Gary's views

TERRORISM

Last week the true threat of terrorism came to our door. This region is often sheltered from many of the worst excesses blighting other parts of the country, but no longer. If the bombs in the Exeter restaurant had detonated properly, many lives would have been devastated. We have had a lucky escape

Imagine the shock of sitting on the pavement café in Old Town Street sipping your cappuccino when suddenly a man whips a pistol out of his bag and sticks it against the head of the person sitting at the next table. Then another plain clothed man does the same and then within seconds the place is full of armed police officers shouting and screaming.

It seems to me that the police have acted swiftly and decisively and deserve our praise.

So the threat of terror has landed locally and what should our response be? First, we must ensure that life goes on as before. The terrorists do not have any ransom or political demand. They just hate all western values and want to tip us into chaos; to terrorise us. We will not let them.

Second, although life goes on as normal, it is a timely reminder to be extra vigilant and be ready to report suspicious activities to the police. Intelligence is the main weapon against this threat, and we, the people are best placed to gather it.

Third, and most importantly, we must not start treating the entire Muslim community as suspects. Most of them despise terrorism just as much as the rest of us. The reaction from Islamic leaders in the city has been swift and decisive, well done to them. Maintaining positive community relations is now paramount, or the bombers will have succeeded.

This incident plays dramatically into the debate at Westminster about detention without charge. During the next few days the police will be gathering intelligence about the would-be bomber and those who may have put him up to it. Mobile hone and computer records will be being poured over all around the clock.

How long should the police be able to detain suspected terrorists without charge? The current law says 28 days. The government want to move it to 42 days although there has been no case yet where more than 28 days has been necessary. A decision will be made by parliament shortly. We have to balance cherished civil liberties with public protection. What do you think?

UNDERWOOD

The phoney war is over, the gloves have come off: the Post Office have announced the post offices throughout Devon (including Plymouth) that are destined for the chop. I feel slightly like the man who was threatened to have both legs cut off, almost pathetically grateful that they only took one; for in south west Devon we have escaped relatively unscathed.

Only one village post office is to close, in Ermington, and sadly that has been on the cards for a while. The rest of the rural network in my constituency has survived – this time. One PO in Plympton has been closed for a while, and another was closed and only recently re-opened and there is (so far) a reluctant acceptance of this verdict.

But one decision must be challenged, namely the closure of Underwood post office. This is a thriving hub in a close-knit community. The suggestion that people, some of them elderly, some of them mums with double buggies, some of them without access to a car, can easily pop down to the Ridgeway along difficult terrain for their post office essentials is simply not on. The queues at the nearest alternative (Plymco on the Ridgeway) are already bad enough at peak times. The bus service that used to run along Underwood to the Ridgeway has now been discontinued. The couple who have run this store for over twenty years offer a warm personal service. For all of these reasons and more, we have decided to fight this decision.

There will be a public meeting, at St. Mary’s village hall on Friday 30^th May at 7.00pm to put our case to post office management. Please come along if you are affected by this closure or wish to support the excellent couple who run this store. If you would be particularly affected by this closure, I would love to hear from you.

The way we change post offices has changed over recent years and many use the Internet to get our car tax and so on. The national PO network is losing money and action is needed, but far greater attempts should be made first to re-introduce business into the system, before the axe is swung.  In some cases, the post office should be allowed to die.

But not in Underwood, not when it will be tricky for so many to access alternatives.

Let us show the people who made this decision that they are wrong.

TRACK HEAT

My journey back to Devon last Thursday was delayed by 38 minutes. Not in itself all that unusual or life-changing, but the reasons given says a lot about contemporary society. Track heat. It was the first week in May and we had enjoyed 3 sunny days the first for a while. On several occasions the train crawled along at 10 mph and each time the chirpy train manager informed us that this was due to track heat. Apparently Network Rail has imposed a new speed limit during these climatic conditions (sunshine).

Other passengers were as gob-smacked as I was. A bishop stopped by my seat to express his frustration! Sometimes during extreme August droughts I have encountered such a thing, but in early May?

The real enemy is risk aversion. Of course we all want our public services to be conducted safely, but there has to be some commonsense and balance. No doubt a lawyer/risk assessor/ bureaucrat somewhere had issued some advice about train times during hot weather, and to avoid possible litigation, Network Rail management are imposing it to the very letter – irrespective of the impact on customers.

It is by far from the only example of risk aversion that we come across daily. Police officers who do not intervene robustly for fear of investigation; teachers no longer able to hug children in primary school because of possible child abuse claims; doctors who hold back from trusting their instincts to avoid lawsuits.

By far the worst cases of risk aversion come from administrators one step removed from the front line issuing disproportionate instructions to those on the front line. I saw a picture recently of a stone bridge on Dartmoor, on the route of a new cycle path, now flanked by massive fences bolted on either side – totally spoiling its ancient beauty – for health and safety reasons! People have been crossing over this bridge for centuries without harm, but oh no some official at county hall has decided to protect his own back by insisting on a horrific wire mesh barrier.

Compare this with the wonderful day out Jan and I had recently with our two lively grandchildren at Buckfastleigh steam railway. Everything was real, accessible, and the children were allowed to get close up and personal with their Thomas the Tank heroes; the way it used to before Mr Jobs Worth Risk Aversion showed up. And the Fat Controller never once mentioned track heat.

PENDULUMS

The pendulum is swinging. I never write about party politics and will not do so today, except to suggest that almost as soon as I was elected to Parliament in 1992 my party’s fortunes plummeted. I am hoping it has nothing to do with me! You will understand therefore that after 15 years of being on the back foot it feels rather better to now be on the front foot. Last weeks results were sweet indeed.

It is crucial in any democracy that the main opposition party has a chance of recapturing power to avoid a one party state. After more than a decade when that was not the case, normal service seems to be being resumed.

But something deeper than a shift in the temporary popularity of any of the political parties is underfoot. Attitudes to key issues in our country have changed in recent months. The pollsters have begun to record this and I have noticed it increasingly in the constituency.

For ten years, maybe twelve, nobody ever complained to me about being over taxed – frustrating but true. Now it is a widespread complaint. The pendulum is swinging. People look at their wage slip and see how much is deducted, do not see the improvements in public services and wonder where the money is going. For most of the last decade, few people complained to me about those who could work but chose not to work. Now this has become once again a real focus (rightly so in my opinion) especially in relation to young people. Why should the rest of us be keeping this small minority of shirkers in booze when they won’t earn or learn for themselves? (Extract from a recent e-mail) Once again the pendulum is swinging. It is moving on law and order, immigration and welfare reform.

The British people are basically a good hearted bunch. With all of the challenges facing us, this is still the best country in the world to live. But after a decade of spending an unprecedented fortune on public services, being very generous and inclusive to all and sundry, the silent majority is moving decisively towards a more robust approach to key political issues.

The party that understands this and encapsulates the genuine public mood shift will reap the electoral rewards and be in power for a generation, until the old pendulum starts to stall and swing back once more.

Maybe it was ever thus.

POST CODE LOTTERY

Most of us have cars, but a vibrant bus service is vital to keep our communities alive, and even more so if we are to reduce carbon emissions. In Plymstock the bus service seems worse than the one in Plympton and the only reason seems to be that the bus operator is less efficient. The First Bus Company does not have a great track record in our region, and has made heavy losses. Recent changes to the numbers 5/6 and 7 in Plymstock have gone down like a led balloon.

The system we currently operate is a network of different private bus operators all over the country who exist to run their services to make a profit. Where there are important routes which are uneconomic, the bus company can apply to the local council which may subsidise that route to keep it going for wider social reasons. There are two main problems with this system: first of all some operators are much better than others. The well run operators can make more routes pay than the less efficient and therefore run more services without the need for subsidy. This is definitely the case in the battle between Citybus and First. I have a very small file of complaints about the Plympton service over the years, whereas the Plymstock file has helped to cut down many trees. In rural areas, even the occasional sighting of a bus causes great excitement.

Second, at a time when all councils are under great pressure with their budgets, one of the first things they will look to cut is the bus subsidy which only impacts a minority of their residents. There is not much hope in expecting councils to cough up more support in the near future.

There is no reason why Citybus cannot extend its service fully into Plymstock so that it covers the whole of the city. It could start by bidding for the new high quality bus links to Sherford as and when that contract is put out to tender and then spread out from there. I will be encouraging the management of Citybus to do precisely that. If First respond and start producing a better service, all well and good.

Real competition can help drive standards up for the benefit of all. It is time to bring our post code bus lottery to an end and give a better service for those living in Plymstock.