Have your Say!

Isn't it amazing that the scout movement has survived into the twenty first century, not just survived but is flourishing. I attended a packed meeting at Ivybridge Community Centre on Sunday to witness hundreds (it seemed) of scouts beavers and cubs renewing their promises in front of each other and their families. They entered proudly in neat formation behind their flags and paraded out again in slightly less order at the end.

Promising to do a good deed every day and to remember your duty to our Queen and to God, how old-fashioned is that? But how wonderful and these young people were sincere in their commitments.

The scout movement, started by one man's vision over 100 years ago in radically different days, has updated itself; new uniforms, opening its ranks to include girls, embracing some more modern language and rules, but the values and the traditions remain. Respect, duty, kindness, be prepared, the changeless principles roll on.

These young people will always benefit from the truths they learn whilst collecting their badges and singing around the campfire.

In chatting to some of them afterwards, it was obvious how much they enjoyed their involvement. The movement has a robust, healthy innocence about it. We all owe a huge debt of gratitude to the adults who give up their time - stacks of it in many cases - to lead and mould these fine young lives. I gather that there is in some parts of this area a waiting list of young people who wish to join, but not yet enough adult leaders, an opportunity for some of you who know how to light a fire by rubbing your knees together, or whatever they do.

It is easy to lose heart at the state of the world today, all that selfish, superficial, consumer-led stuff that fills our lives. But we need not. I am a great believer in the ability of the human spirit to adapt and overcome. There is still a yearning for traditional values - traditional because they are timeless and they work. And they can still be outworked in a modern context.

We do not need any more law in this country, or more money spent on welfare. How much more would we all benefit from a renewed emphasis at every level of society on the meaningful values that the scout movement embraces.

I was never a scout. On Sunday I began to wish that I had been.

posted by Gary Streeter M.P. on Thursday, April 24, 2008

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Pretty soon the Commons will be grappling with the Human Fertilisation and Embryology Bill. This will "modernise" the law on what scientists and doctors will be permitted to do in the controversial world of human reproduction.

I currently intend to vote against three measures in particular - but I thought I ought to consult you on this first!

I am nervous about allowing scientists to fuse animal embryos with human ones, the proposal dubbed a Frankenstein measure by some (probably unhelpfully - this debate deserves serious language.) Such hybrid creations would only be permitted to exist for 14 days, and experimentation on them could be helpful in pushing forward the battle against disease. Even so I do not believe we should tamper with nature in such a flagrant way. There has recently been significant progress in using adult stem cells for this important research and I would prefer to see this developed rather than specifically creating life, whether hybrid or not, just for experimentation.

Similarly, I am uneasy about the concept of saviour siblings. This is where a second child is created in a way that means he or she will have bone marrow or other tissue that can be used to help an older brother or sister. This is would be good for the sick child already alive, but I am concerned about the future impact on the specially manufactured child. Many people already struggle with their own identity. How would it be to know that you were born or crafted in a certain way to save a sibling? Would not that person always wonder - who would I be if I had just developed naturally in the womb?

Finally, I do not like the proposal to do away with any need of naming a father in the process of conception. With the obvious exception of human tragedy, I am against any process that brings a child into the world, already fatherless. I appreciate that many children grow up in that state, but we should not be designing children in this way. Law is both about practical impact and setting out our framework of values. We can hardly bring pressure to bear on parents of turbulent teenagers on the one hand and sanction fatherlessness at birth on the other. There are free votes on these issues, although my faith and instincts steer my conscience in this direction in any event. But I am keen to know what you think.

posted by Gary Streeter M.P. on Thursday, April 10, 2008

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