Letter from Westminster and Bristol 31 March 2008

This letter covers the two weeks either side of Easter. The first saw the 5th anniversary of the invasion of Iraq. Who would have thought back in March 2003 that British and American troops would still be engaged in combat in 2008? The events leading up to the Iraq war were tainted by spin and lies. And a certain amount of rewriting of history has taken place since. It is easy now to forget that when Lib Dem MPs decided to oppose the war that this was not a popular stance. Public opinion polls showed a majority in favour of war, taken in by Blairite spin. Charles Kennedy was vilified by the Government, the Tories and in most sections of the press.

But five years on we have been vindicated. What of the Tories? They are now desperately trying to distance themselves from their near united vote for war in 2003. Ian Duncan-Smith was an enthusiast for taking out Saddam and David Cameron dutifully voted for war. Now they have the cheek to call for the enquiry that we have long demanded. In Parliament they held a debate on the issue and I had to hold my nose to vote with them and against Labour MPs who are still resisting any need for an independent review. Outside Parliament Lib Dem MPs and Peers held up a cheque highlighting the £6.5 billion cost of the war to Britain so far.

Back in the Commons I presented a petition calling for the Climate Change Bill to be toughened. The petition was signed by 1,200 Bristol West residents. I support calls for the reduction of 1990 CO2 levels to be 80% rather than 60% by 2050. This could be partly achieved by including aviation and shipping emissions in the target.

Aviation was the topic when I made another appearance on ITV's The West This Week. Part of the interview was about illegal car park sites near Bristol Airport. But I was also able to make the points that I oppose the unsustainable expansion of Bristol Airport and also want more people to travel there by public transport. At the moment more than 90% of travellers get there by car.

Post Office closures are much in the news at the moment. It was noticeable that when the Commons voted on whether to suspend the closures that most Labour MPs voted against. So much for the crocodile tears shed by Bristol's Labour MPs, none of whom backed the motion. I am making submissions in favour of keeping open Derby Road, Redcliffe, Wellington Hill West and Alma Vale Road post offices.

In Bristol I've been on a variety of visits. I've now been to every school in Bristol West (and quite a few elsewhere!) with St Michael on the Mount Primary finally ticked off. As well as meeting the new head I was shown around by four members of the school council and answered questions in Year 5 and Year 6 classes. I've discussed a wide variety of Bristol education issues with Heather Tomlinson, the council's Director of Children's Services. In the University I met with the Arts Faculty's coordinators of community education. These courses face an uncertain future as the government has slashed the funding for this level of provision. I've also had an update from the developers of 'One Dove Lane', the large area of St Pauls near the bottom of the M32. They are still working on their plans and wont be making more announcements for 6 months.

A big issue of concern to constituents is transport. So I had a private meeting with the new Managing Director of First Great Western, Andrew Haines. Among the many issues we discussed were the Severn Beach Line, services to Paddington, Bath and Cardiff, upgrading of Temple Meads station, the Portishead line, signalling at Temple Meads, delays and other examples of poor service to customers. Mr Haines appreciated the scale of the problems though many of the solutions he hopes for wont come about for several years.

Back in Westminster, two foreign dignitaries have visited Parliament.

Firstly, our Speaker held a reception for Nancy Pelosi, the Speaker of the US House of Representatives. She was leading a delegation of Congressmen to India, with London as a 24 hour stop off. I talked to a Democrat Congressman from New Jersey. He will be one of the "super-delegates" who will probably decide whether Hilary or Obama is the Democrat nominee for President. In the week after Easter President Sarkozy of France was on

his State Visit to Britain. He addressed both Houses of Parliament in

the Royal Gallery, a large hall in the House of Lords. My French isn't good enough to understand a fast delivered speech so (like most MPs) I had to listen to a translator through ear phones while watching 'Sarko's'

charismatic delivery. The translation experience made me think I was glad not to be a member of the European Parliament! But Lib Dem Leader Nick Clegg is such a polyglot that he managed without the earphones...

I made some speeches and answered questions at two youth events. First, Unlock Democracy had a gathering in Westminster Central Hall (HQ of the

Methodists) with myself, the NUS president and a Labour minister and David Willets, my Tory equivalent on the platform. We covered votes for 16 year olds as well as a variety of education issues. I was also on the panel for an event organised by the UK Youth Parliament. This was to launch a report critical of government policy on student finances.

In the Commons it was my third outing at the monthly departmental questions for Innovation, Universities and Skills. I asked about initiatives to get more science graduates into teaching. Also in my role as Shadow DIUS Secretary I had a wide range of meetings with bodies as diverse as civil engineers, the Science and Technology Facilities Research Council, Institute of Occupational Health, the Russell Group of research universities and the Association of Colleges.

Back in Bristol, there has been a huge outcry over the Council's proposal for turning part of the Bristol - Bath railway path into a guided bus route. This is a hugely popular walking and cycling route and I have opposed the idea. If you look on www.stephenwilliams.org.uk and find the news story about the cycle path you can see a film I made with campaigners against the destruction of the path. On Sunday (yesterday) I was one of the speakers at a protest rally on College Green, attended by hundreds of people. The Lib Dem council group have agreed the text of a motion with the city's sole Green councillor that will be discussed on Tuesday. Let's see what Labour councillors do to the idea that they have been promoting...

Finally, I often host visits to Westminster for a variety of groups. It was a particular pleasure to give a tour to visiting Bristol Lib Dems and to give a talk and answer questions. More visitors always welcome!