Daylight Saving Bill and parliamentary frustrations

Processes in Parliament can be frustrating. Seldom has it been as frustrating, and , many would say, mis-used as in the debate on Rebecca Harris MP's Daylight Saving Bill.

The Bill, which called for a proper review of the pros and cons of keeping British summertime all year round, to settle once and for all the debate that returns year after year to parliament, but has historically always been stumped down because of internal process, had got further through parliament than ever before.

There was an overwhelming parliamentary concencus for the Bill, and well over 120 MPs had sacrificed time in their constituencies that Friday in order to vote for it. But the Bill was stopped. Why? Not by strength of argument, or through debate, or through numbers of opposition - but because a small group of MPs chose to 'talk it out'. That is, put down huge numbers of amendements, to which they could speak, to literally 'talk it out of time'.

Southmead takes its protest to No.10

Community Groups up and down Bristol have been protesting about the Council's plans to sell off tracts of our green space which they deem as 'disposable', but in reality, is anything but.

The other week, I joined a group from Southmead, who have been doing brilliant work making the case for the old Dunmail School site to be kept.

The group, led by local people, had compiled a petition of hundreds of signatures, as well as collecting scores of responses to the council's plans, and came up to London to present them to no.10.

I was proud to be there as we handed in the petition to No.10 Downing Street.

Afterwards, we went on a bit of a tour around Westminster and had a cup of tea before the coach back to Bristol arrived. ( Thanks to our superb volunteer photographer for the Big Ben photo!)

If local democracy means anything, it means listening to residents' views on our green space - who have taken the battle to save Bristol's Green Spaces all the way to Westminster. Well done to everyone involved for your sturdy campaign, standing up for local people.

Southmead Green Space: Listen to the people who know best...

It's such a shame. The Council's parks and green spaces strategy is supposed to improve green space for the people of Bristol. The problem is, that the proposals put forward do not seem to reflect at all the real needs of local people.

I've been supporting dozens of protests and picnics across my constituency, set up by people who do not object to maximizing the benefits of our green space, but who do object to council plans that seem out of touch with what's needed.

I've not spoken to anyone for example who actually supports the so called proposed 'improvements' to Glencoyne Square as local people say the proposals will make things less safe, and the square less usuable... and it's "improvements" like this, which I have yet to find public support for, which are what areas of much valued land are to be sold off for...

This protest was against plans to get rid of the play area at Embleton Park, off the Square. If you feel strongly, sign the petition for saving genuinely needed community green space at www.savebristolgreenspaces.bristolpetitions.com .

Residents turn out in force for Shire's public meeting

When I stood up amongst the crowd who had been refused entry to a meeting about the future of the Daisy Field and Lamplighters land, back in June, I pledged to get them a full public meeting to really discuss the issue.

Under the Council's Parks and Green Spaces Strategy, the Daisy Field and Lamplighters Land are amongst plots of land identified as of potential 'low value' to the community, and susceptible for being sold off for housing.

Three months, a petition, a 'write-to-the-council-campaign' and a Big Picnic later, the council officers responsible came to address a packed public meeting, chaired by Avonmouth's new Councillor, Siobhan Kennedy-Hall.

It is a very good thing we did get this meeting: The level of information, sound argument and strength of feeling displayed by residents at the meeting was impressive. The amount of 'new information' that the council officers gained by listening to residents, many of whom have lived in Shirehampton for many years, was significant.

We got some pledges of action by the council, and Cllr. Kennedy-Hall is following that up. Most importantly, council officers were exposed directly to the thoughts and feelings of the general public.

The decision has yet to go to consultation - but hopefully the campaign will have started early enough to prevent the Daisy Field and Lamplighters land from even appearing in the consultation document.

We have been determined to sort this out before the consultation process because residents sadly now have little faith that they are able to sway any decision that has gone to consultation - they fought to save their swimming pool, and the Robin Cousins Centre - to no avail. Let's hope this campaign, having got in early, is more successful.

And you can still do your bit!

1. By signing the petition

2. Writing to the council: Send your letter, with specific comments on why the Daisy Field and Lamplighters should not be built on, to:

Rob McGovern
Area Green Space Plan Project Officer
Bristol Parks
Colston 33
Colston Avenue
Bristol, BS1 4UA

The sun shines on Shire's Big Picnic

At 11.55am, things were looking a bit ropey. The sky was threatening rain, and the only sign of anyone coming to Shire's Big Picnic was a mum with a pushchair some way off, and a dog walker.

But I needn't have worried. Pretty soon, local residents were flooding down to the Lamplighters land in Shirehampton to unfurl their picnic rugs for a peaceful demonstration against the Council's possible plans, under their Parks and Green Spaces Strategy, to put The Daisy Field and Lamplighters Land up for building development.

Over 250 people turned up to Shire's Big Picnic, which is a formidable demonstration of just how much this land is valued by the people in Shirehampton. And sitting there on the grass beside the river, it is easy to see why. This land is one of Bristol's beauty spots. For most cities, this area would be the jewel in their crown. It would be madness to build over it.

It was also very good to see people of all ages sitting down together as a community. Shire's Big Picnic demonstrated that although good facilities for play are important, with just a picnic rug, a bit of food and the company of your friends, family and neighbours, a wonderful day can be had by all.

Lots of people have said to me that Shire's Big Picnic should become an annual event. I am hoping that our campaigning will safeguard this land so Shire's Big Picnic can become a stapel part of the local calendar for many years to come.

If you would like to do your bit to protect the Daisy Field and Lamplighters Land from building development, please sign Cllr. Siobhan Kennedy-Hall's petition HERE

Giving the public the real say on the future of Shire's green spaces

Last night I was at a meeting discussing the future of Shirehampton's Daisy Field and part of the Lamplighters land under the Council's Parks and Green Spaces Strategy. That's the strategy whereby areas of land are identified as 'low value', sold off for housing, in order to enhance remaining areas.

The hoards of people pictured here, however, are not the meeting. They are members of the public who were unable to get into the meeting - and to whom an unfortunate council officer gave an impromptu talk and took questions.

For a full version of what happened, read my Daily Mail blog HERE

But in short the whole thing has ignited great public anger -

1. Because asking the people of Shirehampton to sell off the green space they have left in order to 'enhance' the rest with things like sports facilities and a swimming pool, when there is the scar of the demolished old pool, and the mausoleum of the derelict Robin Cousins centre down the road seems to many absurd to the point of being insulting.

2. Trying to alleviate the public's concern about democratic procedure by asking the public to wait until the formal public consultation to put forward their views does not help: People in Shirehampton have objected in the strongest possible terms to so many decisions about their community to apparently no avail, that , as one lady put it, people wonder "What kind of public objection would it take to change decisions under consultation?"

3. In all the opinion gaining exercises the Council is conducting as to what people in Shirehampton want done with their green space, the overwhelming and simple answer is "Please, please just leave it alone! but reopen our closed facilities and maintain our land better". That's the answer. But it doesn't seem to be sinking in...

If you feel strongly about this issue, you can sign a petition online against the designation of The Daisy Field and Lamplighters land as 'low value' by clicking HERE.

Bottled

out

Listen Gordon; Democracy is The Opposition

I was struck by an assumption made by someone posting a reply on 'rare steak, about to get rarer?' on this blog. They assumed that I would not print their reply because they made a case (a very reasonable case) against what I had to say.

Underlying this assumption was an expectation that all politicians have a yearning to eradicate any opposition to their point of view. To create an Orwellian 1984 where opposition is either distorted to agreement, or wiped out completely. Where all that is left of democracy is a rather pathetic and unsubstantiated conviction, held by a systematically brainwashed population who are pelted with a shower of meaningless language, that they are living in one.

When I was at the Conservative Conference, I asked a journalist ( who was definitely NOT a Tory) what the Labour party conference was like. I was amazed at his reply.
" It was sinister". He said.
" For the first time I heard a politician say he wanted to annihilate the opposition completely." He was referring to Gordon Brown saying that he wanted to wipe out the Conservative Party once and for all.

That is much more significant than just saying you want to win an election and beat the others. That is not saying you think you are the best party to run the country. That is saying you want power above all else. That is saying that Power for the Labour Party is more important than democracy. By implication, that is tantamount to a dictatorship.

I do not think that power for any party is more important than democracy. Annoying as it might be for a candidate, I am pleased that I have opposition candidates to compete with, and in the interests of democracy, I would never wish to see any party (except those inciting prejudiced hatred) 'wiped out'.

But that is why Gordon Brown rearranged his visit to Iraq - to 'annihilate' all coverage of his opponents' party conference. That is also why he made announcements on the NHS early. To drown out the voice of Her Majesty's Loyal Opposition.

At the end of his conference speech, Gordon Brown said ' I will not let you down'. Remember, at a Party Conference, the leader is not addressing the country, (s)he is addressing his party. Gordon Brown was not promising to serve his country, but promising his party that he would give them unopposed power.

That marks a fundamental shift in the aims of our Government.

Police Questioning: A dark day for democracy

This afternoon, John Yates, the police inspector in charge of the cash for honours inquiries, was pushed in front of the press to defended his decision to continue investigations into Tony's cronies. Blair gave some heart-rending sob story about how dreadful it was for his staff to have undergone investigation. 'terrible even traumatic', he said. He may say a few formulaic words about the police just doing their duty, but in fact directs our eyes accusingly to the terrible fiend who has had the cold-hearted malevolence to put such delicate and sensitive creatures as Ruth Turner and Lord Levy in the spotlight.

This extraordinary silent retaliation against the police investigators is the most significant and sinister aspect of the entire "Cash for Honours" saga.

Am I the only one to be amazed that a professional police inspector has to defend his decision to investigate where the evidence led him, regardless of the outcome? I find it absolutely extraordinary that thanks to some emotional spin from the Government, egged along by the tone of BBC coverage, the implicit finger of accusation points at the police for doing their job. Would the public have thanked the police if they had listened to Tony's affirmations that everyone in no.10 'is a pretty straight kind of bloke really' , and then said ' oh well, they seem a nice bunch, we don't want to upset anybody. Let's let this whole question of the corruption of our Government lie"?

There are two sorts of political events: Enormous tectonic plate-shifts, where our entire perception of who we are and how the world works is shifted and then there are the rags of yesterdays newspapers that blow about on the top.

This extraordinary silent retaliation against the police investigators is the most significant and sinister aspect of the entire "Cash for Honours" saga. The day when you're ostracised for even daring to question Government is a very dark day indeed. And today, the tectonic plates shifted a good deal near.