2003 and 2004 entries are here.

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31st December 2004 - Blunkett, Police and Christmas
27th November 2004 - School Closures and Sad Events
31st October 2004 - Fallujah, Expenses, Capital Thoughts
25th September 2004 - Bournemouth Sea and Sand
13th August 2004 - Holidays
17th July 2004 - Elections, Keenest Constituent - Trains - Rabbits
13th May 2004 - Staircases and Jazz
28th March 2004 - Personal Encounters, Charles Kennedy, Houses of Commons or Fort Knox
22nd February 2004 - Recess Week, BNP, Small Shops Fightback, Old Houses
9th February 2004 - Diary on the move, Evil empire, House matters
30th January 2004 - Anti Climax, Schizophrenia, Bad Behavoir
18th January 2004 - Drinking on Duty, Manchester in the Rain, Small Busineses
26th December 2003 - Goings-on at the Park, Pop Idol, Southport at Christmas
10th December 2003 - Against the Odds
30th November 2003 - The Car Behind is a Toyota
23rd November 2003 - Fun and Games for Insomniacs
16th November - Identity Cards and Aliens

31st December - Blunkett, Police and Christmas

Usually though Christmas day except in cases of dire emergency is treated as sacred –if not in religious terms ,at least in family terms. Sadly though it’s a rotten time for those who have no family or are neglected by them or who have simply outlived them. For Christmas is a time for memories- an emotion churning time.

It does not hurt people though to have an enforced break from their projects, to step outside their usual role. Dennis Healey warned people against politicians who had no hinterland – no identity or interests outside politics . He came from a generation that had often fought in the war before going into politics. He’d been a beachmaster in Normandy and as an M.P. used to get away from it all for days of twitching (bird watching).

The Liberal Democrat M.P.s who got elected for the first time in 2001 hold an annual dinner prior to Christmas each year – and a feature of that is that we exchange presents i.e. everyone brings one (wrapped up) and chooses one at random. This year I picked up what I took to be a book. Usually this turns out to be a copy of Jo Grimmond’s autobiography (I swear one of my colleagues has a shed full of them )

... but in fact it was the David Blunkett biography.

Reading it you have got to be amazed at his rugged determination to get on in life. His childhood at a blind boarding school was harrowing and the death of his father from falling into a vat of boiling water traumatic. You can understand how he would turn out toughened on the outside but emotionally needy inside. Regardless of politics you have got to admire someone who can control debate in the House of Commons when most of us are to him just voices from out of the dark. He’s one of the few ministers I know of to formally invite opposition backbenchers to his department to find out about their concerns.

That being said he’s not above the cheap party political shot with the intelligence to know what he is doing. However understanding people’s background often softens your criticism . He objected to the word ‘enjoyment’ used in the title of a Department of Education White Paper brought out by Charles Clarke a successor at that department. When you read about Blunkett’s schooldays you can understand why.

Blunkett’s resignation fell during a frantically busy week for me leading for my party in two debates in the chamber , one Westminster Hall debate and on the committee stage of the Railways Bill – as well as being involved in the Mental Capacity 3rd Reading.

The weekends running up to Christmas back in Southport in comparison seemed fun. I enjoyed the Continental Market and though not every local trader welcomed it, it certainly brought lots of extra people to Southport and that cant be bad. Just ask anyone who tried to find a parking space that weekend. It would be nice to have a proper German Christmas market of the kind they had in Manchester last year and you get in German cities like Nuremberg - very atmospheric and truly different.

Just before Christmas I went out with the Police till 3 a.m. to examine the workings of our night-time economy and assess issues of public safety. By strange coincidence there were loads of police around that night but my general impression -not being usually about at that time - is that the vast majority of people want to enjoy themselves and the visible presence of police is the key determinant in that all happening safely.

It was a cold night and I swear after standing around on pavements discussing licensing law at unseemly times it took 24 hours for my body temperature to return to normal. I pitied the poor souls in the taxi queue. We went to A & E to check how things had gone at the end of the night. Thankfully it was relatively quiet .

CURRY AND CAROLS

Christmas also saw my first double booking of the year where due to my own fault I was scheduled to attend a Carol Concert at Lord St West URC and simultaneously open the new Indian restaurant at Ocean Plaza. With everyone’s tolerance/forbearance I managed to cut the ribbon at the restaurant race back to the church for the service and after a mince pie and tea hare back to the restaurant to continue the celebrations. Curry and Carols –a new variation for Christmas !

Now its on to the New Year with a visit scheduled soon from the Environment Agency. They're the people who produce flood risk maps of the town without showing the seawall. They’ve got the seafront underwater and most of PR9 at risk from river flooding- much to the delight of insurance companies. I must get them to point out the river to me! Possibly they need to update their knowledge. This was Lord St 1930s.

27th November - School Closures and Sad Events

The result is a happy one for Southport as the arguments for closure were difficult to understand in the case of the Southport schools and difficult to provide a fair and defensible justification for. Parents and teachers of all schools are to be congratulated not only on the force of their campaigns but also the clarity and intelligence of the arguments they presented for keeping the schools open.

I instigated a debate in the House on this subject with the Schools Minister David Milliband, met with Ofsted and the Audit Commission who were thought to want a programme of school closures. I met with the Archdiocese, quizzed council officers, polled local headteachers, visited the schools etc and tried again and again to expose flaws in the council's case, putting it all together in a document I gave to officers, councillors, heads and Ofsted (copies still available - book now to avoid the rush!)

The fact that the savings to other schools were hyped , that the issue of fair funding was being confused with the issue of spare places, that there was no fixed reason for the selection of schools on the hit list and no real understanding of the local practicalities of merger and closure seemed evident. Nowhere either was there much talk about the process being quality led. It did not seem to matter how well the school was currently doing in educational terms.

The Council Officers seemed immune to argument and though one laboured hard to produce very detailed, hopefully rational. criticisms of the proposals ( I personally admit to becoming a bore on the subject of Sefton school funding ), I never felt there was any willingness on the other side to concede a point . Many parents and teachers felt the same. Councillors too got very little chance to join in the public debate as to speak out was to lose your chance to vote on the process - a bizarre position

The 'press on regardless' attitude of the council strategy not surprisingly blew up.

PROBLEMS PERSIST

Everyone though now knows that rolls are still falling and that something may eventually give .Something urgent may have to be done about a Bootle school like Netherton Park whose entry into the reception class is now in single figures and who are under Sefton's current formula paid £4218 per pupil per year compared say with Farnborough Rd pupils who get £2097 spent on them. The local association of Primary Heads is not delighted that absolutely everything has gone belly up as some schools hoped to benefit financially from the closure of others.

However the truth is that sensible things could have been done without painful, hamfisted closures in Southport but for some reason the officer attitude was not a listening one. Listening skills are an important part of education but bullying the small - small schools has no place in it.

I expect though every Primary School in Southport will be for now putting all this aside and working on a few Christmas themes.

MONTH OF THE DEAD

November was called by the Vikings- the month of the dead and it is easy to see why it can feel like that with All Souls and Remembrance Day falling within it. Its a time of the year when people naturally incline to gloomy and sombre thoughts. A poignant sight following the funeral of the late and much missed Robert Hesketh- itself a faultless and beautiful tribute to a lovely man - was the view of his coffin being taken from St Cuthberts into Meols Hall and over the fields to the copse where lie his ancestors. The sight of the family mourners in procession processing across the field toward the tomb on a grey misty morning was timeless in its effect and echoed with the tradition of centuries. Death is seldom far from us as Robert's untimely departure illustrated but as the funeral also illustrated, tradition helps us cope with what is the only inevitable event in life. Traditional societies seem less in denial about its existence and devise better ways of dealing with it.

I knew Robert Hesketh simply as charming host, modest and kind with a mischievous twinkle in his eye but everything said in his funeral eulogy chimed in with what the most casual acquaintance would confirm and see in him . His father of course was the 9th M.P. for Southport. I am the 13th- different parties of course- but that did not matter in the least. He was a fine guy.

Below a famous 16th century tableau in Germany showing none of us know our time

31st October - Fallujah, Expenses, Capital Thoughts

As I left the chamber and walked towards Portcullis House I ran into Clare Short walking the same way. We shared reflections but both of us had the eerie feeling that something would go badly wrong and we as a nation would be implicated. The history of precision attacks by US forces is not promising.

Compare that situation with an M.P. whose family home is in inner London and who only needs take the tube to Westminster or a minister who can call upon a whole department of secretaries and a cost free ministerial car . As it was he came nowhere near.

Hopefully people understand a bit better what actually goes on but not everything. I know one M.P. who was attacked by the Daily Express when the main reason for his higher than usual expenditure was the fact that he had to take on cover to fill in for a member of staff with breast cancer. It is rather crude anyway to classify other peoples' (your staffs') wages as though they were your personal expenses. Who else gets their employees wages listed as their expenses ?

M.Ps can either opt to have their London rent paid or a have a proportion of the interest on a house purchase paid within a fixed ceiling . Even 'Studio Flats" though - we used to call them

'bedsits'- rent in London at over £1000 per month. I rent an undistinguished one bedroom flat in Pimlico which with council tax, utilities etc costs more than that figure. However, you don't need to be told that central London must be the area with the highest land values in Europe. Perhaps if we move parliament to the north the country can save millions!

If you want a virtual tour of my abode read on . This is the view from my front door

25th September - BOURNEMOUTH SEA AND SAND

PRESS PACKS

Firstly how the press work in packs. Journalists like unless they are very brave to work in packs - to agree what is significant, what the day's story is , what was good and what was not. No-one wants their editor to think they have been missing the plot and that occurs if your copy looks like no-one else's. This frustrates politicians who often see a non-story become THE story or a good story get completely overlooked. I met a yet another former pupil ( what is going on here !) covering the Bournemouth conference for the BBC. I pointed out that the papers often follow the BBC. He pointed out that BBC broadcasts keep their eye out for tomorrow's press headlines. Thus news is what we all agree to call news- even if very little has happened.

The other thing I noticed that in a conference of thousands of people networking furiously - there is loneliness - a few people on the fringes and at the fringes who are isolated and to whom being at a conference is a kind of poor alternative to a close family network or friendship group. They may greet many and talk to all but just like Eleanor Rigby they are lonely and being in a crowd disguises but doesn't denature that fact. The extreme case is the gentleman below who stood outside the conference hall on a soapbox urging others to exercise their right to free speech. Odd behaviour- perhaps to an observer amusing and eccentric behaviour but I do not see joy in those eyes and it saddens me.

The week before I was in Westminster- and what an interesting week it was. I attended an off the record briefing given by Hans Blix about Iraq weapons inspections which as it was off the record I can't tell you about but suffice it to say it confirmed me in my opinions. I used to believe that Mr Blair deceived himself as well as the country. I know believe only the latter. Then there was the pro hunt demo. My office overlooks Parliament Square so for the whole day I had to listen to chants, inflammatory speeches and choruses of Land of Hope and Glory. It was very difficult to work  and at the point when the men in white avoided the men in tights and got into the chamber I was working with my tape-deck turned up loud to drown out the noise thus ignoring the TV monitor in my room that shows the chamber. Only half an hour later did I realise what had happened. The Countryside Alliance did themselves no favours and hardened the anti-hunting vote. Its not clear how they hoped to persuade democratically elected M.P.s casting a vote in the Commons that it was all undemocratic but thats what they said loudly, many, many times. I dont know what definition of 'democracy' they had in mind.

13th August - Holidays

August is the time when everyone's thoughts turn to holidays. I've just been away to Cornwall and the West Country - where many of my Lib Dem colleagues have their constituencies. It takes time to wind down but after a few days in the lovely fishing village of Polperro I succeeded.

Its quite hard to switch off altogether as a politician. You go to a resort and you end up comparing them with your own town. You drive down a country lane and find yourself wondering about the costs of council hedge trimming. You find yourself scanning the local papers to see what the local issues are or speculating about how much European regeneration money has gone into this or that tourist project. Its a bit sad.

Anyway my conclusions are these. Cornwall is a lovely place- nice people, benign climate- spoilt only by some of the world's most vicious and intrusive seagulls. No wonder Daphne Du Maurier wrote "The Birds" in Cornwall.

Apart from Polperro, Fowey and St Ives particularly impressed. St Ives has not only a beautiful coastline but a version of the Tate gallery. Having coffee there on the balcony overlooking the coast on a hot day was a highlight.

I ate my obligatory Cornish pasty, tucked into my Devon cream tea and downed my pint of Somerset Scrumpy - not all at the same time - in the interest of research. I was edified by the Eden project, inveigled into Jamaica Inn and enchanted by Tintagel. In summary I can recommend it.

August used to be almost a politics free month. Until politicians realised that the media are that desperate for stories during the silly season that getting into the papers in August is pushing at an open door. In fact judging by recent coverage the BBC don't seem to mind if the story has been re-cycled from months. ago I have taken a more historical perspective picking up in a Somerset second hand bookshop a biography of an illustrious predecessor, Lord Curzon , Viceroy of India and formerly M.P. for Southport. Unlike many an M.P. in the 19th century he did occasionally visit the town and his first impressions were good . He described it in 1886 as "a most gentlemanly constituency- so far I have only seen one man drunk ' . So no change there! His wife sadly did not share this favourable impression describing Southport as a " fourth rate Brighton' and its inhabitants as "an idle, ignorant, impossible lot of ruffians". Though even Curzon had to apologise during the 1885 election for an unguarded remark about "the dregs and refuse of the Liberal Party". What can he have meant ? When he became Viceroy he was succeeded at a by election by the Liberal ,Sir Herbert Naylor-Leyland and then after the latter's sudden death by Sir George Pilkington also a Liberal. All three have roads in Southport named after them.

Hospitals, schools and houses are well up the local agenda and occupying much of my time currently. Those who get this far through the diary will probably have come across my views on these issues elsewhere- so I will let you off here. Community problems though often exhibit certain traits. The problems are usually well understood and easily identifiable to the public. The causes or reasons for the problems arising in the first place are often more complex. Working through to resolutions of the problems can be far from straightforward too. If one was unfair, one might say that politicians hover round community problems like vultures over a dying animal seeking political pickings, simply chorusing whatever they think public opinion is at any one time . A more reputable role for politics though is to work for solutions -to stimulate debate and problem solving- to stick your neck out. "Politics", Rab Butler said," is the art of the possible". That thought keeps me going.

17th July - Elections, Keenest Constituent, Trains, Rabbits

Its been so long that I guess this has to count as a re-launch. What can have been the explanation? Writers block? Chronic illness? Extended holiday? None of these.

The true cause was elections. First came the interminable local election campaign running up to June 10th and coinciding with the European elections and then after a pause of barely a week parliamentary by- elections (and victory in Leicester South ). When in election mode I can get on with the MP's job but I don't seem to do the reflective stuff that is the basis of this web column.

From my point of view the elections had a reasonably satisfactory outcome. Hard work was usually rewarded but the paradox of political campaigning is that it is one of the few activities into which you can put an enormous amount of work and get nothing-zilch- because you lose the election.

Added to which the reason why you lose may depend on national or even international events completely beyond your control. Politics is not a walk of life I would universally recommend.

It can also be very bruising. I've seen a few candidates subject to vicious personalised attack recently.

The worst example was a vicious leaflet attacking personally all three Lib Dem council candidates in Church Ward, Crosby. Shamefully it was put out in support of former Police Authority Chairman, Carole Gustafson. It caused serious upset to the individuals targeted when it was circulated . I sat down with one of the less upset candidates and drafted a letter to all electors deploring negative, personalised politics , mentioning the electors natural dislike of it and pointing to our positive campaign . By noon the following day with the aid of a lot of outside help most electors had got the letter and Carole and her colleagues a few days later tasted defeat- voted off the council. The three people attacked were elected. Its no fun being defeated but when you stoop to nasty tricks, its worse. You lose without dignity.

While on this subject the recent by-elections in the Midlands featured so many leaflets from so many parties that residents were begging deliverers to take them away. If I saw people in their garden I would offer not to deliver so long as they promised to vote Lib Dem - a technique that clearly worked. To many distraught residents this seemed a good bargain.

I lost a little dignity in Leicester South when out delivering I befriended two very cute twin Scottie dogs. Not being a dog person I was rather impressed by my temporary Francis of Assissi like gifts. One of the dogs crossed the garden to stand next to me. So impressed by my new ability for canine communion was I that I called over to a colleague passing to observe skills previously only found in Dr Dolittle. It was then that I was informed that the dog was in fact cocking its leg against my trousers. You may be surprised to hear that this is the first time I have been urinated on in my political career.

THE WORLDS KEENEST CONSTITUENT

Speaking of dignity. The gentleman below wearing the gold sheen cowboy hat and shawl with the interesting collection of stuffed parrots and lobster is the kind of constituent you might not know how to deal with.

I am not a great student of my own press releases for the very obvious reason that I know what they say. However, I did check on the comments recently on a press release I had put out on southport.gb.com. when they put security men on the barriers of Central Station and I welcomed the event. To my amazement someone with an exotic alias who I don't know and who might not know me appended the comment that I probably thought myself above public transport and hadn't realised that they have staff there anyway. It was what I would class as a pointlessly aggressive remark of the kind which people seem to find easier to make with a keyboard and alias.

You see the point is I routinely use the northern line and Central Station very late at night and the practice at the barriers hitherto has been to never challenge people even if they are only waving a sweet paper as they go through. Clearly my pseudonymous would- be critic rushed into print not knowing his stuff and not exactly in a charitable  disposition. Why do people act like this ? Is there some deep frustration in their lives only relieved by lashing about them in cyberspace ? You can phone people up I suppose and ask them why they are being rude but people generally don't leave their telephone number. I thought I might join a FORUM myself if only to find out more. I have chosen the alias "John Pugh" . Do you think people will guess ?

13th May - Staircases and Jazz

Why should the meanderings of my mind be any more interesting than anyone else’s save for the fact that I mingle with people who appear on news broadcasts ? Being elected doesn’t make you special or even change your basic character very much . Although according to a rather aggressive gentleman (a firm non-voter) I canvassed in Chester Rd the other day it makes everyone venial, grasping, corrupt, heartless, indifferent etc.

Most of one’s life in fact is not that interesting- its just routine – even if you are an M.P. The staircase to my office in I Parliament St goes up and up, spiralling up six floors and when plodding up one can feel like one of those men in Escher drawings walking up and up endlessly. Passing on your way past the pictures of the great and the good you can be struck by the transitoriness of things as you glimpse the features of men who were once powers in the land reduced to anonymous figures on canvass. In the days of Gladstone one of his ministers threw himself down such a stairwell to his death but even that failed to guarantee immortality as I cannot remember the chap’s name.

I found myself in Soho on Tuesday night-not probably the right place for a M.P. to be seen- but I was at the winding up party for VOTE 2004 – the all party organisation ( to which I belonged ) fighting for a referendum on the European Constitution . Amazingly we succeeded so we disbanded. After I made my way back from central London via Piccadilly Circus nowhere near my usual Westminster haunts I was forcibly reminded of the world outside politics- vitality ,loads of people- young and not so young ,milling around socialising, holding hands just having fun – but not especially pre-occupied with the parliamentary debates of the week. At Piccadilly Circus underground station there was marvellous jazz saxophonist . They license and audition buskers in central London which means that many are excellent. Just to listen to him was to be transported to a world far away from much of the sterile nonsense that can fill a Westminster day.

Speaking of events, I have found out that on the 'Ask Your MP Forum' there's a way to deal with perpetual fault I have when a thread gets e- mailed to me. I click it and then get a broken/invalid thread message and so often never get to know what the question was. Sophisticated firewalls on the computers in the office and parliament appear to be the root cause of this frustrating phenomenon. I now have a work round I can use without troubling Steve. Its so simple that I could kick myself for not working it out earlier -after all I do take pride in my computer literacy. It just involves using the computer browser intelligently instead of making a direct link- so progress there !

28th March - Personal Encounters, Charles Kennedy, House of Commons or Fort Knox

PERSONAL ENCOUNTERS

Oddly enough the thing that has most impressed me recently relates entirely to my previous life. I was coming back from London last Thursday via Liverpool Central and getting the northern line to Southport. Its never a pretty sight Central but this time I could hear and see three people on the platform rowing over something. They looked like what people in Liverpool refer to as 'smackheads'. I walked past them only to hear one of them stop, eye me and say , "Hey, its Mr Pugh!" I agreed it was and walked on. Suddenly the man that had recognised me, got up from where he was sitting and followed me down the platform. He was scruffily dressed, with gaunt, hollowed out cheekbones and half his teeth on one side of his face were missing. "I don't know if you remember me," he said, "You taught me". It turned out I had at Salesian High , Bootle. I'd taught him Social Studies almost twenty years ago. He was pleased to see me ,said he very much enjoyed the lessons, shook my hand, asked me if I was still teaching and was embarrassingly grateful. We discussed briefly his ex form teacher- a friend of mine- same age as me- who died suddenly a few months ago when popping out for a quick smoke between lessons. He then went back to his friends -another bloke who also shook my hand and a sad looking, youngish girl. They continued their row. There was an advertising campaign to encourage people to take up teaching some time ago when very successful people would go on record to say thanks to Mr X or Mrs Y (their teacher) they had gone on to be very good at this or that. It was strange to be thanked by someone whom I guess the educational system had 'failed' and depressing to contemplate the future that probably lay ahead for my ex-pupil.

Perhaps something could have been done-perhaps not. People have some command of their own destiny but it left me mulling over the question of whether we do enough to help such people find a happier way of living.

At the other end of the spectrum last week I was being given a tour of the magnificent Churchtown Primary School where I ended up in a class of four year olds. One little boy who I was talking to suddenly looked at me and said, "Who are you ?" . Panic set it at this Paxman-like interrogation. I wondered how you could explain what a member of  parliament was or what representative democracy was to a four year old. I chickened out . "I'm a friend of the headmaster", I said.

Then there was the meeting with a 98 year old constituent who has some problems with his landlord. This truly remarkable gentleman has a handshake like a vice, exercises regularly with weights and a rowing machine and only retired officially at 95. He cooks for himself really healthy food but has had to give up cycling recently. He takes an  active interest in politics but is not over-impressed with the political parties . Its not everyday you meet a 98 year old who works out !

Last couple of days I have had calls from various national newspapers about the state of Charles Kennedy's health.  They give various pretexts but its difficult not to believe that they have already written the story they want and simply want you to blurt out something that adds a bit of flesh to the bones of it. If no one blurts anything out ,there's always the option of making it all up and printing " a party source said..." . Then every one has to figure out whether someone has said something or whether its just been invented by the journalist to keep the pot boiling.

Its all a bit depressing as the only motive some of papers have is generating excitement .It was the press primarily that got rid of Iain Duncan Smith. I watched then at close quarters how Tory M.P.s unsure of what to do every day read and reacted to the media. I drove Charles Kennedy around on Friday before his conference speech and I could see he felt and looked rotten and had lost weight . When we visited the Queenscourt Hospice a Sky journalist butted in with a whole series of intrusive questions. One felt like saying "Look would you like to discuss your innards, stomach, bowels on national T.V. ?"

Everyone down in London is growing more and more edgy about security - not helped by the news last week that 20 security passes into the building go missing every week. More barricades are going up and parliament is finishing early to allow for construction works. The week before we got a message over the intercom urging the people in my building to keep their windows shut because of an 'incident'. I ignored it because I reckoned as I was on the 6th floor and as only a world class discus thrower could throw anything at my window I was safe.

Happily some one came in and shut the windows because it turned out to be 'chemical spillage' and the fumes were everywhere. When we were told about it we thought 'spillage' could mean 'attack' but it turned out to be just an accident- a lorry overturning in Whitehall. Nonetheless the Parliament Square was deserted like a scene in science fiction film and everywhere was eerily quiet and the air acid and acrid.

22nd February 2004 - Recess Week, BNP, Small Shops Fightback, Old Houses

Well its just been the recess (half-term) and if anyone says to me again 'you're on holiday' my response may depart from the strictly courteous. Its been a hard week loads of daytime appointments and with meetings every night bar Friday when the family got together to celebrate my middle daughter's engagement. Mind you I have to disclose that all of those meetings were very congenial. Some were in pubs .

I met the Driving Instructors of Southport on Tuesday at the Mount Pleasant. They are all having to face up to being re-tested on pain of disqualification .One of the necessary tests is a computer simulation which clearly tests your understanding of the game not your ability to teach safe driving. I tried the test and failed dismally first time. This might not surprise many of my more critical passengers but the fact is that I drive around the country a lot more than most will- without any obvious problems. When I worked out what the game required, my score though shot up. My driving didn't improve.

Needless to say the computer didn't have a rear view mirror- which has,I believe, something to do with spotting road hazards . Its a daft test for skilled instructors as most of them told me and they are a very nice tolerant group of people. Frankly you have to be abnormally tolerant to put up with learners ruining your car and imperilling your life on a daily basis.

I 'CONFRONT BNP' IN BURNLEY

Speaking of tolerance I watched with interest the slick media operation organised by MIchael Howard and his team to 'confront the BNP in Burnley' - aided and assisted of course by the BNP actually turning up. The maxim 'no publicity is bad publicity' holds in BNP circles.

I actually went to Burnley last autumn to confront the BNP with possibly less media attention as part of campaign to unseat the BNP in a council bye-election. It was caused by one BNP councillor thumping another and being expelled for violent behaviour ! I trudged the streets of Burnley with other colleagues from Southport in the company of a pleasant Lib Dem councillor called Gordon who was Burnley through and through.

The talk on the doorstep was very much of the council's failings not of race or asylum. Gordon seemed to tell all and sundry that when he was Mayor he had raised money for a hospital scanner. This impressed everyone or they were just too polite to say otherwise. Anyway we worked and we won. The BNP lost the seat. They got no publicity out of it nor did we much. Quite an effective way of 'confronting the BNP' really !

SMALL SHOPS FIGHTBACK

On Friday I met with the Association of Convenience Stores at CostCutter to back their drive to boost the fortunes of small shops. It seems to me that we are moving into a situation where we will be able to spend our entire life in  Tescos. Apart from manure and scaffolding, you can buy almost anything there and in a predatory way they can undercut and eliminate the small shops and empty town centres.  Before going further I should say I am not against the big battalions in principle despite having had a go at Gates , Murdoch and Branson on previous entries in this dairy. I have no objection to people running big companies. I just cannot understand why some companies cannot be content with turning a pretty penny and have to indulge in a form of commercial megalomania and endeavour to run/sell/control everything.

What we have now though is planning anarchy- a free for all - which brings me to old houses. There is a consensus that we cannot go on knocking down lovely old houses and replacing them with blocks of flats without the whole town losing its character. Everyone agrees but disagrees on whether it can be done or how it should be done. What I have suggested to all interested parties recently is that we anticipate new legislation, put our heads together, use powers already available and learn from other boroughs. That's got to be better that what we have now. The response from other political parties, planners and civic societies so far has been encouraging . More of this anon.

9th February 2004 - Diary on the move, Evil Empire, House Matters

I hope Steve from Southport.gb.com will be impressed but I am doing this week's column on the train. I am on the 6.10 out of Lime St on the new Pendolino trains. The journey takes longer on a Sunday-about four hours. On a Sunday I tend to buy a standard class saver and upgrade to first class for just over a tenner when I get on the train. That way I get plenty of space to spread out and get some work done. These new trains have dinky little sockets too to plug your laptop into.

In fact though it does not effect me financially as the House of Commons pays for all my travel to and fro from the constituency, it is still satisfying to think Mr Branson is not getting more than his fair share. Sorry to keep harping on about travel nearly every week but I do seem to spend a lot of my waking time going back and forth.

Still today as I settle down with some elbow room, I deceive myself into thinking the four hours will fly as I type into my trusty AppleMac Powerbook. Most of you though reading this will be happily ensconced in front of a PC, looking through one of Mr.Gates' Windows on the world. I  have therefore to unmask myself as one of Mr Gates', sorry -Sir Bill Gates'-  sworn enemies. 

  
The Evil Empire

Don't get me wrong. He is a very nice man who gives loads of money away but his company Microsoft have almost a monopolistic grip on the software industry and that's not good. If they snuff out what little competition there is, they will be able charge what they like and force us continually into unnecessarily frequent upgrading of our equipment and programs. More money for them- less real choice for us. I  put down a string of searching sceptical questions in parliament about a deal Microsoft had done with British schools that allegedly saved schools millions. A few days afterwards just as I expected I got a phone call from Microsoft's government department. "Could they talk ?"

"When could we meet ?" . One of their top men who deals with awkward M.P.s has been to see me before. Oddly it turns out he used to be a researcher for Ronnie Fearn.

And when we do meet they will tell me they welcome competition and I will tell them I like some of their products but the reality is that competition may or may not be good for them but its certainly good for us. I don't know if I am allowed to advertise but if you are considering buying a new computer-try a Mac. Very few people once they've got one go back to a PC. They're made to last, elegant, a joy to use and nowadays interact very well with PCs.

House Matters

Last week was odd. I spoke in the debate on Police Funding arguing for more police and community wardens in the area but I knew and the minister knew and the rest of the house knew that we have more police per capita in Merseyside than most other parts of the country. But where are they all ? If you are remotely interested in finding out more the debates in last Thursday's Hansard on the web.

Possibly more exciting that week was sitting in Charles Kennedy's room and discussing before the public announcement was made the decision not to join the Butler enquiry. Everyone present thought it was the right decision.

This week coming I am scheduled to speak practically every day on bits of delegated legislation, bill committees and most bizarrely of all a debate on light pollution- or the fact that we don't get to see much of the stars because of all the neon lights around. David Heath who normally speaks in science-type debates for the Lib Dems has head off to the Arctic with the army this week. Some people will go to extremes to avoid an awkward debate. I  have to tell you that I know practically nothing about this subject and those whose interest in politics verges on the sadistic should be able to read what a hash I make of it in next Thursday's Hansard.

I am sorry now to have to tell you that I have just discovered that although the new Virgin trains do indeed have dinky sockets for laptops, there appears to be no electricity coming out of them .They must be decorative. I am going to have to shut down the Powerbook to conserve the battery. Oh and we've all been told there's the all too frequent 'boiler problem' - so four hours without a hot drink -Thank God they're not running steam trains- good old Virgin !

I get off at Euston 9.58 p.m. and going down to the underground I meet the bearded bloke who usually stands there and sells "the Big Issue'. I buy one. We chat and he asks me what sort of day I have had?  I look at him and think "What have I got to complain about?".  

30th January 2004 - Anti Climax, Schizophrenia, Bad Behavour

I sat in the member's dining room a fortnight ago talking to Archie Kirkwood, one of the longest serving Liberal M.P.s. We talked of the week ahead- Hutton and the tuition fees debate. We agreed then that contrary to what the media pack were saying Blair would win the tuition fees vote and easily survive Hutton.

The one thing that Archie and I got wrong was the size of the government majority on the tuition fees vote. Archie and I both predicted a majority of 20 . It was only 5. However, when chatting with a Labour whip the day after the vote I discovered we were not alone in expecting double figures. The Labour whips had been predicting defeat in order to secure victory but they were a little shocked to have come so close to defeat. Which all goes to prove that you ought to be very sceptical about what you read in newspapers. This brings me to Hutton. Ok the report probably pulled its punches when it came to the government (though which of us have read all the evidence ?).

It was still interesting though to see the media who were all set up to write one story -to have to write another. The sound of journalists pencils snapping in irritation was almost audible right across London on the day of the report. I agree with the comments of Peter Hain in the house the following day that the media are no longer content with  reporting or even challenging, they want to set the political agenda and often do.

POLITICAL SCHIZOPHRENIA

Last week my colleague, Jenny Tonge made some very ill-chosen remarks about Palestinian suicide bombers . Once the story was out it was hopeless for her to try to clarify what she had really meant which is why Charles Kennedy had to sack her. Jenny is an outspoken figure at Westminster liked by people in other parties but not invariably right.

On being sacked though she has received thousands of messages of support. Papers that would have called for her dismissal, had Kennedy not acted, now criticise Kennedy for doing so. Incidentally everyone from Southport who contacted me on the Tonge issue saw straight away that there was more than one issue at play.

One cannot help feeling that there is a kind of schizophrenia here. The public want politicians to be open and unspun but anyone who acts in that way better be on their guard. The problem partly is that there is no distinction drawn between party and personal views unless you are someone like Dennis Skinner who has achieved the status of 'political eccentric.'

No one in parliament thinks anything he says has much to do with Labour or government intentions so he can say anything outrageous without generating 'outrageous' headlines. Incidentally Neil Hamilton's book on "Political Eccentrics" - now heavily discounted in many bookshops is worth a read. That last comment reminds me of a very funny joke I came across this week in Westminster but sadly I cannot repeat here - precisely because - well I might be misunderstood!

However to make up for that since all the readers have got the internet- try www.deadbrain.co.uk for a different take on affairs. Incidentally if you find a better site for spoofs let me know.

BAD BEHAVIOUR

Last week during the debate on school behaviour and attendance I described Prime Ministers Question Time as 'institutionalised yobbery' and having exactly the same kind of features as an unruly classroom - shouting out, bullying, mayhem etc . I expressed astonishment that the Speaker did not keep us behind to copy out pages of Hansard.

Likening M.P.s to badly behaved school children resulted in a lot of positive feedback and a few chances to argue my case on national radio and not a single complaint from fellow M.P.s. 'The Times' after the Attendance and Behaviour debate published a photo on their front page of the chamber with barely nine M.P.s present. It was wittily captioned "What shall we do about truancy chaps ?". I am in it but had to explain on the following day on the Jeremy Vine show why so few M.P.s were. It couldn't just be the prospect of me droning on. They couldn't all be in committees. The boring truth is that most of them would have been working and working for most M.P.s usually involves a bit more than sitting on your bottom on the green benches going 'Here! Here!" That seems to achieve very little-especially when  every M.P. has got a monitor in his room and can follow the debate while reading, writing and phoning (multi-tasking?).

Jeremy Vine's listeners were not so convinced though and the phone in afterwards featured caller after caller who thought any M.P. who was not visible in the house must be in a deckchair somewhere dozing off with campari in hand.

18th January 2004 - Drinking on Duty, Manchester in the Rain, Small Businesses

26th December 2003 - Goings-on at the Park, Pop Idol, Southport at Christmas

Recently life has had it surreal moments. For example I was going for a quiet drink with Dave Bamber in the Park Hotel only to find something very odd was afoot. Dave incidentally has faced enormous adversity including the recent death of his partner with considerable strength of character and courage.

We both thought early evening would be quiet, though those who have seen the very funny scene set in the Park in the Southport film ' 4 Days' might have expected otherwise.

The next bit has to be lost on those who have not seen the film. Oddly enough I did not spot Cllr. Bernard Lloyd and the Editor of Champion in there as in the film, but I did uncannily run into the Editor of the Visiter and Cllr. Tony Brough. What is going on ? Is life imitating the cinema and not vice versa?

Anyway I could not help thinking that the girl pouring my pint was wearing pyjamas. However, as even my best friends would acknowledge, I know little about the latest fashions having lost all personal interest in the subject when flared trousers went out. I assumed this pyjama-like outfit was the latest style - and not in fact pyjamas

When another girl appeared almost identically attired, I concluded this was a bold attempt by the management to pioneer some new and misguided staff uniform. However, when the manager himself appeared dressed in wartime Luftwaffe flying gear I knew this was not going to be normal night. Fancy dress had taken over.

We were also promised Karaoke but at the prospect of this, we both fled. After my singing debut for charity in Asda this year  (worryingly I enjoyed it), I feared enthusiasm would overcome my better judgement ? Why cause unnecessary suffering to your fellow man and is even charity sufficient excuse for tone deaf M.P.s singing?

I recall Alexi Sayle saying that if Hitler had invaded Poland and said it was for charity he would have got away with it !

POP IDOL AND VOTING REFORM

Which brings me to a discussion I had with the colourful and nattily dressed former Shadow leader of the House, Eric Forth (recently sacked by Michael Howard). We had a debate in the House just before Christmas on proposals to make voting easier by post, text or the internet.

Eric, an arch traditionalist, argued we simply shouldn't because elections would get like Pop Idol or Big Brother with people voting casually without proper information on a whim. More would take part but he argued their judgement would count for less. If voters could not be bothered to walk down to a polling station , weren't sufficiently concerned to do so then, he claimed, their votes meant little. Those who made a real effort to vote were quality voters. I put to him that the logic of this line of thought would be to move polling stations still further from where the public live, camouflage