Letter from Westminster 18th May 2008

Letter from Westminster 18th May 2008

This Letter covers my last few weeks of activity in Bristol and London.

During this period I celebrated the third anniversary of my election as Bristol West's MP on 5th May 2005!

I've visited almost all of Bristol West's schools at least once in the last three years and many of them have been on a visit to Westminster. As well as mainstream state and private schools we also have various specialist schools. One school where the staff have a real challenge on their hands is the St Matthias "Pupil Referral Unit", now based in St Werburghs. This unit is the school for secondary age children who have

been expelled from their normal school. Most of the children have been violent and abusive to the teachers and fellow pupils in their former schools. The aim of the head and her staff is to stabilise the children in the year or so that they are with them, improve their behaviour and integrate them back into a mainstream school. For the first time in a visit to a school I've been sworn at by a pupil, but some of the older ones who had done a citizenship class were genuinely interested in what an MP does. I think some of the children are lacking someone who takes an interest in them so I hope my visit made a small difference and I will go back.

Colston's Primary School in Cotham is a fairly typical Bristol West school with well taught articulate children. My meeting with their school council was with children of all ages and they all had an interesting question. I also had a question and answer session with one of the year 6 classes. Colston's buildings aren't really ideal for a modern school but their achievements show that good teachers and motivated children make for a good school.

At the other end of the age scale I spent an evening with tenants at some sheltered accommodation in Kingsdown. We had a wide ranging discussion about transport, parking, recycling and other local issues. I hope that a new plastic bottle bank will open soon in Kingsdown and I promised to look into the disposal of renewable light bulbs.

Bristol West is full of people who do interesting things, often with national reputations. I am now no longer surprised to meet constituents at Westminster events. So it was with a reception to promote film and new media in the south west. There is concern about the future plans of the BBC in Bristol. There is even a horrible rumour that they may stop making 'Casualty' here. I wish they wouldn't call it Holby!

Bristol made the national news several times with the arrest of a man from Westbury on suspicion of terrorism activities. Residents were evacuated from their homes for a couple of days while a property was searched. The police did an excellent job on reassuring residents and giving me regular updates on the situation. Eventually the man was charged with several terrorism and explosives related offences. This led to a flurry of TV and radio interviews. Whilst the case has not been heard yet it is frightening on the one hand to think of what might have happened, but on the other we must be reassured that the police and security services are vigilant. On a political note, I will shortly have to vote in the House of Commons on the government's plans to extend detention without charge to from 28 to 42 days. The Bristol suspect was charged within 13 days.

The Labour government's authoritarian tendencies was just one of the reasons I gave in support of the motion "This House has no confidence in the Government" at Bristol University's Debating Society. I was moving the resolution and the main defender of the government was meant to be the MP for Bristol East. Unfortunately she pulled out on the day of the debate and Labour failed to find an alternative. In a period when Gordon Brown and his government seem to be losing friends and failing to influence people, this was not a smart move. So having the floor to myself rather undermined the purpose of the event but I enjoyed attacking the government all the same!

I've been to Bristol Prison a few times before. My recent visit was to understand the effect of imprisonment on the prisoner's family and children. There is a double concern here. Prisoners' children can underachieve at school due to family break up and tension. Maintaining contact with the prisoner's family can give the offender a reason to cooperate with rehabilitation schemes. If a former prisoner can be successfully reintegrated into society then the risk of reoffending (which in Britain is very high) can be reduced. Common sense really. But as is often the case there is a lack of government funding for such a joined up approach.

Two more visits to Bristol University are worth a mention. First, to the business incubator on Park Row to meet with scientists who work in the medical school and are involved in a company working on therapies for Multiple Sclerosis. A greater understanding of medical research and the British biotech industry is a vital part of my national job as Innovation and Universities spokesman. It is also useful for the forthcoming Human Fertilisation and Embryology Bill (the "HFE " Bill), which will be voted on in the Commons soon.

At the Students Union building I spoke to about a hundred members of the Lesbian and Gay Society. I talked a little about my work on homophobic bullying and also how society had changed so much since I was a student.

In the week of my talk to Bristol gay students the two Houses of Parliament had played "Ping-Pong" on the latest Criminal Law Bill. One of the issues was incitement of homophobic hatred. The Lords had inserted a get out clause for religious free speech. The government had been expected to resist this but at the last minute backed down. In the end Liberal Democrats forced a vote and many Labour MPs must have been embarrassed at having to actually vote in favour of a climb down rather than just letting the Lords have their way.

The big Parliamentary event was the Chancellor's humiliating climb down on the 10% rate of income tax. The doubling of tax at the lowest levels from 10 to 20% in order to finance tax cuts higher up the income scales was the grand finale of Gordon Brown's 2007 budget. The Liberal Democrats condemned the move at the time. The measure took effect a year later on 6 April 2008 and it was only then that Labour MPs began to squeal about the electoral damage. After first denying there was a problem, then saying it was only affecting a small number of people (actually about 5 million!), Alistair Darling decided to spray the electorate with £2.7 billion of extra tax relief most of which will go to people who'd not lost out in the first place. What a shambles this government is becoming!

The debacle of the 10p tax rate was one of the issues discussed when I was a guest on the Simon Mayo show on Radio Five. We also discussed the forthcoming vote on detention without charge and the three parties' electoral fortunes.

We've had the first major vote on the HFE Bill and I voted in favour of giving it a "second reading", meaning it can go forward to the detailed scrutiny stage when the separate votes on controversial issues will be held. I have met with some concerned constituents to discuss aspects of the Bill. I've also met with the Anthony Nolan Trust, a charity that funds medical research into bone marrow transplants and uses of "cord blood", ie stem cells from the umbilical cords immediately after child birth.

Also in Parliament I've had a busy time as Lib Dem Shadow Innovation, Universities and Skills Secretary. In the monthly departmental questions I asked about the effects of government funding changes on community courses and evening classes offered by universities. The forthcoming week is Adult Learners Week and I spoke at the launch reception in Westminster.

I was also on the panel at a skills symposium for London businesses held at the Commonwealth Club. I've met a diverse group of people and organisations ranging from the Institute of Directors to the Institute of Groundsmanship (they keep Wembley, Wimbledon etc in a fit state for play) and the Vice Chancellor of the Open University. I also spent a day visiting Oxford University discussing admissions, research and "town and gown" issues. In the Bodleian Library I was particularly delighted on the centenary of Asquith's accession to the Premiership to be shown his letter to his wife describing his first meeting as PM with Edward V11.

Finally, a bit of politics. We've not had elections in Bristol this year but in the last couple of weeks I have been out campaigning in Easton, Ashley and Cabot wards. At Bristol City Council's Annual Meeting the Conservative councillors attempted to extract themselves from the deal they've had in place with Labour for the last year. I was pleased that the Lib Dem group resisted the opportunist Tory overtures. There are elections in May 2009 and we shall be campaigning for an overall majority.

We shall remind people repeatedly that the Tories put in a Labour minority administration in May 2007 and have voted with them ever since, including their 2008 budget.

I'm sure the environment will be at the centre of our campaign in the next year. I was pleased to chair a successful evening panel discussion between our local environment spokesman cllr Gary Hopkins, our national Shadow Secretary Steve Webb MP and external speakers from Friends of the Earth, Save the Bristol - Bath Railway Path and a local wind energy consultancy. It was a very stimulating discussion and I will certainly continue to campaign locally and nationally for radical waste, energy and transport policies.