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post(s) 1-16 of 16
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Visiting Flood Damaged Areas around England
31/07/2007
In the last few weeks, I've been visiting a number of areas affected by floods.
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Forum responses - 26th July
26/07/2007
I've posted two more responses on the Webcameron forums - one to
macwood4's thread on Conservative Party strategy and another to
Mark23's thread on the Consumer Price Index. Click on the titles below
to see the
full forum threads, and I have also posted my responses here.
DISASTER!
Author:
macwood4
Three things to say in response to macwood4’s post, and the debate which has followed.
First, I don’t agree with macwood4 that the environment is only of
concern to people in certain parts of the country. We fought our local
election campaigns in May on the theme “Vote Blue, Go Green”. And we
made some spectacular gains across the country. For example we now
control more councils in the North West than Labour do. All the
evidence suggests that people across Britain care deeply both about
pressing global issues like climate change and about their local
environment. Indeed, macwood4 rightly lists “litter strewn streets” as
one of their concerns. I would quietly point out that that is a “green
issue”…!
But talking about the environment does not stop us talking about other
subjects too. Just look at the last three weeks. We recently launched
Iain Duncan Smith’s landmark report on social policy. This week we are
publishing our reports on global poverty and on security. These are all
clearly issues of huge importance. At Prime Minister's Questions this week I asked about the floods and about the
EU constitution. I devoted all my questions at Prime
Minister’s Questions last week to the issue of crime and the scandal of
prisoners – many convicted of violent offences - being released early
because the prisons are full. Over the previous fortnight I asked
Gordon Brown about the health service and terrorism.
Finally, on the by-elections. Obviously I would have liked us to have
done better. But macwood4’s language goes too far. The third party in a
by-election (our starting point in Ealing Southall) often gets
completely squeezed, especially when the Liberal Democrats are second
because they tend to advise people to vote tactically to defeat the
incumbent. But this time our vote held up. It held up in Sedgefield
too. As I say, we wanted to do better than that. But my priority now is
to focus on the next battle.
Ask David: Your opinion of CPI?
Author:
Mark23
I agree
that we need to look at wider measures of the cost of living, and not
just the CPI. Retail Price Index inflation is rising more quickly than
earnings, which means earnings are failing to keep up with the cost of
living. That has been the case now for several months in a row.
Of course, rising housing costs are one of the reasons why people’s
standard of living is falling in this way. I’ve covered on Webcameron
in the past ways in which we can start to tackle this problem.
It may be that Mark23 is raising the issue of the Bank of England’s
targeting of CPI inflation rather than RPI or another measure. When
that change was made, we pointed out at the time what some of the
disadvantages would be. However the issue is not a simple one and we
must be extremely careful never to do anything that might undermine the
credibility of the Bank of England.
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The Rwandan Parliament and Project Umubano
26/07/2007
Rwanda, in spite of the incredible problems they’ve had, and in spite
of the appalling genocide 13 years ago, is actually a place of great
hope and great optimism.
This week I was invited to address the Rwandan Parliament, where I spoke about the ideas contained in the recent report by the Globalisation and Global Poverty
policy group. I also visited Project Umubano, where a team of 43
Conservatives have been working on a diverse range of projects.
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Blogging from Rwanda
24/07/2007
I am staying in a Christian Mission in this extraordinary city, which
is spread across various hills. The night was filled with dogs
barking; the day with gospel singing from a half finished church next
door.
British taxpayers are spending almost £500m in this country over the
next decade. Aid, trade and engagement are making a real difference.
And as I said in my speech to Rwandan Parliament the problems of
climate change, poverty, migration and terrorism are global, not
local. That’s why I believe it was right to come.
Last night there was a dinner for the 43 volunteers who have been
working on projects as diverse as helping the finance ministry, British
GPs providing health and training and football and cricket coaches
working with Rwandan counterparts. It was inspiring to hear their
stories; as each one set out what they had done, what they had learnt
and how they wanted to leave a lasting legacy. Even cynics would have
to admit that their experiences, at the very least, will help inform
politics and international development in our party for years to
come.
But nothing compares with the power of the genocide memorial, which I
visited yesterday. 258,000 people are buried at the site, sometimes 50
in a coffin because all that was found were a few bones. The pictures
of children - and often whole families - that were slaughtered are
unforgettable; the videos of personal testimony of rape and slaughter
agony to watch. But the utter horror of what people can do to each
other stills leaves some room for an admiration of how this country is
trying to build and reconcile itself to its past. The Gacaca courts –
a sort of local and quite democratic justice – where those involved in
genocide admit their crimes and are often accepted back into the
community are impressive. Popular justice leading to reconciliation
rather than retribution is hard to understand, but inspiring.
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Forum responses - 20th July
20/07/2007
I've posted more responses on the Webcameron forums - on planning,
cannabis, poverty and terrorism. Click on the titles below to see the
full forum threads, and I have also posted my responses here.
Planning - what will the Conservatives do?
Author:
Fran
Thanks for these points, Fran.
The important principle here is that the planning system needs to allow
people to get involved more directly in shaping the future of their
communities. It’s not surprising that people often don’t like new
development, when it is foisted on them and when, as you say, it is
often unfriendly to the local environment.
We do need to recognise the crucial part gardens and urban green spaces
play. Earlier this year our local government team called for changes in
planning regulations to prevent the practice of 'garden grabbing', and
put forward a Private Member’s Bill on the issue.
And we need to make sure that the planners put I before E –
infrastructure before expansion – so there are the roads, hospitals and
schools there to support new developments.
I also agree it is difficult for people to get on the housing ladder,
and that we do need more, good housing. So our goal must be more
beautiful, affordable, eco-friendly homes. There are ways we can set
about achieving this – like introducing clear rewards for welcoming new
development, and giving local people a stronger voice on planning.
I will also make sure that your detailed comments are passed on to our planning team.
Mr Duncan Smith's misinformed policy review.
Author:
BernieR
There
have been lengthy debates on the cannabis issue on Webcameron in the
past, and I won’t rehearse all the arguments again today. But I don’t
think the evidence presented in the report, for example that it is
easier today to get hold of much stronger varieties of cannabis, can
really be dismissed as readily as Bernie tries to.
Those such as Bernie who want to put their views on any of the recommendations in the report can do so by visiting www.conservatives.com/standupspeakup
- where they will find the biggest grass-roots consultation exercise
the country has ever seen, first on the proposals set out in this
report and later on the reports which will follow from our other policy
groups and task forces.
Poverty tops Tory policy targets
Author:
surfhog
This thread has led to a debate about the existence of poverty, and
whether the Conservative Party’s approach to dealing with it differs
from Labour’s.
Anyone who doubts the extent of the problem of social breakdown in
Britain today needs just to glance at the Social Justice Policy Group
Report. It shows in comprehensive detail how millions of our fellow
citizens are suffering from the connected problems of poverty,
unemployment, poor education, addiction and debt. The financial cost of
this has been put at over £100 billion. The cost in wasted lives and
dashed hopes is even greater.
This is totally unacceptable. It is a huge challenge, and the
Conservative Party needs to set about tackling it. We will do so in a
way that differs from Labour, because our values are different.
I believe that social responsibility is the best way to solve problems.
That is a clear contrast with Gordon Brown’s belief in state control. I
would trust people, families and communities more, instead of thinking
government has all the answers.
So I would place greater trust in the expertise of charities and local
community groups – which know their areas best. And above all, I
believe that if we get the family right, we can fix our broken society.
We have the highest rate of family breakdown in Europe, and the worst
social problems in Europe. I don’t think these two things are
unconnected.
Social justice is one of the areas where Labour’s top-down,
centralising, mechanistic approach has failed badly. So applying our
values to this challenge is an urgent priority. It is not some sort of
optional add-on: it lies at the heart of what a modern compassionate
Conservative Party should be about.
New Labour are responsible for making us a terrorist target
Author:
tonymakara
I
don’t agree with the main premise of what tonymakara is saying. The
only people who have made us a terrorist target are the terrorists. The
drawing together of the country following an attack isn’t only a
natural instinct, as tonymakara says – it’s also the right instinct,
because it’s by uniting in opposition to terrorism that we will be in a
better position to defeat it.
We have to remember that terrorist attacks – including 9/11 itself of
course - were taking place across the world before the action in Iraq
or Afghanistan, and also that countries which have not been involved in
either campaign have been subject to attack.
As I have said before, I don’t believe there is any list of demands we
can accept, or any group of terrorists we could meet and negotiate with
– even if we wanted to – to stop the attacks.
None of that means there aren’t legitimate issues to raise, as
tonymakara and others do, like the need for an inquiry to review the
way in which the responsibilities of Government were discharged on
Iraq. As our Security Policy Group’s interim report said, the political
agenda of the American led “Broader Middle East” initiative has been
put back by the poor management of policy following the intervention in
Iraq, which has allowed terrorism to increase.
But that is completely different from saying terrorism wouldn’t have
been a threat to the world anyway. It would have been a threat – and,
indeed, was a threat.
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Just back from Prime Minister's Questions
18/07/2007
Today at PMQs I raised the incredibly important issue of prisoners
being released early. In the last three weeks, 1700 prisoners
(including 344 who were convicted for violent offences) have been
released. I think this is a completely shambolic situation.
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Double counting a la Gordon Brown or acceptable spin?
16/07/2007
Busy week. Two by-elections, closing of nominations for our London
mayoral candidate (yes, I believe Boris is standing) and the launch of
Stand Up Speak Up, our campaign to get people engaged in our policy process.
Given all this it was a treat to spend an entire day on Saturday doing
something I don’t think I’ve done for at least two years: play cricket.
More surprising – it didn’t rain for the whole day. Even more amazing
- I scored a half century and my team (playing for my brother’s pretty
motley 11 against an equally ragged friend’s 11) won. Ok so most of
the bowlers were either under 18 or over 50, but I’d call that a crack
combination of youth and experience.
I don’t want to echo the John Major line about lengthening shadows on
cricket pitches and nuns cycling through the mist, but there is
something particularly magical about playing on a village pitch on an
English summer’s afternoon. Pity we can’t have a few more of them.
There was a bizarre rule that a six hit over one particularly short
boundary, because of the trees, hedges and corn field and likelihood of
never finding the ball, would count as minus six against your own and
the team’s score. I managed this feat and so am counting my total as
58 not out, rather than 52. Come to think of it I could add back the 6
itself and call it 64. Pretty soon I’ll be getting towards a 100.
Double counting a la Gordon Brown or acceptable spin? You decide. But
that’s my story and I’m sticking to it.
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Latest forum responses
16/07/2007
This week I’ve responded to forum threads on problems with
our system of government, lowering the voting age and whether I consider myself
European or British.
Keep your questions
coming!
major
problems with our system of govornment
Author:
pamixchris
The first thing to say on pamixchris’s points is that I’ve set out in
response to other threads how we differ a great deal from Gordon Brown’s
party. To list just a few of these issues here: getting rid of ID
cards; recognising marriage in the tax system; our
plans for the development of a dedicated
border police; the need for a referendum on the return of the EU Constitution;
replacing the Human Rights Act with a British Bill of Rights; and our approach
to tax and spending.
Above all, I’ve set
out how my whole approach to running the country differs from Gordon
Brown’s. Social responsibility, at the heart of my credo, is about
recognising that all of us – not just government - have a
responsibility for our neighbours, for our country and for our planet.
This is a clear contrast with Gordon Brown’s belief in state control.
However pamixchris’s main
point is about the role of party politics in Parliament. He wants to see
MPs acting more independently of parties.
I should mention first
that, when our Democracy Task Force looked at this, they actually found that
MPs have become less – not more - slavish in voting with the Party line in the
last half century. In fact MPs were more rebellious in Tony Blair’s last
full term in office than they have been in recent memory.
Also, the existence of
parties in Parliament enables voters to have a rough idea of what they are
voting for at each election. Of course some voters can and do vote for
independent candidates, but most choose to vote for a candidate of one of the
main three parties.
But having said that I
still think pamixchris has got a point. People do expect more from their MPs
than simply to be cogs in a party machine, and there are ways in which we can
enable MPs to represent public concerns more independently.
Our Democracy Task Force
suggested allowing more room for Private Member’s Bills, which are independent
of parties, and we will look at that.
Another way to boost the
role of individual MPs is to increase the power of Select Committees, something
which I called for again last week. Select Committees, which focus on
particular issues, are less dominated by Party politics, and can be very
effective in holding government to account.
I also agree with those on
this thread who say parties themselves need to change, becoming more open and
more representative of modern
Britain.
I hope that with the changes the Conservative Party has made to candidate
selection, that is exactly what is happening.
Do
you consider yourself European or British?
Author:
martinnelson
First on the English or British question, I don’t see why it has to be
either / or. No one is more proud of being English than I am. But
I'm also passionately attached to the idea of
Britain.
Admittedly it’s somewhat un-British to talk about what Britishness
means. But we need to recognise that many of our values, institutions,
people, buildings, places, and history – the things that give a nation state
its character - are shared across
Britain.
So are many of our feelings. Even in sport, British success is often
celebrated across all of
Britain.
As, off the field, was the award of the 2012 Olympics.
Many of our successes have come through
Britain working together,
too. It is as
Britain
that we are the fourth largest economy in the world. And it’s as
Britain that we
have the influence we have. Our international voice – including in the
EU, and our place as one of only five permanent members of the UN Security
Council – comes to us as
Britain.
On the European issue, recognising our European heritage doesn’t mean trying
to shoe-horn 27 national identities together. It’s important to respect
the diversity which exists between the nation states of
Europe.
Lowering
the voting age?
Author:
martinnelson
What the Government have said is that they want to hear from young people
themselves as to whether lowering the voting age would increase participation.
I’m personally not convinced that it would. A review by the Electoral
Commission a few years ago found most young people opposing any reduction.
I don’t actually think the voting age is really the issue. It may well
end up simply lowering the age at which people abstain from voting. And
the danger of this debate is that it turns our attention away from what
is
the real issue. That is finding ways to translate young people’s concerns
about political issues – including hugely important global issues like climate
change and international development – into a belief that party politics can
make a difference.
Part of that is about politicians being open to new ideas and new ways of
doing things. That way, we encourage new people of all ages to get
involved – people who feel strongly about a range of issues but who feel
alienated from what can seem like the closed world of party politics.
On the voting age there are also other practical points to bear in
mind. 16 year-olds do not have full citizenship rights in other ways
either. They have to gain parental consent to join the Army, marry or leave
home. And no European country has a nationwide voting age below 18 – and
very few outside
Europe do either.
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The temperature hots up in Ealing Southall
13/07/2007
I was in Ealing Southall again today, supporting our by-election campaign.
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A music festival without mud, crowds or queues
09/07/2007
Down to Ealing again for the by-election
campaign. This time, we are breaking a big story: five Labour councillors
– all British Asians - are crossing the floor to join the Conservatives and
support our candidate Tony Lit. We all make statements from the steps of
the town hall before heading off for a walkabout on Ealing Broadway.
Chatting over coffee with my new recruits is
fascinating. They really feel that the Conservative party is their
natural home: pro-family, pro-community, pro-enterprise, but Labour had reached
out to them when they first arrived in the
UK and until recently the
Conservatives seemed stand-offish. They believe – and I hope they are
right - that this could be the start of a realignment among voters from ethnic
minority communities.
As Friday involved visits in
Liverpool,
Cumbria
and a trip to Sedgefield for the by-election there, the weekend was sandwiched
between by-election campaigns, with some of Saturday taken up by an interview
for the BBC’s Marr programme.
But I did have some break time and even
made it to the local Cornbury Music festival to see the
Waterboys, (one of the many acts, along with Blondie, David Gray
and Echo and the Bunnymen, designed to appeal to the over 40s). This was
not
Glastonbury
– a few thousand people, mostly local, no mud, no big crowds and no big
queues. But as I discovered this
morning, not much street cred
either. When I mentioned the
Waterboys
to my press minder on the way to Ealing her reaction was: “who on earth are
they?”
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A massive boost for the campaign in Ealing Southall
09/07/2007
Five Labour Councillors, headed by long standing Labour Party member
Gurcharan Singh, have given our important by-election campaign in
Ealing Southall a massive boost by coming over to join the Conservative
Party.
I think the decision of these five Councillors is the clearest
possible demonstration that our Party, having been changed and
modernised, is now a voice for everyone in this country - and that many
more people feel they can make their home in the modern Conservative
Party.
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Forum responses - Reshuffles, Prisons and Constitutions
09/07/2007
Here are my latest responses to your posts on the Webcameron
Forum.
Keep them coming!
The
Usual Suspects instead of a New broom
Author:
jonjii
I wrote on my blog recently about two of the things I can’t understand about
the reshuffle. The first is the way education has been split. And
the second, more important, change I can’t understand is the fact the Defence
Secretary post now seems to be considered a part-time job. There can
barely have been a more inappropriate time to make that decision.
On the other hand we have welcomed the appointment of Lord Stevens, the
former Met Police Commissioner, who is the new adviser on security to the Prime
Minister. He is already in charge of our taskforce looking at a Border
police for the
UK.
Overall, I think those who said the Cabinet has a similar look to Tony
Blair’s ministerial team have got it right. The new Chancellor for
instance was second in command to Gordon Brown at the Treasury when the
pensions tax was brought in. Now the same man is charged with trying to
tackle the crisis in pensions which that tax helped to produce.
Appointments like that hardly suggest this is the team to bring about the
change this country needs – or indeed the change Gordon Brown said he
recognised was necessary.
Should
Brown call a General Election?
Author:
coiaorguk
It won’t come as a surprise to hear that I agree with those who say it was
Tony Blair who got the mandate, not Gordon Brown. In actual fact it goes
further than that, because Tony Blair promised to serve a “full term” at the
time of the last election. So people had every right to expect he would
serve that full term when they voted for him.
But the most important reason I called for an election is that this is the
only way people will have the opportunity to vote for real change, not just a
change in Prime Minister.
And to answer coiaorguk’s original question, yes we would be ready for an
election if one was called. The plan at present is that our policy groups
and taskforces are going to be reporting over the coming months. We then
intend to launch a wide-ranging policy debate, leading to the publication of our
draft programme for government. But, as the policy groups have already
given a huge amount of thought to the policies necessary to meet the various
challenges facing the country, this process can certainly be speeded up if
required.
What
should the 'Mission Statement' of prisons be in 25 years time?
Author:
Tizzy
Although this thread has strayed off topic a bit, Tizzy asks
an interesting question. Prison is partly about punishment – criminals
need punishing – and partly about keeping offenders off the streets. But
it should also be about rehabilitation.
We aren’t achieving that goal properly at the moment. Half of all
crime is committed by ex-convicts.
One of the problems is that the Government’s woeful failure to plan for the
number of prisoners we have – even though the Home Office itself predicted
higher numbers five years ago - means that prisons are grossly
overcrowded. Not only does that mean the Government is having to let
25,000 prisoners out early, but it also means those who remain behind bars
aren’t always getting the education they need, the training on life skills they
need, or the drugs rehab they need.
Improving the way we rehabilitate prisoners for a return to society has to
be a priority. This isn’t in any way a soft option. In fact it will
make prison tougher, not softer. But above all, it will make it work
better.
When
will the opposition start opposing?
Author:
MandolinKing
Last week I raised this issue in Parliament – for the second time in two
weeks. I did do in response to Gordon Brown’s statement on the
UK
constitution. In it he said he wanted to make lawmakers more responsive
to people’s wishes. Yet he’s about to agree to big constitutional changes
which go in precisely the opposite direction. Not only will the return of
the European Constitution (in all but name) take more power further away from
people – talking it from Westminster and giving it to Brussels – but the
Government is deliberately trying to avoid asking people their views about
this.
All three main parties signed up to a referendum at the last election.
Unlike Labour’s, our position hasn’t changed. We are against this major
transfer of power to the European level. And we believe if they want to
go ahead the Government should keep their promise to hold a referendum, to let
people have their say.
Gordon Brown said he would offer people a new approach. He also said
he would listen to people more. Whether or not he now agrees to a
referendum on the European Constitution is an important test of whether he
means what he says.
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First meeting of the new Shadow Cabinet
05/07/2007
On Tuesday, the new Shadow Cabinet met for the first time, and Webcameron was there to get exclusive behind-the-scenes footage.
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New talent in the Shadow Cabinet - part two
04/07/2007
In this video, you can see interviews with Caroline Spelman (Chairman of the Conservative Party), Nick Herbert (Shadow Secretary of State for Justice) and Michael Gove (Shadow Secretary of State for Children, Schools and Families).
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New talent in the Shadow Cabinet - part one
04/07/2007
Following the reshuffle on Monday, I sent Webcameron along to meet some of the new, exciting talent in the Shadow Cabinet.
In this video - the first of two - you can see interviews with Sayeeda
Warsi (Shadow Minister for Community Cohesion), Dame Pauline
Neville-Jones (Shadow Security Minister) and Jeremy Hunt (Shadow
Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport).
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Brown's been PM for a week, and it hasn't stopped raining
03/07/2007
With reshuffles, constitutional statements and PMQs on the agenda, the
weather isn’t much of an issue for me. Except in one case. At the
weekend I had to erect a £40 tent from Woolworth’s in my garden so that
parents and godparents at Elwen’s christening didn’t get soaked.
Working out what went where, getting tent poles to fit with each other,
lashing down the cover so the whole thing held together – this made
political activity look simple and straightforward.
Why am I writing this now? In the new world of non-spin from the
Government (likely to last 2 ¾ days) there is no advance notice of what
the PM is going to say in his statement this afternoon, so I am at a
loose end. Normally you get to hear the whole thing on the Today
programme and read it in the newspapers. So this time only Gord knows
what’s coming. I’ll guess it’ll be: “I’ll restore trust in politics”.
We must all keep a straight face.
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