Adrian Sanders

Fortnightly Herald Express Article

One of Barack Obama's key pledges in the Presidential election was to reform healthcare provision.

The United States is home to some of the best hospitals, most advanced medical research and leading healthcare professionals in the world. In fact the US spends nearly twice as much on health care as the UK.

Despite this the US has the worst child mortality rate rates and the lowest life expectancy rates in the developed world, mostly due to having 47 million citizens who cannot obtain healthcare insurance.

I remember seeing a report on television about a Californian family facing repossession of their home because they could no longer afford the cost of prescription drugs as well as the mortgage repayments, and something had to go. I thought then what a cruel system where one illness, chronic condition or need for a costly operation can transform your life to one of abject financial struggle. Thank heavens for our NHS was my reaction.

You would think it was a no brainer to switch to a public health care system, but there are some very powerful groups resisting Obama's efforts. The insurance companies and special interests who profit from the status quo are spreading brazen lies that stir up anger, and Conservative Republican leaders are chiming in with over-the-top rhetoric that detracts from the public debate.

The right-wing radio shock-jock, Rush Limbaugh has insinuated that President Obama was comparable to Adolf Hitler. Republican Vice-Presidential candidate Sarah Palin claimed that future decisions over treatment would be made by "death panels"! Perhaps death panels are what they call the decision making bodies inside insurance companies who reject health care applications, or turn down claims for medical treatment?

Our NHS is far from perfect but no one is denied treatment on the basis of their inability to pay, and unlike the US system it does not condemn nearly a quarter of the population to poor health, debt or an early grave.

Very similar objections to those being aired in America were heard in 1910 when Lloyd George's National Health Insurance Bill was going through the Commons.

For example, many doctors were not keen. Sir James Barr, chairman of the BMA, said it would "destroy individual effort and increase the spirit of dependence." and that "only loafers and wastrels will benefit".

Some newspapers were also hostile to a public health care system. The Daily Mail declared its opposition to "the hateful task of collecting this unpopular tax thus thrust upon Mr Lloyd George's hapless victims". For, "it is not only 3d a week we shall lose, but our independence, self-respect and character".

And a reader was quoted as saying: "If the Insurance Bill becomes law it will be advisable for us to leave England."

How ironic that today many people who have lived abroad return home as soon as they require medical assistance, including from the USA.

The task of making our NHS even better will be a good deal easier than Obama's task of creating a universal system for the first time.

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A couple of years ago on a visit to Spain I was playing with the TV remote and came across a German channel with actors playing out scenes beside Torquay's Pavilion, Princess Pier and other local landmarks.

It was one of the Rosamunde Pilcher novels that for several years now have seen German film crews working in South Devon to bring her stories to the small screen, including in recent weeks at Torquay Town Hall and Oldway Mansion.

While there is great value in having a German film company in the area putting some Euros into the local ecomony, the real benefit comes if the viewers who like what they see come and visit the area where the series was filmed.

I do hope our tourism people, locally and regionally, have been coordinating some advertising and marketing in Germany for when the series is broadcast to make the link and maximise the benefit of the filming.

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Despite Government Ministers pointing to positive signs in the claimant count for unemployment benefit, the problems facing the UK labour market are far worse than is being admitted.

Firstly surveys are recording that there are a lot of people who are losing their jobs but not claiming. Secondly, there are many people who simply drop out of the Labour market altogether.

If all the non-recorded unemployed signed on our job centres probably couldn't cope. Already there are reports of overcrowding and a reduction in the time job centre staff can spend helping job seekers.

Add to that the estimate that by the end of September there will be over a million under 25 year olds without work and you can see our labour market is failing.

The Government really needs to be more active in job creation programmes, particularly for young people.

The lesson of the unemployment tradegy of the 1980s was that people who became long-term unemployed remained long-term unemployed, and in many cases have remained welfare dependent ever since. We cannot afford to let this happen again.

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It was revealed this week that medical experts had advised the Government earlier this year that treating Swine Flu with 'Tamiflu' would do more harm than good.

Should the Government have taken this advice and tried to persuade the public that it was in their best interests not to have Tamiflu? Would the media have accepted the advice of the experts while Tamiflu was being prescribed in other countries?

We shall never know, but not being straight with the people over a public health issue, even for fear of the truth being unpalatable, is another nail in the coffin of rebuilding trust between Government and governed.  

Fortnightly Herald Express Article

Share prices surged this week as Barclays and HSBC posted combined profits of £6 billion.  The banks’ investment banking arms largely accounted for the growth, which comes less than a year after the banking system was rescued with a taxpayer’s I.O.U.

Even though Barclays did not take any taxpayer’s money directly, the billions pumped into the banking system on our behalf materially assisted Barclay’s results.

The bank chief executive, John Varley has confirmed that bonuses will be paid to staff at the end of the financial year.

If there is a big surplus linked to what we the taxpayers have lent the banking system, and which we will have to pay for in the years ahead, shouldn’t the profits be ploughed back into the economy rather than the bonus packages of the bankers.

As my colleague Vince Cable remarked, the money should go to small businesses, not ­lining bankers’ pockets.

Without the taxpayer, many bankers would be without a job, let alone a huge bonus. Their greed and excessive risk-taking led to this crisis which is now costing millions of other people their jobs and many their homes.

I agree with Vince that instead of allowing a return to business as usual, the Financial Services Authority watchdog should show real teeth and force the banks to publish details of their policies on pay and bonuses, and the package details of anyone who earns more than the Prime Minister.

Just as with MPs and Peers, openness and transparency are the only ways to avoid another crisis like this one.

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What would you do to protect the Oldway estate from being sold off for development?  It’s a fair question and one I have given some thought to ever since a conversation I had with Nick Bye three years ago when he revealed his plans to sell off the family silver. 

The easiest course of action is always to leave it to others to sort the problem out.  In this case the lazy answer is to flog off Oldway and pass the burden onto someone else.

It requires real hard graft, patience and full-time concentration to find a solution to the long standing problem of maintaining our public buildings and green spaces.

It often means taking on council officers who themselves may prefer an easier solution.  While council staff salaries always rise when they take on new duties and responsibilities, rarely do you hear about a reduction in a council officer’s salary when a service is outsourced, privatised or an asset is sold off .   Perhaps that’s why some council officers are happy to comply when a political master suggests selling everything off.

My plan would require devotion and energy to making things happen, but most of all it would require real political leadership.

1. Sell off the Fernham Day Care Centre and its grounds and ring fence the receipts for adult care services

2. Use the Section 106 windfall from planning gain at Fernham to set up an Amenity Trust that can access grants not available to the Council.

3. Transfer the rest of the Oldway Estate to the Trust.

4. Work closely with the Trust to identify and access grant funding for upkeep and improvements.

5. Transfer council services back into Oldway Mansion to utilise all of the available space in the building and reduce costs elsewhere.

6. Utilise the space in the outbuildings for record storage to release council office space elsewhere.

7. Work with existing businesses, sporting clubs and the many organisations who use the estate and help them grow their activities to increase footfall.

8. Modernise the catering facilities to fully exploit the wedding reception (and other event) potential of the building – perhaps by leasing this activity to an existing local hotel or catering provider.

9.  Consult the leisure industry to develop - on an under utilized site within the grounds - an attraction in keeping with the status of the estate.  

10. Allow the Trust to realise assets so long as the receipts are reinvested in the improvement of the Mansion, the estate and there is an absolute guarantee of future public access.

This is not an exhaustive list and there will be many better ideas out there that to date have failed to see the light of day because the people have not been asked to contribute to the future of Oldway.

The public ‘consultation’ over the future of Oldway was a choice between two developers, not an exercise in discovering what the community would like to see happen on the estate over 5, 10, 20 or more years. 

It’s a tragedy that the powers that be seem to know how to price up a piece of land for asset disposal, but have no idea at all how to value a public asset that contributes to the quality of life of everyone.

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My Scottish colleagues will have been devastated by the news on Monday that the Haggis was recorded first in England and is therefore not a Scottish dish.

It reminded me of the research that was published a couple of years ago tracing the origins of the pasty to Devon.  They still refuse to accept this proven fact on the other side of the Tamar.

They will be telling us next that the Egyptians invented cider!  Actually they did.

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I haven’t seen the latest Harry Potter film but I read that he says he is backing the Liberal Democrats.

When I say he, I mean the actor, Daniel Radcliffe, not Harry Potter, and he said it in a magazine, not on screen, so it might not have been noticed by as many people.  Nevertheless, with or without the magic, it’s good to have him on side.

Fortnightly Herald Express Article

When the old Paignton Urban District Council paid £46,000 for the Oldway estate in 1947 they were purchasing an amenity for the people of Paignton and their descendants.  

After sixty two years of inflation £46,000 is the equivalent of around £1.7 million, but that is not necessarily the value of the estate today.  Far from it, Oldway is not being sold off as recreation land but with effective planning permission for housing and other commercial activities.  That ought to make it worth up to 10 times as much. 

For a comparison just look at the £12 million developers paid for the old South Devon College site at Torre.  You could probably fit six similar sized sites on the Oldway estate with room to spare.

Shortly our estate agent Mayor will announce how much he has negotiated for the sale of the site.  If it’s below its market value the people of Paignton are going to be very annoyed indeed and question why they have been sold short. 

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And so begins the holiday as the Summer recess starts.  Well not quite. 

My Select Committee is still going to meet during the recess that will mean travelling to Westminster for the evidence sessions, but once that’s out of the way the holiday can begin.  Well not really.

There are surgeries every week, meetings in Torbay with people and organisations who meet during the week when I am normally in London and meetings with people and agencies outside Torbay whose decisions affect my constituents, but after that I can go on vacation.  Well not so quick.

Constituents will still be in touch with their problems and questions, lobbyists will continue to contact me, there is the first meeting of the new South West Grand Committee in a few weeks time, and there are the Party Conferences in September and October, and then there’s always the possibility of the House being recalled as has happened in previous years.    

So the holiday is confined to two weeks where the diary has been kept free.  That’s 14 rather than 82 days, but it is two weeks more than some constituents will have on holiday this year and for that I’m very grateful.

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My Lib Dem colleagues in Totnes are frantically trying to encourage members and supporters to vote for Nick Bye in the postal ballot for a candidate to take on Julian Brazil at the next General Election.

The view of political strategists inside and outside the constituency is that with four out of ten households in the Totnes constituency receiving services from Torbay Council, Nick Bye is the candidate who offers Julian the best chance of winning the seat for the Liberal Democrats.

Personally I think having an open selection like this to choose a candidate is a great idea, but sadly because of the expense one that is unlikely to be repeated in very many constituencies. 

I would like to see my party do more in this direction to involve more people in the decision making process.

So long as the party controls the short-list I don’t see a problem with allowing people who may support another party from having a vote.  It only backfires when you have a short-list such as the one the Conservatives have put before the electorate of Totnes.

It is a fact that it is much more difficult for a women to win a Conservative selection process than a man and here is a three person short-list where two women are likely to cancel one another out and allow the man to go through.

This is not my analysis but that of Robert McIlveen, an academic at Sheffield University, who has studied the way the Tories have selected candidates in 199 seats since 2005.  His conclusion is that holding primaries helps male candidates.

He looked at the effect of holding a primary and found that women won only 18.4% of contests, but 37.3% of contests where only Conservative members have a vote.

So it will require some effort for either of the two women short-listed to break through, while only a small effort on the part of political opponents to encourage their supporters to vote for Nick Bye and fix the result that the Conservative Party has said it will abide by.

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Some view him as a lovable buffoon while others see him as a dangerous Old Etonian former Tory Shadow Front-Bencher.  However you view him you cannot ignore Boris Johnson, the ex-MP and now Mayor of London.

He has just revealed that £140,000 for running our nation's capital as its Mayor is not enough and he needs a further £250,000 for writing a weekly article for the Daily Telegraph.

Boris described this payment in a TV interview as “chicken feed”.  Now I write a fortnightly article and don’t even get a paltry penny, let alone a poultry morsel.

Boris explained that he didn’t see why on a Sunday morning “I shouldn't knock off an article - if someone wants to pay me for that article then that's their lookout and of course I make a substantial donation to charity”.

I think I could probably knock off an article on a Sunday or any other morning of the week for a quarter of a million!

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You’ve got to laugh.  An internet publication recently ran a feature that allowed people to ask Lib Dem Leader Nick Clegg questions on-line.

Under the heading ‘ask Clegg’ one of the first messages was: “Ask him if he misses Foggy and Compo?”

Sadly, I didn’t get to see his answer.

Western Morning News Article

Of all the regions in the UK, the South West and Cornwall and Devon in particular, face the greatest challenges over the next few years. 
 
The four pillars of the region’s economy have been in various states of decline over the past three decades.  Tourism, fishing, agriculture and defence all employ fewer people today than one, five, ten or thirty years ago. 
 
The invention of the jet engine and the development of the package holiday offers people a bucket and spade vacation with guaranteed sunshine, often for less money, from a regional airport closer to their home than the English coast.
 
Fewer fishermen and boats are required for the same sized haul, as new technology has increased the catch to the point where some species of fish are near extinction. 
 
Modern farming techniques and global competition have increased yields while forcing the small family farmer out of business.
 
The end of the Cold War and the reappraisal of Britain’s role in the world has already led to a reduction in the amount of defence related economic activity, even before Devonport loses its role housing Britain’s submarine fleet.
 
Tourist resorts have been particularly affected as today’s visitor is less likely to spend a week in a locally owned hotel or bed & breakfast, eating out in family run cafes, pubs and restaurants and patronizing locally owned retail businesses.  More likely he or she will drive here, buy all their needs in a superstore, and stay in self-catering accommodation or a second home.  If they venture out to eat or drink it will be to a national branded pub or restaurant.  The result is that less of their money stays in the local economy.
 
Tourism is, and will continue to be, a major contributor to the local economy but the days of the mass exodus of holidaymakers from our cities heading down the A38/M5 for their main holiday are long gone.
 
Like many other resorts, my home area of Torbay has to continuously reappraise what it can offer to attract people, whether for business or recreation.  We should concentrate and build on what we do well.  Hospitality, health and heritage are Torbay’s strengths alongside up and coming creative and hi tech industries.
 
We start with a number of advantages.  We have one the world’s most beautiful natural harbours and one of the most pleasant climates in all England.  We have first rate hotels and conference facilities together with nationally renowned restaurants and good leisure facilities.  With high performing local schools, an outstanding further education college and a skilled workforce, Torbay ought to be easy to market to the visitor and the inward investor.
 
We know there are a number of local and national barriers to investment – our poor transport links with the rest of the country are top of the list alongside our lack of fiscal and political independence from central government.
 
Just as was the case under the Conservatives, the lack of understanding of Westcountry issues by the Labour Government overwhelmingly hampers progress in the region. 
 
We certainly need more assistance from Government to speed our way out of this recession, but long-term success demands that we are able to take more decisions for ourselves and keep more of the money we earn circulating in our local economy.
 
Not everything depends on the benevolence of the Government; if local communities, councillors, elected mayors, business leaders and so on pull together, the impact can be immense.  Many small communities have looked at innovative solutions to encourage diverse and very successful local businesses.  We now need to replicate this thinking across the region.
 
In Torbay we have the chance to pull together and do just this.  We have a focal point of political leadership in the post of elected mayor which in theory should make cutting through red tape easy. 
 
Who else but a Mayor could invite all the movers and shakers in an area together to plan a strategy to meet the needs of the communities that make up Torbay over the coming years.  A summit to determine the options that could then be put to residents in a formal consultation exercise to develop for Torbay a ‘People’s Vision’ rather than a ‘Mayoral Vision’.
 
It is not too late to rescue a plan for the future that originates locally and has public ownership and support rather than the oft criticized Mayoral Vision dreamt up by external consultants.
 
Without public ownership of where we want to be we will never unite the community behind the necessary changes the bay needs to address and meet the challenges that face us.
 
It matters not who sits in the driving seat in the town hall and who sits on the Green benches at Westminster if the vision of the political leadership in the town hall doesn’t command widespread support outside.
 
What matters is engaging the public with the decisions that need to be taken and letting them own the process of change.  With no Mayoral election until May 2011 there is time to host that summit, get people together, and start the ball rolling.
 
The Government is very keen to have new forms of local leadership, with elected mayors at the forefront of this policy but if Torbay does not make this system work, there is no hope of councils in the rest of the region making the change.

Fortnightly Herald Express Article

Newspapers, including this one, are fighting for their commercial lives as a consequence of ever increasing competition for advertising revenue and the current economic downturn.

Advertising revenues are migrating away from television and newspapers towards the internet. This has serious implications for local news gathering and the future of the newsprint and broadcast media.

Across the world newspapers have closed down, or reduced the number of days they publish, or cut back and centralised their news operation. There are fewer openings for budding journalists as the main training grounds for tomorrow’s national radio, TV and newspaper reporters contract in size.

The Select Committee I sit on is currently investigating the future of local newspapers. I start with the view that local newspapers are an essential part of our democracy shedding light on local decision making and holding people to account for their actions.

We will all be less well informed and able to make choices without the spotlight being shone on local affairs.

Take the example of the ‘Salford Star’, a paper that won Best Regional Newspaper category at last year’s Plain English Campaign awards.

Three years ago this now defunct local paper exposed the property company Urban Splash for not providing promised affordable housing in a flag ship development hailed by local MP Hazel Blears.

The paper argued that the average price of the first 108 Urban Splash homes were well beyond the pockets of the local population. This went against their promises that had won over local people to their plans in the first place.

It’s a small story but without the local paper it would never have been told. Instead, as the Salford Star editor has hinted, all you would ever get to read about Urban Splash was their own publicity handouts.

Urban Splash are one of the two bidders to take over Oldway Mansion and carry out the Mayor’s vision to build housing in the grounds of the estate. I don’t suppose they would have included their Salford Star press coverage in their offer, but the real point is that without the local paper there would have been limited scrutiny of their performance.

Our investigations into the future of local newspapers will involve looking at alternative funding models.  We are going to have to ask some difficult questions such as whether some of the BBC’s licence fee money for public service broadcasting, or other funding, ought to be available to local newspapers?  We will need to answer whether this would be used for local news gathering, or the maintenance of journalistic standards, or training the next generation of reporters? 

We will also have to consider whether we should just accept the public are voting with their feet and leave it to the market to determine which paper survives and which folds?

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When I first raised the issue of Identity Cards and argued that they should be opposed, six out of every ten people asked thought they were a good idea. The fact that more than six out of ten now think they are a bad idea might have had something to do with the Government’s retreat over compulsory ID cards.

This week the Home Secretary Alan Johnson signalled a significant reversal over the Government’s identity card policy when he ruled out making them compulsory for British citizens. He also abandoned plans for trials at two airports that would have required some staff and pilots to carry the cards.

The announcement means that the only people for whom it will be compulsory to have an identity card will be foreign citizens. Quite how this works has clearly not been thought through. What happens if a foreign citizen when asked for their identity card claims not to be a foreign citizen? What happens when a UK citizen is asked for their identity card and the person asking does not believe them when they say are not a foreign citizen?

More worrying is that the Government is still pressing ahead with creating a national identity register that, from 2011-12, will include the details of everyone who applies for a passport.

Those who have campaigned against ID cards have won an important victory as the Government is clearly in retreat. Now we need to push for full scale surrender and the abandonment of the database to kill off the idea once and for all.

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There was a second victory this week over the issue of paying for care. Having resisted several attempts by Lib Dem, nationalist and rebel Labour MPs to abolish charges for personal care, as is the case in Scotland, the Government is proposing an Age Insurance Scheme.

The Government is saying such a scheme will be part of a package of measures to shake-up of the care system.

The current means-tested system forces thousands of pensioners each year to sell their homes or run down their savings. Under the proposals, those who want to protect their homes or savings would pay into a scheme that would then foot the bill for all members who require long-term residential care.

A range of payment options for “age insurance” will be set out in a Government Green Paper.

It’s not quite the ‘free’ care argued for, but the age insurance idea is a small step forward by the Government and the Green Paper is awaited with great interest.

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When people contact my office threatened with bailiffs it is usually as a last resort and in desperation. It is a sign of the hard times now being felt in this recession that increasing numbers of constituents are contacting me faced with this threat.

My office has a briefing for constituents explaining their rights that can be obtained on the advice line: 200036.

 

Western Morning News Article

Here has been more talk about reform to the political system in the past two months than in the last 30 years. Many proposals have been floated in the past only to be ignored, but now public and media interest has been aroused, changing things for the better has become irresistible.

Your views are needed now as never before to help rebuild our systems of governance. It is a debate we can all take part in and influence to make politics properly democratic and truly representative.

So far there has been a great deal of rhetoric but little action.

The Prime Minister is a recent convert to this debate while David Cameron has been very lukewarm in approaching any reform beyond that of MPs' expenses, and even then refusing to tackle MPs' capital gains from property dealings.

In the past the Liberal Democrats have been dismissed for their anti-traditionalist approach to the British constitution but now, as with the economy, the environment and so many other issues, the weight of media and public opinion has become aligned with our policies.

Now is the time not only for cautious reflection on how things have gone wrong in past decades but for radical solutions that give us a chance to renew and refresh our political system.

We simply must change the culture and way Government works otherwise we cannot change the things Government does. That culture extends way beyond the expenses and allowances system.

We need an electoral system that gets rid of safe seats and makes every vote count. We need a written constitution and a bill of rights that enshrines freedom of information and transparency in Government.

We need to devolve fiscal and decision making powers to local areas. We need an elected House of Lords.

We also need to cut the costs of Government, as St Ives MP Andrew George has proposed, by reducing the number of MPs to around 500 so that each represents around 100,000 electors.

That would work out nicely for Torbay where many voters in Brixham and parts of Paignton do not understand why the MP for Totnes, and not the MP for Torbay, is their voice in Parliament.

Without such reforms the only thing that will change after the next election will be a few faces on the green benches. Or as someone crudely put it, same trough, different snouts. I'm sure every MP is aware that most people are dissatisfied with some aspect of politics.

The complaints are wide ranging but the electoral system is the one that denies the public their voice at the decision making table.

A recent reminder was the Devon County Council election where the Conservatives won 66 per cent of the seats on less than 42 per cent of the vote. The majority of voters in Devon did not vote for a Tory controlled county council but that's what the electoral system gave them.

David Cameron has set himself against reforming the electoral system. It seems the attraction of majority power on a minority vote is still too seductive to propose that change, but there are growing numbers in all parties and none who want to see this long overdue reform.

Some have argued that proportional representation allows in extreme parties such as the BNP.

This is nonsense; more than 100 BNP representatives have been elected under first past the post, only two under the European election list system that no-one is proposing for Westminster.

First past the post has got to go. It was no coincidence that some of the most controversial expense claims revealed by the Daily Telegraph involved MPs in safe seats. Make every vote count and no MP can take the electorate for granted.

There is also the problem of openness and transparency, not just for MPs but for everything local and national Government does especially when taxpayers' money is passed on to quangos and consultants.

In 2001, I asked the Government to reveal just how much of our money is spent by non governmental bodies - quangos - which receive taxpayers' money from central government and take decisions which affect our lives.

In short I uncovered that unelected quangos spend more taxpayers' money than elected and accountable local authorities in the region.

In that year local authorities across the South West region spent just under £2.9 billion, while unelected quangos spent more than £5.3 billion.

I believe that the true figure of unaccountable spending is probably much higher, as many quangos did not provide a response to my request for figures.

This then is perhaps the biggest democratic deficit at the heart of our over centralised system of government. Decisions are taken about the expenditure of billions of pounds within our region by appointees of the Secretary of State and not by the people these decisions affect.

Such expenditure should be in the hands of people accountable through the ballot box and that could be an elected regional assembly while other decisions could be devolved to existing local councils.

The Liberal Democrat vision of regional government offers the opportunity to reduce the tiers of decision making we have identified, allow people to determine the boundaries of their region, bring quangos under democratic control, and save taxpayers money in the process.

The level of public involvement in local democracy is poor yet there is so much scope for getting involved in decision making.

We should never forget that decisions are made by those who turn up. Not getting involved allows others to take decisions and it is often too late to complain afterwards.

We now have a fantastic window of opportunity to change things for the better. The public have a unique chance to be in the driving seat for reform if they want to be. I hope they will take it.

Fortnightly Herald Express Article

This week Plymouth City Council banned Councillors and staff from using council computers and mobile phones to access social networking sites and applications such as Twitter.

The ban was introduced after Labour Leader Cllr Tudor Evans upset another politician with comments he had published on Twitter.

Plymouth Council’s Chief Executive wrote to all Councillors and staff saying the use of Twitter was now restricted to the council's corporate communications team.

How daft can you get? If public bodies and those who work within them want to engage with the public they need to do so through the media the public uses.

I have a website where I publish my activities in Parliament, write an occasional electronic diary (blog), invite comments on the issues of the day and promote Torbay to the world and his dog who might be reading my pages. For the record mine costs under £10 a month out of my own pocket.

I also use the free of charge social networking sites Facebook and Myspace and as a consequence attract questions and casework from people who would not otherwise have contacted me.

It’s about reaching the parts you might not otherwise reach in order to offer as inclusive a service as possible to all constituents.

Plymouth City Council should be doing the same in order to engage with those it is supposed to serve.

Of course insulting language or comments should not be communicated by anyone and when found to do so it is their access through a council’s computer that should be blocked, not the entire workforce and political management of a local authority.

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Now that all the MP claims for expanses and allowances have been published the independent auditors can start their work. They will be looking into every claim form, receipt, invoice and piece of correspondence. They will check these against the rules at the time and spirit of the rules today and will have the power to force repayment and call in the police if necessary.

The issue is far from over but it is good to report that reforms are already in place with further fundamental changes to follow that are aimed at cleaning up the system once and for all.

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In the Devon County elections a majority of voters did not want a county council dominated by one party, but the electoral system gave it to them once again, just as it had four years ago when the Lib Dems won an overall majority but not a majority of the votes.

This time the Conservatives won 66 per cent of the seats, taking complete control of the authority, despite polling less than 42 per cent of the vote.

Electoral reform is the way to give the voter the power to influence the result they wish to see. Many people across all parties are debating how to modernise and reform our democracy although one of the main Party leaders has made it perfectly clear he would be happy to take complete power on a minority of the votes. 
So long as he can count on opponents splitting their votes between different candidates rather than the one best placed to challenge his Party, he will win a disproportionate number of seats against the will of the people.
In the wake of recent events a fairer voting system is one of the top reforms we need in order to renew our democracy and restore faith in our Parliamentary system. Sadly, it’s the one change David Cameron has set himself firmly against.

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In 2001 I asked the Secretary of State to publish the amount of funding his Department has given to non governmental bodies in the South West region for the last year for which figures are available?

I posed a similar question to all Government Departments in order to find out just how much of our money is spent by non governmental bodies, or Quangos as they are known, that receive taxpayer’s money from central government and take decisions which affect our lives.

In short I uncovered that un-elected quangos spend more taxpayer’s money than elected and accountable local authorities in the region. In that year local authorities across the South West region spent just under £2.9 billion, whilst un-elected quangos spent over £5.3 billion.

I believe that the true figure of unaccountable spending is probably much higher, as many quangos did not provide a response to my request for figures.

This is yet another democratic deficits at the heart of our over centralised system of Government. Decisions are taken about the expenditure of Billions of pounds within our region by appointees of the Secretary of State and not by the people their decisions affect.

Such expenditure should be in the hands of elected representatives whom we can all influence and then judge when an election comes round.

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English Heritage has published a list of sites and buildings they deem to be at risk in Torbay.

There are some obvious ones we have known about for some time such as the Torbay Cinema in Torbay Road, and The Bishop’s Palace in Tower Road, in Paignton.

There are some not so obvious such as the prehistoric field system at Walls Hill, Torquay, and then there’s a building I have not heard about before.

The Ilsham Oratory in Ilsham Road was part of the now demolished medieval Ilsham Manor. According to English Heritage the chapel is in private hands and has no current use. It is considered a category A risk where there is an immediate risk of further rapid deterioration.

Whether natural or man made our heritage should be treasured. It is what adds to our quality of life and without it Torbay would be the poorer.

Fortnightly Herald Express Article

Unless you own the Daily Telegraph there has not been much to smile about in recent weeks, but I couldn’t help chuckle at the UKIP theory that the MP expenses scandal had been put together by MPs to avoid discussing Europe in the run up to the European elections!

Clearly that one didn’t work as UKIP had a good result. However, there is an element of truth in the fact that important issues have been buried behind the shocking stories of the last few weeks.

Among the many stories pushed off the front pages was the UK agreeing to commit huge resources to guard Iraqi offshore oil production. The Prime Minister’s refusal to fund a UK troop surge in Afghanistan. Crude oil price rises creeping through to the pump price. The closure of Vauxhall in favour of production in Germany and the closure of LDV vans (and the involvement of Lord Mandelson’s friend Mr Deripaska in both). The IMF’s criticism of UK economic policy and it’s debts due to exceed 100% of annual GDP by 2013, and other worrying economic forecasts.

The biggest issue that has effectively become the elephant in the room is how our Government – whoever leads it – will deal with the escalated debt from the banking crisis that we will have to pay either through increased taxes, cuts to services, or both.

That debate has hardly begun but we need to have it before a General Election in order to expose the sacrifices the different parties are going to ask the people of this country to make.

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The Prime Minister’s statement on constitutional reform was warmly welcomed by the House this week.

Having spent decades discussing the reforms that could improve the way decisions are made, the weeks spent in conferences and committees working up the details, and the forest of papers, documents and manifestos - that went mostly unread – it seems everyone’s a reformer now.

I never thought I would witness a Conservative leader calling to reduce the power of the executive and devolve power to councils. Pity he fell short of the most important reform of all, to make every vote count at election time with a more proportional electoral system.

It seems the attraction of majority power on a minority vote is still too seductive to propose that change, but there are growing numbers in all parties and none who want to see this long overdue reform.

Of course this is all taking place against the back drop of public anger at what some MPs and Peers have been up to.

Many sections of the media are calling for all heads to roll rather than focussing on the culture that has led to this, and changing it for good.

MPs only have themselves to blame for this. We can say sorry, but that doesn’t begin to assuage for the collective failure of Parliament. We can pay back monies if found by the independent auditor to have broken the rules or the spirit of the rules, but that’s nothing more than what should have happened. And some can stand on their record at the next election and allow the people to exercise their ultimate power, to sack or re-hire us.

But unless we change the culture and way Government works we cannot change the things Government does.

That culture isn’t just the expenses and allowances system. We also need to introduce fundamental reforms to our system of Government. Among them are reforms that brought me into politics in the first place.

We need an electoral system that gets rid of safe seats and makes every vote count.

We need a written constitution and a bill of rights that enshrines freedom of information and transparency in Government.

We need to devolve fiscal and decision making powers to local councils.

We need an elected House of Lords.

We also need to cut the costs of Government by reducing the number of MPs to around 500 so that each represents around 100,000 electors. That would work out nicely for Torbay where many voters in Brixham, Churston and the south west of Paignton do not understand why the MP for Totnes, and not the MP for Torbay, is their voice in Parliament.

Without such reforms the only thing that will change after the next election will be a few faces on the green benches.

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It was bad eggs all round on Tuesday when anti fascist protesters pelted the Bad News Party Leader Nick Griffin and his newly elected MEP colleague Andrew Brons.

The problem with such stunts is that they make these spokesmen for the racist BNP martyrs in the eyes of their followers.

I always remind people attracted to the simplistic messages of the BNP of what Pastor Martin Neimoller wrote of the Nazis who imprisoned him.

"In Germany they first came for the Communists and I didn't speak up because I wasn't a Communist. Then they came for the Jews, and I didn't speak up because I wasn't a Jew. Then they came for the trade unionists, and I didn't speak up because I wasn't a trade unionist. Then they came for the Catholics, and I didn't speak up because I was a Protestant." "Then they came for me --- and by that time no one was left to speak up."

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When people contact my office threatened with bailiffs it is usually as a last resort and in desperation. It is a sign of the hard times now being felt in this recession that increasing numbers of constituents are contacting me faced with this threat.

My office has a briefing for constituents explaining their rights that can be obtained on the advice line: 200036.

Fortnightly Herald Express Article

I am excited about the flurry of proposals for constitutional reform that MPs from all parties are arguing for right now.

All those years discussing the reforms the country needs, the hours spent in conferences and committees working up the details and the forest of papers, documents and manifestos that went mostly unread, and now everyone’s a reformer.

I never thought I would witness a Conservative leader calling to reduce the power of the executive and devolve power to councils.  Pity he fell short of the most important reform of all, to make every vote count at election time with a more proportional electoral system.

It seems the attraction of majority power on a minority vote is still too seductive to propose that change, but there are growing numbers in all parties and none who want to see this long overdue reform.

Of course this is all taking place against the back drop of public anger at what some MPs and Peers have been up to.

Many sections of the media are calling for all heads to roll rather than focussing on the culture that has led to this and changing it for good. 

That culture isn’t just the expenses and allowances system that must and will change, because anyone who thinks that’s the end of the matter is living in the clouds. 

And knee jerk suggestions as opposed to thought through reforms are not the answer.  Take for example the vote to immediately transfer MP’s staff onto the House pay-roll.  In principle that is where we ought to end up.  In practice there are a number of legal and financial details that need to be worked out to protect the taxpayer from an even bigger bill.

First there is employment legislation we ourselves have passed that means we have to consult staff before making such a change.

Then there is the fact that at the moment each MP has a fixed budget for salaries and on-costs.  If we simply switched to the Commons employing everyone isn’t every MP going to propose their staff should be at the top of each pay band – something they can’t afford to do within the present system unless they top-up the allowance from their own means.

Yes, we should transfer staff over with their consent and with open procedures to judge salary rates, performance and recruitment practices.  Let’s do it properly.

But there are far more fundamental reforms we must also instigate to our system of Government that Liberals and Liberal Democrats have for decades been campaigning for.  Among them are reforms that brought me into politics in the first place and under Nick Clegg’s leadership might now see the light of day.

We need an electoral system that gets rid of safe seats and makes every vote count.

We need a written constitution and a bill of rights that enshrines freedom of information and transparency in Government.

We need to devolve fiscal and decision making powers to local councils.

We need an elected House of Lords.

Unless we change the way Government works we cannot change the things Government does, whether local or national.

We also need to cut the costs of Government by reducing the number of MPs to around 500 so that each represents around 100,000 electors.  That would work out nicely for Torbay where many voters in Brixham, Churston and the Tweenaway, Foxhole and Maidenway areas of Paignton do not understand why the MP for Totnes, and not the MP for Torbay, is their voice in Parliament.

MPs only have themselves to blame for this.  We can say sorry, but that doesn’t begin to assuage for the collective failure of Parliament.   We can pay back monies if found by the independent auditor to have broken the rules or the spirit of the rules, but that’s nothing more than what should have happened. And some can stand on their record at the next election and allow the people to exercise their ultimate power, to sack or re-hire us.

But nothing much is going to change other than a few faces on the Parliamentary benches unless we fundamentally reform our system of Government – that’s why David Cameron’s move towards some minor changes is an important start, but it is a long, long way from where we need to get.

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Torbay began its bid for Geopark status back in 2003 and in September 2007 became the 32^nd member of the European Geoparks Network.

As part of an international network we can better preserve our geological heritage while using it to benefit tourism, education and the quality of life of our residents.

I joined the radio enthusiasts at Kents Cavern last weekend celebrating the second annual English Riviera Geopark Festival broadcasting the merits of Torbay around the globe.

I got to speak to someone in Eire, who strangely had a Birmingham rather than an Irish accent, and when a call went out around the planet to see if anyone was listening the first person to respond was only 3 miles away in Paignton! 

Contacts had been made with the USA and across Europe as well as throughout the UK.

Geopark status is a really exciting concept and thanks to the Torbay Amateur Radio Society our area is gaining worldwide recognition.

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A sign of the hard times now being felt in this recession are the increasing numbers of people contacting my office threatened with bailiffs.  My office has a briefing for constituents explaining their rights that can be obtained on the advice line: 200036. 

Fortnightly Herald Express Article

It may be counter-intuitive but I have been pondering whether more press freedom might not lead to fewer complaints about the media.

The other week people were shocked by the Sun using a posed picture of two holidaymakers in Torbay wearing surgical masks alongside a story about Swine flu.

This attracted criticism because, a) it wasn’t true and gave a false impression of a tourist destination just before a bank holiday, and b) the expert advice is not to wear surgical masks.

I think the real problem is that we have too much media and not enough news.  It’s the basic problem confronting newspapers and broadcasters who are forever chasing a new angle to be one step ahead of the competition.

24 hour news coverage is available on multiple platforms such as the internet, television, and increasingly the mobile phone.  News is still being broadcast or published by traditional broadcasters and publishers alongside self-generated content on youtube or via blogs, twitter and other outlets. 

Only a couple of decades ago there were only three television news gathering operations in the UK:  BBC, ITN and the new kid on the block Channel 4.  None of them were available 24 hours a day.  Today I can receive 12 different versions of the news, half of them round the clock, through my digibox alone.

There are more national newspapers available on the newsstands and radio stations on the dial – or via the web – than ever before.

Such unprecedented competition could be why a newspaper would carry a fabricated picture or use an internet blog as a verifiable source to stand up a story.  But it doesn’t excuse it.

It’s partly why increasing numbers of people are seeking legal remedies to redress inaccuracies and why there are growing calls for legislation to regulate the media.

In the UK we have the most restrictive libel laws of any western democracy.  These laws are supposed to protect individuals, but in practice appear to do precisely the opposite.

Because publishers have to be so careful about what they say for fear of injunctions or libel actions, they dress up their reporting with innuendo.  Were they liberated from the fear of having to prove in court that what they are alleging is true my guess is they would report things as they are and not couch their stories in a fug of innuendos, hints and clues.

We do not place such high priority on freedom of speech in the UK as they do in the States.  Under the European Convention of Human Rights free speech is protected under Article 10, while in the US it is the 1^st Amendment and is widely understood and regularly talked about.

Probably because of the 1^st Amendment the laws of libel are very different in the USA and it appears that the mainstream press over there still apply strong ethics and principles.  Perhaps if we placed a higher importance to freedom of speech in the UK it would raise the standards of journalism and end the intrusive practices of some of our media.

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This Sunday Torquay United will discover whether they are going to be able to leave the small pond and join the big fish once again.

It is an interesting time to rejoin the football league as the Government is demanding a radical overhaul of English football finances to break the domination of the “big four” clubs.

Andy Burnham, the Culture Secretary, is calling for Manchester United, Chelsea, Arsenal and Liverpool to share their winnings in Europe with other Premier League teams.

He wants the league’s £1 billion revenue from television and sponsorship rights to be shared out more evenly among its 20 clubs. He also wants smaller squads and compulsory quotas of English players in team line-ups.

This is all well and good but what about the other clubs outside the Premier League?  How about some of the wealth creamed off at the top trickling down to League’s One and Two.  Or even the Blue Square for that matter!

Andy Burnham is an Everton supporter, a top club that finds itself just outside the big four.  Perhaps if he were a supporter of Merseyside’s third team, Tranmere Rovers, he might be arguing to share the riches further.

Nevertheless I wish him luck because if he can establish the principle of the very top helping the next few clubs then some of us can take the battle on from there.

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Another small victory this week with the publication of the Culture, Media and Sport Select Committee report into the Licensing Act.

At the launch I described it as calling for less bureaucracy and for more fun.

It was thanks to input from Preston Councillor Dave Butt and the Preston Partnership Chairman Bob Brewis that a recommendation will now be going to Government to reform the Temporary Event Notice system.

The current system prevents a ward councillor, or any other elected representative, from raising an objection on behalf of a community to a permission to allow a temporary event to take place.

The police are the only people who can question a notice and then on very narrow grounds.

Our recommendation is to allow local councillors as well as the police the opportunity to object to the granting of a TEN.

Other areas where local concerns had been raised were addressed with recommendations to reduce paperwork, support live music, help sporting and not for profit clubs and reduce irresponsible drinking. 

The report is available on the web via www.parliament.uk

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Much as been written about MPs expenses and allowances.  If you still have the appetite for more I wrote a blog last Sunday about reforming the allowances system and posted it at: www.myspace.com/adriansandersmp