David's weekly article, 14th november

Last week at Westminster was a historic week – the first defeat of Mr. Blair’s Government in a parliamentary vote since 1997.

Mr. Blair’s defeat came in the vote on Terrorism Legislation, when he tried to persuade MPs to increase from 14 days to 90 days the period which people can be detained by the police without any charge being brought. Most MPs feel that the period needs to be increased from 14 days, to deal with the greater complexity of securing evidence in an era of electronic communication.

But 90 days seemed to many people to be excessive, particularly as the police could charge suspects with lesser offences while holding them. There are even some senior police officers who are sceptical about the Government’s plans.

Usually, there is negotiation and discussion over issues such as this, and Home Secretary Charles Clarke was keen to find a compromise solution.

But Mr. Blair refused to budge an inch, in spite of earlier Government promises to work with opposition parties to find a solution.

The result was a crushing House of Commons defeat.

Mr. Blair knows that he does not need to stand for election again. He is determined to secure his legacy, and to be bold. But the danger is that he will be arrogant and will fail to listen. Any leader who gets too out of touch with those who are being led takes a mighty big risk. Mr. Blair is taking big risks with his Party now. He shows all the signs of Mrs. Thatcher in her final period in office – believing that only he/she is right.

On Friday, I attended the Somerset Welfare Rights Unit Conference in Ilminster, about “Putting Debt on the Map”.

There were a large number of organisations represented, and the Conference extended over a whole day and considered ways of helping people to grapple with debt and financial problems.

I made a speech which touched upon the issues of financial education and regulation, the problems with tax credits, and reform of the Child Support Agency.

Later in the day I visited the Yeovil Magistrates Court, and called in on West Coker School, to meet new Head teacher Carol Jessamine and to take part in a Remembrance Day Assembly.

In the afternoon I held a “Roving Advice Centre” in Yeovil Central – in Roping Road and Sparrow Road.

On Saturday I held a very busy Advice Centre in Chard, from 9.15am until 12.30pm. My speech on Friday proved timely, as I had four separate tax credit cases, all of which highlighted in their different ways the problems which are being caused for many people by the instability of this system.

The Government has very recently promised to suspend the recovery of tax credits where people dispute the recovery of an overpayment. This should help a bit. But there are still severe problems – the speed with which tax credit overpayments are recovered, and the fact that the Tax Credits Office automatically tries to recover “overpayments” even if these are due to Inland Revenue errors.

I am continuing to hammer away at the Government on this issue. If you have a tax credits problem, particularly if it is the Inland Revenue’s fault, please let me know.

On Sunday, I attended two Remembrance Day Services – in Yeovil in the morning, and in Ilminster in the afternoon.

The weather was good for both, and there was a very large turnout of people keen to pay their respects.

The Yeovil Wreath laying went ahead as usual, as did the church service at St. John’s, led by Ivor Hughes.

The collapse of the Royal British Legion branch in Yeovil meant that there was no parade this year, but the Legion has been working hard to get the branch back in operation, and hopefully the parade will be back in place next year.

After the Yeovil Service, I met one of the British paratroopers who landed in France on the night of 5th/6th June 1944 – just before the “D Day” invasion. This gentlemen was captured by the Germans a few days after “D Day” and imprisoned in a number of camps, the last of which was near the concentration camp, Belsen.

We owe so much to those who fought in the Second World War, and who defeated the evil of Nazism.

Our Remembrance Services and Monuments really date back to the First World War, and to the terrible slaughter which cut down so many young men from every town and village in Britain. There has never been a loss of life on this scale in Britain, and hopefully there never again will be.

There are now not many veterans of the First World War left alive – just a handful. But I think that we will go on remembering their sacrifice, and hopefully learning the lessons of it, for many more years to come.

This week at Westminster starts with a meeting of the Somerset MPs and the Principal of Yeovil College, James Hampton, to discuss the funding of colleges in Somerset. We are meeting with the Chief Executive of the Learning and Skills Council to set out our concerns over the very unfavourable funding settlement which has affected Somerset this year.

The funding settlement for colleges has put a real squeeze on the adult education budget, and we want to make sure that we secure a fairer settlement for next year.

Later in the week I will be meeting with the Parliamentary Ombudsman, to set out my concerns about the operation of the Tax Credits System.

On Tuesday, I am meeting with Adair Turner, who is head of the Government’s Commission on the future of UK Pensions.

Lord Turner’s Report and recommendations will be published on 30th November, and I am hoping to get some insights this week into what he is likely to be proposing.

I shall have to respond to the Report, on behalf of my Party, in the House of Commons on 30th November.

This is a rare opportunity to reform Britain’s pensions system – one of the most complex and inadequate pension systems in the developed world.

My fear is that the Government may be too divided to make the fundamental reforms necessary, particularly as Gordon Brown seems to want to stick with a messy, means-tested, pension system.

I am continuing to hammer away at the Government on this issue. If you have a tax credits problem, particularly if it is the Inland Revenue’s fault, please let me know.

I am also concerned by the latest announcement from the Home Office about the re-organisation of police forces. The plans are much worse than I feared. What is being proposed is a mega police force for our area, covering either the whole of the South West, or all of Avon, Somerset, Dorset, Wiltshire and Gloucestershire!

Goodness knows how much time and money would be wasted in such a re-organisation. The existing Avon and Somerset Police Authority is already quite large enough, and I am worried by the prospect of diverting more management time and resources away from the basic job of fighting crime.

But it seems that unless the Government is re-organising something, they simply aren’t happy. Police boundaries, Primary Care Trusts, council boundaries – everything is now up for grabs. All this seems likely to do is waste money and distract attention away from delivering better services.

I am arranging a meeting with Police Minister, Hazel Blears, to set out my concerns.

Later this week I will be back in South Somerset, and I have an Advice Centre in Merriott, at Broadway Service Station, at 10am on 18th November. On Friday evening I will be in Ilminster for the switch on of the Christmas lights.

This weekend, after an Advice Centre on Saturday, I have to head off for Chester, for a Christening Service, in which I am to be godfather.

Finally, thanks to the 14 schools which have taken part in my 2005 Christmas Card Competition. I judged the hundreds of entries on Saturday night, and it was incredibly difficult to choose the winners when so many of the designs were of such a high quality. My Yeovil office will be in touch with schools about the winners in the near future.

Ever,

David.

PS: My next Advice Centres are in : Yeovil (Friday 18th November, appointments only), South Petherton (Saturday 19th November), Ilminster and Crewkerne (Saturday 26th November), and Yeovil (Saturday 3rd December, appointments only).