Armed Forces Week got off to an elegant start in Newbury with a flag raising ceremony outside the Council Offices. One of the speakers was Colonel John Kedar, the Commanding Officer at nearby Denison Barracks. He spoke with real feeling about the attitude of the public towards the men and women who serve in our Armed Services. The admiration felt for our soldiers, sailors and airmen transcends the varying opinions people have on the conflicts we send them to fight in. Part of me felt nervousness about the whole concept of Armed Forces Week. Was it a political gimmick and would soldiers just think it was yet another occasion for them to clean their kit and stand on parade in the heat of summer? I think not. It is a chance for us to show our appreciation for the sacrifices they and their families make and the professionalism that sees them achieve remarkable success in impossible circumstances. Kipling understood soldiers as he showed in his powerful poem, “Tommy”.

For it’s Tommy this, an’ Tommy that, an’ “Chuck him out, the brute!”
But it’s “Saviour of ‘is country” when the guns begin to shoot;
An’ it’s Tommy this, an’ Tommy that, an’ anything you please;
An’ Tommy ain’t a bloomin’ fool — you bet that Tommy sees!

Tommy ain’t a bloomin’ fool and he sees how most people in Britain revere them for what they do in Iraq, Afghanistan and other parts of our troubled world. At a time when so many areas of public life have been brought into disrepute, our Armed Forces remain one of the few professions that people still hold in high regard.

When a Brigade returns from Afghanistan there is a welcome home reception at the House of Commons. The universal message from commanders of all ranks is that the young men they command are every bit as brave and resourceful as their great-grandfathers were in a more heroic age. The playstation generation have been tested and have not been found wanting. It is right that we should pay tribute to them.

leave a comment

I was very disappointed for my choice, George Young.  He was a candidate of huge standing and would have made a superb and highly respected Speaker.  But as someone once said, “The people have spoken, the b******s”!
Tonight I will be winding up for the Opposition in the debate on the second reading of the Marine and Coastal Access Bill and I will wish Speaker Bercow well as he oversees proceedings.  He has a huge job to do and it is in all our interests that he succeeds.  Like John Bercow, I am extremely proud to be a Member of the House of Commons and hate to see it on its knees.  If he really can lift the House out of the mire of the expenses scandal and make it easier for us to do our job of holding the Government of the day to account, no one will be happier than me.

George Young made one of the best speeches I have heard in the House yesterday (http://www.publications.parliament.uk/pa/cm200809/cmhansrd/cm090622/debtext/90622-0001.htm#0906222000155) in which he said,

“I want to see a House of Commons that regains its self-confidence. I want a more independent House of Commons, a more effective House of Commons, a more relevant House of Commons and a more accessible House of Commons. I want to see the terms of trade tilted away from the Executive and back to Parliament. Government have nothing to fear from that at all. If we raise our game, they will have to raise theirs, and the country will benefit.”

I hope Speaker Bercow can deliver that aspiration.

leave a comment

By the time you read this the new Speaker may have been chosen.  As I sit contemplating this important appointment and how I will vote there are two vital abilities I am looking for. I want a Speaker who will command support across the House and I want him or her to be a reformer. It is hard to overstate the dire straights the House of Commons is in.  Even before the expenses row broke Parliament was in desperate need of reform. A new Speaker will need to bring back what some call the primacy of Parliament. This means wrestling powers back from Government that have been taken from Parliament. Reform means making it at least difficult, if not impossible, for any Government to by-pass the accountability of our elected Parliament.  People are upset at the actions of MPs but they should also be upset at the inaction, or rather the inability in the current system, to make a Government explain itself and account for its actions.  

I have entered this debate with an open mind willing to look at all candidates. I would have seriously contemplated supporting the Labour MP Frank Field if he had not withdrawn. However, I have always admired my friend and neighbour, George Young. He would be a reforming Speaker and is respected across the House. It remains to be seen whether MPs recognise that this is not a time for Party allegiances or petty personal animosities. This is a time for the House to rise to a challenge.

leave a comment

The Thursday evening train from Reading to Newbury was as usual filled with weary commuters on their way home.  Unfortunately it also contained three extremely drunk and unpleasant youths who proceeded to have a fight.  Two commuters heroically managed to separate the assailants, one of whom staggered around the carriage I was in uttering foul-mouthed oaths and threats, some of them racist. The train was stopped just short of Theale and we tried to calm things while we waited for the Police.  This was at its least, an inconvenience for some and downright terrifying for others.  I saw plenty of people in real fear and others reduced to tears.  Thinking back on it I have good and bad conclusions to make on the incident. The reaction of my fellow travellers was superb. The courage of those who broke up the fight without knowing if the youths had knives was really impressive. The calm reaction of others showed human nature at its best. The speed and professionalism of the police was excellent. The behaviour of the louts was, of course, disgusting. I don’t know whether since the incident they have had a moments thought of how many lives they disrupted that evening. I suspect several other trains were delayed while this matter was dealt with, making over a thousand people late and a few of them very frightened. The worst offender swaggered around the carriage mouthing off in his swaggering brutish manner but the moment the police arrived he crumpled in tears. This, if anything, made me angrier. His sort like to boast how “dead hard” they are but they are actually cowards. Thoughtless, brainless, pathetic cowards.

That evening I was a guest at the Sergeants Mess of the local Royal Engineers unit. The subject of such people came up. It was the pretty universal view of those present that such youths could do with a dose of national service.  As school examiners would say: discuss.  Causing an “affray” is not a particularly serious crime but these idiots affected a great many people’s lives and should be punished accordingly.

leave a comment

Not since the days of Harold Macmillan has there been such a high percentage of Ministers sitting in the House of Lords. This means the already constrained ability of MPs to hold the Government to account is made yet harder. In Parliament there is a real mood for reform, so here’s a suggestion: Ministers in the Lords should answer questions from MPs in the Commons. I cannot see how this could be anything but good. The brass fittings on the side of the dispatch boxes in the House of Commons are worn paper thin. This is caused by the sweat from the palms of generations of Ministers seeking to justify the actions of their Department. Why should their Lordships be immune from such inquisition? Of course this would mean that Lord Mandelson would be a tad busy. He is now secretary of State for Business, Secretary of State for Universities, Innovation and Skills, First Secretary of State (whatever that means), Lord President of the Council, Lord Protector and Duke of Hartlepool. OK, I made the last two up, but it is hard to overplay the position he now holds in this strange Government. All paths to Gordon pass over his desk. He reminds me of Cardinal Richelieu as played by Charlton Heston in The Three Musketeers. He is attended on by no less than 11 Ministers, many of them in the Lords, and his presence is felt across Government. However he is as remote from Parliamentary scrutiny as was Cardinal Richelieu.

Twice a year the names of those awarded honours are published. The headlines are naturally grabbed by sportsmen, actors and other public figures. However the most deserving are those who have quietly spent a lifetime doing good and rarely getting thanked. I was delighted that one such person, Jim Balsdon from Bradfield, was awarded the MBE in the Queens Birthday honours. He has worked tirelessly for his local community, for the Young Farmers, the Newbury and District Agricultural Society and many more good causes. It is good that we have an honours system that recognises such people.

leave a comment