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April 10 posts
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jgale | 
08 April 2010 at 09:21 | 465 views
Last week I was out and about in our area for a part of the time, knocking on doors as part of the General Election campaign.
I have many pleasant memories of hot and sunny weather in previous General Election and local election campaigns, but last week was wet, windy, and at times freezing cold. I cannot remember such miserable weather at the beginning of April, but I suppose it has been a pretty poor six months of weather.
I shall cheer when the thermometer first makes it to 20 degrees centigrade, or 70 F in “old money”. I shall also cheer when the countryside finally blooms into full Spring glory – this always come a little later than I expect, and then – suddenly – the leaves are back out, and the sun is warm, and the evenings are at last longer again.
There is a long-running campaign to move to “double summer time” in this country, so that the evenings are much lighter. I support this campaign, even if it will mean darker mornings and going off to work and school in the darkness in deepest winter. Long, light, evenings are much better for leisure, for sport, and for relaxation. Instead of getting home and feeling inclined to lock the door and prepare for bed, lighter evenings make people want to get outside and enjoy life. I hope that we will return to this issue in the next Parliament, and finally get a vote for change.
Last week I held an Advice Centre on Saturday in Yeovil, and in the afternoon I was out canvassing again for the coming General Election. I hope to knock on as many doors as possible in our area – but with 84,000 voters in Yeovil Constituency, it will not be easy to get to meet every person in the 5 weeks remaining before election day.
When Parliament is dissolved, MPs find themselves in a strange no-man’s land. Firstly, we cease to be MPs at all – the letters after the name disappear, and we are locked out of our London offices.
But the casework continues to pour in every day, as do the answers to literally hundreds of other cases which are outstanding at any one point in time.
Fortunately, my excellent Yeovil Office staff go on working hard to ensure that constituents still receive a good level of service, and so my MP work continues, all be it with stamps, envelopes and paper which now have to be funded by my political party and not by the taxpayer.
Although I cease to be MP, I also continue to hold regular Advice Centres across our area – on 17th April I will hold an Advice Centre in Chard, and on 24th April I will be in Ilminster and Crewkerne.
The election period is probably the most exhausting time of the political cycle, as there is a huge amount of campaigning to do, alongside the usual casework, and a massive burden of national and local media commitments. I usually get up at 6am, and finish work at around midnight. But at least some of the activity is outside, walking around, and I quite often lose half a stone over the few weeks of an election.
Later on in the election campaign, there are usually public meetings, along with the other local candidates, which allow people to come along and ask questions – as well as comparing and contrasting the candidates.
There is not a lot of time for rest and relaxation during a General Election campaign, but I have pencilled in Yeovil Town FC versus Southampton, on Saturday 17th April. That will be a chance to relax almost half way through the campaign, but I will really know that I am into the last phase of the campaign when I find myself in Liverpool – I have to travel to the City on Sunday 2nd May to speak at the National Association of Head Teachers’ Annual Conference. I will be debating with Schools Secretary Ed Balls, and Conservative Spokesman Michael Gove.
My best wishes to all readers. This is likely to be my last article for this newspaper before the General Election, as by this time next week I will be just a Parliamentary Candidate, and not an MP.
I am grateful to all of you who take the time to read these articles, and who so often write to me with your comments and questions. It has been an honour to represent our area in this Parliament.
Ever,
David.
jgale | 08 April 2010 at 09:20 | 348 views
I am writing this article a few days before this edition of the Western Gazette goes to press, so I do not know whether the General Election will have been called by the time you read these words.
If the election has not been called, you will not have long to wait, because a 6th May election requires a decision in the next few days.
This week the Budget was debated and voted on, and then Parliament finished for Easter on 31st March.
After the election is called, there will be just a few days to clear up outstanding business before the present Parliament is dissolved.
At that moment, the 650 MPs will cease to be MPs. Our House of Commons passes are cancelled. Our London offices are locked. Those who are retiring will not return as MPs. Those who are not successful in seeking re-election will be allowed to return briefly a couple of days after the election, to clear their offices of all personal effects, which will otherwise be thrown away.
Power in Britain transfers quickly at election time – in with the new, and out – swiftly – with the old.
There is something brutal, but also something just and right about the way our democratic system operates. For four or five years between elections, MPs and Governments can go about their business, with Governments only accountable to Parliament itself, and MPs only loosely accountable to their local parties and Party Leaders.
Then, suddenly, at election time the accountability to the people re-asserts itself. Prime Ministers, Governments and MPs can be swept away overnight. The people get their chance to decide.
Being an MP seeking re-election is, of course, quite nerve-wracking. Until the early hours of the day after the election, you do not know what fate awaits you. You do not know if you will be able to continue your work, or if you will be unemployed and looking for another career.
But I am happy to accept the judgement of the 84,000 electors of the Yeovil Constituency, whatever that may be.
It has been the most fantastic privilege to have been your Member of Parliament since 2001. It is the best job I will ever do. It is an honour and a great responsibility to attend our Parliament in Westminster to help make laws and determine the priorities of our country, on behalf of all of the people of this area.
And it has been a great pleasure and privilege to be able to meet so many people in our area – in schools, businesses, hospitals, in my Advice Centres and elsewhere. I have learned a great deal from all of you, and I hope that this has made me a better representative. And it has also been very satisfying to take up cases on people’s behalf, particularly when this leads to a solution which can make life a little easier for someone who has approached us.
I won’t pretend that there haven’t been difficult times, not least during the months of gloomy and incessant publicity about the expense abuses of a significant minority of MPs. This was the only time when I have - for a few months – actually felt ashamed to be a Member of Parliament. And this matters, because – believe it or not – most MPs care passionately about their work, and want to do the right things for the country. If being an MP ever becomes a permanent badge of shame, that cannot be good for anyone in our country. Our new Parliament needs to clear up this mess for good, in the interest of the whole country.
I have so many people to thank for their support over the period of this Parliament – in particular, my brilliant Yeovil Office staff of Sue, Claire, Sarah, Sadye, Jeremy and our volunteers, as well as Tom and our interns in my London Office. Also the local councils, CAB, NHS and all the other groups who work with us closely to help people with their problems. But more than anything I am grateful to the people of the Yeovil Constituency for your support, encouragement, generosity, patience and kindness during the period of this often difficult Parliament. Thank you.
Ever,
David