David Cameron replies to MPs’ EU demands: exclusive extracts

Three months after it was sent, the Prime Minister has replied to a letter signed by over 100 backbench Conservative MPs calling for legislation in this parliament for an EU referendum in the next.

John Baron, who co-ordinated the letter, is not releasing David Cameron’s response as the original message was private, too. But I’ve managed to get my hands on a copy from elsewhere, and here are some of the key points Cameron makes:

‘As we discussed, I do believe it would be wrong to rule out any type of referendum for the future. However, I am concerned that making a legal commitment now to hold a referendum in the next Parliament without setting the exact referendum question would not be a workable, nor a sustainable, position.’

But the Prime Minister adds that he believes that ‘as a fresh deal in Europe becomes clear, that is the time when we should consider how best to get the fresh consent of the British people’, and also says he understands ‘the depth of feeling’ among many MPs and that he does ‘share many of your frustrations’ on the matter.

Baron isn’t unhappy with this, though as he believes the reference to getting the consent of the electorate once a fresh deal on a new relationship is struck is still a step forward:

‘You need to read it twice as it is very carefully constructed, but the bottom line is that he’s saying Europe is going through radical range, let’s see the results of our concerted effort to get a fresh deal. It’s a step forward because up to this point he hasn’t talked about getting the consent of the British people.’

But Stewart Jackson, who resigned as PPS to Owen Paterson last winter to vote against the government in the backbench rebellion calling for a referendum, is less content. He tells me:

‘Voters don’t trust politicians who try to sell nuanced convoluted issues with the implicit assumption that they’re too stupid to understand the big issues. The ‘cast iron guarantee’ debacle did us great damage. David Cameron has an opportunity very soon to show leadership by committing unequivocally to an in/out EU referendum. Without it, UKIP will wreck any chance of an overall majority for the Conservative party in 2015.’

Source: http://blogs.spectator.co.uk/coffeehouse/2012/09/pm-replies-to-mps-eu-demands-exclusive-extracts/

UK Banking: Commission on Banking Standards gathers evidence

The Parliament Commission on Banking Standards was at Birmingham Chamber of Commerce headquarters to gather evidence in the wake of the Libor scandal.

A return to the personal touch was the overwhelming demand to banks when Birmingham businesses met at a cross-party parliamentary commission on Monday.

The Parliament Commission on Banking Standards, led by Wolverhampton South East MP Pat McFadden, was at Birmingham Chamber of Commerce headquarters to gather evidence in the wake of the Libor scandal.

Mr McFadden said: “There has been a huge breakdown in trust since Libor and PPI miss-selling. But it’s not just about trust. We shall be looking at the broader relationship between banks and business in order to get them to invest and create jobs. It’s about the job description of banks.”

Over 30 businesses attended the hearing to meet Mr McFadden (Lab, Wolverhampton South East) and other SME/retail panel members Mark Garnier (Con, Wyre Forrest), Andy Love (Lab, Edmonton), Lord McFall of Alcluith (Lab) and John Thurson (Lib Dem, Caithness, Sutherland and Easter Ross).

The commission is drawn from the Houses of Commons and Lords.

Most businesses wanted banks to consider a return to personal banking, moving away from “a clone ticking boxes on a computer-generated form,” as one put it.

Other demands were for bankers with more local knowledge, a recognised professional qualification for bank advisers, like lawyers and doctors, with penalties for breaches of a code of practice and more protection for medium-sized businesses.

Source: http://www.egovmonitor.com/2012/09/26/uk-banking-commission-on-banking-standards-gathers-evidence

Bernardi pulls out of UK summit

Under-fire Australian senator Cory Bernardi capped a bruising week for his political career by pulling out of a speaking engagement in England.

The controversial Liberal politician had been due to address the European Young Conservative Freedom Summit this weekend at Oxford University's St Hugh's College.

However he opted not to attend the conference following his controversial comments about same sex marriage in parliament this week.

The British Conservative Party have tried to distance themselves from the South Australian senator's headline-grabbing antics.

"I contacted the organisers yesterday to say that my attendance at their conference had become a distraction," Bernardi said in a statement released by summit organisers.

"I had intended to talk about Australia and the Commonwealth, but that message would be lost, and I don't want to drag an unrelated issue into this important conference."

The outspoken senator found himself in hot water for suggesting in parliament that legalising gay marriage could trigger demands for bestiality and polygamy to be legalised as well.

The remarks cost him his job as a shadow parliamentary secretary but he has refused to apologise for them.

Senator Bernardi, who has been at the centre of controversy in the past for his views on Islam, asylum seekers and climate change, flew out of Australia on Wednesday following his demotion.

He landed at London's Heathrow Airport on Thursday morning but his current whereabouts are not known.

Source: http://news.smh.com.au/breaking-news-world/bernardi-pulls-out-of-uk-summit-20120922-26d1j.html

New Lords video resource for teachers

The ‘who’, ‘what’ and ‘how’ of the House of Lords is explored in a new series of animations, films and activities for students aged 14 and up, launched by Parliament’s Education Service.

• View online resources on the role and make-up of the House

Designed to pose questions for students to debate – as well as answer any they may already have – the new suite of materials offers young people the chance to discover and consider the past, present and future of the House of Lords.

Giving insights into the ideas people on the street have about the Lords, as well as providing quirky three-minute ‘Jump Start’ introductory animation videos introducing young people to the House in a straightforward way with examples of how the Lords is relevant to them, the resources provide a new angle on what the House of Lords is and does and why it matters.

The films and activities are suitable for a range of subjects including citizenship, history, politics and government and BTEC Public Services, as well as supporting students’ development of public speaking, critical thinking and political literacy skills. The online resources will help teachers to run engaging lessons and include debate cards, activity instructions, background information and worksheets.


Source: http://www.parliament.uk/business/news/2012/september/teachers-get-a-jump-start-into-the-lords/

Scottish Fishermen Welcome Parliament Vote of Sanctions Against Unsustainable Fishing

SCOTLAND, UK - Scottish fishermen have welcomed the vote of approval given by the European Parliament for the implementation of sanctions against Iceland and the Faroes in response to their failure to reach an agreement on international mackerel quotas for the north-east Atlantic.

Now that the sanctions proposal has been approved by the European Parliament, Scots fishermen are urging the European Commission to implement the measures as soon as possible. The next round of negotiations between the EU, Norway, Iceland and the Faroes is due to resume next month and Scottish fishermen are keen that a clear signal is given that a fair and equitable deal must now be reached.


The broad ranging sanction measures agreed means the EU is now in the position to apply “quantitative restrictions” on the imports into the EU of Icelandic or Faroese caught mackerel, which would also have the scope to cover other fish species associated with the fishery. There is a broad definition to these ‘associated species’, so in effect it could cover a wide range of fishery products.


Other sanction measures agreed include restrictions on the use of EU ports by vessels flying the flag of the country or territory deemed to be over-fishing, and restrictions on boats transporting fish and fishery products from the stock of common interest and associated species. There is also scope to further tighten the sanction measures if it is deemed that the initial measures are proving ineffective.


Ian Gatt, chief executive of the Scottish Pelagic Fishermen’s Association, said: “We welcome today’s vote by the European Parliament, although it is essential that the European Commission now moves quickly to implement the measures. As the biggest stakeholder in the EU mackerel fishery, UK and Scottish Ministers will have a vital role to play by putting pressure on the Commission to ensure it does enact the sanction measures as fast as possible.


“This is the third straight year without an international agreement on mackerel, which means the sustainability of this valuable fishery is being jeopardised. Hopefully, today’s vote will help ensure that Iceland and the Faroes recognise the seriousness of the situation and at long last they will return to the table to engage in meaningful negotiations.


“This is a very important moment in this long running dispute and the Scottish fishing industry would in particular like to thank the crucial role played by Pat the Cope Gallagher MEP for helping broker this sanctions agreement.”


Scottish Fisheries Secretary Richard Lochhead said: “This is a welcome development and I hope it leads to the European Commission introducing meaningful and effective sanctions as soon as possible against states that fish unsustainably and outwith international agreements. However, past experience show that the wheels of progress turn very slowly in Europe, therefore we need the EU to demonstrate greater urgency.


“Commissioner Damanaki’s talks with Iceland and Faroes last month were unsuccessful, indicating that they are likely to once again pursue excessive mackerel quotas next year. Such flagrant irresponsible behaviour cannot continue without consequences.


“That’s why the EU must add bite to its bark, so that when the formal negotiations for a 2013 mackerel deal commence next month there is a greater incentive on the Faroes and Iceland to negotiate reasonably. We hope that a deal can be reached that will safeguard the fishery without the need for sanctions. However, if that cannot be achieved we need sanction measures available.”


In February protracted negotiations failed to secure a four-way Coastal States deal for 2012, leading to a third straight year without agreement. New mackerel talks for 2013 are set to commence in October. In recent years Iceland and the Faroes have set themselves massively inflated autonomous mackerel quotas outwith any international management agreement with the EU and Norway.


Source: http://www.thefishsite.com/fishnews/18221/scottish-fishermen-welcome-parliament-vote-of-sanctions-against-unsustainable-fishing

MPs call for government leadership on industrial growth

MPs from all three major political parties have called on the government to develop a cross-departmental industrial policy in order to encourage long-term manufacturing growth and help rebalance the UK economy.

In a Strategy Paper published today, the Associate Parliamentary Manufacturing Group has outlined why and how the coalition must take a more active role in generating a firm plan for industrial growth.

The paper calls for the establishment of a formal Industrial Policy Statement, an annual government statement to parliament laying out plans for supporting manufacturing over the forthcoming 10-year period, complete with targets, objectives and measures of success.

According to a statement, the group argues that the current stalling of manufacturing growth in Britain can be attributed to successive governments’ tendency to favour a greater number of smaller, sectoral strategies for growth, rather than a broad and proactive industrial policy that would provide the over-arching vision and energy needed to ensure individual strategies’ success.


The group has called for an Industrial Policy Statement to coincide with the chancellor’s 2013 Budget statement, arguing such a plan would not only provide a coherent framework for growth but would bind together key players and help create the culture of confidence necessary to drive long-term manufacturing growth.


The group further calls for a dedicated minister for manufacturing within the government to act as a voice for UK manufacturing and co-ordinate and drive industrial policy across different government departments.


Chris White MP, co-chair of the APMG, said: ‘UK manufacturing growth is not a party-political issue; nor is it a challenge we can tackle in a fragmented, piecemeal manner.


‘Other economies have benefitted enormously from government leadership on industrial growth — so can the UK. We need a clear vision of what we want the UK manufacturing sector to look like in five, 10, 25 years and we need a cross-government plan for getting there.


‘There is clear consensus across all parties that if the UK is to rebalance its economy away from an over reliance on domestic consumption and debt, towards more sustainable growth based on exports, then we must take a ‘whole-of-government’ approach to industrial policy.


‘It is the only way we can foster the necessary climate of continuity, clarity and confidence in order to secure sustained growth across the economy.’

Source: http://www.theengineer.co.uk/policy-and-business/news/mps-call-for-government-leadership-on-industrial-growth/1013827.article

Diary: A nervous Prime Minister keeps Parliament under control

Following this week's reshuffle, a record number of people are being asked to do a minister's job without a minister's pay.

At least 13 will be unpaid – three in the Commons, who still get their MPs' salaries, and 10 in the Lords, who will claim attendance allowance. Grant Shapps has a new role as party chairman which gives him a seat in the Cabinet, but he has lost his minister's salary. Tom Brake, who is deputy leader of the Commons, and David Evennett, a Tory whip, are also unpaid.


This is not David Cameron's way of cutting costs. Nor is it a sign of political strength. Handing out ministerial jobs is a nervous Prime Minister's way of keeping Parliament under control. There is no limit to the number of ministers he can appoint, but there is a limit to the number of ministerial salaries. By getting 10 peers to serve in government free, he cuts by 10 the number of MPs who are hacked off because they have not got a job.


'I feel Jewish, but I don't know if God exists'


Stephen Hawking has turned his brilliant mind to the question of whether God exists in a series he has made for the Discovery Channel, the first of which will be broadcast on Thursday. We will have to tune in to hear his conclusion, but in the panel discussion at the Royal Society this week some of Britain's finest scientific minds seemed to agree it was not a question to which physics could give the definitive answer.


If they do not know, then I suppose we should not criticise Grant Shapps if he does not know either. He told the Jewish Chronicle: "I feel totally Jewish. I don't eat pork, we buy only kosher meat, and we don't mix meat and milk. I like being Jewish, and I married a Jewish girl. All of that makes me seem as though I am quite observant – but actually ... I don't know if there is a God or not."


An agnostic in charge of Tory party. Times have changed.


A serious insult for a Tory MP


The Government's two most recent job-creating initiatives, credit for house builders and targeted tax breaks for North Sea oil corporations, have not impressed the backbench Tory MP, Douglas Carswell. "It's crony capitalism, dishing out deals and favours. It all favours the big, the well connected … the Heath government tried corporatism," he says on his blog. In Tory circles, "capitalism" is not a bad thing; "crony" is a tad uncomplimentary; but to compare a Prime Minister to Sir Edward Heath, Margaret Thatcher's predecessor, who so despised her that he refused to speak to her for more than 20 years – that is a serious insult.


Sir Raymond and the Falkland islands


An obituary of the former Tory MP Sir Raymond Whitney in yesterday's Independent said he favoured a "diplomatic solution" to the Falklands crisis 30 years ago. Though true, that phrase missed the drama of Whitney's intervention. After the Argentinian invasion, the Commons assembled, with MPs on all sides clamouring for war. The loudest noise came from the Tory right. Whitney was a right wing Tory, but as a former diplomat, he knew the Foreign Office was not convinced Britain had a legally sound claim to the islands. He suggested the UK negotiate before anyone was killed, which caused an uproar. Ten weeks and 904 deaths later, even Whitney accepted that a negotiated solution had gone, and he was appointed a Foreign Minister, whose brief covered Argentina and the Falklands.


Source: http://www.independent.co.uk/news/people/diary/diary-a-nervous-prime-minister-keeps-parliament-under-control-8118218.html

Four Plymouth MPs claimed almost £600,000 in costs and expenses last year

TAXPAYERS stumped up nearly £600,000 last year to cover the costs of MPs in the Plymouth area.

Details of the total business costs and expenses of Westminster politicians for 2011/12 have been published in an annual summary by the Independent Parliamentary Standards Authority (Ipsa).

This includes the bill for staffing, running of constituency offices, and general administration such as office equipment and stationary.

Figures are also published for parliamentary expenses on accommodation for living in London during the week, and travel and subsistence costs.

Total spending by MPs, who receive a basic salary of £65,738, in the financial year 2011/12 came to £571,817.15.

Of this £329,39205 was on staff costs which are paid centrally.

The annual spend for each MP covering constituency and staffing costs, and parliamentary expenses, including accommodation and travel, came to:

Gary Streeter (Con / South West Devon) - £157,682.46

Alison Seabeck (Lab / Plymouth Moor View) - £142,570.72

Sheryll Murray (Con / South East Cornwall) - £138,170.73

Oliver Colvile (Con / Plymouth Sutton and Devonport) - £133,393.24

Mr Streeter said: “The vast majority of this is running my constituency office and providing what I believe to be an excellent service to constituents day in day out.”

Sir Ian Kennedy, chairman of IPSA, explaining the annual publication of MPs spending, said: “You can see how much is spent on staff, on renting offices, on travel and so on. And you can also see if an MP employs a family member of other ‘connected party’.

“In short, we are delivering genuine openness – the kind of which was inconceivable just a few years ago.”

The expenses scandal had now been left behind, he insisted.

Sir Ian said: “We have overhauled the system and the expenses scandal is clearly history.”

MPs were also keeping to the rules.

“So it isn’t just us doing our job – MPs are behaving responsibly and claiming within the rules,” he said.

He added: “There will be some who might say ‘this is too much ‘or ‘I could do it for less’. But we should look at the issue in more depth. MPs are there to represent us. If we want to be able to see our MP, contact their staff – and it is in on MPs’ staff where most of this expense goes, visit MPs’ offices, have them write to us, represent us in Parliament, and help us with problems in the constituency, we have to face the fact that there is a cost to doing so. If we want a good service from our MPs, we have to fund them.

“What we now have are clear, fair rules setting out what MPs can claim, with an independent regulator to govern the system, and transparency so we can all see where our money goes.”

Oliver Colvile

Constituency and Staffing Costs

Constituency Office

£14,786.31

General Admin

£1,023.35

Staffing Expenses

£9,283.50

Constituency Rental

£349.72

Payroll

£94,803.20

Direct Parliamentary Expenses

Accommodation

£4,906.03

Travel and Subsistence

£8,241.13

Total

£133,393.24

Alison Seabeck

Constituency and Staffing Costs

Constituency Office

£8,419.37

General Admin

£190.92

Staffing Expenses

£0.00

Constituency Rental

£1,236.76

Payroll

£111,584.41

Direct Parliamentary Expenses

Accommodation

£11,269.06

Travel and Subsistence

£9,870.20

Total

£142,570.72

Sheryll Murray

Constituency and Staffing Costs

Constituency Office

£9,463.38

General Admin

£305.95

Staffing Expenses

£136.75

Constituency Rental

£1,774.65

Payroll

£95,541.49

Direct Parliamentary Expenses

Accommodation

£19,853.73

Travel and Subsistence

£11,094.78

Total

£138,170.73

Gary Streeter

Constituency and Staffing Costs

Constituency Office

£15,482.18

General Admin

£1,142.02

Staffing Expenses

£21,071.83

Constituency Rental

£675.44

Payroll

£90,462.95

Direct Parliamentary Expenses

Accommodation

£19,905.64

Travel and Subsistence

£8,942.40

Total

£157,682.46

Source: http://www.thisisplymouth.co.uk/Plymouth-MPs-claim-600-000-costs-expenses-year/story-16846895-detail/story.html