18th May: A BBC interview - D'oh!
The phone rings early in the morning. It's BBC Radio Cambridgeshire. They have got
wind that I know quite a bit about transport issues, and I'm standing in the County
elections. Would I like to come on on Wednesday and have a debate with people from the other two main
parties about what the county should be doing? Initially my reaction is yes, let's go for
it. I might not be the most eloquent speaker but I do know my onions, at least in this
patch.
Ah, but there's a catch. It's not a phone interview, it's face to face. OK, I'm thinking
time off work which will go down like a lead balloon, but still possible. It's at 7.30am so
that people can listen in the car on the way to work. Right, so that means travelling
through the peak hour both ways to attend. And it's in a service station on the A14.
Right, so given that I don't have the use of a car, there are no cabs around at that time in
the morning even if I could afford it, and I don't have anyone willing enough to give me two
lifts through the worst time for jams on an appallingly busy road... let's think, the
nearest bus stop is about two miles away...
And that is the biggest problem with transport in a nutshell. To too many of our
our senior politicians -
and radio presenters - tucked away in their high-spec cars, the thought that anyone
might want or need any other means of getting about (apart, perhaps, from the train
into central London), let alone making effort to accommodate such people, simply
doesn't occur.
16th May: Fair Trade comes of age
Just back from my regular visit to Oxfam of a weekend, and a surprising bit of news.
Apparently our shop is to phase out selling fairtrade foods, because they can no longer
compete. So the tea, coffee, arcane spices and chocolate bars that I can buy with a clear
conscience (no, you don't see me eating that chocolate while dieting, did you ;) ) will
have to come from elsewhere. And that news really cheered me up. Because fair trade has
finally become established as a solid principle of a healthy society.
It was back in the mid-1980s that I first came across fairtrade goods - there was
a strange shop in Cambridge, one of those which you wonder how it ever paid the rent,
which did recycled writing paper, wood carvings from Africa, and stuff that smelled funny
that I wasn't remotely tempted to buy. The whole atmosphere was one of hippies who couldn't
quite come to terms with the sixties ending. But then they started doing Fairtrade Teabags.
And the principle of providing those in excrutiating poverty with a fair share of the proceeds
from my student grant (remember them?) seemed very appealing to a teenager flush with
youthful idealism. So, once in a while I'd brave the smells and the stares from passers
by to go in and get a box.
Time passed; Oxfam took up the trade and the hippies moved on. I told people what
a wonderful idea it was and most still looked like I had my head in the clouds. Gradually
the idea grew - I remembered the Co-op taking it on, and it was definitely the sign of
an ethical style of retail that I pursued. The range broadened (geobars - mmm).
It turned into a bandwagon that firms were
keen to be seen to be jumping on. The next sign of growth was the inevitable backlash from
the cynics - those who thought it was a con, those who argued we could never change the
status quo - followed by serious study to show it was having the desired effect.
In 2004 Fairtrade towns were appearing. The first motion I proposed as a councillor -
a significant moment for me, working up the courage to stick my neck out amongst my
seniors -
was that St Neots Town Council should make use of fairtrade products wherever practical;
shortly afterwards St Neots was awarded Fairtrade status. Now it hardly rates a mention.
And that is surely what those early pioneers really wanted - to reach a point where
fair trade had not only flown the nest of the "alternative lifestyle" movement, but had
also outgrown the charitable sector and, along with the idea of ethical consumerism,
become completely mainstream.
So, I shall miss my little treats when I go to Oxfam - perhaps my waist won't - but
I shall raise a mug of fairtrade tea to having been part of a wave that changed the world
for the better.
15th May: Expenses - the fault of the rules?
With more MPs crying about how they shouldn't be blamed that they made extravagant claims
on the public purse,
epitomised by our very own Jonathan Djanogly apearing on the front of the Hunts Post
saying "I am part of a flawed system" - yes, it's Someone Else's Problem that the rules
were too lax - here's a thought:
Good people do not need rules to tell them what is right or wrong.
Bad people will find a way round them anyway.
- Plato
14th May: Expenses
Today looks like being a turning point. After rumours that news was going to erupt,
suddenly MPs left right and centre are being exposed in the media as being on the take.
Quite apart from getting a more-than-healthy salary with no actual requirement to turn up
for four years, the expenses system appears to be a nice earner. Now, if my employers
ask me to do something as part of my job, and I have to pay for it, they make good
afterwards. That's only natural. If, however, I tried to slip past a claim for something
just for myself, I'd be expecting a P45 by return. Given that, I don't know which offends
me more - the audacity of individuals who want to claim for thousands on maintaining and
restocking their multiple homes, or the mean-spiritedness of made-for-life millionaires
who make sure every phone call, every biscuit, every taxi ride is receipted and claimed for
at Honest Joe's expense. Both, though, pale into insignificance compared to the response -
either a defiant "I did nothing wrong, it was in the rules" (what about the spirit of
the rules?), or a weaselly "I made an error of judgement" (gosh, you think billing the
taxpayer for a porn film was a close call and you think you were just a little bit out
of order?)
As a town councillor, and candidate for the County Council, I believe it's vital
to be up front about my own integrity. So I am publishing every penny that I receive and
what I do with it here. At the moment, it makes good
bedtime reading only if you have a bad case of insomnia. It will stay that way.
Out on the doorsteps expenses has been a common topic of conversation - particularly as
our own MP is under the
spotlight right now. It makes me angry that, at a time when we need the public to
be politically active (in the broader sense - not necessarily party-based, but getting
involved in shaping our society for the better rather than just sitting back and accepting
what MPs, the media and big business decide for them), all this affair has done is make
people ever more disillusioned. It's this sort of environment in which extremists thrive.
And all the second homes, the duck houses and moat-cleaning will pale into insignificance
if we end up with MPs driven by racism, sexism and homophobia as a result.
10th May: Parking (2)
After the fuss about Longsands Road, the County Council have at least sorted out the
yellow lines and signs in Station Road. And today we've just had notice from the local
PCSOs that they are issuing warnings to commuters parking illegally on the verges in
Station Road, and that they will start enforcing the area with tickets from Monday.
It's a start, I guess!
27th April: political peeve
On the way to work, I'm accosted by my Conservative opposite numbers at the station
handing out leaflets. Surprised I got one, but on a pretty chilly morning with lots of
glum-faced commuters skipping past the broken ticket machines to the long queue in the
ticket office, perhaps it's a case of anyone who will take one...?
Anyway, as usual for a political leaflet there are the usual promises of action.
Top of the list, they are at "the early stages of talks" to get the buses to meet the
trains, to get more trains... hmmm... they clearly haven't been reading this page too
much and particularly the 11th and 14th March entries! Already done, folks!
Still, it made me think what sort of political creature I am. If (or rather, when)
someone takes my ideas, runs with them and succeeds, and tries to take the credit,
how does that make me feel? Or if I did it to them? I know a lot of individuals who would
be steaming away, writing to the papers, building up a bag full of resentments. That's
not me, though. I guess I have a deep instinctive respect for the important bit
on my membership card:
The Liberal Democrats exist to build and safeguard a fair, free and open
society, in which we seek to balance the fundamental values of liberty, equality and community,
and in which no-one shall be enslaved by poverty, ignorance or conformity.
- Preamble to the Federal Constitution
not actually referring to winning elections, holding power or anything like that.
Those are just means to the end of a better, healthier society as far as I'm concerned.
So go on, take my policies, if you do as good a job as I would have done then I'll rest
content that I've done my job.
25th April: Our Manifesto for Cambridgeshire 2009 - see links box
18th April: patience required
It's been a long task to get ready for the job of group leader, and hence the lack of
updates - trawling through old
minutes, making sure I have a complete list of everything that is going on, and picking the
brains of everyone who might have something useful for me. I still don't have a deputy,
as the votes won't be counted until Monday.
Anyway, the first big task is to finalise the list of people who will sit on all
the committees with my opposite number, and all the organisations who ask for one or more
councillors to be part of their organisation. It's a wide variety - from inter-council
forums to the CAB, charities, sports and arts clubs; basically any group for whom
having an ongoing dialogue with the Town Council would be good for the community. It allows
us to follow our own personal interests in a strictly non-political setting, and it proves
to me what a diverse lot we are within our own parties, and how much we have in common
across them.
This year the task is relatively easy - most of the gaps are quickly filled up, so we
don't have to do any hard sell on anyone. The worst thing for any of these bodies is to
have someone come along whose heart isn't in it.
The committees are harder - you can't just squeeze an extra person on because they're
keen becuase the numbers are set in the constitution; you can't remove people unwillingly
without giving yourself a long-running headache, and there is a lot more at stake in
getting people whose expertise matches the role. Even so, the rough balance is decided
by trying to keep proportionality between the parties - and for that I'm very thankful
that there are only two to worry about, the amount of negotiating required would increase
exponentially if there were more - and I know roughly who wants to do what and who has the
time to do it. I think I can see an acceptable solution within sight.
6th April 2009: Giving myself lots of extra work - part 2
Complete insanity moved a step closer. Our group leader has decided it's time to retire
and hand the torch on to the next generation. All but one of the next generation quite
wisely kept their arms firmly down by their sides when the call for volunteers went out.
I think you can guess the rest!
So, I find myself as group leader, and assuming the proverbial killer bus doesn't turn
up in the next month, I'll end up as nominee for the contentious title of Leader of the
Council too. There are plenty of cliches about only giving power to those who don't want
it, and it seems difficult to convince people I haven't set out with a master plan to
become some sort of bellicose obergruppenfuhrer. That's certainly not what I
intended, and if it starts going to my head in that way then certain trusted individuals
are under strict instruction to forcibly get me out of the sitution. At some point fairly
soon I'll have to put pen to paper and pontificate about the nature of leadership, while
I still have noble sentiments abut motivating and inspiring everyone around me and before
I find it's like actually like trying to manage a bag of ferrets...
Seriously, it's an awesome resonsibility, one I take tremendously seriously as I have
a very deep respect for everyone's independence of thought, and it is probably the
biggest challenge I've faced to date. It already seems like everyone's eyes are burning
in to me (burning by proxy, when I sit at my pc), trying to work out what I'm thinking,
analysing every word, comparing me with my predecessors. For someone who's fought hard
over the years to overcome social anxiety, this is kill-or-cure.
The first test is to fill a particularly awkward committee place as there are only a
small handful of people who are eligible. Will I impose it on someone? Will patient
persuasion win the day? Or will I admit defeat and take the job on myself? Tune in in
four weeks' time! (I know which way I'm betting, and it certainly isn't the first one)
5th April 2009: Giving myself lots of extra work!
Today another step into the unknown. I've started on my bundle of letters announcing
the candidates for the 2009 County Council elections, and there's a picture of me (the one
from the 10th January) at the top. It's rather like opening night nerves - having never
tried a campaign this high up, and not really knowing where it might end up. I've always
believed in representing the area one lives in, so certainly no being parachuted in to
a safe one for me - not that one should ever take such a thing for granted anyway. Also,
the County level has two major areas where I feel very passionately and have a decent
amount of knowledge - transport and
education - so there's a lot to get stuck into. The next eight weeks are going to be
an intense amount of work but I'm really looking forward to it.
It goes without saying that these things are never solo efforts, and I'm tremendously
grateful for the team who help out knocking doors with me, taking leaflets round, and all the
other thankless tasks that go along with elections. Without them this wouldn't be
possible.