Personal Statement to European Movement Members

 As some will know, I have been a members rep on the National Council of the European Movement since 2017. During that time, I have got to know other members of the Council and have gained some insight into what they really think. Firstly, they are all passionate Europeans. Otherwise, why would they be members of the European Movement?   

However, some seem unable to entirely leave their party political allegiances “outside of the room”. That is an increasing cause for concern for me. There seems to be an element amongst the pro European Community, who are promoting the concept of a “progressive alliance” against the Tories. Given that a substantial number of Conservative voters, voted to remain in the 2016 referendum, I ask people to reflect on how talk about a “progressive alliance” might sound to them.

The Government we have today is not a Conservative Government; it is a Brexit Government. In order to see the back of this Brexit Government , I take the view that will need an alliance which includes pro European voices associated with Conservativism.  We will need to persuade those 39% of Conservative voters who voted to remain, that the path that this Brexit Government masquerading as a Conservative Government is pursuing is not in our national interest.

That is why I feel that we need to include a Conservative voice in the leadership of our movement. A voice that has experience of working with other Europeans at the European Parliament in Brussels, a voice that will add to the public diversity of our movement, and a voice that will reach out to those Conservative voters with pro European sentiment, whose support we will need in taking our nation back to the heart of Europe.

This is why, I am endorsing Sajjad Karim in the elections for Vice Chair of the European Movement, and encourage you to support him as your 1^st choice candidate in those elections. 

Facebook link: Sajjad Karim for Vice Chair European Movement

Twitter link: @Saj4InclusiveEM

You Tube Channel Sajjad Karim for Vice Chair of EMUK

History offers a perspective for the present

I am making this post to bring a bit of perspective into the corona virus debate. As is often the case, I make no apology in saying that we should learn from our history to make sense of the present.

In 1908 whilst serving as Mayor of the City of Westminster my 1st cousin 3 times removed, Spalding born Robert Woolley Walden, a trained pharmacist presided the Annual Meeting of the Westminster Health Society during which the guest speaker Richard Burdon Haldane, Liberal MP for Livingstone (later Lord Haldane), whose sister Elizabeth Sanderson Haldane was a major campaigner for reform in healthcare stated that the best form of public health work was prevention.

He went on to say that he hoped that a forth coming report of the Poor Law Commission would get done on a large scale what Westminster City Council was already doing by implementing the principle of the "Elberfield system".

Under this system, voluntary help was given under expert guidance making systematic visits directed to definite cases, and compiling records invaluable to the Public Health Officer.

In all 11,000 cases had been visited and searched out at a comparatively small cost. Assistance had been given which made in many cases the difference between health and sickness, and well being and misery to the children of a great many families. He hoped that the example at Westminster would be widely followed.

At the beginning of the last century Robert Woolley Walden was a member of the Metropolitan Asylums Board. This body was described as being responsible for running England's first state hospitals in the book about its history by Gwendoline M Ayers published by the Wellcome Institute for Medicine in 1971.

The board came into being thanks to no small part played by Florence Nightingale who had campaigned for nursing reforms in the workhouse infirmaries calling for properly trained nurses.

The board operated between 1867 and 1930 and by 1900 had gained a reputation for its isolation hospitals set up to care for those suffering from infectious diseases such as smallpox, scarlet fever, diptheria, typhoid, whooping cough and measles. By the time that Robert Woolley Walden was appointed Chair of the Board in 1913 the board was responsible for providing some 10,000 beds in the Metropolitan area of London.

This was a time when there was no cure for these diseases, but the policy of isolation hospitals spoke for itself. Today's call for self isolation for those who may have corona virus is surely the modern day equivalent of that policy.

To bring the statistics of corona virus into proportion, a report of the Metropolitan Asylums Board's first meeting under Robert Woolley Walden's Chairmanship reported in The Times of 8th September 1913, in the preceding fortnight, the boards hospitals had admitted 852 patients, 30 had died, and 952 had been discharged.

A total of 3,307 patients were under treatment made up as follows:-

Scarlet Fever 2,135; Diptheria 762; Whooping Cough 225; Measles 134; Enteric Fever (Typhoid) 37; Puerperal sepsis 11; Other diseases 3.

There were 487 patients in the Turberculosis sanitoria; 2,265 children in childrens hospitals and homes and 7,758 patients in the asylums for the mentally ill.

When faced with infectious diseases, there were no magic bullets - just basic education about hygiene. With no cure yet for corona virus we must follow the same principles. It made all the difference then - it will make all the difference now.

Throughout this time were public gatherings banned? Not that I am aware of. However if the medical experts consider they should be then that is advice we should accept.

Something to build upon

A few weeks ago, I launched a petition aimed at Network Rail calling on them to clean up their land under the Steppingstone Railway Footbridge in Spalding. On Wednesday & Thursday of last week that petition delivered results. 

Network Rail spent two days on the site and have cleaned up both sides of the railway line and have cut back a lot of the vegetation. Whilst it is not a Garden of Eden, it does at least give an impression that we do care about our town. 

From Park Road 

On Wednesday, I spoke to the man from Network Rail in charge of the team and he informed me that he felt that a bin on the Kings Road side of the bridge might go some way to alleviating the issue. I tend to agree. There are two bins on the Park Road side of the bridge, yet nothing on the Kings Road side of the bridge. Indeed the nearest bin is at the bus station. Whilst you would like to think that people would take their litter with them, that is clearly not happening.

He also mentioned that Spalding along with Boston and a few other towns that have been most affected 

Park Road side

by immigration were amongst some of the worst areas for trackside litter in the region. It was disappointing to hear this. It is certainly the case that the area does see anti social behaviour in the form of street drinking and it is inevitable that someone under the influence of alcohol is more likely to be careless than someone who isn't, but does that excuse them? I conclude not. There are some who blame immigrants for this problem. I don't. I blame people who are litterbugs. Where they come from is irrelevant. 

Kings Road side

So where do we go from here? Well apart from the requirement for a bin, I think that some signs on the fencing encouraging people not to drop litter might help the situation, but I also think it is important to understand why a small sector of our community are driven to drink on the streets of Spalding. 

Kings Road side

One theory I have is that as many live in houses of multiple occupation, those who do want a drink after  work set out to be considerate to others living in their household who may be working different shifts, and end up being inconsiderate to everyone else.

If I am right, how do we encourage them to be considerate to all? Here are a few random thoughts.

Should Spalding have pub with different licensing hours? Or indeed just a centre where workers can go and spend time with others?

Sacks of waste removed.

Should there be more Outreach teams deployed in the town to speak to the individuals concerned ? 

Should the area be checked out on a regular basis bu law enforcement agencies in order to identify those responsible? 

Should a combination of the above be undertaken? Quiet possibly.

I don't have the answers to be able to suggest how this issue can be prevented from happening again, other than perhaps the visual impact that has been highlighted by this issue, may persuade some to accept that it is unfair to leave litter in this way. I hope so.

One final thought that is disturbing, is that the crew identified some areas that had been used for rough sleeping on both sides of the railway line - making the need for Outreach teams more important.

Having recently been elected Chair of the Spalding & District Civic Society, I am pleased that I have been able to contribute a little bit towards restoring pride in our community. I hope to be able to do more in future.

My petition to Network Rail: Clean up Steppingstone Railway Footbridge!

On most days I walk to work using a railway footbridge in Spalding called Steppingstone Railway Footbridge. It is a very popular bridge as it connects up the Wygate area of Spalding with the Town Centre and is used by pedestrians and cyclists of all ages. 

Over the years as Spalding has changed one of the challenges that our community is facing is that of litterbugs. People who thoughtlessly discard litter without thinking of the consequences. Eventually sooner or later someone has to pick it up.

I gave the bridge a thorough clean a couple of years ago and I was quite pleased with the end results even if it did cost me a broom!

Since then thanks to the sterling efforts of other volunteers, it is longer the mud bath for your feet that it once was.

However, no volunteer or paid council employee can do anything about the issue I am highlighting. Litter that has been discarded over the bridge and is now adorning land owned by Network Rail. It is now a complete eyesore. 

It is a statutory duty of Network Rail to clean up litter on their land. They acknowledge this on their website 

Under this very busy footbridge in Spalding they have failed to do so. This bridge connects the Spalding town centre with the Wygate area of Spalding and is used by families and individuals of all ages.

Unfortunately it has also at times seen antisocial behaviour in the form of street drinking which has resulted in a build up of cans and bottles over a number of years. Spalding has had a litter problem in recent years and volunteers are now making efforts to address this.

In 2012 Network Rail made efforts to clear the site  and sought to work with British Transport Police to tackle those responsible. Calls were also made for additional litter bins. Whilst efforts were made to improve the bridge there has been a failure to maintain the land on a regular basis.

Underneath the vegetation which by some miracle has continued to grow,the amount of litter is now huge.I took this photo in 2016 when Network Rail decided to cut back the vegetation which has now grown back. 

Is this acceptable to you?

I don't find it acceptable and have tried to do something about it seeing as our local Councillors have failed in their efforts and seemingly given up. They certainly are not making much public noises about it. 

•  In 2018 I reported the issue to Network Rail only to receive a response to the effect that that no manpower was available.
• Last month I launched a petition which has received a response from Network Rail advising that they will pass it down again to the local area team.

The fact that they acknowledge that it is something that they should do something about is to their credit, but I am concerned that I will be fobbed off again, which is why I am making this public call. Please sign my petition.

The more who sign  my petition the more that they will have to take notice.

My petition not only calls for action to deal with the immediate problem, but also calls on Network Rail, British Transport Police and South Holland District Council to commit to a long term plan to prevent the problem occurring again. 

My petition can be found on Change and I call on all who care about our town to sign it.

Finally a message to those who drop litter:- 

Put it in the bin!

What if..........?

One of my interests is family history. Every so often I come across a gem that I feel should be shared more widely and this is one of those moments. 

During my research I have had the opportunity to read a newspaper report of a municipal conference in Paris involving 115 civic dignitaries from the cities of  Amsterdam, Brussels, Ghent, Liege, The Hague, London, Madrid, Moscow, St Petersburg, and Westminster. One of those attending representing the City of Westminster was then Alderman Robert Woolley Walden my first cousin three times removed. 

The report in the Shoreditch Observer of Saturday 6 June 1914 includes the bold headline "Plea for an Inter-Communal Parliament". Intrigued, I read the report in greater detail and in it there includes a most inspirational speech by M. Chassaigne-Goyon, President of the Paris Municipal Council which I want to share in full:-

“It is to England, to London, that I address my first welcome, to your admirable City which was praised by Tacitus, and the municipal organisation of which goes back to the days of the Magna Charta. There is nothing equal to the majesty of London, where each monument, each tomb, each stone brings to us a great and virile lesson in patriotism and national continuity, as well as the charm and beauty set in relief by their contrasts. What a prodigious animation, what unrivalled activity in the City, in those immense docks, those world-famed warehouses, which it would be necessary to have visited in order to understand your national character, compounded of concentrated energy, reflective will-power, and methodical and conscientious heroism.

What delicious freshness, what an impression of calm satisfaction are on the other hand evoked by your parks, the luxuriant vegetation of which creates the illusion of being far away in the country. What sweetness and grace are to be found in these homes, where you shelter your family virtues, and of which we were privileged in 1905 to taste the charm and delicious intimacy, a truly ideal framework for this British, reserve, hiding such cultivated minds, and such fine and delicate sentiments. What poetry in this incomparable view over the Thames, which your gentle sunlight plays, delicately shadowed by grey smoke tempered with white puffs of steam, which like a gauze veil, painted with gold, envelopes those Gothic monuments of Westminster, true marvels of architecture, those palaces of the seventeenth and eighteenth centuries, where we have had the honour of being received by you. We shall ever have present in our minds the splendour of that festival at the Guildhall, where all your nobility of blood, heart, and intelligence gave such a beautiful tribute of honour to our respected President of the Republic, who, in your eyes, embodied France.

My discourse would be but a repetition if I wished to set forth all the beauties of the cities where so generous and luxurious a hospitality has been offered to us. Our close proximity has permitted us repeatedly to accept the kind invitations of Belgian municipalities. The reception by your capital and your great cities, gentlemen, was a genuine competition in attentions in an atmosphere of charm and elegance. 

Brussels, with her aristocratic thoroughfares, has preserved the centre of so modern a city that marvellous group of ancient architecture, bearing witness to the heroism of your ancestors, which makes the square of your Hotel de Ville an unrivalled museum in stone. Nothing is more flattering to us than to hear your capital described as a second Paris. “Can Antwerp not attribute to herself what Taine said of Rubens: ' He enjoyed creating worlds!' Is not your enormous port and your prosperous city so rich in artistic treasures, a very world?

In the picturesque Walloon country of proverbial activity, Liege rises up, industrious, smart and proud upon the smiling banks of the Meuse. The warm sympathy you showed us there four years ago will remain among our most pleasant recollections. It seems like yesterday to me that we were received at Ghent with such friendly courtesy, where the splendours of horticultural exhibitions were side by side with your incomparable exhibitions of Flemish art, your belfry which rang out the freedom of the communes, and the feudal monuments of your “prodigious city as Albert Durer called it.

Is not the vessel which figures in the coat-of arms of the City Paris the living symbol of the warm sympathy uniting our capital to that of Denmark? Between the shores of the blue watered Sound, as on our river, the picturesque prow the valorous Vikings floats gaily, proudly ' over the swan's road.’

It would need the riches of the Castillian tongue to describe the reception given us by Madrid, where we spent some fairy-like hours last autumn. The renowned and chivalric courtesy of that glorious nation was a powerful fairy, foreseeing wishes, outstripping desire. Better than the flowers, even, were the radiant Spanish girls, adding beauty to the gate of Toledo; the ancient stones were enlivened by their youth, their grace and the pearl of Spain ornamented these monuments of antiquity with a living smile. For a moment I coveted the riches of Calderon’s language. ' It would need Eastern poetry as well to praise sparkling Andalusia.

Are not the beautiful flowing waters also one of the most beautiful ornaments of The Hague, where they wind gracefully through the eternal verdure of their flowery banks? In your City, royal, wealthy, distinguished, beautiful, enframed by a forest which seems to bring a fresh dowry of coolness each morning, the mirror of the Vyver reflects the Mauritshuis and the Binnenhof, whence the mighty souvenirs of your history live over again, beside the immortal works of your masters. What a sublime page you would add to this history, if in the splendid Palace of Peace, inaugurated last year, you should succeed in erecting dyke against war?

A dyke, is not that the very heart of Amsterdam? proud city rising like Venus out of the waters, city of refuge open all the proscribed, immutably true to its traditions, impassioned for independence, whose museums with their eternal masterpieces, the canals with their pure waters beautifully shaded, the vast harbour, where giant steamers, dainty sailing ships, and heavy caravels but lately left an indelible impression upon us.

On the delta of the Neva, where the majestic river becomes a branch of the sea, there is St. Petersburg, a centre of intellectual, economic and political life ; a city hospitable beyond any. The noble regularity of its views, brightened by the bright colours of the houses, surmounted by the gilded cupolas of your cathedrals, and the bold spire the Admiralty, is worthy of a great nation. Along the splendid quays, bounded by the pink granite of Finland, the Neva bathes innumerable palaces, museums, with priceless masterpieces, an ancient citadel, and its charming islands, as beautiful in the soft spring nights as in their winter dress. From his gigantic pedestal Peter the Great watches over his capital, so poetically described by your immortal Pouchkine.

It is the first time that a large city has seen together, called by its Municipal Council, such numerous and important delegations from foreign municipalities. Allow me to hope that it will not be the last, and that this day marks an epoch, the point of departure of a new era in the history of inter-communal and international relations. 

I believe that for the historians of the future the most characteristic feature of our time will perhaps be the irresistible movement leading men to unite in each country, and each country with another, where common interests draw them together, or similar conditions of life or identical aspirations. For the last fifty years we have seen International Conferences created, where, periodically, the chiefs amongst the politicians and lawyers of the great civilised nations, by studying, by discussing the complex and difficult questions, raised by the organisation of work and other important problems of social life, learn to know one another, to understand one another, and to appreciate one another ; we have seen, on the initiative of a large hearted monarch, all the powers concerting, and all the desires for peace of our epoch taking shape in the Conference of the Hague.

INTER-COMMUNAL PARLIAMENT 

Why should we not endeavour to establish among us a system of permanent relations, allowing us to share experiences, confide our attempts to one another, study together the causes of our successes and failures? 

It is certain that work would not be lacking in this kind of inter-communal parliament. The problems which the development of the modern city lays before us are practically the same for all latitudes, and do not cease to grow in extent and importance. Everywhere the country is becoming depopulated, and the workers are migrating to the towns; everywhere poverty, the overcrowding of slum dwellings, ignorance of the laws of hygiene, favour the spread of tuberculosis, and of epidemics generally. 

• What is the method suitable to adopt in order ensure the normal extension of the city? 
• How is the struggle against poverty and slums to be conducted? 
• How is knowledge of and respect for the laws of hygiene to be propagated amongst the workers?
• How shall a comfortable and healthy lodging at a reasonable price be procured for them and what method should govern the establishment of the budget of a great city?
• What is the best way of managing the great communal services? 

So many questions which, imperiously demand our attention and upon which it would be of the greatest interest to exchange views, require solution by us. “But, gentlemen, however great the practical importance of our meetings might be, their moral compass would be still greater. In the profoundly troublous period we are going through, where rival ambitions are searching for a perpetually unstable equilibrium, have not all often had the impression that, the forces of peace and the forces of war being practically equal, an imprudent movement, or a passionate movement, would be enough for a misunderstanding cleverly worked to let loose on the world a frightful catastrophe? 

It depends upon us to constitute an incomparable peace force by establishing from city to city an ever closer network of friendship, and with ever closer bonds. More free than the governments of our respective countries to follow the inspirations of our hearts, more representative on account of the order with which we are invested than simply private individuals, we can have our own role, quite our own, in preparing and consolidating these friendly relations which, propagated from country to country, will end, one day—l hope soon —by encircling the Universe.”

This speech was given on 2 June 1914. Just eight weeks later World War One broke out.

Makes you think does it not? What would have happened if such a Parliament had been established? What if the forces of peace had held sway against rival ambitions? How many millions of lives would have been saved?

Those who claim that NATO is the foundation of peace in Europe, are wrong in my view. The foundation of peace is the European Movement that Winston Churchill and others established as the anecdote to the tragedy that beset Europe in the 30 years that followed this speech. We should as a nation be seeking to nurture the European Movement at a time when once again those who promote nationalist rivalries are making ill informed attempts to unravel it all. 

Why have we, the nation that has stood up twice to the forces of nationalism that have come close to destroying Europe in the last century, reached a point where we consider that we have no role to play in that which we have helped to build? Why are we entertaining the values of nationalism that has been responsible for claiming millions of lives? We should - nay must reject those values and consign them to the past once and for all.

A way towards a brighter Christmas

There have been a number of comments recently regarding the poor Christmas light displays in Spalding and Boston. Indeed they do seem poorer with local authorities blaming the cost of providing them.  In Lincolnshire we also have a County Council that is now turning lights of at night because it can't afford to pay for them. This is the same County Council that decided to take a stance against wind farms simply based on a survey completed by just 4,000 people.

A brighter alternative vision

Blackpool Tower and North Pier

Blackpool is world famous for it's illuminations and you might wonder how if our local authorities cannot afford to pay for Christmas lights or for street lighting at night, how can Blackpool afford the illuminations without bankrupting the local authority or making rates so expensive so as to force the average Blackpool B & B out of business. The answer is simple. Some years ago a wind farm was built off the coast of Blackpool. Part of this wind farm was set aside to power the illuminations, with the surplus energy being sold to the National Grid. The income from this has funded modernisation of the lights in Blackpool and the system is now carbon neutral thanks to the introduction of LED lighting.

Blackpool illuminations

Now that the lights are going off in Lincolnshire, could it be that the stance taken by Lincolnshire County Council against wind energy was somewhat short sighted? Could they not ask the Wind farm providers in the North Sea to join a similar scheme so that Lincolnshire residents can see at night any enjoy a brighter Christmas in future?

UKIP and the European Union - Why I believe they are wrong

I saw the report on The Lincolnite about the Visit of UKIP's deputy leader Paul Nuttall to Lincoln and started this as a response on Facebook. As it ended up as an essay, I have decided instead to post it here.

To my mind there is the UKIP version of the European Union facts and the real version of the European Union. The facts that UKIP and some in the Brexit campaign spread are not backed by evidence. Now I am not going to claim that the European Union is perfect - far from it. There are many ways that it could be improved and I hope that after a vote to Remain in the European Union, those who have engaged positively in the debate will be willing to join organisations such as European Movement UK so that the question of what kind of Europe we would like to see can be discussed in a genuine way without any hindrance of party politics. The question of Britain's relationship with the European Union cannot be allowed to fester for another generation - back in 1975 leaders of the No campaign accepted that they had lost. That should have been the end of the matter - indeed many at the time accepted that it was.

Since 1975 we have had two key treaties that reformed what was then the EEC. The Maastricht Treaty that established the European Union and the concept of monetary union (the Euro) and the Lisbon Treaty which took into account changes that were necessary with the accession of new countries into the Union. In neither case did the Governments of the day allow a referendum on those treaties. I have always felt that this was a mistake. Other Countries had referenda on these treaties that resulted in changes being made to take into account the views of individual nations and also allowed an opportunity for people within those nations to find out more about how the European Union worked. We were not denied those referenda by the European Union, we were denied them by our National Parliament. If we had, had the opportunity to have a say I believe that there would be a more settled view on the European Union and Britain's relationship with it.

As it is we now face a decision to Remain in the European Union or to risk the uncertainties that leaving the European Union would entail. I believe on balance that we are better of remaining within the European Union, I also believe that the debate we are having is one that may aid the calls for reform of the European Union to make the decision making process more transparant so that we can see how those rules are made. If they were transparant then some of the myths that are coming out from the Leave campaign would be seen for what they are.

The rules from the European Union are not made by unelected Commissioners. The Commissioners simply make proposals that are then discussed and debated by the elected European Parliament and Elected Ministers from each Nation http://ec.europa.eu/atwork/decision-making/index_en.htm. In the vast majority of cases the original proposals are changed during that process and some never come into being. A recent and tragic example is the handling of the Syrian refugee crisis. The idea of sharing refugees between all member states is one that seems to be dead in the water. What ever you might think of the original proposal from the European Commission, what more evidence could you want that the European Commission make our laws? If they did then the sharing of Syrian refugees would have been in place long ago.

In any case, it is a matter of fact that many of our politicians take proposals put forward by Think Tanks and other pressure groups which are then drafted by Civil Servants. Are they not unelected?

No one can be blind to the changes in population demographics in the south of the county. I see them first hand every day, but as whenever I travel to other parts of the county, I do not see the same affects of a significant change in the nationality of the local population. This visual impression is backed up by the statistics from the 2011 census. Check them out on Research Lincs. It is only the areas in the south east of the county that have seen changes that have been rapid. But have they? I can remember at the turn of the millenium when there were a lot of Spanish and Portuguese in the area. Today they are few and far between. This is what the free movement of people means. They can come here for work, but they can equally return home just as easily.

It is also a matter of fact that farmers and growers cannot recruit locally born workers these days. Agricultural and horticultural work is hard, and in many cases requires a very early start and is on minimum wage. It is the kind of work that many young people don't want to do. Furthermore if you look at the unemployment statistics for the area it is actually low. EU citizens do not come here to take work from British Citizens. They come here to do for jobs that would otherwise be hard to fill.

The issues that rapid population change has caused should be addressed by providing resources and encouragement to local authorities to address them. Such a decision is a National one. Lincolnshire has been short changed of resources and instead of clamouring to leave the European Union, with all the risk that entails we should be calling with one single voice on central government to provide the extra resources to address the very issues that UKIP have identified as affecting our county.

Thoughts on Theresa May Conservative Party Conference speech & what she is does not seem to understand

Being at Work I was unable to see Theresa May’s speech to the 2015 Conservative Party Conference in full. I have however seen the reaction to it and have seen some snippets. She cites the example of the Huguenot’s. This country took in 50,000 Huguenot refugees. Far more than the 20,000 Syrian refugee’s being proposed today. She also says that refugees should seek refuge in the first safe country – there is merit in that, but is Turkey safe?  Certainly not all of it.  

Are the Greek Islands the most suitable first refuge?

Many refugees only feel safe when they have successfully made that hazardous boat journey to mainland Europe. In the case of the Greek Island’s what are they supposed to do when they get there? Remain on the Islands?  Does Mrs May know how small the Greek Island are? Lesvos is the biggest. But there is also Kos.  Lets compare London, Lesvos & Kos. The maps below are to the same scale.

Lesvos

Kos

London area

The London area is far bigger than either Lesvos or Kos. One thing that the maps at this scale do not show is the landscape of the area. In the London area there is nowhere that could be classed as inhabitable. Lets look at Kos.

Kos from Marmari area

Kos up in the mountains

Kos from Zia village

Tigaki, Kos from Zia village with island of Pserimos

Mountains over Zia village

Tigaki, Kos from Zia village with island of Pserimos

Lesvos also has many similar mountainous areas that are not inhabitable. Just where are the refugees supposed to live if they are to remain on the Greek Islands Mrs May. In caves? On the beaches?

If sense prevails anyone can see that it is not an option for all of the refugees to remain on the Islands. OK take them to the mainland. Except the mainland also has a lot of inhabitable mountainous areas.  Even if geographical facts are overlooked how is Greece with its own economic woes supposed to support all of the refugees who arrive on her shores? As Europeans we should be helping out our fellow Europeans the Greeks in offering alternative refuge in just the same way we help them defeat the tyranny of Nazi occupation.

There is no such thing as "Can't"

In another part of Mrs May’s speech, she said:-

“…when immigration is too high, when the pace of change is too fast, it’s impossible to build a cohesive society.  It’s difficult for schools and hospitals and core infrastructure like housing and transport to cope.”

I agree – we have seen the effects of this in Lincolnshire & the Fens, where we have migrants from other parts of Europe who have come here for employment. Our Agricultural and Food processing businesses which feed the country would grind to a halt without them. Not only that, our health service would also suffer as there are many who are now employed by our hospitals. The area has been put under intense strain – but the reason is not extra population. It is a lack of investment into housing, schools, doctor surgeries. Local councils of all political hues have been pointing this out for years in Boston, Spalding and Wisbech just to mention a few.  

In an area where the indigenous population is ageing we needed the vitality that comes with young people who have chosen to come here and do work that many British people don’t want to do and by golly most of them work hard. There are of course some who cause problems with anti social behaviour, but the same can be said of some British. There are some who break the rule of law through ignorance or deliberately. We should educate those who are ignorant of our laws and punish those who commit deliberate acts. and in the worse cases seek to repatriate them to their country of origin. They would not get away with some of their actions at home, so why should they here? We should also look at whether it is reasonable to pay children tax credits & child benefit where the children are living overseas. However these are, I would contend, minority examples.

Most workers who have come from the Eastern Countries of Europe are law abiding, tax paying citizens. We should be encouraging them to integrate into Society by supporting the teaching of English and by allowing them to partake in our democracy by encouraging them to become British citizens.

History tells us that many Huguenots settled in the area. Many descendants are unaware that once their ancestors were considered outsiders and viewed with suspicion in just the same way that Mrs May's speech will fuel.

The inference of  the statement made by Mrs May is that “We can’t” Can’t is not a word that anyone with an entrepreneurial  spirit would recognise. We can build the core infrastructure and we must. We should not be peddling the language that stokes up racial tension & prejudice.

Holbeach development and long term effects on healthcare in South Holland

I am writing this just after the announcement that the application to build  900 new homes on the south western edge of Holbeach. Of these just 300 will be "affordable". Will that be enough? Time will tell.

Whilst it is pleasing to note that the planner will be contributing to a new school and other infrastructure improvements in Holbeach and that it has already been accepted that the Medical care facilities in Holbeach require an overhaul, I hope that the planned new medical centre is built before any significant development on the Manor Farm site begins. Indeed I believe it is right to ask the question whether the new medical centre will be sufficient to cope not only with a 3,000 increase in population that the latest plan means but also has capacity for at least three times the amount as the area west of Holbeach bounded by the A17 and A151 will be an obvious site for future development and clearly there will be some smaller scale development in close by villages over the next 20 years. If a new medical centre is to be built, it must be future proof.

The population of Holbeach Town in 2011 was 7,346 and that of Fleet was 2,136. A total of 9,482. The addition of 900 new homes over a period of time will increase that by a third. Here is another statistic. In 2001 the combined population of Spalding & Holbeach Economic zone was 72,721. This had increased to 84,126 by 2011. An increase of 11,500. The 900 homes proposed for Holbeach combined with long term plans for Spalding will probably mean that by 2031 the population could have increased by a further 10,000 plus. 

If we consider the population of the Boston economic zone, in 2001 it was 68,105 but by 2011 had increased to 77,532. Therefore Spalding & Holbeach are growing faster than Boston and this is probably due to proximity to Peterborough and the A1 as much as any other reason.

Why am I flagging this? It is clear that the resources of Boston Pilgrim Hospital are being increasingly stretched. An increase of 10,000 in Spalding & Holbeach plus the increase that Boston will also see - lets say its also 10,000 will result in a 20,000 total increase from 2011, or more strikingly 40,000 plus from 2001! This represents a 1/3rd overall increase in population from 2001.

The Johnson Community Hospital opened in 2009 already seems incapable of offering much in the way of diagnosis. It has no CT scanning facilities and the blood test facilities are limited. This means that people from Spalding & Holbeach have to travel to Boston for such diagnostic tests. Given that Boston Pilgrim is already showing signs of strain and given that population growth seems to be higher in Spalding & Holbeach, I believe that the time has come to consider whether it is now time to ensure that Johnson Community Hospital has more diagnosis facilities so that the residents of South Holland do not have to undertake the trip up to Boston.

It is time for the cost of Healthcare in the UK to be transparently funded

The National Insurance Act of 1911 had two strands – provision of medical benefits and provision of a time limited Unemployment benefit. It followed on from the Old Age Pensions Act of 1908 which provided a small non contributory pension for the over 70’s. The principles behind these two Acts formed part of the great Social Welfare Reforms of the pre World War One Liberal Government that have stood the test of time. The next inevitable step was the creation of the National Health Service and the post World War two Welfare reforms following the Beverage Report.

The concept that National Insurance contributions formed the basis of a savings pot for a basic state pension and also was to fund health care provision was a concept that clearly was embraced by the British public. This is why that National Health Service is such an important issue today. People care about it and want to see it protected & properly funded.

It is no secret that successive Governments have dipped into the pension element of our “pension pots” that have been built up from our National Insurance Contributions. It is the real tangible implication of Government borrowing. The new pension regime that the Labour Government under Gordon Brown introduced which the Coalition Government carried forward to implementation is testament to that. It ensures that contributions into the “National Employee Savings Trust” (NEST) or into funds provided by Personal Pension providers are protected from future Governments and they will no longer be able to borrow from our pension savings. This means that the pressures on our National Insurance Savings pots are reduced.

However  there is no transparent link between the cost of all elements of health care and the National Insurance Contributions that we pay. Given that we now have sophisticated Computer Accounting Software that makes it far easier and quicker to collate the costs of providing a service, I think it is time to completely overhaul the way our National Health Service is funded so that it can be transparent as to how much our health care costs are and that it is equally clear how they are funded from specific forms of taxation raised by the Government. Any reduction in funding would then be clearly seen.  Not just rhetoric about ring fencing the NHS budget but actually doing so in a way that it can be seen that it is ring fenced. In short, taking health care out of the political agenda

Firstly I think we need to look at how much the NHS together with all aspects of health care both physical & mental elements regardless of whether that is provided by the NHS, local authority or the voluntary sector and link that cost with specific taxes. The following list of taxes should automatically go to the health care budget.

• All forms of taxes paid by tobacco & alcohol companies as well as VAT & other duties collected at the point of sale.
• An element of road taxation and fuel duties to account for the cost of accidents.
• An element of taxation collected on the sale of unhealthy foods (high fat & high sugar). Perhaps even a small targeted increase in VAT to encourage companies to really look at the content of processed foods.
• All taxes paid by the pharmaceutical sector and on the sale of medicines.
• All taxes paid by private health insurance companies.

This would still leave a big hole. Whilst we have National Insurance, the concept of a direct link which was first conceived by Lloyd George's 1911 National Insurance Act has all but been broken. Not only that with the medical breakthroughs that there have been, the actual cost of treatments available are way beyond that envisaged during the Edwardian era. We need to modernise the concept of the 1911 Act.

• Employer's National Insurance Contributions should be abolished - they are seen as & are a tax on jobs. This also removes a tax on the NHS and other health care service providers to provide health workers.
• Abolition of NHS prescription charges. They are a punitive tax on being ill.
• Instead there should be a specific flat rate “Health Care Insurance” tax chargeable to all individuals (over a certain threshold) & Companies. The rate should be specifically linked to the cost of health care not covered by other taxes already highlighted thereby ensuring that if the cost of health care increased, the cost of that increase was automatically met by an adjustment to the tax rates covering health care.
• The part that private health care has to play must be recognised. If a specific tax was paid by employers, they should be able to offset the cost of health care insurance provided to employees against that tax. For the employee, the current status of private health care as a taxable benefit should be removed. How can health care insurance ever be considered a taxable benefit? It should be routine for employers to provide health care insurance to their employees.
• All Local authorities to receive so much a head of population to cover their element of health care services, with the amount being made publicly available. It would then be for the local authority to demonstrate what they have spent that money on and for councillors to defend their record on the decisions made.

This would then leave National Insurance. Whilst there would remain a need for National Insurance to cover entitlement to state benefits the actual rate payable should be reduced for all to account for the health care element being transparently funded. In addition the thresholds for paying contributions should be increased and should be set at the same threshold as the specific “Health Care” Insurance to keep it simple.

The overall tax totals raised may of course be higher than it is now because of the clear need to cover more areas than the NHS currently covers, but surely if people could actually see what they were paying for it would be a price that they would be happier to pay. 

He made sense.... Charles Kennedy 1959-2015

When I mentioned that one of the Liberal Democrat leaders who made sense was Charles Kennedy, little did I imagine that within a few days there would be a very big reminder of exactly why.

His decision to lead the opposition to the Gulf War was one that I respected and I had enormous doubts over the decision to go to War a second time against Saddam Hussein. The first time was one of principle - you cannot invade a neighbour. The second was regime change. It is not right for a country or group of countries to dictate to another country who they have as their leader. Even if that leader is a dictator and a brute towards his own people. Ultimately it is down to the people to rebel, if that is their wish. No country should inter meddle or interfere with the affairs of another independent state.

Today we have been reminded of Charles Kennedy the Politician and have also been reminded of human frailties. It is something that we should remember of all Politicians when we judge their actions. They are above all human. 

My thoughts to family & friends. They have not just lost a Politician and a campaigner for Social Liberalism & Justice. They have lost a father, brother, mentor & friend.

I have joined the Liberal Democrats

I have always had a keen interest in politics and am one of those people who sit up until the birds are stirring on Election Nights to get the results and find myself watching BBC Parliament and the late night political chat programme on BBC1, This Week. 

My interest dates back years but probably inspired by the way the Labour Government of 1974-79 changed the financial fortunes of my parents thanks to high inflation which whittled away the value of the money gained from the sale of the family farm. My father should have got £160,000 but actually got far less thanks to some quirk in the planning rules. The Peterborough Development Corporation were allowed to buy the land at agricultural values as opposed to building land values provided they undertook not to build on it for 10 years. Imagine agricultural land being allowed to go to waste for ten years abandoned to nothing but grazing for the horses of the local Gypsies. The land is now the site of Peterborough Power Station. For me it has always been fundamentally wrong that the land was purchased and just held as part of the land bank until the Development Corporation got around to developing it. 

Other things that happened were that the houses that my Great Grandfather and Grandfather had purchased were compulsory purchased at a knock down price the the Development Corporation and of course my father had to pay Capital Gains Tax on the lot!

No wander the election of Margaret Thatcher was seen as a relief. Out went the high taxation and investment income surcharge of Labour and in came a new era of enterprise and a plan to combat the scourge of inflation that whittled away the value of savings It was too late for my parents. The remnants of high inflation meant that the money had gone, but at least other families would be spared the same plight. As time went by, I found my way in the World of work, I was lucky enough to have John Major as my MP for a while and having met him in the 1983 election campaign and predicted that he would be the next Prime Minister the day Nigel Lawson resigned as Chancellor. 

However the Major years saw a new view from within the Conservative Party - espoused by only a few but enough to make a difference - Euro Scepticism. It was not something that I could reconcile with a party that believed in Free Trade. It seemed obvious to me that if you were going to embrace Free Trade you needed a common set of rules within the participating countries of what was still referred to as the Common Market. Yes there were some crazy things coming out of Brussels, but surely a democratically elected European Parliament would address this? I felt that Europe needed to be more democratic and accountable and this was a start. 

In 1997 the Conservatives were swept from power and the party that I supported, became dominated by Euro Sceptics. My vote was somewhat given grudgingly whilst having some relief that New Labour was not espousing the high taxation policies of old Labour.

However during the 1980's and 1990's something happened in British Politics. The old Liberal party that had made a terrible decision to support the Labour Government of 1974-1979 had changed. It was winning seats at council elections and the Bermondsey by election victory by Simon Hughes in 1983 at the subsequent General Election was proved not to be a fluke, unlike the 1962 Orpington by election that was still being talked about in election night coverage at that time. These Liberals & Social Democrats that appeared on TV media from Paddy Ashdown to Charles Kennedy and Menzies Cambell were making sense even if they would never be able to form a Government, they were a voice of reason, flagging up some of the things that the Thatcher Government was doing. They became a party that I admired and I found myself agreeing with them, most of the time. A few things I didn't like but generally I felt they offered an alternative.

I was not looking at manifestos closely, but I hoped that the rise of the newly formed Liberal Democrat party would be fuel for those within the Conservative Party to stop the right wing and anti Europe rhetoric that was being espoused. It never really happened though did it? David Cameron did modernise the Party, but he is not in the same tradition as Margaret Thatcher or John Major - he was a career Politician, he had never worked in the real World unlike past leaders. Indeed this lack of real World life was something that has been an issue with leaders from the majority of parties and is I believe a key factor in the disillusionment with all political parties.

It was during the first decade of this century that really made me think that the Liberal Democrats had something to say. Vince Cable warned Gordon Brown what was happening to the economy before the credit crunch, and the Liberal Democrats were putting the affects of climate change at the heart of  the political debate and were talking about fairness. Even I accept that owing to the credit crunch the Government had to raise more money in taxation and I agreed it had to be done fairly. Not by the methods used during the 1970's that decimated the savings and assets that families had built up through hard work.

In 2010 the Liberal Democrats came up with the policy to increase the Personal Tax Allowance to £10,000. David Cameron said the country could not afford it. That is not something that I expected to hear from a leader of a party with a tradition of taking people out of taxation. This policy combined with the clear difference on Europe led me to vote for the Liberal Democrats for the first time. In a safe Conservative seat such as South Holland & the Deepings, my vote would not affect the result, but at least my vote was a positive one.

In 2010, the Liberal Democrats did the right thing for the country. We needed a strong and stable Government as we were in a financial situation not too dissimilar from Greece. To be fair the Conservatives offered a genuine coalition and for the first time in nearly 90 years or political tradition the Liberal Democrats entered into Government. During that time they saw through the policy to increase the Personal Tax allowance, they introduced the Green Deal, they introduced the Pupil Premium amongst many contributions to the coalition agreement and they brought about a fair reform to Student Fees. The latter showed a willingness to be responsible and compromise. In my view the party has been unfairly tainted over Student Fees. It is just ONE policy where there had to be compromise. It is what Coalition politics are about. The Conservatives also had to compromise. The Liberal Democrats stopped the Snoopers charter, and they stopped any talk of a Euro Referendum for as long as there was a coalition.

On 7th May 2015, I did not expect to wake up the next day to see a party that I had admired, found myself in increasing agreement with and that had done a pretty good job as a minor voice in coalition 

Government nearly wiped of the political map of the United Kingdom on the 8th May!

We are now faced with a majority Conservative Government that:-

• Wants to take this country out of the European Convention on Human Rights something that a past Conservative Government helped create in 1950, 
• Wants to introduce a law that will allow the monitoring of Emails as routine. This is no different to the routine phone tapping undertaken in the old eastern block communist counties.
• Is promoting English Nationalism in reaction to Scottish Nationalism and risking the breakup of the United Kingdom as a result.
• Is holding a European Referendum that could lead this country sleepwalking of the European stage.
• Does not seem to want to accept Syrian War refugees and seemingly letting Southern Europeans countries such as Greece & Italy that can ill afford to deal with them.
• Has to continue to reduce that National Debt, but is unwilling to share the burden with the very richest in our Society in a fair way.
• Could put our economy at risk as result of the potential exit from the European Union and potential break up of the United Kingdom.
• Wants to force Housing Associations into selling houses at a discount, with no clear plan on how those houses will be replaced.
• Has been elected by a minority of the electorate and will almost certainly not consider introducing electoral reform that this country so desperately needs in light of the 2015 General Election result, meaning there will be even more dissatisfaction and disengagement with UK politics.

Having considered all of the above, I have arrived at an unavoidable conclusion. 

I agree with Nick. 

This country needs Liberalism more than ever which is why I have joined the Liberal Democrats.