Letter from Westminster January 2009

The deteriorating economy has continued to dominate political issues. The IMF predicts that Britain will see the worst recession of the major economies in 2009. The Lib Dem Shadow Chancellor, Vince Cable, continues to outperform his Conservative equivalent. Vince came to Bristol to take part in a panel discussion that included local business and trade union representatives as well as Graham Watson MEP and myself.

Although the economy dominates the news two other issues have dominated my post bag. The Government's announcement that they intend to press ahead with a major expansion of aviation by building a third runway at Heathrow has met with huge opposition. It blows a hole in what little credibility Labour had on tackling climate change. The Lib Dems oppose the new runway

and want to see more investment in high speed rail. I asked questions in

Parliament as to when plans will be brought forward for the electrification of the Great Western main line from Paddington to Bristol.

There are no firm plans. This and other small local rail improvements would do much more for sustainable travel and provide construction jobs.

It's also clear that people have been horrified by what they saw on their TV screens from Gaza. I totally oppose Israel's disproportionate bombing of Gaza. Collective punishment of civilians is inhumane and counter productive. I have met a group of Immense and other concerned constituents to discuss the situation. On 1st February on a freezing cold evening I joined about 200 people at an Islamic Relief event at Bristol Grammar School. The auction and pledges raised a staggering £102,000 for the victims in Gaza.

I went to two official opening ceremonies in January. Princess Anne visited Bristol to open a new classroom and facilities at Claremont Special School in Henleaze. Much of the money was raised by the Wooden Spoon Society. I hadn't't heard of this charity before but greatly enjoyed the explanation of its name. It is the charity of the English Rugby Union and marks the year (early 1980s) when England came bottom in the then 5 Nations tournament and the players signed a wooden spoon, which was auctioned. As a devoted follower of Wales I look forward to the men in white shirts signing another spoon in 2009!

The second opening was performed by me at the new playground at Bishop Road Primary School. Money for this came from RBS Bank's community fund…let's hope the banks continue to remember their corporate social responsibility during the downturn.

In Parliament I continued to be busy with my shadow Universities and Skills role. At departmental oral questions I called for a reduction in the rate of interest on student loans. I met with a group of medical charities, NUS, the Million + group of newer universities and the Office

for Fair Access. I've also been raising the issue of delays in the

college building programme. The government saying they want to speed up capital expenditure but on the ground the opposite is happening. This led to an interview on the Today programme.

Back in Bristol I made another visit to the Set Squared business incubator unit on Park Row. I met a new business that has developed a way to more cheaply install sea bed ocean current turbines. A good example of the university and an entrepreneur collaborating to solve climate change.

I also attended the Kingsdown and Cotham police and communities ('PACT') meeting. These are useful sessions for local people to give their views to the police, the council and other public services.

To mark the Year of the Ox I went to the opening of the new exhibition of Chinese artifacts at the City Museum and Art Gallery. This is a

partnership with the British Museum. From Westminster I travelled to

another museum, at Bletchley Park in Buckinghamshire. This of course was the World War 2 setting for the cracking of the Nazi secret codes. I saw the captured Enigma machine and also the reconstructed 'Bombes' developed by Alan Turing that speeded up the code breaking and the 'Colossus', effectively the world's first computer. The trustees are desperately short of money needed for preserving the site and the development of a national museum of computing.

In Westminster and Bristol I attended two events held to encourage more ethnic minority Britons to get involved in politics. In Westminster the event had a Lib Dem and Asian professionals focus and was addressed by Nick Clegg and Shami Chakrabati of Liberty. The Bristol event was organised by Operation Black Vote and was addressed by a Labour councillor and myself.

Nick was also at a well attended weekend regional conference in Taunton to kick off this years election campaigns for the councils and the European Parliament.

I started with the 2009 economy and will end with financial matters a

century ago. The 1909 'Peoples Budget' of Lloyd George not only laid the

foundations of the welfare state but also brought about constitutional change. The rejection of the budget by the House of Lords led to a confrontation with the Commons, two general elections and the eventual trimming of the House of Lords' powers. I went to an event at the National Liberal Club to mark the centenary. But a hundred years on House of Lords reform is still very much unfinished business…