Letter from Westminster and Bristol

Letter from Westminster and Bristol 10th - 16th December 2007

This week had some good and bad news for Bristol. First the bad. On Thursday morning I was phoned by the Evening Post, just as I was finishing breakfast, and asked what my reaction was to the arena news? This is often how things turn out - the media know something before you do and I didn't know whether this was good or bad news, was the arena going ahead (as I'd been led to believe when I last heard anything) or not? It wasn't good. So my instant reaction was this was disastrous news for Bristol. We've waited years for this project to be delivered. So now we'll still have to go to Cardiff and Birmingham to see big bands and large conferences and exhibitions wont be coming to Bristol.

I was heading back to Bristol Thursday morning to attend a lunch time meeting with some good news. The Pierian Centre in Portland Square, St Pauls, wants to extend into the derelict properties next door on a prominent site corner site with Cave Street. Apart from the Pierian's activities (courses and small exhibitions and discussions) there will be a couple of flats, a shops and maybe a doctors' surgery. There are various people with a community interest there. I tell them that I first walked around Portland Square at the end of my first year in university, 21 years ago. I'd been shocked that what had been a magnificent Georgian Square was in a state of semi dereliction and the church that I had come to see was boarded up. Now the church was restored and many of the buildings had been brought back into use as flats or offices. St Pauls is on the way up, with many other good things happening or in the pipeline.

I then meet up with ITV West to film at the site by Temple Meads that had been earmarked for the Arena. I point out that the project had been led by the unaccountable South West Regional Development Agency. Despite all Labour's promises to open up quangos to democratic scrutiny nothing has happened in England. Later I wrote a letter to Gordon Brown, asking when he intended to set up the Commons Regional Select Committees he promised in July.

Thursday evening I went with Cabot councillors Alex Woodman and Mark Wright to the Castlemead 16th floor HQ of the "Bristol Alliance", the private sector consortium extending Broadmead into "Cabot Circus". We were shown the draft proposal for a striking piece of public art at the bottom of the M32. I quite liked it, a combination of steel and Welsh (of course!) slate.

In Parliament during the week it was Vince Cable's last appearance at = PMQs as acting Lib Dem Leader. Again he got the better of Brown and over-shadowed Cameron. His question about whether Brown had any regrets about handing over southern Iraq to a fascist militia that oppressed women was particularly damning. Vince was in action again later on Wednesday when we had a rare Lib Dem initiated Opposition Debate, on the Northern Rock debacle where we taxpayers are now opposed to a risk approaching A330 billion. The government and the Tories have repeatedly poured scorn on our suggestion that the government should take temporary control of the company, let's see what happens.

On Tuesday there was a brief (half hour) topical debate on the future of = Cadbury's at Keynsham. This was in the second chamber, "Westminster Hall". It was initiated by local MP Dan Norris and replied to by Trade Minister Stephen Timms. I made two brief interventions. The current Cadbury board are betraying the philanthropic history of the Fry and Cadbury families. The chocolate bars produced at Keynsham are made almost entirely for a British market (you don't see Fry's Turkish Delight very much in Warsaw or Berlin) yet will now have to be transported from Poland. The company's excuse that they must resist global pressures and possible take over risk doesn't stack up as there are really only four world chocolate producers and I can't see EU or British competition authorities allowing a Cadbury take over. I suspect this is just corporate greed and the Keynsham site must have a high sale = value.

In education this week there were two meetings of the Children, Schools and Families Select Committee. On Monday we had expert witnesses in to answer questions on testing and league tables. ON Wednesday it was the

Chief Inspector of Schools and the rest of the senior Ofsted team.

In the main chamber CSF Secretary made a statement announcing his 10 year Children's Plan (nobody said this was back from Mr Bean to Stalin...) David Laws made our main reply but I asked for more attention to be given to young carers.

A bit of light relief and food for thought this week came from a visit to the British Museum to see the Chinese Terracotta Army exhibition. Also a talk on lessons to be learned from the 1688 Glorious Revolution and Bill of Rights, the 1707 union of the Parliaments of Scotland and England & Wales and the American Constitution. I also went to the Universities UK lecture by the Director General of the CBI.

Finally, Christmas is coming. So over the weekend I wrote hundreds of cards. I also went to my local Oxfam on Cotham Hill and dressed as Father Christmas sat behind a desk... Why? Because they are raising money for a classroom in Africa. Please go along and donate or go into any Oxfam store and buy from their "unwrapped" range of practical gifts that will help someone less fortunate than us in the developing world. On Saturday afternoon I went to St Mary Redcliffe for the Avon Scouts and Guides carol service. This was the last event commemorating the centenary of scouting.

Off back to London now (Monday morning) for the final two days at Westminster and the excitement on Tuesday of the revelation of the new Liberal Democrat Leader!