Your e-Newsletter from Stephen Williams MP

Dear resident,

Welcome to this edition of Bristol West eNews. Over the past few weeks I have been kept very busy with developments both here in Westminster and back home in Bristol.

This edition of Bristol eNews hopefully gives you a shapshot of some of the things I have been involved with over the past month.

If you have any questions or comments, or should you no longer wish to receive Bristol West eNews, please get in touch.

Yours sincerely,

Libya

Many people are writing to me about the situation in Libya and the rest of North Africa and the Middle East. Last night the House of Commons voted 557 to 13 to endorse Britain's participation in the United Nations sanctioned intervention in Libya. I have written a brief article on why I support the military action here: http://stephenwilliamsmp.wordpress.com/2011/03/22/why-it-is-right-to-intervene-in-libya/

National Apprenticeship Week

I have long supported greater investment in skills for young people. I recently met with apprentices training in Bristol at the City Council's workshops in St Judes and on a building site in Barton Hill. In these tough economic times, it is critical that we do everything we can to combat youth unemployment. The government is expanding the number of apprentice places that it funds. I will be meeting some carpentry and joinery apprentices this Friday.

£5 million for new Youth Centre

There was good news for a Bristol youth project later in the month when I was joined by Children's Minster, Tim Loughton MP to look around the Old Fire Station in the city centre. This will soon become 'The Station' a new £5.75 million facility for young people. Until recently, the project had looked to be in limbo after the last government failed to assure it of funding. I lobbied the Minster by impressing on him how important the project would be to young people in Bristol and I was delighted when it was announced that the Government will now provide £5 million to get The Station up and running. This is going to make a real difference to the lives of young people from across Bristol and I'm pleased I was able to help.

A chance for a fairer voting system

I sit on Parliament's Political and Constitutional Reform Select Committee. This Parliament has a packed programme of changes to our clapped out system of government. On 5th May there will be a referendum on changing our voting system from "first past the post" to the "alternative vote". Under AV we will keep the one MP for each constituency system but at elections you will be able to rank candidates in order of preference. I will be campaigning for a YES vote, along with the rest of my party plus the leaderships of the Labour Party, the Green Party, Plaid Cymru, the Scottish Nationalists and even UKIP.

Campaigning to save 'Catch 22'

I met with young people, staff and volunteers at the Barton Hill based 'Catch 22' East Bristol Youth Inclusion Project. This project reaches out to young people who are deemed at risk of offending. They are worried that the project's £150,000 funding could be stopped, so they have asked me to present a petition to Parliament signed by local residents backing the service. I have now presented the petition and have also written to the Justice Secretary to explain my backing for the project and have asked him to confirm that funding will continue. Hopefully we'll have an answer soon.

Speaking up on Smoking

Back in Westminster I continue to devote a lot of time to the All Party Group on Smoking and Health, which I chair. The government has recently published its Tobacco Control Strategy. Smoking remains Britain's biggest killer and cause of preventable early death. We have come a long way in recent years to make it easier for people to kick the habit, but we need to do more to stop young people from taking it up in the first place. One way to do that is to ban the display of cigarettes in shops were children can see them alongside sweets and soft drinks. Again you can read more on my blog at http://stephenwilliamsmp.wordpress.com/2011/03/09/tobacco-control-why-im-proud-of-the-coalition-government/

Votes for Prisoners

Undoubtedly, one of the most controversial votes in Parliament in recent weeks has been that on prisoners' voting. I realise that popular opinion on this issue is firmly against giving prisoners the vote, but I'm afraid I don't agree. With very few exceptions prisoners are eventually released and I want them to be better citizens when they are. Part of being a citizen is engaging with society through voting, and that is why I was one of 22 MPs to take a stand and vote in favour on giving prisoners the vote. I realise this decision won't make me popular, but ultimately, MPs are there to do what they believe to be right, and that is what I have done.

Clamping down on tax avoidance

One welcome development in recent months has been the growing public awareness of the problem of tax avoidance. This has largely come about as a result of the campaign by UKUncut to name and shame large scale tax avoiders like Barclays and Vodafone. For years moving money offshore to avoid tax has been a favourite trick of big business and wealthy individuals, but it becomes particularly unforgivable at a time when the Government is being forced to cut public spending due to lack of funds. I've welcomed UKUncut's campaign and have offered to work with them in my capacity as co-chair of the Liberal Democrat Parliamentary Treasury Committee to see what more the Government can do to force the tax-dodgers to pay up.

Good News on Rail

There has been some very good news for Bristol rail users in the past few weeks. I asked the Prime Minster at PMQs about the recently announced plans to electrify the Great Western Line between Bristol and London. I believe that the fact that this government has managed to get the ball rolling on electrification, after years of stalling, shows that it is serious about building the infrastructure we need to create a green recovery and get the economy back on track. There has been good news on the Severn Beech Line too. I recently welcomed Transport Minister Theresa Villiers to Clifton Down Station to meet with some of the people for responsible for recent improvements on the line. With the support of Bristol City Council the Severn Beach Line has gone from strength to strength and I'm delighted that further improvements are planned.

Giving you a share in the Banks

You may have caught me on the Today Programme or The Daily Politics and many other media outlets as I launched my new pamphlet Getting your Share of the Banks which has been published by CentreForum. In it I argue that the Government should give free shares in Lloyds and RBS to every person on the electoral register. After all it was public money which bailed out the banks, so why shouldn't the British public reap the benefit? No one wants to see the banks go back to business as usual when they return to the private sector. Under my proposals, the taxpayer would get something positive from the bailout. If you want to show your support for my plan you can join the Facebook page here: www.facebook.com/supportpublicshares and the pamphlet is available to read for free at the Liberal Democrat website: http://www.libdems.org.uk/siteFiles/resources/PDF/SW/20110307%20CentreForum%20Pamphlet.pdf

Get in Touch

You can contact Stephen Williams by e-mail at stephenwilliamsmp@parliament.uk. Please ensure you include your full postal address in your e-mail, otherwise Stephen will not be able to reply. You can read by blog at http://stephenwilliamsmp.wordpress.com Alternatively, you can write to either of the addresses below. If you wish to make an appointment to meet Stephen at one of his Friday advice surgeries, please call the Constituency Office on 0117 942 3494.