very easy to tar all our youngsters with the same brush but here was evidence of what so many of them contribute to our communities.

The event was hosted by the founder of Oasis the Reverend Steve Chalke who was in Grimsby only a couple of weeks ago to address a meeting.

On Monday I was privileged attend an Advent Service in the Chapel at Lambeth Palace – the Archbishop of Canterbury’s official residence. It was a beautiful service replete with those hymns with haunting tunes so familiar during the Advent season.

From there I rushed back over the Thames to the Palace of Westminster for the annual Wilberforce lecture being given on this occasion by Education Secretary, Michael Gove. Michael is well on the way to transforming our education system with scores of academies being set up, and free schools established. The schools landscape is changing before our eyes.

It was William Wilberforce who led the battle that resulted in the abolition of slavery in this country. In politics you very quickly learn how difficult it is to change things – anything! Michael is making dramatic and much-needed change. Margaret Thatcher made real long-lasting changes and, in his early days, so did Tony Blair. Whether or not you agree with the changes you must admire those who succeed and make a difference.

As I write this article whilst travelling home from London I am reflecting on the debate that took place earlier today in advance of the European summit. We really are facing dramatic change. Two schools of thought have emerged about the outcome. There are those who subscribe to the point of view outlined in one of this morning’s newspapers. It suggests that if the summit goes wrong the scale of the disaster cannot be exaggerated because every bank in Europe will be bankrupt, output will fall, thousands of jobs will be lost and our standards of living will take many many years to get back to where we are now. It is therefore, so the argument goes, essential that the British Government do everything possible to save the Euro. Others argue that we should stand back, keep our distance and if it collapses so be it. After a couple of years in the doldrums our economy will pick up and all will be well. The problem is no one knows which is right.

By the time you read this the Summit will be over and we may know which course our leaders have taken, what we won’t know is whether or not it was the right one.

When I arrived at King’s Cross this evening to catch my usual 19.03 train the departure board was awash with that dread word delayed. No train had left for almost an hour, so no chance of my usual connection at Doncaster. It must be the weather I thought. All day the radio has been telling us how bad things are in Scotland.

But then the announcement came over the p.a. system – someone on the line has been struck by a train. This is the second time in a week something similar has happened. Last week my train came to a sudden halt near Grantham because the driver suspected he had hit someone. On that occasion all was well someone had had a very close escape.

This week the news is not as good a train has indeed hit someone. Was it an accident or suicide? Is the unfortunate person alive or dead? And what about the poor driver who, though he could have done nothing to prevent it, will have to live with the outcome.

Of course it’s annoying to be late, people want to get home after a long day but so many did not seem to be giving a thought to the reason they were being delayed and the people involved.