Because Baronesses are people too

If it sells papers it must be in the public interest, right?

2008-07-25T18:36:00.002+01:00

My journey to Wales this afternoon has given me the chance to read a load of newspapers, some I paid for and others were left lying around - I'll leave you to guess which. The Glasgow East bye-election coming too late for most of them, prominence has been given to the Mosley judgement and, surprise, surprise, there is almost total unanimity amnogst the commentators.

As a Liberal, I have to support Mosley's assertion that what consenting adults get up to in the privacy of their own dungeon is up to them - and personally I'd rather not know about it. Even those who flirt outrageously with the media from time to time, have the right to some privacy.
The papers are going on about public interest, and have now conflated public interest (ie prurience) and THE public interest. Neither his predilictions, his work nor his background amount to genuine public interest.

The Times leader actually bemoans the fact that Mosley had sufficient wealth to mount a legal challenge, an option not open to lesser mortals. I'm inclined to think he's done a big favour to those less well off who have their lives opened up to public gaze by the tabloids. The Leader fails to distinguish between genuine investigative journalism and paying people to undertake activities which are verging, if not actually, criminal.

The Sun described this as a "devastating blow against freedom" - yeah right - a blow against the ability of tabloids to sell papers more like.

Cry freedom! From the newspaper which is championing 42 day detention.

Tiggy-Winkle revisited

2008-07-20T22:50:00.003+01:00

We've been in some grand places this weekend. We headed north on friday afternoon, up to Lancaster where we were picked up by Harold Ellotson, a former Tory MP who joined the Lib Dems a few years back, and whisked off to speak at an event organised by Wyre and Preston North Local Party. The next morning he drove us up to Kendal where we popped into an awayday for Cumbria councillors facilitated by the Lib Dems answer to Magnus Pyke (OK so you have to be of a certain age to remember him and his flailing arms) Richard Kemp.

Ever onwards, we took the scenic train ride to Hebden Bridge where the local Party had organised an event in the lovely victorian town hall. I first went to Hebden Bridge in 1991 as a newly elected district councillor, still unsure about the huge step I'd taken. During the lunch break, a financial appeal was held- not unusual at a Lib Dem event, but this one was to raise money for a sick hedgehog which had been found in the grounds that morning. I knew then that I would be at home in the Liberal Democrats.

Today we were in Bradford where Jeanette Sunderland had organised a cream tea for her members - Jeanette has one of the most shrewd political brains in the Party, as well as an amazing capacity for hard work, and to find she can make cream teas as well is almost too much to take in.

My dad came from Bradford, and I spent many childhood holidays there and in the way that co-incidences often occur, Jeanette represents the ward where my uncle lived.

Financial literacy from the older and wiser

2008-07-18T16:01:00.003+01:00

Unusually, today saw a Friday sitting in the Lords, and I made my way to the chamber to take in part of the debate on the recently issued report from the Select Committee on Economic Affairs on the 2008 Finance Bill.

The august Chair of this Select Committee is none other than Iain Vallance, formerly of British Telecom, and now Lord Vallance of Tummel. Somewhat unexpectedly to many, I suspect, he sits on the Liberal Democrat benches, providing further evidence that whilst our benches may be comparatively few in number, the quality is disproportionately high.

In fairness to the Committee that he chairs, his colleagues are no slouches in terms of economic literacy either, as you’d probably fancy the likes of Lord Barnett, Lord MacGregor of Pulham Market, Lord Paul and Lord Sheppard of Didgemere against the Labour Treasury team in the Commons any day.

Their report looked into three topics deemed to be of particular importance;

the changes to capital gains tax announced in the 2007 Pre-Budget Report,
the new tax rules on residence and domicile, and;
changes to the Enterprise Investment Scheme;

the first two of which provided the media (and the opposition!) with plenty of opportunities for comment and criticism.

The focus of the report is on the issue of consultation between the Treasury and Revenue & Customs on one hand, and key stakeholders (accountants, major institutions and the business sector) on the other, and it is notable that the Committee were fairly scathing in their criticism of the way in which major changes to the tax system, with important implications for the economic competitiveness of the UK economy, were rushed through with little apparent consideration of their wider impact.

It is, perhaps another sign of Labour’s fundamental misunderstanding of consultation which appears to imply that real consultation only occurs when they don’t have an answer themselves. Perhaps this isn’t a problem when the economy is strong and things are going well, but you can hardly say that now, can you?

Campaigning Abroad

2008-07-17T17:54:00.003+01:00

Yesterday afternoon I took the Eurostar over to Brussels where I was the guest speaker at the Brussels and Europe Liberal Democrat Garden Party. This rather unusual local party has 200 members, many of whom work for the European institutions in Brussels as well as lobby groups, think tanks and businesses. Reflecting its wider membership, guests turned up from Cologne and Luxembourg to enjoy the evening sunshine and a barbeque.

I was shocked to discover from one guest that the UK government has closed the passport office in the city, so that when one of the many thousands of British citizens who live and work in Brussels need a new passport, they have to travel to Paris to get one. Another example of how Labour wants to put Britain at the heart of Europe?

A transport of delight

2008-07-17T09:25:00.001+01:00

Mark and I donned our poshest frocks on Tuesday evening to attend the National Transport Awards at the Grosvenor House Hotel on Park Lane. For the sixth year running, I have been one of the judges, and I also co-host the awards ceremony, this year with BBC newsreader Kate Silverton. The ceremony appeals to my sense of theatre, but it is the judging that I find most inspiring.

There are elements of our transport system which are absymal and there's no getting around that. However, there's also a load of good stuff happening. We recognised the work of some frontline staff, the winner being a member of the Gloucestershire highways department who stayed on-site for a week without a break during the floods last year.

The best performing rail and bus operators were recognised, a special sustainability award was given to Liberal Democrat-led Brent Council for Wembley Stadium, and special awards were presented to the organisers of last year's Tour de France Grand Depart and to Eurostar for the seamless transition from Waterloo to St Pancras.

Everyone needs a pat on the back sometimes, and these awards give an opportunity to do just that. But just as importantly, they provide a platform to exchange information about what is working well, and successes achieved.

There may be travel ahead...

2008-07-13T09:39:00.003+01:00

The weekend started with an event in Peasedown St John in the North East Somerset constituency. Like the rest of Somerset, it’s very pretty, but unlike the rest of the county, currently has a Labour MP. This rather unusual situation arises from the fact that there used to be a thriving mining industry in this part of the country and the vote has traditionally reflected this. The Labour meltdown is clearly in evidence in North East Somerset, helped along by the sterling work being carried out by our Parliamentary candidate Gail Coleshill.

Back home in Suffolk for the remainder of an all too short weekend, the emphasis is on campaign planning. Nominations for the Party Presidency open on September 1st so the pace is hotting up.

Work on speeches and articles, the manifesto and leaflets is going on apace. My tireless campaign organiser, Bridget Harris, is working with her husband Keith on a brilliant database, and a strategy for getting as much information out to members as is humanly (and humanely) possible. The candidates are not issued with a membership list, so the default position is one leaflet per member, sent out by the Party. Anyone who knows about campaigning knows that one leaflet at election time isn’t enough! So we’re engaged in a huge exercise of finding as many ways as possible of reaching members. It’s an unsatisfactory system which really favours those members who are councillors and party office holders because their names are on publicly available sources and can be used by the campaign teams.

Mark’s encyclopaedic knowledge of the rail network is a great help with planning visits, as is his patience when navigating the labyrinth of ticket pricing. When I married him, knowing he could tell his saver returns from his advance singles was a great selling point.

Later today we’re going over to Pakenham in the west of Suffolk, where there is a beautifully restored water mill where grain has been ground pretty much continuously since the 11th century. I’m a patron of the trust, and today we’re celebrating the opening of the old miller’s house which has been lovingly re-created.

Can you spare five minutes for my online survey?

2008-07-08T10:28:00.003+01:00

People often ask me how I got involved in politics.

Putting down roots in Suffolk after many years of moving around, it was a revelation to me to see how a community really works. I became increasingly involved as a community activist and saw at first hand the great work done by my local Lib Dem councillor.

All political parties are now talking about localism, but for us is it part of our DNA. We need to ensure that we keep faith with our localist instincts and our natural inclination towards small and accountable decision-making.

I’ve always believed that our members and activists are the ones who define what this party is about. Community politics - sorting out your local play area; being a voice for those who wouldn’t otherwise be heard; even just ringing up your council to report a problem - these are examples of how Liberal Democrats are truly a part of their local area. Many people are either born Labour or Tory - but you have to choose to be a Liberal Democrat. That means we have already made a leap in thinking about what it is we really care about.

What applies to our localities also applies to our Party; we are best when our local parties thrive and the diversity which exists within them is celebrated.

Today I’m asking everyone who reads this to take five minutes to fill out my online survey (supporting my campaign is not compulsory of course!).

I’m primarily interested in getting a snapshot of some of the internal Party issues occupying you right now. For example, what should come first: electing MPs or Councillors? How can we win more votes: canvassing or media coverage?

So I would like your perspective - ideas and constructive criticisms - to be fed into this survey. Building on the survey work we did at the Liverpool Conference, I am going to run this on-line throughout July and August. Please send the link to as many people as you want – www.im4ros.com/survey.

Thanks so much!

Local government in Suffolk - the uncertainty goes on

2008-07-07T18:47:00.003+01:00

Having been a councillor in Suffolk for 14 years, I was pretty keen to hear today's announcement on the future shape of local government in my home county.

I've come to the view that the district councils are simply too small to be cost effective and too small to provide the sort of high quality services the public deserve, so I'm pretty much in favour of unitary government for Suffolk. The proposed unitary Ipswich had already been thrown out by the Government, so today was about what else could work for the County.

The preferred option of taking Lowestoft out of Suffolk and splitting the rest in two is to my mind the worse of all worlds. Lowestoft is in Suffolk and won't want to be taken out. The remaining east/west split creates two new authorities, with all the upheaval and cost that entails, which have no historic identity or sense of community.

There is now a period for further consultation and they haven't quite closed the door on my own preferred option of a unitary county with a serious menu of devolution options for the towns and parishes in the county. The county would provide a large enough council to provide the strategic leadership needed and the right scale to deliver the major services like highways, fire, social services and education. Proper devolution could meet the aspirations of towns like Ipswich and Bury St Edmunds, whilst also allowing for some services to be provided by the smaller towns and parishes.

In counties like Suffolk people identify with their town/village and with the County - artificial constructs like the proposed east/west councils will be unpopular and expensive.

Where London meets the shires and Tories don’t think

2008-07-05T13:14:00.004+01:00

To Epping Forest last night for a pizza and politics event with the Local Party, hosted by fellow blogger, Neil Woolacott. My first surprise was that there actually is a forest, run by the Corporation of London, and quite extensive it is too.

It was a nice evening, and I got to meet with a number of the key activists in an area which is something of a Conservative heartland - lose the Parliamentary seat and there would be a virtual wipeout nationally. I spoke about the House of Lords, part of my continuing campaign to raise the profile of the Parliamentary Party in the Lords, and particularly relevant given the debate on 42 days detention.

Afterwards, Neil took some photographs for future Focus leaflets, highlighting the £18 million of council taxpayers money that Essex County Council have used to build reserves. At a time when most people are struggling to make ends meet, reserve building effectively takes money out of people’s pockets, hardly a sign of a Conservative will to give people control over their own money.

One of the things that Conservatives will have to come to grips with is, that as the media perceive them to look more like a possible government, they will come under greater scrutiny from the media. It’s still up to us to hold them to account, but media attention gives us opportunities that we need to take advantage of.

Bournemouth - a preview

2008-07-02T13:23:00.003+01:00

I'm back at my desk in Westminster having just returned from Bournemouth where the Local Government Association is meeting for its annual conference. I used to be a regular visitor to the town as a child but nowadays I only get there for conferences. Being accustomed to attending our Party conferences there, it felt rather disorientating to be there for a cross-Party event.

The Lib Dem Group had asked me to be the speaker at their dinner, and I was happy to oblige. I enjoy public speaking (just as well really) and love to catch up with my old friends from local government. There were opportunities to celebrate the successes of last May but also to recognise the largely unsung councils where we have been in control for years - Somerset, Oadby & Wigston and Three Rivers (it's in Hertfordshire for the uninitiated).

On the train I happened to run into Peter Wilkinson, Head of Studies at the Audit Commission, and someone I got to know when I was on the Board of the Audit Commission. His most recent report, on the issues facing the local government workforce, was amongst the rather large pile of reading matter I had with me, so I took the opportunity to have a personal briefing on it. It makes rather sobering reading as it highlights the fact that the local government workforce is ageing - a third will retire in the next decade - and the exodus of younger employees to the private sector. Severe shortages are predicted in some areas of work, especially planning, environmental health officers and social workers.

Decades of central government belittling public service are now coming back to haunt us.

In the public interest

2008-06-30T18:46:00.003+01:00

At long last, the Communications Select Committee Report into media ownership and the news has been published. After taking evidence from dozens of people and organisations over many months, and deliberating and debating our conclusions, the results finally emerged.

It has become clear that despite the explosion in news media output, there has been no corresponding increase in input. The number of journalists has declined and much "news" is simply re-packaged. Its an important piece of evidence given that there is pressure on government from some sources to reduce regulation of media ownership on the grounds that are so many ways to access news today.

We have concluded that when media mergers are being considered, there should be more clarity about the respective roles of Ofcom and the Competition Commission, and that Ofcom should have a strengthened role in initiating the public interest test. Any application of the public interest test should include the effects of a merger on news gathering capacity.

We think there is a case for reducing the burden of regulation on local cross-media mergers, as a recognition of the difficult commercial environment they are experiencing. Ofcom should decide each case on its merits, in the light of local circumstance.

After hearing much evidence, we feel that public service broadcasting must be preserved in order to maintain a range of voices and high quality news, but that it shouldn't be left to the BBC alone to provide it. There should be greater Parliamentary scrutiny of decisions relating to the licence fee, the BBC should be placed on a statutory footing, and the BBC Trust must monitor closely the growth in presenter and newsreader salaries.

TGI Friday

2008-06-27T15:30:00.002+01:00

A week which started in Devon is ending in Suffolk via Kent, Westminster and Henley. Not for the first time, I wish we had "rail miles" as I trundle my way back home to Needham Market.

Today has been the start of what is now a regular summer fixture for me - a series of lectures to visiting American students who have come to Europe under the auspices of a programme called "People to People". Between mid June and mid August, ten thousand students come over for a three week visit which includes 3 days in London. The highlight, of course, is a lecture from a Parliamentarian.....

I really enjoy giving these lectures to an audience which is, without exception, lively and engaged. I usually give a brief overview, and then take around 40 minutes for questions which vary from the simple " Have you ever met the Queen, ma'am?" to the rather more complex "if you're members of EU, how come you're not using the euro?

My favourite was " What do you with murderers here? Do you hang them or chair them?"

Its when you get onto the death penalty and gun control that you recall why we were once described as two peoples divided by a common language.

An evening in the Garden of England

2008-06-25T15:36:00.002+01:00

The first event that Mark and I went to as a 'couple' was in Kent, nearly a year ago, and Monday saw us return for an evening event in East Farleigh, a picturesque spot in the Medway Valley, organised by Maidstone and The Weald Liberal Democrats.

It was nice to get out and see the countryside midweek and the sum was shining as we arrived in Barming to be met by Rochelle Harris, the Local Party Chair, who ferried us to 'The Bull' for a drink and a chat prior to the meeting. Mark and Rochelle already knew each other, as Mark had been their Returning Officer for an ill-fated selection process and we had an interesting conversation about local politics before the event itself.

A friendly crowd had gathered to enjoy an evening of two parts, firstly my speech and question session, before they moved onto a review of the campaign recently past. There was a varied range of questions that followed my speech, the subjects including Lords reform and the prospects for a written constitution.

All in all, it was a lovely evening, and I enjoyed meeting a Local Party whose success is a rare beacon in a county where we have been less successful than we might have been in the past.

When auld acquaintances are brought to mind

2008-06-22T16:31:00.002+01:00

Mark and I had a busy weekend in the West Country, arriving in Plymouth on Friday evening in the pouring rain, in the right place for Mark’s outing to Falmouth to talk to prospective Parliamentary candidates and for me, the short drive to Tavistock to talk to Torridge and West Devon Liberal Democrats.

The event was hosted by Cllr. Alison Clish-Green and new PPC Adam Symons. Alison and I go back a while. When the Local Government Association (LGA) was formed in 1997, we took on leading roles, Alison on the Rural Commission and I on the Transport Committee. Standing up for the needs of rural areas in a fairly urban-centric organisation was a big task.

At most of the events I go to, I come across familiar faces. This time, it was the redoubtable Noel Thompson, who has been President of Devon and Cornwall Liberal Democrats forever. Another guest was someone I’d been out leafleting with at the Romsey by-election, just after my peerage was announced.

What should have been magnificent views of Dartmoor were totally obscured by thick fog on the drive to Exmouth. During the evening, we were the guests of the East Devon local party and their new PPC, Paul Buchanan, on a river cruise on the Exe. Old friends were again in evidence. Helen Whitworth was a county councillor in Suffolk when I was Group Leader, and has subsequently moved to Exmouth, as has my old friend, Stuart Mole.

Stuart valiantly fought Chelmsford for us between 1974 and 1983, almost winning the seat from Norman St John Stevas. It was the Party’s loss that Stuart never became an MP, but he is now the Director General of the Royal Commonwealth Society, where he played a key part in redefining the role of the Commonwealth in the present time. It was a joy to stay with Stuart, his partner Helen and their delightful baby daughter, Caitlin.

The world is my Oyster(card)

2008-06-20T18:19:00.000+01:00

Mark and I have been covering a lot of ground lately, so it was nice last night to take a short trip on the Hammersmith and City line to Goldhawk Road for an evening event with Hammersmith and Fulham Liberal Democrats.

I had been invited by the newly selected PPC for Hammersmith, Merlene Emerson, founder of the Chinese Liberal Democrats, to speak to her Local Party. It was a pleasant surprise to see Jonathan Fryer, whose enthusiasm for meeting members and activists continues unabated. His knowledge of foreign affairs is astounding and he writes like a dream. Hopefully, this will help him to a place in the European Parliament next year.

I spoke about the House of Lords, the work of the Liberal Democrat team and gave an update on the recent Lisbon Treaty debate.

We also enjoyed some summer sunshine, as the event was held in the garden of a member's home. A barbecue, some excellent salads and a fine cheeseboard meant that a good time was had by all.

Voting early but not often on the Lisbon Treaty

2008-06-19T09:02:00.003+01:00

I arrived in Westminster yesterday in the full expectation that we would be sitting late into the night and would troop through the lobbies at least three times during the Third Reading of the Bill to ratify the Lisbon Treaty. It didn't turn out that way.

Proceedings started with a motion from the Tory front bench that we delay Third Reading until October so that the full ramifications of the Irish vote could be absorbed. Now, I agree that the Irish "No" means that the Treaty should not be ratified by the EU as a whole - but that is the next stage. Last night's vote was about the Treaty as it impacts on the UK, and was about proceedings in our own sovereign Parliament. Its ironic that the Tory Party, purporting to defend the UK from an over-mighty Europe, should seek to halt the processes of our own Parliament in the light of a decision made in another country.

My colleagues in the Lords have spent over 80 hours scrutinising this piece of legislation and in doing so have defended the interests of this country within a European Union fit to deal with 21st century challenges such as terrorism and climate change. To have abandoned it last night as a response to last week's events would have been irresponsible. It is now for the EU institutions collectively to work with member states to determine the way forward.

The motion was lost - decisively - by 277 to 184, with many senior pro-European Tories voting alongside us. With that, the Tories just melted away into the summer evening and the rest of the proceedings sped along.

I'm not going to be apologetic about this - I am a proud pro-European and have voted accordingly. I'm not going to be lectured by Tories who, when in Government, ratified The Single European Act and Maastricht without asking the people, and now pontificate about a referendum. They even opposed the Nice Treaty when it had actually been largely negotiated by their own Government when in power.

And now, these people who style themselves defenders of our sovereignty, would happily have ditched our Parliamentary proceedings after months and months of debate and vote in Westminster. Shame on them.

I have no predictions to make about how this will all work out now. But I do know that in the Lords we did the job we are unelected to do - we scrutinised the Treaty, tried to improve it, and above all we did what was in the best interests of the people in this country.

On the road again, but by train

2008-06-15T18:23:00.002+01:00

Our weekend started with a dash to Birmingham on Friday evening arriving just in time for the start of the conference organised jointly by the Lib Dem Group on the Local Government Association and by the Association of Liberal Democrat Councillors. I had been asked to co-host the dinner with Councillor Paul Tilsley who is our leader on Birmingham City Council, now in joint LD and Conservative control. I've known Paul since the LGA was first formed in 1997 and he was a member of the Transport Committee which I later came to chair.

The venue, The Council House, is a magnificent example of Victorian municipal architecture, built, as I remarked on Friday, without the benefit of a Whitehall performance management regime, best value indicators and a local strategic partnership. I'm not sure that councils are allowed to build anything today which will be admired in a century's time - a PFI -built shed on an edge of town trading estate just doesn't cut it somehow.

Saturdays conference was well attended, and the quiet satisfaction at our performance in the recent set of local elections (25% of the popular vote when the press had written us off) is translating into planning for next years County Council elections.

On then to Gloucester to speak to the annual county conference where the morning had been spent planning next years County and European Elections, almost certain to be held on the same day in June.

Best news of the weekend though was that two former Suffolk County Council Chief Executives with whom I've worked, Lin Homer and Mike More, were honoured in the Queens Birthday list, as was Alan Beith who is now in his 36th year as the MP for Berwick-on-Tweed. Diana will be both Lady Maddock and Lady Beith, but I'm sure she'll cope!

Gender balance again?

2008-06-13T13:10:00.004+01:00

I was invited to a lunch to celebrate the success of women in the transport and logistics industry as a guest of TfL, who have made diversity a priority in recent years.

As someone who has been involved in the transport world for almost 20 years now, it's been great to see how the workforce is changing and to see women moving into areas such as driving and engineering where they used to be a rare exception. The awards lunch, organised by Every Woman, was sponsored by Man (all irony intended), the truck and bus company. Every Woman is the UKs leading provider of training, resources and support services for women in business; they use conferences, networking, mentoring, on-line training and specific programmes to further their aim of getting more women into business at the level appropriate to their skills and ability.

Traditionally male dominated sectors like transport are, like political parties, changing slowly. Of course, in business all the emphasis is on practical help - I've never seen anyone propose an all woman list for a highways engineer.

For around two years now I've been supporting an organisation called the Women's Transportation Seminar, with a similar agenda to Every Woman, but specifically focused on transport. They value my support and input, but it is definitely a two way street - political parties have something to learn from the business sector's approach to gender balance.

Who do you trust?

2008-06-12T09:51:00.002+01:00

The Select Committee inquiry into media ownership and the news is finally close to being published. Our magnum opus has taken us since last summer,;sifting through and analysing evidence from dozens of sources and agreeing our recommendations has not been an easy task, but it has been fascinating.

One of our stalwart specialist advisers, Steven Barnett (Professor of Communications at the University of Westminster) has recently written an article for the British Journalism Review analysing the results of a BJR/YouGov poll on confidence in journalism.

In a league table topped by family doctors ( 87% of respondents saying they trust "a great deal" or a "fair amount what they hear from them) and tailed by estate agents (10% saying the same), tabloid journalists only just come in above the estate agents and at 15%, compare really badly with BBC journalists who come in at 61%.

There's quite a variation between political parties; local MPs at 39%, leading Lib Dems at 29%, leading Conservatives at 27% and Labour Ministers at 20%. There is a marked lessening of trust in all professions between the polling taken in 2003 and now. All categories are down, but the figures for all journalists are worse - BBC journos down 20, ITV down 31, C4 down 29, broadsheet journalists down 22. The only group not to see a significant fall are the red-tops, but they they were already so low, its hard to see how they could have fallen lower.

The fact that journalists are not trusted is not leading people to doubt the negative things they read about politicians; we are moving inexorably from a climate of healthy scepticism to cynicism. For all of us involved in politics this is the great challenge, and I wonder what young aspiring journalists think about entering a profession only just more popular than being an estate agent.

Henley: a first class leaflet delivery

2008-06-10T15:57:00.000+01:00

I was up bright and early this morning to head for Henley. Despite a few teething difficulties finding my way out of London, I made good time and was soon delivering in Thame as part of an all-star cast, including our President, Simon Hughes. Thame itself is quite pretty, although it is an area of Oxfordshire I don't know well.

Back in the HQ, I joined in with the clerical work that needs doing. Even by the normal standards of our well-oiled by-election machine, things appear to be very well organised and there is a good number of enthusiastic volunteers determined to contribute what they can to the campaign.

I was introduced to our candidate, Stephen Kearney, who clearly presents a credible alternative to the Conservative candidate. I have no doubt that there is a clear contrast between the two in terms of style and approach, and the voters of Henley are being presented with a meaningful choice.

If you haven't thought of going to Henley, do give it some thought. You'll receive a warm welcome, the delivery rounds are quite attractive and there are some excellent pubs to stop in when you've finished your work.

Is it really choice?

2008-06-07T09:22:00.003+01:00

I had set aside yesterday and most of today to get stuff done. You know what it's like, that long list of things which, whilst not exactly urgent, need to be dealt with at some point. As it has now been raining relentlessly for 30 hours, I haven't been distracted by the garden or the Focus round I promised to deliver in Ipswich.

Once again I am struck by just how complicated life is today. Its one aspect of the growth of "choice" in all areas from banking to shopping to coffee, and whilst assuredly is " a good thing" it does assume the capacity of people to exercise choice in their best interest.

I've made the point in Parliament and have been accused of being patronising, but I stand my ground. The fact is complex choices are hard to exercise if you have limited literacy or language skills, or if the provider fails to explain adequately. How often had you had to re-read something several times in order to understand it and then still not been entirely confident that you have? Sometimes regulatory requirements means that language is used which is legally correct but pretty incomprehensible and at others there is deliberate deception. Knowing your latte from your frap might be useful but its not crucial - understanding whether you need payment protection and whether it will cover you can be a costly and damaging business.

As my recent experience with TfL and council parking fines for the previous occupants has demonstrated, they all operate in different ways, so you can't even assume a set of common rules and procedures in one specific sphere. Sending a letter and a forwarding address was enough for one council but not for another - but they don't tell you that.

It's great to be able to do a whole host of things on line. When I was a child my mum used to send a note to the local grocers who sent a van round with the order - now I e mail my list to Ocado. But not everyone has access to the Internet, and when they do it sometimes fails. My village has had no phone access for 10 days and will be out for another 3 weeks - that means no Internet either. I've exercised the choice which comes with resources - I've bought a mobile connection for my lap top but not everyone can do that either.

I'm not suggesting that choice is bad, nor that we should make a futile attempt to hold back the tide, nor am I suggesting that increasingly zealous regulation is the answer (although the credit crunch is pushing me that way) but what I am saying is that alongside choice we need well funded and independent advice for consumers and citizens. One of my favourite organisations, the Citizens Advice Bureau, has been suffering cuts in government funding for years and only continues to do its work thanks to the efforts of its many volunteer advisers and fund raisers.

But above all, what we need is choice about choice. Simple ways of doing things for people who can't or don't want to spend hours agonising over what used to be straightforward decisions.

I read last year that 70% of people who go to Chinese restaurants opt for a set menu - they just can't face the myriad of choices which assail them. Tells you something doesn't it?

Once again the judges get it right

2008-06-04T16:17:00.002+01:00

Arriving in Westminster earlier, I bumped into two friends from the Iranian Resistance movement, the PMOI, who had come to brief MPs on the latest developments.

As I have mentioned in a previous posting, the PMOI has been fighting to get itself removed from the Government's proscribed list, which in effect designates them as terrorists. Despite a number of court rulings, the UK government has refused to remove the terror tag and has led the way in keeping the PMOI on the EU list.

However, the Court of Appeal has now ruled that the PMOI is a legitimate secular opposition to the regime in Iran and that they satisfy none of the criteria necessary to maintain its inclusion on the list. This is a definitive ruling that the Home Secretary has wrongly interpreted the law and has no choice now but to put the orders to Parliament removing the PMOI from the proscribed list. Hopefully, the UK Government will now stop lobbying the Council of Europe and allow the PMOI to operate lawfully.

If our experience in Iraq tells us anything, it should be that regime change has to be effected from within and that strong opposition groups should be encouraged. The PMOI, led by the hugely impressive Maryam Rajavi, has worked tirelessly for its legitimisation and I'm proud to have been at least a tiny part of that movement.

The face of faceless Britain?

2008-06-03T10:24:00.002+01:00

I am seething. Not just irritated or angry, but seething.

When Mark first moved into his new house, we voluntarily forwarded mail onto the previous occupants, including letters from Transport for London and various London councils, which were clearly related to parking and congestion charge breaches. When the letters kept coming, we changed tack and returned them to the senders with a note saying that they related to the previous occupant. Still the letters came. One day last October I phoned TfL who said they couldn't do anything unless I gave them a reference number - I could only get this by opening the letter, which is a criminal offence. Seeing no choice, I did so, and gave them the number so they could open the file. I was then told that as the driver had not notified the DVLA of the house move, they had no choice but to keep sending the fines to the same address. We were advised to get a letter from the DVLA confirming that the vehicle in question in question was not ours; this we did and sent copies to all the councils involved, and to TfL who wrote back saying they noted that the vehicle was not ours, but reminding us that it is illegal to open mail addressed to someone else.

This solved the problem for all bar one council who kept sending the letters, which I kept returning. Finally, in January I phoned them to be told that the DVLA letter was not enough and that they needed a copy of the council tax bill - why they had never told us this, I don't know. They just said it "isn't policy". Not policy to tell people what they have to do in order to resolve a situation? Keeping my temper in check, I sent the paperwork.

About a month later, letters started to arrive for the old occupant in which the words "Certified Bailiff"could clearly be seen. I returned the letters to the Bailiff with a covering note. Still the letters came in a steady flow. Three weeks ago I called the council, who said they had never received the copy of the council bill and would I FAX it to them. That afternoon I faxed the paperwork to the Bailiff (involving more illegal opening of mail because they wouldn't talk to me without a reference number) and to the council. For good measure, I sent hard copies by registered post, and know they were delivered because you can track the delivery on-line and can even view the signature.

We got back home last night to another letter from the Bailiff addressed to the old occupant- being by now a hardened criminal, I opened it. It said that they were in the area this week and would seize goods " even if you are not in attendance". I can see the situation where our cleaner or cat sitter, neither of whom speaks brilliant English, answers the door to a couple of burly blokes bent on taking our goods and chattels. I can't imagine what impact that would have on them.

Beside myself with anger, I had to wait until this morning to speak to the council and bailiffs. Guess what? The council says it has no record of either the second letter, send registered, or the FAX. They ask me, where did I sent the FAX from, where did I post the letter? With some satisfaction I tell them that I am a Member of the House of Lords and that I used the House of Commons Post Office. This sends them into a flurry and they go off to investigate further. It transpires that they have received the documentation, but hadn't actioned it because, despite having the address and vehicle registration, our letter hadn't contained their reference number. Given that we could only have got this by yet again opening someone else's mail, they accepted that our position was difficult.

Finally, I give in and call the Leader of the Council who is most helpful and goes off to sort things out and by the close of play we have an e mail assuring us that the matter is closed once and for all.

This isn't just about us. We're articulate and literate but there are people who aren't and would be quite unable to cope with this. I've found it frustrating, but there are people who would be terrified by the threat of bailiffs. The system seems unable to cope with the simple reality of people moving house and has spent hundred of pounds of council tax payers money pursing a debt from us which we don't owe. You shouldn't have to be a member of Parliament to get someone to take action.

No wonder people are disillusioned with local government, when they can't get a process in place to deal with the simple matter of someone who moves house.

An afternoon walk in the Forest (Heath)

2008-05-31T16:30:00.000+01:00

I've been over to Cambridge today for the East of England Executive. I'm the Regional Vice Chair, which is rather unusual for a parliamentarian but I'm genuinely committed to the Regional level of decision making within the Party.

We stopped on the way back to deliver leaflets in Red Lodge, where a district council by-election is being held. It's within the district of Forest Heath - normally solidly Conservative. However, this could buck the national trend due to some well-publicised (and not just by us) failings by the council. The cost of a new leisure centre has risen to more than twice the original estimate, they have had to hurriedly row back from a proposal to spend £3.2 million on refurbishment of council offices likely to become redundant following creation of a new unitary authority and concerns over the new County Council Chief Executive's salary don't help either. It's only a decade or so ago that Forest Heath was sufficiently rich not to have to levy a council tax at all.

It may not be Brideshead, but we revisited anyway

2008-05-27T21:18:00.003+01:00

It turns out that both Mark and I took our degrees at the University of East Anglia in Norwich, although some years apart. Mark studied statistics at what could be described as a normal age, whilst I read European Studies with German at the advanced age of 39. I left school at 16, married for the first time at 17 and in a moment of madness decided to take my degree in my 30s at a time when my political career was developing fast. I finished my degree in January 2000 but didn't attend my graduation ceremony because I was at a Local Government Association Conference, and lay claim to being the only Member of the House of Lords to be paying off their own student loan.

I mention all this because we have been up to the UEA today, invited by the Vice Chancellor for lunch and a tour of the Sainsbury Centre for Visual Arts, the jewel in the crown of the university. To our surprise, we were joined by our former tutors, both of whom have aged rather better than we have. We were briefed on the development of UEA, their plans for the future, and the challenges they face. The University has a world renowned Environmental Sciences Department which by its contribution to the Inter Governmental Panel on Climate Change has played a part in Al Gore's Inconvenient Truth. The UEA is sited on a lovely campus which belies its rather brutalist architecture but struggles to overcome a slight anti-Norwich prejudice. Alan Partridge has a lot to answer for.

English Universities are having to develop fund raising strategies not previously envisaged and are learning from the United States where private donation is the norm, but with a recession looming, I don't envy them their task. Like other UK higher education establishments, they have developed strong links with China, and in similar vein seem not to have considered India in their forward thinking. It seems strange that a country of more than 1.2 billion people, where English is the common language, and which shares many of our democratic values should be overlooked.