May 2008 Parliamentary Patter by David Taylor MP
| Published: 9th May 2008 15:28 |
The great English poet Thomas Gray in his Ode on Spring talked of ‘No painted plumage to display; On hasty wings thy youth is flown; Thy sun is set, thy spring is gone We frolic while ‘tis May'. He could have been describing parliament's mood just before the 2008 elections which have transformed the political atmosphere..
Friday, 25 April 2008 pm
After a live interview on Ashby Radio I drove, via a meeting at the District Council offices about homes threatened by delayed subsidence, to Newbridge High School for a detailed grilling by a very articulate Year 9 group on a wide variety of topics.
Afternoon ends at Snibston Discovery Park, where awards were made to local young people who had completed a demanding 12 week personal development course run by the Princes Trust together with the local Leicestershire Fire and Rescue Service.
Day ends in Leicester as a guest at a most enjoyable annual dinner of the Royal Pharmaceutical Society - to hear their powerful views on current NHS plans.
Saturday
Two packed advice sessions at Agar Nook and Castle Donington; issues included special needs education, care for the frail elderly, neighbour problems and numerous housing concerns. On, via an Ibstock fundraiser and the induction of a minister to the village Baptist church, to Hugglescote for a stunning performance by the Broomleys Choral Society of Haydn's The Creation - the best sacred music of the 18th century.
Sunday
A quiet restorative day with a service to mark the restoration of the fine organ at Coalville's Christ Church, a lively and colourful St George's day celebrations on the Ravenstone village green (where I judged a fancy dress competition) and then some case calls in the urban areas on policing and sheltered housing matters.
Monday
Back down south, the mood was more tense with heated debates on taxation in which I spoke and defence questions, when I called for Afghanistan's President Karzai to go.
Other than that, it was hours in my Portcullis House office shrinking a pile of emails with a brief foray to the floor below for a seminar on sustainable energy generation.
Tuesday
In the Chamber, it was Justice Questions with Jack Straw. I asked about drug therapy in UK prisons and hospitality given to senior civil servants in his department. On to the launch of a report (which I helped produce) on the use of anti-psychotic drugs with Alzheimer patients. Then off to chair a long and detailed committee examination of the Local Transport Bill (think bus routes and road charging). Finally to the Good Egg awards (for humane poultry firms) presented by Joanna Lumley - who was nothing like her drunk and outrageous Patsy character in TV's Absolutely Fabulous!
Wednesday
After a working breakfast with banking and finance professionals on the impact of the ‘credit crunch', I met a local family visiting the Palace of Westminster. Daren't think what they made of a bad-tempered and rowdy session of Prime Ministers questions.
In 2007 our environment committee paid a short visit to Germany to look at how their citizens conserve energy and minimise environmental impact. We returned the compliment today and discussed these matters with visiting MPs from the Bundestag.
Found out that my 1960s O level in German has definitely passed its sell-by date.
Lastly, down to an informative event on the riverside terrace where the British Retail Consortium described the Shopwatch project where their members encourage staff to join the special constabulary and thus help make city and town centres safer places.
Thursday
Central London was a blaze of colour and a cacophony of sound; the Mayoral Elections are in town. No blonde fringe yet on the Millennium Eye. No elections at home either (d v), so I stayed at Westminster for a while. In the Commons I made comments about fly tipping, coastal erosion and fuel poverty before going up to the posh end of the building for a House of Lords discussion (with my Ecclesiastical committee hat on) about the need to speed up the process to get women bishops.
Train home just in time for the AGM of the Magistrates Association at Leicester Town Hall - where the main speaker talked about chronic problems in our prisons.
Friday 2nd May am
My week and diary finish where it started in the town of Ashby where I attended the leavers assembly in the Lecture Theatre at my old school. A great improvement from my own last day when I well remember clearing the dog-eared contents of my desk into a battered satchel and cycling home in the rain. Not, I hope, a precursor for 2010.
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