Gary's views

Gary's weekly views

Each week an article by Gary has appeared in the Plympton Plymstock and Ivybridge News in South West Devon. The articles are published here

FREEDOM OF INFORMATION

Borrow a semi-automatic weapon from your local shooting club, and insert magazine of bullets. Find a public place, possibly the middle of Ridgeway or Broadway shopping centre, gather a crowd around you and the local press, aim the gun at your right foot and slowly squeeze the trigger and keep it pressed. That’s one way to do it. The other way to shoot yourself in the foot is to try and pass a bill at Westminster to exclude your own profession, but nobody else, from the Freedom of Information Act!

I am so cross about the Private Member’s Bill that a handful of colleagues have driven through Westminster whilst most of us were in our constituencies taking part in the usual round of Friday activities, which sought to exclude MPs from the FIA.

There is certainly a need to ensure confidentiality of information given to us by our constituents who seek help with all kinds of sensitive issues. But I am unaware of any threat to that relationship of confidentiality since the FIA came into force. So I do not see the menace that this new bill is designed to correct.

What I do know is that the impression has now been created that the real reason for doing this is to prevent the public from knowing about MP’s expenses, which is utter rubbish because we all now accept that the amount we can claim to pay staff and travel costs for getting to Westminster and back every week will be published annually. We expect and receive a day of silliness from the press, somehow managing to imply that this is for our personal benefit, which is also false. But the hoo-hah lasts a day at most and the world moves on. I cannot see the problem.
But the danger of the current moves is far worse. We already suffer a poor reputation in the eyes of the public, and the perception flowing from this ill-judged measure can only make things worse. The BBC have reported this in a ludicrous way (twice) as a cynical plot to place ourselves outside the law, asking the question: what law will MPs exclude themselves from next? This is well over the top, but should have been expected and some of it will stick. Another self-inflicted wound.

So I am totally against it: I hope that it will be over-turned in the Lords and never becomes law.

posted by Nigel on Monday, June 04, 2007