Well, my candidate for Deputy Leader (Peter Hain), see below, didn't make it - he came fifth! (Although the candidates were all fairly close together in the first round). However, I think the combination of Gordon Brown and Harriet Harman may well be the combination which will be most attractive to the voters. I know that some readers of this blog are critical when I say things like that - but politics is about winning elections!
And we've already got one surprise recruit, the (former) Tory MP Quentin Davies. When we heard the news in the House of Commons, we could hardly believe it, as he certainly isn't the first name that would have come to mind as a potential defector to Labour - more likely names would have been the strongly pro-European MPs like David Curry or Ian Taylor, or the socially liberal John Bercow. However, Quentin Davies has been consistently very critical of Tory leaders' anti-European policies, and I imagine the Tory reaction to the European agreement at the weekend must have been the final straw!.
Of course, the Tories in responding to the defection have made much of Quentin Davies' less progressive record on other issues - but he's been an MP for 19 years, so he will know the views and outlook of Labour MPs from across the chamber, so he knows the party he is joining, and what he'll be expected to vote for. It's certainly a coup for Gordon Brown on the day he is to become Prime Minister.
Wednesday, June 27, 2007
Tuesday, June 19, 2007
Pass IT On fundraising sale of surplus IT
I've just been contacted by Pass IT On, the local disability IT charity who do a lot of good work in my constituency, who want to publicise a fundraising sale of surplus IT which they're holding on 30 June. I'm happy to do that! It's at their workshop at 14 Wardie Avenue from 10 am to 4 pm. They are selling base units, keyboards, mice, power cables, and a few monitors and printers.
Well worth a visit!
Well worth a visit!
Who to vote for?
I thought I should put something on my blog about who I'm supporting for Labour's Deputy Leader, and why. I genuinely found it difficult to choose, but I eventually decided to back Peter Hain. That's because, as readers of this blog will have realised, I do feel that tackling climate change has to be a top priority for government, and Peter has incorporated that issue into his campaign priorities more than any of the other candidates. I know he's also had a record of being involved in the issue for decades, so I think his knowledge and commitment on the issue is real and substantial.
It's a preferential voting system, of course, so I've got 2nd, 3rd etc votes as well. I'll almost certainly vote for Jon Cruddas for 2nd choice, as I think he has done more than any of the candidates to put the issue of reinvigorating the Labour Party and reconnecting with our grass roots on the agenda of this election campaign. I think that needs to be a continued focus for the Labour Party leadership, and a good vote for Jon will help emphasise that need.
After that - I'm still making up my mind! (And you can let me know your views by taking part in the poll on my main website - the poll should be up and running soon, I hope!)
It's a preferential voting system, of course, so I've got 2nd, 3rd etc votes as well. I'll almost certainly vote for Jon Cruddas for 2nd choice, as I think he has done more than any of the candidates to put the issue of reinvigorating the Labour Party and reconnecting with our grass roots on the agenda of this election campaign. I think that needs to be a continued focus for the Labour Party leadership, and a good vote for Jon will help emphasise that need.
After that - I'm still making up my mind! (And you can let me know your views by taking part in the poll on my main website - the poll should be up and running soon, I hope!)
Friday, June 15, 2007
Dealing with terrorism...
Much of the Scottish media has been dominated for more than a week with the dispute about the "agreement" with Libya, because of its possible implications for the al-Megrahi case. I've had a close look at all the relevant documents, and it's pretty clear to me that the UK government has done nothing which undermines the authority of the Scottish Executive and Parliament. The "Memorandum of Understanding" between the UK and Libya makes it clear that nothing in it affecting Scotland will go ahead without the approval of the Scottish Executive, and that's undoubtedly right, as it's only the Scottish legal authorities that could agree to any proposal to return any prisoner back to their home country to serve their sentence.
Having said that, it's also pretty clear to me that given the obvious sensitivity of this issue, the Scottish Executive should have been involved in discussions about it at an earlier date. Whether your view is that Alex Salmond was standing up for Scottish interests, or alternatively he was stirring it (you can take your pick!), the fact is that he was able to score in an open goal. That shouldn't have happened, and clearly there's got to be a good look at the channels of communication between Westminster and Holyrood (both within government and within the political parties), and how they are operating, to minimise the chances of this type of dispute happening again. (I don't doubt that the SNP administration will choose issues to highlight differences and disputes - but there's no need to make it easy for them!).
All this concentration on the Libyan agreement meant there was very little media coverage of what was the biggest announcement over the last week from Westminster, namely a review of the counter-terrorism legislation. Whatever your views as to the reasons behind terrorism (something I've spoken on in Parliament before), and how to tackle them, events like the 7/7 bombings in London in 2005 underline the threat is a reality in the UK. What is important is that measures to tackle this threat are both effective and proportionate, and recognise the concerns about civil liberties and the effects on minority communities. Some of the proposals from John Reid made are controversial, but what was important was the way in which he emphasised he would be seeking a consensus both inside Parliament and outside on the way forward before any changes were proposed in the law. I welcome that approach, because of course I didn't like the previous proposal for 90-day detention, and didn't support it; and that was a proposal which clearly didn't have broad support in Parliament.
Having said that, it's also pretty clear to me that given the obvious sensitivity of this issue, the Scottish Executive should have been involved in discussions about it at an earlier date. Whether your view is that Alex Salmond was standing up for Scottish interests, or alternatively he was stirring it (you can take your pick!), the fact is that he was able to score in an open goal. That shouldn't have happened, and clearly there's got to be a good look at the channels of communication between Westminster and Holyrood (both within government and within the political parties), and how they are operating, to minimise the chances of this type of dispute happening again. (I don't doubt that the SNP administration will choose issues to highlight differences and disputes - but there's no need to make it easy for them!).
All this concentration on the Libyan agreement meant there was very little media coverage of what was the biggest announcement over the last week from Westminster, namely a review of the counter-terrorism legislation. Whatever your views as to the reasons behind terrorism (something I've spoken on in Parliament before), and how to tackle them, events like the 7/7 bombings in London in 2005 underline the threat is a reality in the UK. What is important is that measures to tackle this threat are both effective and proportionate, and recognise the concerns about civil liberties and the effects on minority communities. Some of the proposals from John Reid made are controversial, but what was important was the way in which he emphasised he would be seeking a consensus both inside Parliament and outside on the way forward before any changes were proposed in the law. I welcome that approach, because of course I didn't like the previous proposal for 90-day detention, and didn't support it; and that was a proposal which clearly didn't have broad support in Parliament.
Thursday, June 14, 2007
From West Pilton to Burma & Thailand
I've just had a chance to look at the blog from Sheila Laing, Head Teacher at Forthview Primary, about their link with a school on the Burma-Thai border. It's inspiring to see what Sheila and the school have been planning, in an initiative which began out of Edinburgh City Council's grant of the Freedom of the City to Aung San Suu Kyi (see right) back in 2004. I'm glad that the schools has had help through the government's International Development Department Global Exchange Scheme to make this happen. I've been encouraging local schools to take up this offer, and I'm glad that Forthview has already done so.
The future of Leith and Leith Walk
As part of my contribution to Leith Festival week, I organised an event in McDonald Road library, "Leith and Leith Walk- the future". I thought it would be good to get together some of the local organisations in the area with local people to talk about what we felt were the main priorities for the community. We had not a bad turn-out. A lot of people were there because they were worried about a planning application for a big block of flats in McDonald Road - they felt (rightly in my view) that the developments in the area were just one block of flats after another. My colleague Malcolm Chisholm MSP spoke with the group about how best we could help them put forward their case to the City Council.
Housing was the theme of another discussion at the meeting. Not surprisingly, affordable housing (or the lack of it) was a big concern. We had some very useful information from Mohanjit Singh of the Port of Leith Housing Association. We also had sessions looking at the plans for an Edinburgh tram network, where I think a lot of useful information was provided.
People were also interested in the programme and activities going on at Out of the Blue in Dalmeny Street - not everyone had heard about it, so the event hopefully helped to get news round about that.
There were a number of other issues raised, which I'll be summarising in a report which I hope to publish on my main website in a week or so. Most people seemed to think the event was a good idea, and I think the ability just to pass on information about all the many things happening in the area was worthwhile in itself.
Housing was the theme of another discussion at the meeting. Not surprisingly, affordable housing (or the lack of it) was a big concern. We had some very useful information from Mohanjit Singh of the Port of Leith Housing Association. We also had sessions looking at the plans for an Edinburgh tram network, where I think a lot of useful information was provided.
People were also interested in the programme and activities going on at Out of the Blue in Dalmeny Street - not everyone had heard about it, so the event hopefully helped to get news round about that.
There were a number of other issues raised, which I'll be summarising in a report which I hope to publish on my main website in a week or so. Most people seemed to think the event was a good idea, and I think the ability just to pass on information about all the many things happening in the area was worthwhile in itself.
Wednesday, June 13, 2007
Sunshine on Leith, again....
Last weekend was the culmination of the Leith Festival, which just gets bigger and better each year! Saturday was the traditional parade (100 years old this year) from Pilrig to the gala day on the Links. The d
ay had started out dreich and overcast, but the sun came out just in time. I joined the open-top bus at the start of the parade; the star attraction at the front of the bus was the CIS Scottish League Cup, which this year's victors Hibs had kindly lent us for the day. It certainly helped to get a good response from the thousands along Leith Walk (with the exception of a few supporters of the team from Gorgie!). And it certainly made the day of my Council colleague, Councillor Gordon Munro, a keen Hibee! (in the middle on the left!)
ay had started out dreich and overcast, but the sun came out just in time. I joined the open-top bus at the start of the parade; the star attraction at the front of the bus was the CIS Scottish League Cup, which this year's victors Hibs had kindly lent us for the day. It certainly helped to get a good response from the thousands along Leith Walk (with the exception of a few supporters of the team from Gorgie!). And it certainly made the day of my Council colleague, Councillor Gordon Munro, a keen Hibee! (in the middle on the left!)The weather held out for the afternoon, so it was another great gala day. What is particularly special about the Leith Festival is the way in which it very much brings together both the long-standing Leith community, and newer residents. All credit to those whose hard work makes it possible, particularly the Festival chairperson, Sandy Campbell.
Thursday, June 07, 2007
Climate change top of the agenda again
Climate Change has been top of the political agenda this wek - both my own, and the wider world's! I've juts seen on the TV headlines here at Westminster that there's apparently been some deal at the G8 summit on climate change. I haven't seen any details yet - whether or not there really has been any progress will have to be seen - I'll try and make a comment on my blog once there's been more news and analysis.
Climate Change issues has certainly been my major focus here at Westminster this week. Our committee looking at the proposed new Climate Change Bill is now meeting twice a week. The sessions can be pretty heavy, but they're worth it as we're getting a lot of good information from the witnesses we're seeing before us. The two key issues coming up at the moment seem to be (1) is the proposal for a 60% cut in UK CO2 emissions by 2050 enough - almost certainly not!; and (2) how can we actually make sure that the targets for cuts in emissions (which almost everyone agrees we need) will be legally binding. The government accepts that they should be, but we've had some legal witnesses before us who have expressed doubts whether it is legally possible to do that. We have to get that sorted out, because the whole point of the Climate Change Bill is to make sure that we have commitments which are binding on this and future governments.
Earlier in the week, the Environmental Audit Committee (another committee I'm on) took evidence from David Miliband, the Environment Secretary. As always, enthusiastic, although there is of course speculation that he will move to another senior job after Gordon Brown becomes Prime Minister. It would be a pity if we did lose David's enthusiasm for tackling climate change, because there's no doubt he has shown a real awareness and commitment to the issue since he became Environment Secretary. (An example of his enthusiasm was the 7.45 am visit he paid with me to the Pelamis wave turbine project in my constituency earlier this year - see above!)
So those committees took up much of the time this week - but I was also able to get in a few questions (on Europe, fuel poverty, and the problems faced by air passengers getting refunds), as well as taking part in a meeting of the House of Commons Modernisation Committee. We're finalising two reports on "Strengthening the role of back-bench MPs" and "Making better use of legislative time" - may not sound like exciting topics, but if we agree them the reports are likely to make some quite important changes to make Parliament more effective. Unfortunately, I'm not allowed to say anything about the details until we publish our report! - but anyone interested can get a good idea of the way we're thinking by looking at the hearings we've been having on the topics!
Climate Change issues has certainly been my major focus here at Westminster this week. Our committee looking at the proposed new Climate Change Bill is now meeting twice a week. The sessions can be pretty heavy, but they're worth it as we're getting a lot of good information from the witnesses we're seeing before us. The two key issues coming up at the moment seem to be (1) is the proposal for a 60% cut in UK CO2 emissions by 2050 enough - almost certainly not!; and (2) how can we actually make sure that the targets for cuts in emissions (which almost everyone agrees we need) will be legally binding. The government accepts that they should be, but we've had some legal witnesses before us who have expressed doubts whether it is legally possible to do that. We have to get that sorted out, because the whole point of the Climate Change Bill is to make sure that we have commitments which are binding on this and future governments.
Earlier in the week, the Environmental Audit Committee (another committee I'm on) took evidence from David Miliband, the Environment Secretary. As always, enthusiastic, although there is of course speculation that he will move to another senior job after Gordon Brown becomes Prime Minister. It would be a pity if we did lose David's enthusiasm for tackling climate change, because there's no doubt he has shown a real awareness and commitment to the issue since he became Environment Secretary. (An example of his enthusiasm was the 7.45 am visit he paid with me to the Pelamis wave turbine project in my constituency earlier this year - see above!)
So those committees took up much of the time this week - but I was also able to get in a few questions (on Europe, fuel poverty, and the problems faced by air passengers getting refunds), as well as taking part in a meeting of the House of Commons Modernisation Committee. We're finalising two reports on "Strengthening the role of back-bench MPs" and "Making better use of legislative time" - may not sound like exciting topics, but if we agree them the reports are likely to make some quite important changes to make Parliament more effective. Unfortunately, I'm not allowed to say anything about the details until we publish our report! - but anyone interested can get a good idea of the way we're thinking by looking at the hearings we've been having on the topics!
Tuesday, June 05, 2007
Getting around the constituency
Last week was a "recess" break from Parliament, and I was able to use the time to get around to a lot of groups and events in the constituency, and around Edinburgh. I think I went to around 20 events during that week, and it would take up too much space to list them all here. There are a few which I would make special mention of, though. One was the 70th anniversary celebrations for St Davids Primary School in West Pilton - an enthusiastic gathering of schoolchildren and teachers (present and past!), and families and friends - and in a fine new building, a good reminder of the fact that is one of 7 schools in my constituency built or refurbished under the Labour government. Another, very different meeting, was an event organised by the HIV/AIDS project of the Church of Scotland, which very powerfully highlighted the scale of the AIDS crisis in India.
A different problem was highlighted in the excellent DVD produced by the youth group at the "Junction" who looked at alcohol-related problems in Leith, and what needed to be done about the problem (a nation-wide issue, of course). They showed it to a large audience of Leithers and others at Ocean Terminal - a very effective message in the DVD, which deserves a wider audience which I will try to help the group to get
Last, but not least, I'll mention the AGM of the PROP Stress Centre in West Pilton - a group which has undergone a remarkable and positive transformation in the last couple of years, and has what I think is a really effective community mental health programme.
A different problem was highlighted in the excellent DVD produced by the youth group at the "Junction" who looked at alcohol-related problems in Leith, and what needed to be done about the problem (a nation-wide issue, of course). They showed it to a large audience of Leithers and others at Ocean Terminal - a very effective message in the DVD, which deserves a wider audience which I will try to help the group to get
Last, but not least, I'll mention the AGM of the PROP Stress Centre in West Pilton - a group which has undergone a remarkable and positive transformation in the last couple of years, and has what I think is a really effective community mental health programme.
New website and blog address
I've been transferring information to a new website, and as a result the link to my blog was broken. However, as you see it's now up and running again!
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)
