The future of parliamentary debate

After school I organised the first parliamentary debate for my A Level Politics group and I have to say that all of them did brilliantly – more confident, better prepared, wittier and straight to the point. They made a lot of our current MPs look like amateurs! The subject of debate was “Tony Blair’s 10 years in power have been a sparkling success” – the motion was lost 7 votes to 5, which says a lot about the impact of Blair on 16-17 year olds who have only really known a Labour government!

Two girls took the role of Labour frontbencher and the Tory Leader of the Opposition. They not only made their own speeches but also took a barrage of interventions from backbenchers and from the other dispatch book. The two whips on either side took on the role of a cross between a cheerleader and a pitbull terrier.

The speeches were thoughful and based upon fact. It was interesting that Blair’s fans took his record on crime and public services whilst those who opposed him concentrated on two key issues – Iraq and the NHS. The Labour supporters got rather annoyed by the constant Iraq references. Their frontbencher snapping from her seat: “Don’t you lot have anything else to talk about?”.

The opposition wanted to stick to Iraq, Labour wanted to move on … more like real life than you’d imagine.

They soon got snappy as fellow MPs tried to put them off their stride and kept trying to refocus the debate to their point. Just like parliament!

Really this was the best I’ve seen in many years of teaching and I am now determined to work with these kids and, who knows, ending up at the National Parliamentary Debating Competition?

Best line: Labour whip: “I bet you Tories wish you hadn’t had thrown all those mentally ill people onto the streets during your time in power – look, they’ve all ended up on your frontbench!”

Strangest point to make: Tory Leader: “20,000 years ago there were a fewer people than there are today.”

Most disagreements: Labour and Tory frontbenchers: Has crime fallen or risen since 1997? Everyone had statistics to prove their point.

Clarke to stand – and lose – in Norwich South

Here is tonight’s press release:

Responding to tonight’s news that former Home Secretary Charles Clarke will seek re-election to his Norwich South constituency, Tory Leader at City Hall Antony Little said:

“It is right that Charles Clarke puts himself before the electorate so that local people can judge him on his record as both a government minister and a constituency MP.”

“With Labour on the ropes nationally and David Cameron’s Conservatives ahead in all the opinion polls, Norwich South will be a key seat at the next election.”

Councillor Little, who stood against Mr Clarke in 2005, added: “With the LibDems losing council seats across Norwich and the Conservatives winning again, it is clear that only the Conservatives can beat Labour here in Norwich South.”

“If people want to pass judgement on Mr Clarke’s lamentable record as our local MP, or on Mr Blair’s wasted 10 years in power when taxes have risen but services continue to suffer, they should do so at the ballot box by supporting the Conservatives and David Cameron’s message of change, optimism and hope.”

“The next election is already looking very interesting.”

Council Agenda for Tuesday

Council Agenda for Tuesday, 7.30pm in the Council Chamber at City Hall

Presentation on Peak Oil
Lord Mayor’s Announcements
Presentation of Long Service Awards
Declarations of Interes
Public Questions
Petitions
Minutes
Questions to Exec Members
Proposed Vision Strategy for Norwich and the Council’s short term objectives (these focus on CCTV, wardens and the environment)
Budget Update
Capital Programme changes
Gambling Act response
Motion – Cllr Morphew on First Buses
Motion – Cllr Holmes on Climate Change
Motion – Cllr Morphew on Growth Point Status.

Enquiries, question and thought (as ever) appreciated.

Ian Gibson won’t stand down

The not-very-surprising news that Labour MP Ian Gibson will contest the next General Election would not normally be note-worthy. But the comments of a close colleague and Norwich North resident bear thinking about. She is a Labour voter and big fan of Mr Gibson and yet on hearing the news declared “great, so we get an old, ill MP whose just hanging around to saddle us with the cost of a by-election.”

Nice, but with phrases like “going out with my boots on” it shouldn’t surprise him!

Capital Programme in Bowthorpe

I have just got the capital budget spending for Bowthorpe. For your interest:

1. Lighting scheme for Smeat Street, Clover Hill

2. Park Improvements for Atkinson Close, Chapel Break

3. New Park Equipment for Clover Hill (tba)

4. 5 a side football goals for Fourways (Earlham)

5. Rejuvenating Clover Hill Community Centre

6. Toad Crossings on Chapel Break Road

7. Road surfacing on Dereham Road (between Wendene and Gurney Road)

8. Cycling Scheme from West Earlham to City Centre

9. Pavement improvements on Rockingham Road

10. Play equipment via 106 money for Chapel Break and Three Score

Views on this welcome

My Question…

Thanks for the suggestions made for my question including those who e-mailed them. I have just laid down this, based upon the first “annonymous” suggestion:

Councillor LITTLE to ask:
The city’s street furniture and many of our suburban areas suffer from a lot of grafitti, including much by a few graffiti gangs. Does the council believe grafitti is a symptom, measure and further encouragement of Anti Social Behaviour? Can the Executive Member tell us what the council can do to help crack down on grafitti across the City, including any plans to speed up the removal of it?

Picture is of a grafitti tag in Norwich.

What should I ask at the next Full Council meeting?

Every month each Councillor gets the chance to pose a single question which the Executive Member or Committee Chair responsible must answer. To this point each month I have had an obvious question to ask because of various issues that have arisen around the ward. The question could be about a specific issue which the council had so far not answered (e.g. parking on Bishey Barnabee Way) or about general strategic council wide issues (e.g. time spent to improve run down council housing stock).

I believe in avoiding nasty political point scoring (unlike some Labour and LibDem Councillors) and as this really is the “nuclear option” for finding out information I also think the question should be something you couldn’t find out easily any other way.

So, with the deadline looming on Wednesday I’d like to know what you would like answered from the City Council. I can’t guarantee I’ll choose a question from this blog, but it would be good to ask something suggested by a blog reader.

You can, of course, ask your own question at council by e-mailing it to andy.emms@norwich.gov.uk – you’ll even get a supplementary question too! You need to be a resident of Norwich to do so and you’ll have to turn up at the Council Meeting on the last Tuesday of the month to ask it. It is however your way of getting an answer straight from the horse’s mouth!

Ian Oakley selected for marginal seat

Ian Oakley is one of the nicest people in the Conservative Party, if not the country. It also happens that he is one of the hardest workers and best campaigners too – and that’s useful because he’s just been selected for the country’s tightest three-way marginal seat in Watford.

I worked closely with Ian for many years in various adventures around Hillingdon Council and I know he’ll give it 100% and be a real asset to the party as both a candidate and then as an MP. Ian won’t be put off because of the tough fight ahead of him in Watford – it’ll make him more determined to fight hard and win.

Ian may not be an A-Lister but he knows Watford back-to-front and I am so pleased for him. The LibDems should have been assured of victory in this seat, but with Ian’s selection the whole contest is wide open again.

Go for it, Ian!

Anne McIntosh selected for safe seat

The news from CH.com is that Tory frontbencher Anne McIntosh has been selected for the very safe and newly created seat of Thirsk and Malton. I have always argued that Anne deserves a good berth because of her excellent parliamentary record – just the sort of MP we need. I am, however, sad that another MP whose constituency disappears – John Greenway – is now left without a seat to fight. ‘A’-List or no ‘A’-List we need to support those who have given dedicated service to the party. I hope that John is given what he deserves by the powers that be at CCHQ.

But, well done Anne – I’m sure it was well deserved.

Are the LibDems going to drop their opposition to Tesco … or are they going to play it both ways again?

One of the big issues that dominated the campaign in Town Close last year was that of the proposed Tesco Express being built on the site of the Arlington petrol station on Unthank Road. The Greens, naturally took against the plans. So too, with little impact, did the LibDems. The Greens subsequently snatched the formerly rock solid LibDem ward and left local activists reeling.

Today a LibDem Focus leaflet graces my letterbox – not a particularly good one and now rather irregularly delivered but one story stood out for me. An update on Tesco.

Chris Thomas, the sitting Councillor who faces the fight of his life next year, claims to be pleased that the application was rejected before adding:

I have had letters from residents who are not car owners and who would welcome an opportunity to shop daily at a small supermarket which they feel with complement the specialist shops.

So that’s clear then … not. Are the Town Close LibDems therefore in favour or opposed and, in particular, is Chris Thomas in favour or not? Or, like on so many issues, are they planning to play this one both ways depending on which doorstep they are standing on?

Or is there a more wholesale change on the way? The LibDems have lost voters hand-over-fist to the Greens in the Golden Triangle and many of these residents are unlikely to return to the fold anytime soon. So if the LibDems detect a significant minority in favour of the Unthank Tesco (but who don’t like to shout about their opinions) could they switch policies in time for next May and hoover up those votes?

I don’t know, but I do know that the Town Close LibDems are desperate.

They may think that the votes of the anti-Tesco lobby are lost to the Greens and political pragmatism draws them to a pro-Tesco position as the only way of holding their seat?