The banks - local and national issues

A whole range of issues concerning the banks and financial institutions have been a major focus of my activity here in Westminster over the last few days.
(1) The takeover of Standard Life Bank by Barclays, announced this week, although not unexpected, will affect almost 300 jobs in Edinburgh. There doesn't seem to be any suggeston of job losses - indeed, the tie-up with Barclays might lead to more work for Edinburgh - but I want to know more about the company's plans for the future, and I'm talking with Barclays Head of UK Retail Operations about that later today.
(2) The dispute which has arisen between Lloyds TSB Foundation for Scotland, and the Lloyds bank which funds it, is deeply worrying to the many charities who receieve funding from the foundation. There's an obvious UK dimension, because of the big government shareholding in the bank - so I've asked the Treasury to intervene, and also raised the issue directly with Chancellor Alistair Darling earlier this week.
(3) Complaints have come in about the Bank of Scotland's changes to its overdraft charges, which could lead to people who overdraw by even just a few pounds, even an authorised one, having to pay £31 a month in charges. BoS of course is now owed by Lloyds TSB, so again there is a government interest, and a lot of MPs have raised this issue with the government as well;
(4) Lastly, but by no means least, there is a growing debate about the future structure of UK banking now that they appear to be coming out of the crisis. A current hot topic is whether banks should be broken up, and linked to that is the immediate future of Northern Rock. I have strongly supported the idea that Northern Rock should be brought back into the 'mutual' sector, to provide a real alternative for the consumer, and I'll be pushing for that today if I get a chance to do so.

On a different issue, I also see that the 'Kelly' report on MPs expenses and allowances has been widely leaked today. My view is clear - given all that has been revealed over the last few months, MPs should accept Kelly's recommendations in their entirety, and put them into effect as soon as possible. I'll probably comment in more detail once the actual report is published (which was meant to be next week, but as they have been leaked so widely, I think it would be best if the report was published now).

After Question Time..

The decision by the BBC to invite the BNP leader Nick Griffin on to Question Time has been pretty big in the news over the last week, of course. I was one of those who felt that he shouldn't have been invited on the programme - the BNP have a perfect right to free speech, but that doesn't also give them an automatic right to appear on a particular TV programme. Like many others who have commented on the programme, I felt that Griffin performed poorly - but I still feel that the very act of inviting him gave him and his views a credibility which they didn't previously have. It's also a wake-up call to the mainstream political parties - address the issues which lead people to vote for the BNP, or they will gain support - and that I am sure applies just as just as much in Scotland as in the rest of theU.

The right to free expression..

Sometimes you get a reminder, close to home, of how dangerous political activity can be in some countries. At my surgery last week, a woman from Leith came along desperate for action to help her brother who she told me had been seized by the security services in Morocco. He is a human rights activist from the Western Sahara community, and he and six of his colleagues were returning from a human right conference when they were taken. My constituent is very worried about their well-being; she has been told they may even face the death penalty. I had a brief word with UK Foreign Secretary David Miliband in the Commons chamber last night, and raised it in a question at Foreign Office questions today. I've also raised it with some of the media. Hopefully this will help to publicise the case, and put pressure on the Moroccan authorities to release those they have detained.

From Berlin to Leith - the same issues!

It's less than two months until the big UN conference in Copenhagen which will seek to get a new international agreement on climate change. The UK government has been at the forefront of efforts to try and get an agreement on the big reductions in emissions which is needed if we are going to avoid catastrophic climate change, and Ministers like Ed Miliband and his deputy Joan Ruddock have been working hard to win support from other countries. I've been doing my bit to help through the work I've done on 'carbon trading', where I published a report at the end of July (the link is here, but briefly the argument is carbon trading, IF caps on emissions are toughened, can play an important part in cutting emissions, but is only part of the solution). The report has been sent to governments round the world, and its recommendations have been broadly accepted by the UK government as one of its objectives for Copenhagen. I haven't been travelling round the world myself, though! - apart from visits in London, my only visit overseas has been this week to Germany where I was promoting the report as the main speaker at a conference in Berlin.

I was pleased to say there was a considerable degree of consensus, not just about the type of ideas in my report, but also on the need for a tough new international agreement. It made me think there is a much higher chance of an agreement at Copenhagen than some people think, although a lot of course will depend on the final US position, where many in Congress do not support the position taken by the Obama administration.

And what my short visit to Berlin also highlighted for me was the way that some of the difficulties to tackling climate change in a practical way are not financial, but bureaucratic and organisational e.g. the planning difficulties many people face when they try and instal energy efficiency measures in older houses. This was brought home to me when, having come back overnight from London on the sleeper, I went to a 'meet the public' event in the Redbraes area in my constituency. It was mainly about housing and park maintenance issues, but there was a short presentation at the meeting from the excellent community based Greener Leith organisation, who are working on the idea of bringing water power back to the Water of Leith, with one of the sites at Redbraes. They've just got cash for a feasibility study, but it's more than 5 years since an expert report for the Council highlighted the possibilities for this. Anyhow, hopefully it will now move forward under the leadership of Greener Leith - from which I draw the conclusion that locally based community energy initiatives may be more likely to get somewhere than ideas which depend on support from traditional bureaucracies. (Redbraes, not Berlin, above - along with Malcolm Chisholm and Angela Blacklock!).

Legg over....

It's been a difficult few months for MPs with the enquiry into MP 'second home' expenses. Like many MPs, I had checked all my expenses claims - I thought I was ok, but there was always the nightmare that maybe I had overlooked something. So I was delighted when the inquiry led by Sir Thomas Legg confirmed my 'second home' Parliamentary expenses were 100% OK. It was good to have this confirmation, particularly as Legg's team had gone into MP expenses with a fine toothcomb and scrutinised us all in great detail - as is only right and proper given the exposures about what some MPs had been up to.

I have to say, though, the way that the publication of the 'Legg findings' were dealt with was far from satisfactory. First of all, material has been all over the papers over the last few days, but back bench MPs, at least, had no idea what was going on. Then today we were told we would get letters about 9 am - then 12 noon - then later - and it was only at 7 pm that the letters were handed out. Many MPs not surprisingly were getting very distressed at the delay - I was on the train from Edinburgh, so I didn't have the same problem - but it was certainly not handled well. Anyhow, hopefully we can now move forward and begin to restore the trust in Parliament which this whole expenses episode has severely undermined.

No reason to run from debate

I see that there's been quite a bit of media coverage today and over the last few days about the issue of whether or not Alex Salmond should be given equal billing as the three other main party leaders in the leadership debates which are likely to be held in the run up to the UK General Election.

To me, the issue is pretty clear cut. Like it or not (and I don't!), the SNP is a major party in Scotland and there really is no sustainable excuse for leaving their leader out of any leadership 'head-to-head'. I think that to try and do so might indeed lead to a successful legal challenge - and also encourage the SNP in its 'victimhood' complex.

On this at least, I tend to agree with Alan Cochrane in the Daily Telegraph (!); the SNP can't reasonably be kept out of at least the Scottish debates - and let them in there so their arguments can be met head on.

The Leader's speech

It's always the high point of the conference of course - and it's difficult for an MP to blog about - having to avoid the twin minefields of excessive praise or saying another even mildly critical which is then picked up and exaggerated by the media as an example of party disarray. So I thought I'd just report the reaction I've picked up. Party members seem genuinely quite encouraged by the speech - I've spoken to a few local members since yesterday, and even those who are frequently critical of the leadership (any leadership) were positive. And my office reports a constituent phoned up this morning, said she was a life-long LibDem supporter but felt that Gordon Brown had been treated very badly, was impressed by what he said, and she would now be backing Labour (and wanted to make a donation as well!). I do get the feeling that it has gone down well - certainly in Scotland - although the key for the election is how it will play across the UK, of course.

For my part, I genuinely thought it was good - very strong at the start in particular with a reminder of what we have achieved. Some good ideas for the future as well. Hesitations? - perhaps biggest of all the promised referendum on the voting system. I'm a strong supporter of a fairer voter system - and that's the problem with the alternative vote system. There is evidence that what it can do is actually exaggerate the support for popular parties at the expense of those who are less popular at any particular time. Labour would have undoubtedly gained under AV in 1997 from LibDems and others who would have transferred their second votes to us - but in 2010 what would happen? And AV tends to magnify the support for the biggest parties, at the expense of smaller parties, as Australia has shown.

So, without getting in to arcane debate about voting systems, I would prefer the so-called 'AV plus' proposed a few years ago by the Jenkins Commission - and I'll be urguing we allow that option in any referendum.

Bill Speirs - a sad loss

The news has come in today about the death of Bill Speirs. He'd been ill for some time, but it's still a shock. I knew Bill very well in the 80s and 90s, through the Scottish Labour Party Executive, and a whole lot of Labour and trade union campaigns. I see the TV report describes him as a 'giant', and that's a fair description. He was one of those people who campaigned for Labour, for the trade unions, and for Scottish devolution, at times when these didn't seem like likely winners - he can certainly be regarded as one of those who made the Scottish Parliament possible.

Here's a link to some tributes about Bill and his work.
http://video.stv.tv/bc/news-090923speirsfull/

Schools under threat

This week and next week will be busy for me and the other local elected reps with meeting for both Fort and Royston about the plans by Edinburgh's SNP/LibDem council to close these schools. In a comment below, someone has made a point contrasting the situation in Edinburgh and Glasgow. It's a reasonable question - but there is quite a significant difference between the two cities (in this way as in so many others!). In Glasgow, pupil numbers and the population is predicted to go down - but in Edinburgh, the Council's own predictions are that both will go up over the next 10 years - and that's city wide, without considering the position in detail in particular areas, like North Edinburgh where all the predictions are for a population increase.

Here's a statement I made today which makes this point at more length:

CITY WIDE NUMBERS NO BASIS FOR DIFFERENT COMMUNITIES

Edinburgh North & Leith Labour MP, Mark Lazarowicz, has urged the City
Council to look again at the calculations the City Council has used as a
basis for proposing school closures as part of its current programme. Mr
Lazarowicz, whose Edinburgh North & Leith constituency is threatened with
two school closures – at Royston and at Fort – has said that it has been
confirmed this week that the population projections being used by the
Council are city-wide, and do not cater for the possibility of the rates
of population change varying in different parts of the city.

Over the next two weeks, there will be a total of four meetings in Mark’s
constituency where the Council is explaining its plans to the local
parents and the local community. Mark raised his concerns at a meeting
about Fort Primary School earlier this week (Tuesday) where the Council
officials confirmed that their projections for future population growth
were city-wide figures, rather than ones for the areas in which school
closures were planned.

Mark Lazarowicz said: “The Council have said in the documents backing
their plans that they expect pupil numbers in primary schools to rise over
the next ten years as a result of an increase in Edinburgh’s population.
They also accept that the changes in population will be likely to be
different throughout the city.
However, they do not seem to have worked out even rough figures for what
the changes in population in different parts of the city will be. They
certainly do not seem to have any projections for population changes in
the areas affected”.

“This is a particularly important issue for the schools in my constituency
at Royston and Fort, as they both serve the north and the waterfront areas
of the city. Although a lot of the building and redevelopment work in this
area has slowed down at the moment, it is likely to start up again in the
next few years, and North Edinburgh is likely to be one of the big areas
of population growth in Edinburgh in the future. Using city wide pupil and
population projections as a way of planning for the numbers likely to be
going to school in this area is ridiculous”.

He continued: “It also seemed clear to me at the meeting this week that
the Council was making some very bland assumptions about the impact of
future trends on population as well. I was told that the figures for
population and pupil growth might be on the high side because of the
current economic recession – and yet there no information or arguments
were given to show why this might lead to pupil and population numbers
being less than predicted. In fact, there has been some evidence that the
recession has led to more pupils being sent to state schools instead of
fee-paying schools. And, on the other hand, there now seems to be plenty
of evidence that the recession is ending!

“The whole basis for the calculations that the Council is using seems to
me to be very questionable. Instead of city wide calculations about pupil
numbers which don’t apply to different communities, and questionable
assumptions about the impacts of economic trends on the size of the
population, the Council needs to look again at the figures it is using and
look at the impact on real schools and real communities.”

Campaigning in the community!

Last week I attended a public meeting on the future of Royston School. There was a good turn out though local SNP councillors were conspicuous by their absence. Parents and staff made impassioned speeches against the planned closure. A number were proudly wearing T-shirts saying ‘Give Mr Hunter [the Headteacher] a chance’ which had been sponsored by local businesses. I am strongly supporting the campaign. Small schools have a lot of advantages to offer in particular when it comes to pupils with special needs. I was really impressed by the strength of feeling expressed by parents, staff and members of the local community for their school.



Malcolm Chisholm, MSP and local councillor, Cammy Day, also made strong speeches in support. Malcolm pointed out that much of Edinburgh’s population growth over the next few years would be in the local area and given the difficulty that there might be in selling off the land this seems a very short-sighted move on the part of the council.



There will be an opportunity to make the case directly to the Council’s Education, Children & Families Committee at 9am on Tuesday, 8th September at the City Chambers. This is hardly the best time for parents who have to take their children to school as the Councillors taking the decision well know but I hope that as many people as possible will be able to make it.



The following day I attended a meeting in support of a living wage organised by the Poverty Alliance at the Prentice Centre in Granton. The Government has increased the minimum wage, extended it to younger workers and is now intending to extend it still further to apprentices.



Nevertheless, I have been shocked by cases that that I have seen where people have been victimised by employers after complaining of being paid less than the minimum wage. In April the Government introduced much tougher enforcement which is very welcome news but we still have a way to go. In the short term, the campaign is focusing on trying to convince employers to pay their lowest paid staff like cleaners a living wage of £7 an hour. It would make a significant difference to people’s ability to meet just basic bills but actually very little difference to the employers’ overall wage costs.



At the weekend, I spoke at a meeting on reform of the UK Parliament at Holyrood. Sarah Boyack MSP was also on the panel. I am a longstanding supporter of electoral reform and I want to see changes to the way Parliament works to bring greater openness and accountability. I don’t want to downplay the issue of MPs’ allowances but the real issue for the future is how we reconnect politicians at Westminster with the public and revive our democracy. Holyrood was a good place to hold the meeting because there is a lot that Westminster can learn from the way that the Scottish Parliament works.



On Sunday I held a public meeting on climate change at Macdonald Road library. I talked about the UN Conference on Climate Change at Copenhagen in December as well as my own recent report on carbon trading. The UK Government has recently published a new plan to radically increase the amount of our energy that comes from renewable sources. The audience was well-informed and people made some good points about how to move forward. I have signed up to the 10:10 campaign for everyone to cut their carbon footprint by 10% in 2010 by just doing simple things like making sure you put a full load in the washing machine each time or switching off lights when you leave a room.



I kicked off the new week at the Scottish Parliament again when I attended a meeting of the meeting of the Cross Party Group on tackling debt. We heard an impressive presentation from the North Edinburgh Fuel Poverty Action Group which has produced a DVD featuring local people talking about the problems of prepayment meters. I have been working closely with the North Edinburgh group and I also chair an All Party Group on Debt and Personal Finance at Westminster which is holding a meeting in October on fuel poverty. The UK Government is going to make it compulsory for energy companies to offer social tariffs but we need to keep up the pressure. Watch this space!

East Coast trains need change

I came down this week to London, as I normally do, by train. Once again, although the train was on time, the service let the passenger down badly. Not because of the staff, who I think do a really good job given the conditions, but because of the way that clearly staffing shortages are affecting the cleanliness of the train. On the journey I was on, for example, every toilet was either closed, or in a filthy condition - and not just by the end of the journey, but after a couple of hours. Obviously staff to clean up had just not been allocated. Not good enough - and I hope that the transfer of services to the public sector will lead to an improvement. I have certainly been pressing for this - see my statements on this on my website http://www.marklazarowicz.org.uk/

Farewell to Sheila Laing

One of the most inspiring people I've been fortunate to work with during my time as an MP has been Sheila Laing, Headteacher of Forthview Primary School. After more than 20 years there, she is finally moving, to take up a new post in East Lothian.

As well as her wonderful leadership of the school, she's been very active in supporting Burmese refugees and the cause for human rights in that country. Through her interest, first her school and now another five elsewhere in Edinburgh have got involved in finding out more about Burma and refugees from that country in Thailand.

Last week, along with Sarah Boyack MSP and Councillor David Beckett, I took part in the launch of the Burma Book and Exhibition, with art from children both here in Edinburgh and in the refugee settlements in Thailand. Try and go and see the exhibition, at Ocean Terminal. And have a look here for more information about the book and exhibition.

The expenses fiasco

I've been slow in making a comment about the expenses issue. That's for a number of reasons - partly because I've been responding to a lot of correspondence about the statement I made on my position (and for the record, having had the chance to look more closely at the files, I'm remain convinced that the claim for legal and professional fees which I made was entirely within the rules and justified - but I said that in the present climate I would pay back 50% of these fees; I have never said I would draw back from that - in spite of some media comment; and the cheque was sent off last week) - and partly because I have been wondering what is the way forward out of the current terrible mess.

The fact is that Parliament has let down the public in a big way. We can at least try and make amends whilst this Parliament is in existence - and that means massive and fundamental reforms in the expenses system. But it also means a much more fundamental change in our democratic system as well - and a first step needs to be electoral reform for a fair election system. I've always been in favour of that - but I promise I will now try and do what I can to make sure that happens sooner rather than later.

MP pay & allowances - action now please!

I'm glad that Gordon Brown has announced that he is pushing ahead with major reforms to the system for MP and allowances, and that he will be asking Parliament to vote on them next week. I haven't seen all the details, but they seem very similar to the ones I called for on my website a few weeks ago. Here's a link to the full proposals from the government. (I see that the Chairman of the Committee on Standards in Public Life has warned against a 'quick fix' - I beg to disagree - the issues are really quite simple, and they do need to dealt with asap to repair the damage done not just to MPs but the whole political process). I don't think the public will want to wait too long.