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

PMQ

From time to time I get letters from constituents demanding that I vote in a certain way, in line with their strongly held views which they assume are held by everybody. I politely point out that it is a well-established convention that Members of Parliament in this country are representatives and not delegates.

Once elected we are supposed to exercise our judgement as we see fit, not simply voting with the majority view on any given issue.

And anyway how do we know what the majority view is? Name any subject and there will be dramatically diverse opinions held. Only last Saturday morning I opened my post to read a letter from a Plympton resident begging me with great passion to vote to ban hunting; the very next letter from a constituent in Ivybridge urged me above all else to vote to keep hunting!

You can’t win – so we have to simply back our own judgement and let the ballot box be the final arbiter.

Having said all of that, interactivity is now the name of the game! Modern technology makes a closer relationship between voter and representative more possible. I want to establish a more direct link between my actions at Westminster and the views of those who send me here. So, with your help, I am going to try an experiment. You all know that at 12 noon every Wednesday the Prime Minister answers questions in the House for half an hour. The main focus is naturally the titanic struggle between the two main party leaders – a blood and fury event not to be missed. But there is scope also for the rest of us to apply in advance to ask a question on any subject we like. I have not come up in the computerised draw recently, so it is likely that in the next few weeks, I will.

So here is the challenge. What do you want me to ask the PM? Send me by e-mail (or post) the question that you would like to put to Mr Blair. You may have wanted to do this for years – well, now here’s your chance. It must not be too long – or too rude, or the Speaker will slap me down! Don’t worry about framing it in Parliamentary language, I can do that bit. I will choose the best suggestion for the very next time I come up in the ballot. Over to you.

Mail@garystreeter.co.uk

posted by Nigel on Friday, February 13, 2004

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

secret room

When I was younger I had the daft notion that there must be a secret room full of very brilliant people who were really making all of the decisions that run our country. When I had been at Westminster for a few years, especially when I trekked into Downing Street twice a week as a whip, it was a huge eye-opener to discover that no such room exists and that it is people just like me, flawed but well-intentioned, making decisions that affect us all. Deeply worrying!

But recent events have caused me to resurrect my secret room theory once again. Not this time in terms of governmental decisions, but in deciding what we can and can’t say in public and survive.

I do not support the specific charge that Kilroy-Silk made recently about Arabs. It was obviously a wild exaggeration, but I support his right to say it. I passionately disagree with what the Lib-Dem MP Jenny Tonge said about suicide bombers, but we could all see where she was coming from. Voltaire famously said, “I may disagree with what you have to say, but I shall defend to the death your right to say it.” Whatever happened to that?

But someone out there had decided that their comments were unacceptable, and so they both lost their jobs. Who decided that?

It was surely not the court of public opinion, because in my experience that tribunal is far more robust and full of seasoned common sense.

Which brings me back to my secret room theory. A shadowy room full of trendy editors, columnists and grandstanders who sit in judgement upon the people. They hand down their verdicts of political correctness and there is no right of appeal. Their rulings are transmitted instantly to all corners by their media outlets.

They have determined what we must be tolerant about and what is beyond the pail. Along the way they have decided that it is OK to ridicule Jesus of Nazareth, but don’t you dare say anything against Mohammed. We can rip into the Israelis all we like, but whatever you do don’t attack the Arabs. We can’t have our own opinions any more - we have to piggyback on theirs.

I hate racism and believe that words that incite violence or hatred should not be permitted. But the diktats from the secret room are in grave danger of over-stepping the mark and strangling our free speech. What do you think? Mail@garystreeter.co.uk

posted by Nigel on Monday, February 09, 2004

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

Wind Turbines

Janet and I drove down to Cornwall on Saturday passing the two sets of wind turbines just beyond Indian Queens. Are they spooky or what? There has been much media comment recently about public attitudes towards these eerie friends, and it seems clear that anyone living near them is against them, because of the visual impact, the incessant whining noise they produce and fears about damage to health.

But the hunt for viable alternative sources of energy must continue. It was sobering news last year to be told that our North Sea oil and gas reserves will have expired within ten years and that we will shortly become a net importer of energy once again. That may not sound too serious, but when most of our fuel will soon come from notoriously unstable parts of the world – the Middle East and the Caucasus – we could easily find ourselves held to ransom.

Of equal concern is the impact being done to our planet by the way we produce power today. I am not yet convinced by the arguments on global warming because of greenhouse gases being released into the atmosphere, but we can all see with our own eyes that climate change is up and running all around us. Our weather patterns are changing, even in the UK. This may just be one of those cyclical changes that have happened throughout history or it may be because of damage we are doing to the ozone layer. It would be wise to err on the side of caution.

So whether for strategic economic reasons or concern for the planet, we have to push on towards more of our energy being produced in an environment-friendly way. And there is no doubt that wind turbines are part of the answer. But do we want to see hundreds of wind turbines plastered all over Dartmoor or lining the A38? I think not.

The answer surely is to develop as quickly as possible the technology of putting more wind turbines out at sea, where the impact on the eye and ear is virtually nil. This technology is available and some progress has been made, but it is obviously more expensive than building them on-shore. I would like to see enhanced government grants and fiscal incentives to make these vital developments become a living reality now, rather than when it is already too late. What do you think? E-mail me on mail@garystreeter.co.uk

posted by Nigel on Monday, February 02, 2004