Back down to London, for Gordon Brown's last budget - noone even pretended to believe otherwise today! Obviously there'll be plenty about it in the media, but I think the budget will go down pretty well, particularly with Labour's traditional supporters, with the emphasis on taking pensioners and children out of poverty. It also seems to me be quite good for business as well, with the cuts in corporation tax and simplification of some of the complex rules on tax relief for investment.
It's also a reflection of how much the political climate (sorry about the pun!) has changed that the only criticism of what in the past would have been seen as a big increase in car tax for "gas guzzlers" is that it wasn't big enough! Actually, once the budget is examined, measures like the increase in climate change levy, aggregates levy, and landfill tax, along with the tax breaks for energy efficient buildings and proposed cuts in VAT for energy saving products, will do much, much more to cut carbon emissions.
But, as I've said elsewhere, if the the political debate is now conducted on the basis of what is the "greenest" proposal, then I'm not complaining, even if the supposed "green shift" of the Conservative Party is more gimmick than substance, as I think it is.
Like most in the chamber, I was amused, though, at the way that the Budget package clearly wrong-footed David Cameron, most of whose speech was basically just another personal attack on the Chancellor. It may have looked good on TV - I'll have a look tonight, but I really don't think he'll be able to get away for that long without being more specific about his policies. I was also genuinely puzzled at the line taken by Ming Campbell for the LibDems. He seemed to be arguing that the money raised from "green" taxes should NOT be used to spend on positive green measures (which I thought was at the heart of LibDem policy in this area), but should have been used to reduce taxes.
Wednesday, March 21, 2007
Reconnecting politics with the people
Back to Edinburgh on the sleeper on Monday night, to speak at a conference on the subject of how to reengage the public with politics. The fact that the turn-outs at elections are dropping, and there is plenty of evidence that in other ways the public are turning off from the political process, has worried me (and many others) for some time, and that's one reason why I joined the Modernisation Committee in the House of Commons, as that's a subject examined by that committee.
Not having had a very good sleep on the train, I wasn't really looking forward to the conference, but in fact I really enjoyed the event. The event underlined for me the need for pretty radical reforms to our political system, and particularly to the way that our political parties operate. If these don't happen, there is a real risk, in my view, that we could end up with the type of anti-politics (right wing, populist, and ultimately anti-democracy) parties that have grown up in some other European countries. The big upsurge of UKIP in the European elections in 2004 (thanks mainly to the involvement of Robert Kilroy-Silk), and the rise of support for the BNP in some parts of England, warns us we shouldn't think we are immune to such developments.
I was impressed by the opening speech by George Reid (Presiding Officer of the Scottish Parliament), and in fact by all the other speakers - particularly Rajiv Joshi from the Scottish Youth Parliament who was a real breath of fresh air. He put forward a strong case that the problem with the low levels of participation by young people in politics (or at least elections) was the fault of the politicians and the political process, not youth. I was interested in his comments that young people would almost accept it as a given that they should be able to vote on-line, and also by the information that sometimes the turn-out for votes for Members of the Scottish Youth Parliament, when the Young Scot card was used, was higher than votes for "real" elections for councils etc.
I'm tidying up my speech over the next few days, and when I've done that will put it up on my website for anyone who's interested!
Not having had a very good sleep on the train, I wasn't really looking forward to the conference, but in fact I really enjoyed the event. The event underlined for me the need for pretty radical reforms to our political system, and particularly to the way that our political parties operate. If these don't happen, there is a real risk, in my view, that we could end up with the type of anti-politics (right wing, populist, and ultimately anti-democracy) parties that have grown up in some other European countries. The big upsurge of UKIP in the European elections in 2004 (thanks mainly to the involvement of Robert Kilroy-Silk), and the rise of support for the BNP in some parts of England, warns us we shouldn't think we are immune to such developments.
I was impressed by the opening speech by George Reid (Presiding Officer of the Scottish Parliament), and in fact by all the other speakers - particularly Rajiv Joshi from the Scottish Youth Parliament who was a real breath of fresh air. He put forward a strong case that the problem with the low levels of participation by young people in politics (or at least elections) was the fault of the politicians and the political process, not youth. I was interested in his comments that young people would almost accept it as a given that they should be able to vote on-line, and also by the information that sometimes the turn-out for votes for Members of the Scottish Youth Parliament, when the Young Scot card was used, was higher than votes for "real" elections for councils etc.
I'm tidying up my speech over the next few days, and when I've done that will put it up on my website for anyone who's interested!
Edinburgh and Leith into the future
Monday morning was spent at meetings in Edinburgh concerning two projects in which I've been heavily involved. The first was the steering group for the "Edinburgh Community Energy Project." This is an initiative which I've started looking at ways of ensuring community involvement in the promotion of renewable energy in the North Edinburgh and Leith area. There's a lot of development planned there over the next 20 years, and there is a real opportunity to make this a truly "sustainable" development, with lots of chances for renewable energy and energy efficiency. I want the community to have a big involvement in this, and I've pulled together a steering group to take the idea further. We're now at the stage of trying to get funding for a feasibility study, and I'm also going to get a meeting organised to establish a proper community network for the project. I think we'll see real progress in both of these in the next few weeks.
After that, I went to a seminar about meeting employment and training needs in the Edinburgh City Region area. A very interesting presentation from Professor Richard Harris underlined how (at least in my view) we still need a comprehensive training and employment strategy for the entire Edinburgh "City Region." This is a big issue of concern to mine - both because we still need to tackle unemployment, and low paid employment , in some parts of Edinburgh, and because there are clearly issues about a future shortage of labour in some key sectors of the Edinburgh economy.
Interestingly, Professor Harris didn't seem to have much sympathy for the argument that the size of the public sector in Edinburgh was having a negative effect on the private sector - a view which is frequently heard in some of the more conservative sections of Edinburgh!
After that, train down to London, where I'd hoped to take part in the debate on the new legislation to set up new "consumer%
Sunday, March 18, 2007
Sunshine on Leith...
No political campaigning today - off with 30,000 + to Glasgow where Hibs were trying - again - to break the Hampden Park hoodoo, and win their first trophy since their last league cup victory in 1991. Standing room only on the train from Edinburgh - why can't transport operators anywhere seem able to cope with events whose dates are known months in advance (although to be fair the train to Mount Florida was OK at the time we went, and the train we got back to Edinburgh wasn't too bad). 1-0 at half-time was a good omen, and after the 2nd ard 3rd goals, it looked as if Hibs would have an emphatic victory as indeed they did (Hibs 5, Kilmarnock 1).
A good atmosphere in the ground - embarassed my son by joining too enthusiastically in the applause at the end - but the Proclaimers' music is good even if their politics aren't too great!
A good atmosphere in the ground - embarassed my son by joining too enthusiastically in the applause at the end - but the Proclaimers' music is good even if their politics aren't too great!
Getting the message out about the new voting system
Saturday morning with local activists of the Amicus trade union, for a briefing session on the how new voting system for local government elections works in practice. I'm glad they're doing this, because I'm very concerned that not enough is being done to publicise the details of the new system. I support proportional representation, including for local government, but I've not been sure from the start that the system which is going to apply to local government elections in Scotland from May is the one that should be used. And although I have a lot of confidence in the public's ability to understand, and achieve quite sophisticated results in their use of, a more proportional voting system, it is not going to be easy having elections on the same day using three different voting systems, as will happen in Scotland in May.
After that, I was along to the consultation session hosted by the Council about their proposals for Meadowbank stadium. This is causing a lot of local concern - and I can understand why, as my own children are regular users, and it's a good facility well-used by the local community. I was doing family things later on, and so couldn't attend the public meeting organised by the Save Meadowbank Campaign, but Gavin Strang MP (in whose constituency the stadium is situated) was there to represent us both. I gather there were 600+ there, which underlines public feelings on the issue.
After that, I was along to the consultation session hosted by the Council about their proposals for Meadowbank stadium. This is causing a lot of local concern - and I can understand why, as my own children are regular users, and it's a good facility well-used by the local community. I was doing family things later on, and so couldn't attend the public meeting organised by the Save Meadowbank Campaign, but Gavin Strang MP (in whose constituency the stadium is situated) was there to represent us both. I gather there were 600+ there, which underlines public feelings on the issue.
New passport opens Library doors
I went along on Friday morning to the launch at McDonald Road library, just across the road from my office, of the new "Edinburgh Libraries Passport" which has brought together 20+ library services from across Edinburgh in a scheme which allows users in one library to access information in another library service. So members of Edinburgh City Library service, or the university libraries, for example, will be easily able to access material in a range of other libraries, ranging from the Royal Observatory Library to the Scottish Catholic Archives, to name just two. It's a good idea; a simple one, which nevertheless I know took a lot of work to put together. So congratulations to all the staff involved, and to the excellent team at McDonald Road library in particular for hosting the event.
Friday also saw a visit to an children's art exhibition in a local primary school, raising money for school funds and also some of their links with work in developing countries - as it was my own children's school, it was no surprise which artworks I had to buy first! And the day ended with my two "surgeries" which I hold every Friday - moderately busy, although a little quieter than they have been in the last couple of weeks.
Thursday, March 15, 2007
Update: Trident; House of Lords
Well, the House of Commons did vote for Trident replacement, unfortunately in my view. However, the big surprise to many observers was the number of Labour MPs who voted against the plans (of which I was one). The debate will clearly continue, and whatever else happens, I hope that the big vote against will at least encourage the government to take more initiatives to strengthen the existing (and future) treaties on nuclear proliferation and nuclear tests.
Not much of a surprise either was the big vote in the Lords against reforming themselves - but I think a vote which they will come to regret, as it is just not acceptable that the Lords should refuse to consider any change at all, particularly as majorities in all parties in the House of Commons now support a fully elected House of Lords. I am sure that there will be strong all-party pressure in the Commons to press ahead with reform of the Lords.
Not much of a surprise either was the big vote in the Lords against reforming themselves - but I think a vote which they will come to regret, as it is just not acceptable that the Lords should refuse to consider any change at all, particularly as majorities in all parties in the House of Commons now support a fully elected House of Lords. I am sure that there will be strong all-party pressure in the Commons to press ahead with reform of the Lords.
Tuesday, March 13, 2007
Who is the greenest of them all?
Well, another week where Climate Change is all over the news - and over Parliament as well. Last night, I hosted an event in the House of Commons for the "Carbon Trust", which gives practical advice (and cash) to help businesses, local authorities etc to make themselves more energy efficient and reduce carbon emissions. A good turn-out from MPs to find out more about the work of the Trust, which was encouraging. And of course earlier today we had the speeches from Gordon Brown and from George Osborne laying out their respective policies on tackling climate change.
This morning, I led off a back-bench MPs debate on the future of inter city rail services, which is obviously closely linked to transport environmental issues. There were not that many MPs there for the debate, which was a bit disappointing (although this is a busy week!), but that did at least allow me the luxury of having enough time to make a speech setting out some ideas in full, rather than having to squeeze everything into a short speech at the end of the debate! (See my website for details of what I said).
From trains to planes, and another of the Environmental Audit Committee hearings into "carbon offsets", with a not very impressive evidence session from British Airways (which I see is featured on the BBC website). Much more encouraging was the launch of the government's draft Climate Change Bill, which was much more comprehensive than some people had expected. It's had a good response from a lot of the green pressure groups. As I said the other day, if the battle ground between the parties is "Who is the greenest of us all?", I welcome that. From the point of view of the interests of the environment, that's good; and politically, it underlines the extent to which progressive politics are shaping the political agenda.
Later on, a meeting with other MPs and one of the financial organisations looking at financial capacity and indebtedness.
I've also been dealing with a lot of emails and letters from people asking me to vote against the proposed replacement of Trident (and I will be voting against!). So far, about 200+ I think.
I see from our internal TV screens that the House of Lords has almost finished their two-day debate on Lords reform. It will be interesting to see if our decision in the Commons to back a fully elected Lords has any effect on their votes.
This morning, I led off a back-bench MPs debate on the future of inter city rail services, which is obviously closely linked to transport environmental issues. There were not that many MPs there for the debate, which was a bit disappointing (although this is a busy week!), but that did at least allow me the luxury of having enough time to make a speech setting out some ideas in full, rather than having to squeeze everything into a short speech at the end of the debate! (See my website for details of what I said).
From trains to planes, and another of the Environmental Audit Committee hearings into "carbon offsets", with a not very impressive evidence session from British Airways (which I see is featured on the BBC website). Much more encouraging was the launch of the government's draft Climate Change Bill, which was much more comprehensive than some people had expected. It's had a good response from a lot of the green pressure groups. As I said the other day, if the battle ground between the parties is "Who is the greenest of us all?", I welcome that. From the point of view of the interests of the environment, that's good; and politically, it underlines the extent to which progressive politics are shaping the political agenda.
Later on, a meeting with other MPs and one of the financial organisations looking at financial capacity and indebtedness.
I've also been dealing with a lot of emails and letters from people asking me to vote against the proposed replacement of Trident (and I will be voting against!). So far, about 200+ I think.
I see from our internal TV screens that the House of Lords has almost finished their two-day debate on Lords reform. It will be interesting to see if our decision in the Commons to back a fully elected Lords has any effect on their votes.
Monday, March 12, 2007
(1) Tackling Climate Change; (2) Trident
Back to St. George's West again on Sunday! Along with my MSP colleagues Malcolm Chisholm and Sarah Boyack, I organised a consultation on the proposals for a Climate Change Bill, and on environmental issues more generally, and the church kindly let me hire their premises to hold this. We had 120+ people at the meeting - I think we had a good discussion, in spite of a few "technical glitches" to do with a computer crashing! - and what struck me, as it does so often now, is how much people, rightly expect, action from politicians on this. I see there's been a lot of political debate about the proposals in this area, from the Tories on aviation taxes at the weekend, and from Gordon Brown today; and if the environment is now centre stage of politics, no matter where the policies come from, then in my view that's all to the good!
I'll be saying more about the Climate Change Bill once it is published later this week.
And on Sunday evening, I held a consultation meeting on Trident. This was another public meeting, which the Justice & Peace group kindly hosted for me in St Marys RC Cathedral Church Hall. About 50-60 people there, from the group and the general public. I made it clear that I could not support the proposals for the replacement of the Trident system when we have a vote in the House of Commons this Thursday. That has certainly been the clear message from the emails and letters I've been getting - about 120 or so to date - although I recognise there are strongly held views on both sides of the debate.
I'll be saying more about the Climate Change Bill once it is published later this week.
And on Sunday evening, I held a consultation meeting on Trident. This was another public meeting, which the Justice & Peace group kindly hosted for me in St Marys RC Cathedral Church Hall. About 50-60 people there, from the group and the general public. I made it clear that I could not support the proposals for the replacement of the Trident system when we have a vote in the House of Commons this Thursday. That has certainly been the clear message from the emails and letters I've been getting - about 120 or so to date - although I recognise there are strongly held views on both sides of the debate.
Palestine and Fairtrade
The last two weeks has been Fairtrade fortnight in Edinburgh, as in the rest of the country. On Saturday, I spoke briefly at a meeting organised by the Edinburgh-based Palestinian fair trade shop, Hadeel, to hear a Palestinian speaker talk about the direct benefits fairtrade can bring to Palestinian farmers and craftsworkers. It was an example of fairtrade I hadn't really appreciated before, and I was glad I was able to get along.
The meeting was held at St. Georges West church in Shandwick Place, which is real hive of activity for all sorts of organisations and groups.
The meeting was held at St. Georges West church in Shandwick Place, which is real hive of activity for all sorts of organisations and groups.
Saturday, March 10, 2007
Inter city rail links from Edinburgh
I've been able to secure a back bench MP's debate next Tuesday (13 March) on inter city rail services. I intend to raise issues concerning the East Coast Main Line, the Cross country rail link, and the future of the high speed rail in the UK - obviously with particular reference to the significance of these issues for Edinburgh. If you've any views on any of these, why not put a comment on this blog (or send me an email to mark@marklazarowicz.org.uk).
Update on House of Lords reform and Scottish MPs
Well - to most people' s (including MP's) surprise, the proposal for a fully elected House of Lords won a big majority in the vote on Wednesday. I voted for that (and the "fall-back" of an 80% elected house, but I prefer 100% elected). A couple of comments on an earlier post I made in this blog seem to have taken the line that this type of reform (when it actually happens, which I'm afraid won't be any day soon) isn't worth much, as the parties will just put their chosen candidates on the lists for election just as they can do for appointments.
My view is that ANY type of election is always better than appointment. The public CAN choose between different parties, or vote for an independent. The public NEVER has a choice to accept or reject someone who is appointed either by a party or an independent appointments commission.
It's true that in most cases candidates from one party or another will probably win most elections to a reformed House of Lords - but that's true of all elections, because our political system is essentially based on parties, as is the same in practically all democratic countries in the world. And the fact that candidates have to face election does have an influence on the way parties choose candidates. Even under the "closed party list" system which is used for European elections, all the parties now give their own members to vote on the choice of candidates - the Labour Party was (rightly) criticised when the choice of candidates was decided by party HQ in the 1999 elections, and didn't do that again for 2004.
The system being proposed by the government (very much as a starter for discussion) is the "open list" system, where parties would present a list of candidates, but where individual voters can choose their preferences between the candidates offered on that party list. It's not a perfect system, but it does have the advantage of being a system which allows seats won to be as closely linked as possible to voters' preferences; other systems don't do that. In any event, there'll be a lot of debate on what system should be chosen, however, and I certainly believe we must try and establish a system which makes elections to the second chamber as democratic as possible.
On another constitutional reform issue, the role of Scottish MPs in Westminster now that we have devolution, I was eventually able to speak during the debate we had on Friday. Unfortunately, I was only called at the end of the debate, and didn't have time to make some of the points I'd liked to have made - but the debate as a whole did I think give a good presentation of the various arguments (on different sides) on the issue. I was particularly impressed by the speech made by my Labour colleague, John Denham MP, in his speech. A full report of the debate is in "Hansard" - see www.parliament.uk for the link
My view is that ANY type of election is always better than appointment. The public CAN choose between different parties, or vote for an independent. The public NEVER has a choice to accept or reject someone who is appointed either by a party or an independent appointments commission.
It's true that in most cases candidates from one party or another will probably win most elections to a reformed House of Lords - but that's true of all elections, because our political system is essentially based on parties, as is the same in practically all democratic countries in the world. And the fact that candidates have to face election does have an influence on the way parties choose candidates. Even under the "closed party list" system which is used for European elections, all the parties now give their own members to vote on the choice of candidates - the Labour Party was (rightly) criticised when the choice of candidates was decided by party HQ in the 1999 elections, and didn't do that again for 2004.
The system being proposed by the government (very much as a starter for discussion) is the "open list" system, where parties would present a list of candidates, but where individual voters can choose their preferences between the candidates offered on that party list. It's not a perfect system, but it does have the advantage of being a system which allows seats won to be as closely linked as possible to voters' preferences; other systems don't do that. In any event, there'll be a lot of debate on what system should be chosen, however, and I certainly believe we must try and establish a system which makes elections to the second chamber as democratic as possible.
On another constitutional reform issue, the role of Scottish MPs in Westminster now that we have devolution, I was eventually able to speak during the debate we had on Friday. Unfortunately, I was only called at the end of the debate, and didn't have time to make some of the points I'd liked to have made - but the debate as a whole did I think give a good presentation of the various arguments (on different sides) on the issue. I was particularly impressed by the speech made by my Labour colleague, John Denham MP, in his speech. A full report of the debate is in "Hansard" - see www.parliament.uk for the link
Wednesday, March 07, 2007
House of Lords reform and other debates
We're near the end of a two day debate on the reform of the House of Lords. I'm afraid the debate appears to have been dominated by the "grandees" and would-be "grandees" who don't see the case for change (saying sometime the same kind of things that were said when the House of Lords had its first, limited, reforms.).
To me, the issue is a "no-brainer! - it's just plain wrong for laws to be made by people who are able to do so either because their ancestor was made a peer by a king or queen in the distant past, or because they've been appointed, even if the appointments procedure is set up in the fairest and most independent fashion possible. So I support a House of Lords which is entirely or mostly i.e. 80%elected (although I'll vote for some of the options with smaller elected shares, for procedural reasons - unfortunately, pressure from the grandees meant that we've been landed with a bizarre set of votes where we could end up voting down ALL the option - some people would like that! - so we have to be careful how we vote today.
And on Friday, a Tory back bench MP who has a Private Members' Bill to stop Scottish MPs voting on some issues; and next week, my own debate on intercity rail services, and the big debate on Trident on Wednesday.... It'll be a busy week!
To me, the issue is a "no-brainer! - it's just plain wrong for laws to be made by people who are able to do so either because their ancestor was made a peer by a king or queen in the distant past, or because they've been appointed, even if the appointments procedure is set up in the fairest and most independent fashion possible. So I support a House of Lords which is entirely or mostly i.e. 80%elected (although I'll vote for some of the options with smaller elected shares, for procedural reasons - unfortunately, pressure from the grandees meant that we've been landed with a bizarre set of votes where we could end up voting down ALL the option - some people would like that! - so we have to be careful how we vote today.
And on Friday, a Tory back bench MP who has a Private Members' Bill to stop Scottish MPs voting on some issues; and next week, my own debate on intercity rail services, and the big debate on Trident on Wednesday.... It'll be a busy week!
Still fighting for free cash
Readers of this blog in the past may remember that I mentioned my campaign to make sure people have access to cash machines without having to pay to getting their own money out. I reported that some of the banks have agreed to make sure there is at least one "free" cash machine in every area. This is vital for people on low incomes - after all, if you're only taking out £10 a time, paying £1.50 or so for the privilege is a big chunk out of that.
The Bank of Scotland has, I understand, been looking at providing such a free machine in the Pilton area. Meantime, however, I've been contacted by a constituent who is angry that a new "charging" cash machine has been set up in Granton - and it's location, just outside Gala Bingo, suggests it's deliberately targetting customers when they need to get cash! In fact, I'd noticed the new cash machine when I was on the top deck of the number 8 bus coming back from an interesting conference at Telford College, and I made a mental note to go back and check if it charged, as I suspected it might (so thank you, Ian, for going along at 5.45 am in the morning to check the details for me!).
The conference, by the way, marked the end of a European project looking at different "Waterfront developments" in various parts of Northern Europe. I'm often quite sceptical of some of these European-wide projects; but there does seem to have been a lot of useful material coming out of this one - I was particularly struck by the emphasis (yet again!) that these developments only work for the local community, IF the local community is genuinely involved in the decision-making process.
Later that day, I was glad to be able to drop in to attend the presentation for the Granton Youth Centre AGM. There's always a good buzz about the place, and I'm glad they've been able to get funding to extend their programme.
The Bank of Scotland has, I understand, been looking at providing such a free machine in the Pilton area. Meantime, however, I've been contacted by a constituent who is angry that a new "charging" cash machine has been set up in Granton - and it's location, just outside Gala Bingo, suggests it's deliberately targetting customers when they need to get cash! In fact, I'd noticed the new cash machine when I was on the top deck of the number 8 bus coming back from an interesting conference at Telford College, and I made a mental note to go back and check if it charged, as I suspected it might (so thank you, Ian, for going along at 5.45 am in the morning to check the details for me!).
The conference, by the way, marked the end of a European project looking at different "Waterfront developments" in various parts of Northern Europe. I'm often quite sceptical of some of these European-wide projects; but there does seem to have been a lot of useful material coming out of this one - I was particularly struck by the emphasis (yet again!) that these developments only work for the local community, IF the local community is genuinely involved in the decision-making process.
Later that day, I was glad to be able to drop in to attend the presentation for the Granton Youth Centre AGM. There's always a good buzz about the place, and I'm glad they've been able to get funding to extend their programme.
In the committee corridors at Westminster
As many people (fortunately!) realise, a lot of the most interesting work at Parliament goes on in the committees and informal meetings which take place alongside Prime Minister's Question Time and the big debates which, understandably, get all the publicity on TV. Last week, I was able to be involved in quite a bit of this less publicised work, but doing things which will hopefully result in some positive outcomes, eventually!
One of these was a big conference on "Energy Prices" which was organised by the "All Party Groups" on Debt and Personal Finance (which I chair), and on Poverty. We invited in a lot of local and national NGOs, experts, to look at ways in which something could be done about the changes (normally upwards!) in energy prices which can be particularly dangerous for vulnerable consumers, especially in the winter. We had a lot of really good ideas coming forward. We'll be publishing a report, and I hope we'll be able to have a real impact in changing policies here, to benefit both consumers on lower incomes and consumers more generally.
At other times in the week, the two committees of which I'm a member, the Environmental Audit Committee and the Modernisation Committee, held important meetings to take evidence on their current enquries. I've mentioned the Environmental Audit Commitee enquiry in another post on this blog - but the Modernisation Committee was also interesting. We've been looking at how Parliament can strengthen the role of the backbench MP, and also make better use of non-legislative time. Our witnesses this week were three of the best known political journalists at Westminster - Michael White, Peter Riddell, and Nick Robinson. (I think the MPs asking questions were more nervous than the witnesses!) In fact, there were a lot of good points made - I must check their blogs to see what they said about us!
One of these was a big conference on "Energy Prices" which was organised by the "All Party Groups" on Debt and Personal Finance (which I chair), and on Poverty. We invited in a lot of local and national NGOs, experts, to look at ways in which something could be done about the changes (normally upwards!) in energy prices which can be particularly dangerous for vulnerable consumers, especially in the winter. We had a lot of really good ideas coming forward. We'll be publishing a report, and I hope we'll be able to have a real impact in changing policies here, to benefit both consumers on lower incomes and consumers more generally.
At other times in the week, the two committees of which I'm a member, the Environmental Audit Committee and the Modernisation Committee, held important meetings to take evidence on their current enquries. I've mentioned the Environmental Audit Commitee enquiry in another post on this blog - but the Modernisation Committee was also interesting. We've been looking at how Parliament can strengthen the role of the backbench MP, and also make better use of non-legislative time. Our witnesses this week were three of the best known political journalists at Westminster - Michael White, Peter Riddell, and Nick Robinson. (I think the MPs asking questions were more nervous than the witnesses!) In fact, there were a lot of good points made - I must check their blogs to see what they said about us!
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