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

Time for a Referendum

Like many people in Devon my wife and I occupy a house full of domesticated animals. They’re a joy to have around (apparently) but they can cause problems – especially when it comes to going on holiday.

Dogs and cats can’t just be left in a house alone. You need to get a house sitter. This would be someone of your choosing and someone that you trust. If you trust them then you can leave them to get on with the job. You don’t expect them to be on the phone everyday consulting you on how they are looking after the house. On the other hand, if your house sitter wanted to hand over control to another, you would expect them to check that with you first.

Politics is pretty similar. People elect their MPs and they expect them to make good decisions on their behalf. They don’t expect or want to be consulted by means of a referendum on every little issue of policy. It is just not how we do things in this country.

Unless we are handing over our power to another, that is. I firmly believe that the European Constitution is an issue where people do need to be consulted.

If the EU constitution comes into affect then Europe will gain a powerful President and a European Foreign Minister. Recent events have shown how differently Britain thinks about international issues then France or Germany – but yet Britain would lose the right to set her own foreign policy.

Home affairs would also be drastically affected. Under current proposals, Britain would not be able to set our own immigration policy. Brussels would dictate exactly who can and cannot enter the UK.

Perhaps some of you think that these changes will be desirable. A referendum would enable you to make that clear. Many of you would not welcome these changes. A referendum would be the only way for you to get that off your chest.

It is true that referenda are not a huge part of British tradition, but they have been previously held in cases of constitutional change. If the people of Hartlepool are given the choice of whether or not to have a locally elected mayor, I can’t help thinking that the people of Devon deserve a referendum on whether or not they want to move several steps closer to a European Superstate.

Or do you want the house sitter to make this important decision for you?
Feedback please on mail@garystreeter.co.uk

posted by Nigel on Monday, October 27, 2003

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

Re-connecting Politics

As mid-October approaches politicians from every party all over the country breath a sigh of relief – conference season is over!

From what I can gather, it’s not just politicians who are relieved. People often tell me how the sight of MPs standing on podiums or delivering sound bites on the news every day for three weeks solid leaves them feeling more then a little disconnected from the political process.

Disconnected and disillusioned is exactly how people are feeling toward the political process and the statistics prove it. The turnout at the local elections in May and at the last general election was abysmal. In the recent by-election in Brent East the turnout was a mere 36.4% - and that was described as high. People have lost faith in politics.

So what’s the answer? How can people’s faith be restored?

For some people the answer is simple: the voting system needs to be changed. Instead of local areas (such as South West Devon) electing their own MP, people should just vote for a political party. These parties can then be awarded a number of MPs proportionate to the percentage of votes they secured. This every vote would really count.

In some ways the logic seems flawless. If a party receives 33% of the vote, they receive 33% of the seats in the House of Commons. That being said I don’t agree, for two reasons.

Firstly if people aren’t interested in politics then its probably because we politicians are doing something wrong. We should listen, learn and change – not play around with the voting systems.

Secondly I think it would be criminal to lose the link between a constituency and their local MP. Being an MP means a lot to me, but being MP for South West Devon means a great deal more. An MP is here to serve his or her community. I hope that you all feel that you can write to me at the House of Commons, phone my Devon office (335666) or come and see me at my surgery (you can make an appointment through my Plympton office).

Tinkering with the voting system won’t help – the malaise is deeper than that. Those of us who have the privilege of being elected to serve need to lead the recovery. We should lay off the nasty sideswipes, concentrate on real solutions to deep-seated problems and conduct ourselves with integrity. No there’s a recipe for reconnection.

posted by Nigel on Monday, October 20, 2003

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

- the Boy and the Fish

I have been thinking about fish quite a lot in the last few days. Not so much the battered variety, or a scientific analysis of quotas and net-sizes, but the story of the Norwich head teacher, the boy and the fish. You may have seen it in the press and been puzzling over it too. Although I have learnt not to trust the detail of media reports, it does seem that some things are evident from this story:
First, the boy concerned had been previously excluded from other schools and was an obvious handful. Secondly, the head master had thirty years of exemplary service and finally the judge threw the case out of court in ten seconds flat.

So why when a boy of such a track record accused a man of such calibre of ramming a fish down his throat did the Local Education Authority, the Crown Prosecution Service and the Police all over-react so outrageously? Why was it necessary to suspend him on full pay for weeks, why necessary to prosecute him? A fine career and reputation ruined by people in authority watching their own backs and preferring the word of a troublemaker against that of a pillar of society. Where is the mature judgement, where the robust wisdom to face down the aggressive but spurious litigation from such a source? Where is the common sense? Thank heavens for such a sensible judge, someone who is clearly refusing to take his PC pills.

We all want to protect pupils from abuse. We certainly need systems and safeguards in place. Most local organisations do their best and mainly get it right. But at least once a month in my constituency casework I see examples of politically correct, out-of-proportion responses by those in bureaucracies of all kinds. Throw in a few buzzwords, I need hardly mention them, and the sledgehammer slowly starts to rise. Pity the poor nut.

We are living in a world where slavish addiction to the rulebook and fear of litigation are colouring decisions of too many people who are surely capable of exercising their professional judgement in a far more skilful way. But they are scared, like rabbits caught in headlights. Scared of criticism from on high and being sued from below. Somehow we have to inject a healthy dose of common sense, proportionality, back into the public square. If you have any (sensible) ideas how to do this – get in touch.

posted by Nigel on Monday, October 13, 2003

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

The Euro

Whenever I speak to sixth-formers I try to get a snapshot of how the next generation is thinking. Last week I asked a group of sixty local pupils whether they would vote yes or no to the euro. I had not set out my view in advance, not tried to brainwash them in any way. Over 75% voted no, without hesitation.

Are you surprised? I wasn’t, because every time I have conducted the same straw poll with 16 to 18 year olds it produces the same result. Overwhelmingly against Britain joining the euro.

I appreciate that my “hands up then” approach is hardly scientific, and subject to peer group pressure and parental influence. Maybe, but it keeps happening, the same result, and I would like to know why. After all, this is the generation of exchange visits, e-mail friendships, Internet chat rooms and a global perspective, isn’t it? Almost all of these young people are taken on holiday to the mainland most summers. Surely, these youngsters should believe in a more integrated world where national characteristics fade into the background and we all become one in some glorious European Utopia, citizens of the world. Well it would seem not.

There are people out there who think that it is inevitable that the EU will gradually evolve into a single entity, acquiring all of the characteristics of a country called Europe. They say it is the natural sweep of history. I say that they do not understand human nature and have not read their history books properly.

National identity is important to almost all of us, and it is no different for the next generation. They do not think of themselves as Europeans, but rather British. There is no sign of that changing.

And the lesson I draw from history is that there is an ebb and flow in the tide of integration, not a progressive march towards ever-closer union. The lesson from the USA and Germany is that where there is a common language and culture, integration can be sustainable. The lesson from other parts of the world, including the Balkans, is that patriotism is a force that will not die.

There has been a rising tide towards assimilation on the continent for the past fifty years. I predict that this will continue for a while and then recede. And in that rediscovery of national identity and pride the next generation will lead us. Something to look forward to.

posted by Nigel on Thursday, October 09, 2003