I CAME into politics because I wanted to change the world.I love this country and, like most British people, I’m proud of the way that we decide things democratically. We've got no big history of extremism in this country because our Parliament - the oldest in the world - has always been a symbol of how we decide things fairly together.
But our democracy has been discredited by the scandals of recent weeks — revelations that have made me furious because it seems some people have been serving themselves and not the public. So I’m determined to do whatever it takes to clean up politics.
I’ve moved quickly to take action, and there is no way that those who have defied the rules will be standing as Labour candidates at the next election.
But every single MP needs to reflect on what recent weeks have taught us — that the public feel bitterly let down by politics and they want politicians to be showing what we are doing to help them.
The first thing is to clean up the system and for MPs to get back to their constituencies and face the public.
But equally important is for my Labour MPs to explain to families and businesses what we are doing to fight back against the global recession.
I was pleased to be able to meet yesterday owners of brand new cars who have been able to take advantage of the Labour Government’s new scrappage scheme for vehicles over ten years old.
Thirty-five thousand have taken up the offer in just a few weeks.
The scrappage scheme is just one example of the things Government can do to give people a helping hand when times are tough.
New help to give homeowners reassurance against the threat of repossession is another.
That is the kind of thing that I and all Labour MPs came into politics for — and we need to make sure that every one of our constituents know what is on offer to help people through these difficult times.
But to restore lasting trust in politics we also need to change the House of Commons so we put the public in control and ensure MPs are closer to the people they represent.
We need new powers at local level, like giving people powers to call to account their local councillors or giving young people more influence on local budgets and services.
Above all, we need changes that will allow Sun readers to better hold us to account as we focus on the big issues that matter to their lives — saving their jobs and houses from the impact of the downturn, investing in good public services and cracking down on crime.
Those are your priorities and my priorities, and this Government’s focus as we build Britain’s future.
linky
The car repair industry has been warned that unless it provides a more reliable service to consumers, it faces the prospect of tough new regulation. Only 15 per cent of the UK's estimated 35,000 garages have signed up to a voluntary code brought in last year. The watchdog Consumer Focus is now warning that unless a greater number agree to abide by the code, it will push for industry-wide laws.I'm struggling to understand in which way this code of conduct is voluntary if refusal to sign up to it will lead to tougher regulation. Doesn't that in effect make it compulsory? Consumer Focus are chomping at the bit to submit a ‘Super Complaint' to the Office of Fair Trading which would lead to all mechanics needing a license to continue working. So garages are faced with a real choice - sign up and be regulated or don't sign up and be regulated.
The government is under pressure to rethink its new motorcycle test following a series of crashes in the first few weeks of its use.Some instructors blame a new "swerve test", which they say is dangerous - particularly in the wet. The Driving Standards Agency (DSA) said the test was needed to help reduce deaths of motorcyclists on the roads.So the new test is hurting people, causing injuries including broken bones in an attempt to reduce accidents? You couldn't make it up!
It said the test was designed by professionals in conjunction with the motorcycle industry and 300 trials were carried out before it was brought in. During the test, learners have to reach 50km/h, then perform a swerve, on special test centre tracks.
The new test was brought in at the end of April and in the first three and a half weeks there were 15 incidents during the exam, with at least one rider left with broken bones.
I'm inclined to agree Nick, they don't go far enough. I'd like to see some of the policy proposals from the 2005 OMRLP manicfesto introduced including this one"I think David Cameron's ideas are fine as far as they go but they don't go far enough."
"Any cabinet minister found telling lies will be shot across the English Channel in a high velocity circus cannon"
Welcome to my latest e-newsletter at what has been a very turbulent time at Westminster by any measure. As I write the Speaker has just announced that he is to stand down on June 21st and there will be elections for a new Speaker on June 22nd. There is to be a major overhaul of MPs expenses ahead of the full review by the Kelly Commission which is due to report in the autumn.
This has been a truly depressing time for all of us and the reputation of Parliament and Parliamentarians has been enormously damaged. On behalf of all colleagues I am sorry for the breach of confidence that has angered so many members of the public and I am in no doubt about the extent of the task ahead of us to restore it.
Predictably I have received a number of emails and letters from constituents annoyed about what has happened and I have been happy to respond to them in detail with a full explanation of my own situation. As someone who has voluntarily posted details of my expenses on my website and in my Annual Report for some years my position should have come as no surprise. I also issued the following statement to the local press:
'I have always supported any moves to make the workings of MPs more transparent and accountable, which is why I have published fuller details of my expenses on my website voluntarily for some years. Since becoming an MP in 1997, I have maintained the same two properties – a house in West Sussex just outside my constituency and a flat in Westminster in walking distance from the House of Commons where I usually stay during the week. Both these properties were purchased without any public funds. No refurbishments have been claimed for, no gains have been realised. As anyone can see from my website, my normal working week averages over 70 hours when Parliament is sitting. That includes several days a week when I am in my Commons office by 7.30 in the morning and not leaving until after 11pm, which makes commuting wholly impractical. As the leaked receipts show, I have claimed for running costs on that one property, which include mortgage interest, utility bills, council tax and insurance. I have never charged any capital goods, gardening, cleaning, mock beam installation or moat clearance or the like! I am more than happy to justify any of these expenses to my constituents which fully comply with the rules, and which, more importantly, comply with the spirit of parliamentary expenses being necessary to enable me to get on with my job in more than one place of work, working unsociable hours and being accountable to my constituents.'
Any constituent wanting to discuss any of this with me can easily do so. To make it even easier I am planning to hold a special street surgery.
....the problems that Royal Mail has got to facing up to. It's losing 5 million letters per year.which had to be hastily corrected to the number of letters delivered has fallen by 5 million on previous years. He needed to be rescued by Michael 'nearly-ex-speaker' Martin
Order order. I won't allow anyone barracking the Prime Minister. It won't be allowed.Moving on to Cameroon's first question about Gorgon's comment that a general election would cause "chaos". Gorgon responded
What would cause chaos is if a Conservative Government were to be electedSounds confident doesn't he?
Justice Secretary Kenny MacAskill said: "We are not anti-alcohol, but Scotland has got its relationship with the bottle out of kilter. It's not the drink, it's how we're drinking – we need to get things back in balance."Where do I begin? I've no experience of shopping north of the border but I assume that, as with most supermarkets that I've visited, the alcohol is generally restricted to one area of the store with possibly some promotional deals being given more prominence. Just last night my local Tesco (no, not this one) had a display of discounted wine near the main entrance as well as the aisles of alcohol towards the far end of the layout. So that's twice that I wasn't tempted to buy alcohol instead of just once on that shopping trip. If I was among the fevered anti-alcohol brigade I could reward myself with two smug grins and two pats on the back for showing such resolve.
"Our regulations to prevent alcohol being displayed in more than one area of a shop were designed to prevent alcohol being displayed all over the store to encourage impulse buying."
"Clearly, alcohol sold at attractions to promote and increase understanding of the skill that goes into producing fine premium drinks such as malt whiskies doesn't fall into this category."
"That is why, when these unintended consequences were drawn to our attention, I was more than happy to look at the situation. I am now laying regulations in Parliament that mean these attractions can make sure their gift shops are able to continue to trade in a way which complements the rest of the experience."
unintended consequences. I agree with Dick Puddlecoat when he says
Splutter! Unintended consequences, you say? Why is a parliament, which is paid a hefty wedge by the taxpayer, not able to fathom such a consequence before committing to a particular course of action? Why on earth did this need to be 'drawn to their attention'?Too much legislation is passed through Parliament that has "unintended consequences". Not enough time or thought is given to how it will be interpreted legally and too much time is given to how it looks politically. Knee jerk laws, following an agenda whatever the cost, rule by spin and soundbite. The cracks are showing and more and more people are noticing.
Daft beyond belief.
When the Nintendo Wii was first sold in the UK in December 2006 its retail price was £179.99 so to slap the 'Roll Back' logo onto this advert is ridiculous. The retail price of the Wii is lower now than it has been since release with many retailers offering discounts and deals to tempt people to buy one now that the massive demand is starting to tail off. Rolling Back the price to 2006/07 levels is precisely what they are not doing.
Baby boys Justin and Jordan Washington are definitely not your average twin brothers - because they have different fathers.Mum Mia Washington was having an affair when she conceived and her husband James and her lover managed to fertilise two different eggs. Initially Mia suspected nothing but after a few months she became concerned after noticing her sons had very different facial features.So she had the boys, now 11 months old, DNA tested and discovered Jordan was James's son while Justin was fathered by her lover, who she has not named. Experts say it is not unknown for non-identical twins to have different fathers but it is rare.Initially she thought she'd got away with cheating on her husband and had not been found out to be an unfaithful trollop but the guilt began to gnaw away at her until she couldn't live with it any more. She had to know if her actions, that put her husband's health at risk, would be discovered and realising that there was a chance of living proof she had a DNA test done hoping that it would put her mind at rest. It didn't.
Mia, from Dallas, Texas, said: "Out of all the people in America and all the people in the world, this had to happen to me."Mia, from Dallas, Texas, said: "Not only am I a cheating slut but also I'm stupid too. Who would have thought that having unprotected sexual relations could lead to pregnancy."
When you are spending most of your time in London, you have to pay for someone to cut the grass. Who else was going to cut my grass? The cat? The cat did not even live in my second home.Well Widders (can I call you that? Never mind I'm going to anyway) it's like this.. .. .. when I work 15 hours or more per day, seven days a week my grass still grows and still needs cutting. I have a simple choice - cut it myself or pay someone else to cut it for me. What I certainly cannot do is to claim that expense back and that, in a nutshell, is the problem. We mere mortals do not have the luxury of a 'no questions asked' expense account, somewhat different to the way that Parliamentary expenses have been viewed until very recently.
"Margaret Beckett. You've been fingered a bit by the Telegraph"
"How much needs to be paid back is not really a legal issue, it's actually a moral and ethical issue"Sorry Dave but that really worries me. It feels to me that while you are trying to show leadership on the issue, something sadly lacking from Gordon Brown, you are as disconnected from the reality that the majority of the country face. Every person who has made an error on their tax return, every person that mistakenly claimed too much from the DSS (or whatever that has been rebranded to now) who has faced criminal proceedings will look at that line and wonder why an MP should be exempt from the laws that apply to the rest of us.
“I do not have any interest or ownership rights to [the London house] or on any other home except my family home in my constituency. I receive no financial or personal gain from these arrangements.”attempting to distance himself from the backlash of the revelations of this arrangement. Mr Morely has apparently repaid 'some' of the money but is very reticent to say precisely how much less than all of it.
Grieve -zero, herbert £ 323, Hague £336I realise that these names may warrant further scrutiny but for now at least I've added them to my list.
"a designated room in a research or testing facility" does not have to be smoke-free "whilst it is being used for any research or tests".Barnsley Council officials have pointed out that the Cutting Edge is "clearly not a research or test facility" and therefore not exempt from the smoking ban. Enforcement officers are expected to visit the premises and take action, presumably issuing fines. News of the loophole caused confusion in Whitehall. The Home Office said it was a Dept of Health matter, the Dept of Health said it was Home Office problem.
joins the thousands of commuters who take the Thameslink service from Luton to London each weekday morning, rather than maintaining a property near the Commons at taxpayers’ expense .I've added him to the list I'm compiling.
The Labour MP for Luton North submits claims occasionally for rooms at inexpensive hotels, and prefers to return home to Bedfordshire at night.
The only other expense he claimed since 2005, were two food bills for a total of £36.45
"I want to apologise on behalf of politicians on behalf of all parties for what has happened in the events of the last few days."The events of the last few days? Would that be the exposure of greed and excess by the Telegraph.
"We must show that, where mistakes have been made and errors have been discovered, where wrongs have to be righted, that that is done so immediately."
On a very basic level - people pay taxes and want to know that their money is making a difference.
"I always say "Politics is one of the most fulfilling things you can do in your community. Watch wasteground become a playground, see windows mended, walls painted, and even lives turned around."What changed her mind?
"The claim is one document and the receipts are another. The fact that they both add up to the same amount doesn't prove anything. It doesn't mean that the fees office paid for the non-food items on the receipt."So the receipts you submitted are in no way connected to the expenses you claimed?
Gordon Brown provoked fury last night over plans to raise the minimum wage by a paltry 5p.It would increase the hourly rate of low-paid adults just 0.8 per cent to £5.78 - the lowest in the policy's history.Given the current financial situation and with deflation still a serious possibility isn't it time to freeze NMW? With businesses still making staff redundant in a desperate attempt to remain trading isn't it time for the unions to realise that £5.73 per hour is better than being unemployed? NMW rises affect small business the most, as do many of the changes to employment law, and with so many small businesses precariously balanced right now is it wise to push them closer to the edge? NMW does not make low paid employees more wealthy. It only creates the illusion of more wealth.
Campaigners called it a slap in the face for hard-up workers when the Government has splashed out around £37billion bailing out Britain's reckless bankers.Unison leader Dave Prentis said: "The Government cannot be serious. This would be a pitifully low increase. It's not going to help the low-paid meet their rising heating and housing costs."
Senior Whitehall sources have told the Mirror they expect ministers to announce the few pence rise next week.
"If this was received by unauthorised means, it is disgraceful that a national newspaper should stoop so low as to buy information which will be in the public domain in July.Say What? How do you have the audacity to talk about the rules of fair play, thieves and stooping low when Parliament went out of it's way to hide from the public how it was spending the public's money? Are you on medication for fuck's sake? Do you need someone to check the dosage? When Parliament sets the financial example that it has why should we, your employers, act differently?
"It undermines the very basis of our democracy and is against all the rules of fair play, rewards thieves or leakers of information who may be in breach of contract and does no service to our democracy."
THE AIM OF THE CHARITY IS TO CREATE A FUND, THAT EITHER ON ITS OWN OR COMBINED WITH OTHER FUNDS IS SUFFICIENT TO DISCHARGE THE NATIONAL DEBT.Started in 1927 with a mixed investment of £500,000 the accounts for year end 2008 [pdf], submitted on Feb 5th 2009, are worth reading. At that point the fund had accumulated the small sum of £280,633,063.00
Britain could be fully vegetarian by later this century. The amount of meat being eaten in Britain is fast diminishing according to the latest Government agricultural figures.So I had a quick look at the defra statistics site they claim to get their stats from and, well, I don't understand. You see there's this excel sheet of trade in commodities by volume with EU countries, this one which deals with poultry meat from key partners and both show an increase in imports of meat. Maybe I'm missing something?
Viva! – Europe’s largest campaigning animal group – believe if current trends continue, the UK will be fully vegetarian by later this century.
Figures from the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs (Defra) show that last year over 13 million fewer farmed land animals were slaughtered in the UK than the year before. The group maintains that the trend is continuing downwards, with nearly 50 million fewer killed in 2008 than in 2005.
Viva! also argue that this fall is not because we are importing more. Figures show that consumption of poultry meat in the UK last year fell by a massive 67,000 tonnes (four percent); pig meat consumption fell by a staggering 74,000 tonnes (down by over five per cent).
Viva! campaigns manager, Justin Kerswell, says: “It is great that so many British consumers are turning their backs on meat and going veggie. ”
9.55 Gain An Insight Into The Mindset And Activities Of Bloggers And Citizen Journalists And Get The Tone Right To Achieve Maximum Coverage For Your BrandDolly giving advice on how to effectively communicate? That in itself would be worth the £529+vat ticket price alone.
* Perfect your blogger outreach strategy: how can you find and engage with relevant independent and non-independent bloggers online and build relationships with the organisations publishing the blogs
* How do you best communicate with bloggers, what information do they need and in what format?
* How can PR professionals facilitate positive public opinion of their product and encourage citizen journalists to advocate their brand? Tap into the increasing numbers of citizen journalists and interact with their online activity: do they signal the death of the ‘traditional journalist’?
Derek Draper, Editor of labourlist.org and Psychotherapist with diy-therapy.com
.. .. .. but I meant to put "You're all sponging twats"and
.. .. .. sorry but I mis-spelled the word parasite. Can I have another ballot paper please?and
I'm sorry but I've got the proportions of this cock wrong. Can I try again please?I doubt that any of those scenarios will produce a favourable reaction! I'm not sure what will happen on June 4th, but I know that I'll record and share it for posterity.
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