Wednesday 14 December 2011

Postcard From Parliament - December 2011 Edition

'Postcard from Parliament' is a monthly update on the work Roger Godsiff MP does for Birmingham Hall Green constituents. Read the December edition, which gives details of November activity, here

Wednesday 7 December 2011

‘Stimulate the economy from the bottom upwards...we have paid homage to the Bank and financial institutions for too long’, says Roger Godsiff MP


Birmingham Hall Green MP, Roger Godsiff, called for an overhaul of the UK financial system during a general debate on the economy, yesterday.
 

Mr Godsiff said: “Ordinary people in my constituency who face massive pressures on their household budgets and look forward to a bleak Christmas are not too concerned about the blame game that is taking place between the parties, but there is a smouldering resentment of the financial sector, including the banks and financial institutions that have plunged the economy into recession, destroyed jobs and ripped people’s lives apart. That resentment is heightened by the fact that those self-same banks and financial institutions are once again acting as they did before they brought the crisis upon us. There are bonuses galore, and veiled threats that if regulations are introduced they will go elsewhere.

“It is three years since the financial crisis struck, but it needs to be said again and again that that crisis was not caused by nurses and teachers. It was not caused by public sector workers, or by people working in the private sector. It was not caused by small business men, students or retired people, or indeed by the majority of people working in the financial sector. It was caused by the greed and irresponsibility of a small, self-serving group of people who made the decisions and played the casino, and now everyone else is paying the price.

“Between 1992—when the United Kingdom was thankfully forced out of the exchange rate mechanism—and 2007, the British economy grew every year. It grew under the right hon. and learned Member for Rushcliffe (Mr Clarke) when he was Chancellor of the Exchequer, and it grew under subsequent Labour Chancellors. Public sector borrowing was consistently between 2% and 3% of GDP, which was perfectly sustainable. However, in 2008 it shot up to 11% because the financial crisis caused by those I referred to earlier had resulted in a full-blown recession and a collapse in tax revenues, and, furthermore, in the need for the Government to bail out the banking sector. I am sure that my right hon. Friend the Member for Edinburgh South West (Mr Darling), who spoke earlier, referred in his book to an interesting deputation that he received—when Treasury officials informed him that the only way of resolving the crisis was for him to nationalise the banks—and I understand why Mervyn King told the Treasury Committee that he was surprised that there was not more public anger about.

“However, we must look forward. Britain and the rest of the western world are witnessing the death throes of an ideology that has dominated for 30 years. The Anglo-Saxon neo-liberal market model has failed, and we must consider adopting different models if we are to have a financial services sector that is fit for purpose. We need to be more innovative: we need to try out new ideas rather than adhering to traditional recipes which we have already tried, which have been found wanting, and which have now been totally discredited.

“Why, for example, should we not use RBS as a national investment bank—or call it what you will? After all, we own 87% of it. Why should it not be modelled on America’s Small Business Administration, which has supplied 20 million small business men with financial help since its establishment after the second world war, or indeed on Germany’s state development bank, which lent €30 billion to businesses in 2010 alone? Instead of printing money through so-called quantitative easing and giving it to the banks—which do not lend it, but hoard it to rebuild their capital base—why should we not give consumers money vouchers that are time-limited and must be spent on household goods or on, for instance, car scrappage schemes? We should try out some new ideas. The fastest way to stimulate the economy is from the bottom upwards, and no job creation scheme could have a more immediate effect than bringing our high streets alive. All Members know of high streets in their constituencies with boarded-up shops, and where the only new shops are Poundland stores and charity shops.

“This is not revolutionary thinking. It has been tried before in America, Japan and China. People are looking for new ideas for the future, and they are prepared to accept radical and innovative policies. They do not want to be lectured by the Government or the Governor of the Bank of England, who can hardly be thought to have had foresight in seeing the recession coming given that he was arguing for increased interest rates right up until the end of 2008 in order to head off inflation, which he said was the biggest threat to the recovery.

“We have paid homage to the Bank and financial institutions for too long. We must construct a better financial system that is fit for purpose, and we need to do that sooner rather than later.”

At the end of the debate, the coalition government lost a surprise vote forced through by Labour whips.  Members voted against the government by 213 votes to 79.

Tuesday 29 November 2011

St. Andrew's Day Greetings

I offer warm congratulations to all my constituents of Scottish descent who will be celebrating St. Andrew's Day on the 30th November.
St. Andrew is the Patron Saint of Scotland and since 2006, St. Andrew's Day has been a Bank Holiday in Scotland.
St. Andrew's Day is an occasion when Scottish people celebrate pride in their nation and I am pleased to join with them in their celebrations.

Friday 18 November 2011

Roger Godsiff urges backbench committee to reconsider a Commons debate on Babar Ahmad

Birmingham MP Roger Godsiff has asked a parliamentary committee of backbenchers to reconsider listing a full debate on the ‘longest-serving’ detainee Babar Ahmad in the Commons’ main chamber.
Despite a government e-petition requesting that Babar Ahmad undergo trial in the UK attracting over 140,000 signatures, the Backbench Business Committee instead listed the debate to form part of a pre-existing discussion on extradition, led by Dominic Raab MP, in Westminster Hall on 24th November 2011.

In support of the ‘British justice for British Citizens’ campaign, the Birmingham Hall Green MP insisted that the backbench committee reverse its decision in order to ‘to reassure UK citizens that short cuts are not a growing feature of [the UK] system’.

In a letter to the committee chair, Natascha Engel, Roger Godsiff said:  “Perception is all and failure to schedule this debate in the Main Chamber whilst scheduling others there further strengthens people’s long held view that UK Governments - in the interests of the ‘special relationship’ – have not been prepared to fight as hard as it might for the rights of UK citizens in the operation of an extradition treaty which many believe is loaded in favour of the USA.

Mr Godsiff continued: “I am sure that you are aware that feelings are running particularly high regarding the functioning of the extradition treaty between our Government and that of the USA and its impact on other UK citizens such as Gary McKinnon, Richard O’Dwyer and others.”

Babar Ahmad campaigners
needed 100-thousand signatures on an online petition that would make his case against extradition eligible for debate in the House of Commons to help prevent him being extradited to face US terror charges. 
Babar Ahmad’s petition is in the top three of all government e-petitions and is one of only six to have achieved the amount of signatures required.

Tuesday 8 November 2011

Roger Godsiff says metal thefts are “sickening and dangerous attacks.”

Birmingham Hall Green MP, Roger Godsiff MP is calling on the Home Office to take urgent action to tackle metal theft:
"Metal theft is becoming an epidemic, and urgent action is needed from the Home Office to put a stop to these sickening and dangerous attacks. The Government should back the police in their fight against metal theft by pledging to change the law to make it easier to stop this organised crime.
"The vandalising and theft of war memorials is shocking and disgraceful, undermining the respect that all our communities want to show to fallen heroes.
“In addition households face repeated power cuts, commuters face increasing delays, churches and public buildings are being damaged, all as a result of escalating metal theft. In my own constituency, four churches have had lead or copper taken at least twice.
"This out of touch Government needs to get a grip and crack down on this crime. It is still too easy to trade stolen metal. We need a much tougher licensing regime for scrap metal dealers, including requiring people selling to metal dealers to prove their identity, and stronger powers for the police to investigate. We need to support legitimate trade but make it easier to stop organised crime.

“When cases are becoming this serious, the Home Office shouldn't turn a blind eye or just leave it to the police. We need action and we need it now.”

Wednesday 2 November 2011

Cuts to the BBC Midlands

‘Broadcast economics gone crazy’ and ‘self-defeating’ says Hall Green MP, Roger Godsiff on cuts to BBC Midlands

Birmingham MP, Roger Godsiff, believes that it is: ‘Self defeating to dismantle capacity in the second city in the country and move it to Bristol’.

Mr Godsiff has written to Mark Thompson, Director General of the BBC, regarding the reported intentions of the BBC to end the production of Factual television and radio in Birmingham by the end of 2012 and to move the majority of programmes that are currently made in Birmingham to Bristol.

He commented: ‘Birmingham is in the heart of the country whereas Bristol, although a pleasant and attractive place, is most certainly not in the centre of the country’.

 ‘More practically, the BBC will have to pay out significant relocation or redundancy packages to around 100 members of staff. They will also be abandoning the state of the art technical facilities at the Mailbox where the BBC is situated in Birmingham that cost £40 million to install.  The lease for the Mailbox has no break clause and the BBC will be paying 2.4 million pounds a year to rent the Mailbox space, whether there are any people in it or not. This is broadcast economics gone crazy and a complete waste of the licence fee’.

Mr Godsiff thinks that before you take a knife to regional programming the first savings should surely be targetted at the BBC’s London headquarters and the tiers of staff which service the centre and the expenditure of huge sums of monies on ‘celebrities’ such as the £2 million spent on Jeremy Paxman and the millions that were formerly spent on Jonathon Ross, former presenters of the ‘One Show’ as well as Gary Lineker and his pundits on the Saturday night football highlights show.

Roger Godsiff concluded: ‘The BBC should be setting higher standards and you ought to have up and coming talents in the BBC capable of taking the place of the millionaire celebrities.  If not then senior management are not doing their job’.

Wednesday 26 October 2011

Roger Godsiff Votes for EU Referendum

Hansard Debate - Roger Godsiff supports EU Referendum.

Roger Godsiff supports the ‘Giving Voice’ campaign.

Roger Godsiff MP and Speech and Language Therapist, Siobhán Keohane, meet up for a cuppa on the Terrace of the House of Commons in support of the ‘Giving Voice’ campaign which seeks to highlight the unique value of speech and language therapy services.

Friday 14 October 2011

Roger Godsiff MP Opposes High Speed 2


Hansard 13 Oct 2011 : Column 556

High Speed 2



4.18 pm
Mr Roger Godsiff (Birmingham, Hall Green) (Lab): Many people are using public transport more these days, particularly the railways, despite the extortionate fares that train operating companies extract from customers for the cheap but not very cheerful service they usually get, particularly on commuter lines. I very much welcome the increased use of public transport, because it reduces carbon emissions and is generally better for the environment.
Two acts of monumental folly have affected the railway industry in the past 50 years. The first was the decision in the early 1960s by the Conservative Government of the day to let Dr Beeching butcher Britain’s network of branch lines, which had linked communities across the country. The second was the decision by another Conservative Government to privatise the railways in the early ’90s, a decision that even the arch-privatiser, Mrs Thatcher, had the good sense not to pursue. Of course, this has meant that the taxpayer has been paying vastly more in subsidy to train operating companies and to the network than was ever paid pro rata to British Rail. I hope that the coalition and the Minister will not, over this decision, make it three monumental follies in a row.
13 Oct 2011 : Column 567
The coalition proposes that we spend £32 billion by 2026 on a new rail project from London to Birmingham, which then goes on to Leeds and Manchester by 2032, allegedly saving 30 minutes’ travelling time from Birmingham and 50 minutes from Manchester. The fact that business people invariably travel first class and can use their computers and communications networks while travelling, while others will remain in Birmingham, Leeds and Manchester and hold meetings using video conferencing facilities, is dismissed by the vested interest groups, which see a massive tranche of public money that they would like to access.
At a time when ordinary people are facing massive reductions in their living standards, living under threat of losing their jobs and watching their community services such as libraries, Sure Start centres and centres for elderly people being axed, we are prepared to commit £17 billion, the estimated cost of the line from London to Birmingham, in order to get business people from Birmingham to London 30 minutes sooner—always assuming that there are no high-speed leaves on the line and the high-speed signalling equipment actually works.
Mark Lazarowicz: Will my hon. Friend give way?
Mr Godsiff: Time is limited, so my hon. Friend must forgive me.
No wonder an online survey by the Birmingham Post showedthat 75% of respondents were against the project.
What other inflated claims are made for the project? It is said that it will help to diminish regional inequalities and promote growth, but there is no evidence of that. If we look at what has happened in Japan, Spain and France, we find that the high-speed connections there have benefited the hub much more than the outer communities.
What about the effect of the project on towns and cities that High Speed 2 will bypass? The deputy leader of Coventry city council says that the plans for High Speed 2 send a clear message that
“Coventry is not a place to stop.”
Bearing in mind what my hon. Friend the Member for Coventry North West (Mr Robinson) said about Birmingham, I suggest that that might not be a bad idea.
Where high-speed trains do work is in countries with large land mass, but in other, smaller countries they take resources from humbler but more needed schemes, such as the upgrading of existing networks, signalling and infrastructure. Unfortunately, however, we all know as politicians that unveiling a new signal box tends to appeal less than inaugurating a futuristic new service. The project’s other exaggerated claims have already been dealt with.
Hugh Bayley: Will my hon. Friend give way?
Mr Godsiff: Time is very limited.
Hugh Bayley: It gives you extra time.
Mr Godsiff: All right.
13 Oct 2011 : Column 568
Hugh Bayley: Does my hon. Friend realise that the project is not a zero-sum game? As in any business, if one invests in a new product, one gets new customers and generates economic growth. We need investment in the current network, for sure, but that is no reason not to go ahead with High Speed 2.
Mr Godsiff: I am all in favour of infrastructure investment, but I can think of a whole host of infrastructure investment on which £32 billion could be spent in my constituency, my hon. Friend’s constituency and many other constituencies. This project is not good value for money, and it has not been thought through.
Dr Julian Lewis (New Forest East) (Con): Surely it is a zero-sum game, as the hon. Gentleman said earlier, because, at a time when we in constituencies that are not directly affected by this railway project are nevertheless having to fight, for example, to save hospitals from closure due to cuts, it seems sheer madness to look at this level of investment instead of at saving our services.
Mr Godsiff: I am delighted that I gave way to the hon. Gentleman, because I agree.
Putting aside my views on the subject, I shall share with the House the views of a Manchester-based businessman who came to London on Tuesday for a meeting of the Surface Engineering Association, an excellent organisation that looks after the interests of companies operating in that segment of manufacturing industry. I asked him how long it had taken to travel down to London that day, and he said “Two hours, eight minutes.” He asked why I wanted to know and I told him about the upcoming debate on High Speed 2. He responded that getting to London from Manchester 50 minutes quicker did not really bother him because he used train time to work on his computer and to make calls. He ventured the opinion that if the Government had that sort of money to spend, they should do something about the bottlenecks on the M6, as well as improving the transport infrastructure in many of our cities.
Those views are similar to the majority of those expressed to me by business people in my constituency. Not one business person has come to me and said, “Thirty minutes is going to make the difference between my company succeeding or not.” It is a fallacy to believe otherwise. However, over the years, plenty of constituents have come to me and said that there should be better public transport facilities within Birmingham—an underground system such as the one in London, a tram system such as those that operate in European cites, improved bus services, or new or reopened train lines and stations within and around the city. Those are the types of improvements that the people of Birmingham want, not a vastly expensive link between London and Birmingham.
People have expressed a great deal of concern about the damage that this will cause in the Chilterns and Warwickshire. The impression has been given that only people who live there are concerned about those areas. In fact, many people living in Birmingham travel to the countryside, especially elderly people in my constituency who have enjoyed the benefits of the free or concessionary fares introduced by the Labour Government. They
13 Oct 2011 : Column 569
enjoy the countryside; they are certainly not part of the “carpet the countryside with concrete” brigade, and neither am I.
We have had many vanity projects in this country that have been a disaster. I hope the Minister will think again about this project, because I believe that if it goes ahead, it will be a disaster

Tuesday 4 October 2011

Roger Godsiff backs ‘Smoothie’ project


Roger gave his support to the British Heart Foundation campaign to persuade people to take more exercise and to refresh themselves by consuming healthy drinks when he attended the first project in his constituency at the Shree Laxmi Narayan Mandir in Warwick Road.

The scheme enables participants to use an exercise bike which is linked to a machine which makes the ‘smoothie’ of your choice thereby enabling people to both exercise and to refresh themselves with healthy drinks.

Joining staff for the event Roger said: “This is an excellent idea.  It not only enables people to exercise but to manufacture their own smoothie drinks and having both used the exercise bike and consumed the drink of my choice I would recommend this imaginative idea to everybody.”

Thursday 18 August 2011

COUNTRYWIDE DISORDERS OVER THE LAST WEEK

The attacks on individuals and property and the looting and thieving from shops as well as the burning of commercial premises and people’s homes is a national disgrace and should be condemned unreservedly. 

Whatever happened over the shooting in Tottenham can in no way be offered as a justification or excuse for the wanton destruction and looting which has taken place in areas and cities far removed from Tottenham.  The family of Mark Duggan who was shot dead have totally disassociated themselves from the acts of violence and looting. 

The first and only priority was, rightly, for the forces of law and order to reclaim control of the streets of our cities so as to allow ordinary citizens to feel safe and for shops and businesses to re-open.  Those individuals who have been involved in the wanton acts of violence, looting and arson are being brought before the Courts and I welcome the speed with which this is being done.

Once people can feel safe to go about their everyday lives there are wider questions which need to be addressed.  The events surrounding the shooting of Mark Duggan are rightly being investigated by the IPPC and questions need to be asked about whether his family were given appropriate information and counselling after the incident.  Questions also need to be asked as to why it is that we have individuals and groups in our society who are so alienated that they think nothing about engaging in opportunistic crimes such as looting and destroying their own communities. 

We also need to consider how we can break-up the ‘gang culture’ which has grown up in a number of our cities and which acts as a magnet - particularly for disaffected young people.  These and many other questions need to be asked - will be asked - and need to be discussed and debated over the coming months once normality has returned to the streets of our cities. 

I commend the bravery of the Police in confronting the rioters and the spontaneous efforts by thousands of ordinary citizens in Birmingham and throughout the country who set about clearing and cleaning up their neighbourhoods which had been attacked. 

I welcomed the commitment given by the Prime Minister that all necessary resources will be made available to the Police in order to reclaim the streets of our cities but his Government also needs to look again at their policy of cuts in Police numbers which are bound mean that there are less Police, PCSOs and Special Constables on our streets in future.  Taking Police Officers from behind desks to put on the streets is all very well but somebody has got to prepare the charge sheets and paperwork for the Courts otherwise the Courts will dismiss the cases and criminals will walk free.

Furthermore what happened last week cannot be divorced from what is happening throughout society at the moment.  Every section of our society – except those who are extremely wealthy – are facing increasing financial pressures caused by the financial crisis which began in 2007 when the Government had to bail out Northern Rock and accelerated in 2008 when Lehman Brothers went bust.  The crisis was not caused by ordinary people.  It was not caused by nurses or teachers; public sector workers; people working in the private sector; small businessmen; students or retired people.  It was caused by the greed, selfishness and irresponsibility of a small group in the financial sector but everybody is now paying the price.  The squeeze and drop in living standards for ordinary people is the severest since the 1930s.

Nothing that I have said should be interpreted as any form of justification, excuse or apology for the despicable acts that we have witnessed over the last week but there is an old saying - ‘the devil makes work for idle hands’.  Most, but not all, of the individuals involved in the in the acts of criminality have been young people.  With youth unemployment, including graduates, standing at 20%; cut-backs taking place in a whole range of support services; the Future Jobs Fund and Education Maintenance Allowance abolished; youth centres and leisure facilities being closed or their usage restricted and recreation grounds and parks having their maintenance reduced it is self apparent that there are going to be a lot of young people, many of them very impressionable, hanging around on our streets with very little to do and no money in their pockets.  It was like a tinderbox waiting to be set alight. 

There are two more points I would wish to make. 

Last week the Prime Minister said that he wouldn’t allow Human Rights Legislation to interfere with seeking out the perpetrators of these acts of criminality.  This might have superficial attractions and is certainly a popular ‘sound-bite’ but we need to be careful.  If we are saying that we are standing up for the rule of law and that it must be upheld in a democratic and civilised society then we have to stand by the rule of law as it is - even if it can be an impediment to swift action.  Certainly all the individuals involved in these acts of criminality need to be arrested and brought before the Courts but we need to do this within the law and if changes need to be made in our Human Rights Legislation, or our relationship with the European Convention on Human Rights, then these changes need to be made for the right reasons and not as a kneejerk response to these acts of criminality for which the Police have plenty of existing powers to arrest, detain and charge the people involved.

The last point I would make is that the disturbances and destruction have not just resulted in property and possessions being lost but have also resulted in three tragic fatalities in Birmingham and one in London.  The three young boys who were tragically killed in Dudley Road were doing nothing more than trying to defend, with others, their properties.  Similar groups of people and shopkeepers have joined together in many other towns and cities.  These are not vigilante groups.  They are just groups of ordinary innocent people whose lives and livelihoods are suddenly under threat and if the Police were too stretched to respond to their calls for help then, so far as I am concerned, they were perfectly entitled to join with others in protecting their own property and possessions.  The three young people were killed as part of the madness that descended on Birmingham on Tuesday night and our thoughts and condolences have to be with their families of these three young men.  The dignified and measured comments of the father on one of the victims was incredibly moving and clearly shows that even at a time of despair goodness and dignity can prevail.

We owe it to those who lost their lives to make sure that everything is done to prevent similar occurrences happening again.

Monday 8 August 2011

Roger Godsiff Corporate Media

Dear All,

There was a supplement in yesterday’s Birmingham Post, “The Business of the Olympics – the West Midlands Connection”, which has inadvertently and mistakenly made a connection between Roger Godsiff MP and the Birmingham company, Corporate Media Ltd.

Advantage West Midlands, in its role of tracking firms in Birmingham which have won contracts to supply the London 2012 Games, keeps a list of these successes, broken down by Parliamentary Constituency.  AWM supplied this list to the Birmingham Post, as a good news story, to help preparation of the Olympic supplement.  

In the case of Birmingham Hall Green, the Constituency MP, Roger Godsiff, is named after his Constituency (as are all other MPs); and on the line below that is the first contract winner (in alphabetical order) in Hall Green -  Corporate Media Ltd.

By mistake, these two lines of text have been combined in the newspaper article, making “Roger Godsiff Corporate Media”.  This is an error, and Advantage West Midlands apologises for this and regrets any misunderstanding caused.  I am sure the Birmingham Post will also separately make the situation clear.


Jim Johnston
Business Manager - 2012 Games
Advantage West Midlands
Switchboard 0121 380 3500
Direct Line 0121 503 3299
Mobile 07880 740 141


Dear all, just to follow up from Jim's previous email, I would just like to reiterate the points he has made that the mistake is ours and that there is absolutely no doubt that Roger Godsiff has no connection whatsoever with Corporate Media Ltd or any other company that has benefitted from Olympic contracts, certainly to our knowledge.

While the mistake was completely unintentional, it has undoubtedly caused some distress to Mr Godsiff and for that we unreservedly apologise.

best regards


Alun Thorne
Editor
Birmingham Post

Sunday 7 August 2011

BIRMINGHAM MP SLAMS REMOVAL OF COACH CONCESSIONARY TRAVEL SCHEME (CCTS)

Birmingham Green MP, Roger Godsiff has written to the Secretary of State for Transport, Philip Hammond, urging him to think again about the removal of the Coach Concessionary Travel Scheme which provides half price coach travel for disabled people and those over 60 in England and Wales. The scheme is scheduled for withdrawal at the end of October.
Mr Godsiff said: “I have a number of concerns about the plans to scrap this scheme but what concerns me most is that the Department has yet to conduct an impact assessment of the schemes removal. Undoubtedly, the removal of this scheme will have an impact on the viability of other services and represent an immediate rise in the cost of living of those who currently make use of it. More fundamentally, I don’t think it is sufficient just to allow ‘the market’ to provide a solution as business’s, quite rightly, pay regard to the bottom line only and not any form of social provision. There is no doubt, as history tells us, that services will contract”.
On a more broader point Roger Godsiff went onto say: “How can your Department justify support for High Speed 2 (HS2) London to Birmingham, cost £44billion, with a reported £17 billion taxpayer subsidy to cover ticket price shortfalls with the cost of scraping this scheme £20 million?
National Express, who obviously have a vested interest in the scheme continuing, have estimated that 400,000 passenger journeys which begin or end in Birmingham are made using the half price concessionary fare and that 400,000 is equivalent to over 20% of all journeys which begin or end in Birmingham.
In 2010, over 3 million journeys were made by passengers using the scheme on National Express coaches alone.  The equivalent scheme in Scotland – which provides free, not half price, coach travel for disabled people and those over 60 – remains in place.

Monday 1 August 2011

Roger Godsiff urges "No" to an elected Mayor for Birmingham.

The decision as to whether Birmingham should have an elected Mayor will be taken at the same time as the local elections.  People will have different views on this issue as they did on the AV Referendum.  Personally, I am totally opposed to the idea of an elected Mayor for Birmingham because I do not believe that it will improve the governance of Birmingham and it will dilute still further the role of elected Councillors and will concentrate even more power (limited though these might be) in the hands of one individual.  Of course it will be argued by supporters of the idea that London has an elected Mayor so why shouldn’t Birmingham but the two situations are totally different.

London has 8 million plus people living in it compared with 2 million plus in Birmingham.  London has 32 boroughs whereas Birmingham is one single authority.  London used to have a London-wide authority, the Greater London Council, sitting above the 32 boroughs.  It was abolished by Mrs. Thatcher in the 1980s because the GLC was a constant irritant to her.  The idea of importing an elected Mayor system from America was dreamt up in Downing Street by people who had no experience of being in, or running, local Councils and because it was American and trendy it was adopted by the Blair Government as an alternative to reinventing the GLC.  Other than being a focal point and advocate for London the Mayor of London only has real influence in a couple of areas which are under his control and neither of these apply to Birmingham.  The London Mayor controls London Underground and London buses but Birmingham does not have an underground system and the bus service is not under the control of the City Council.  Ken Livingstone introduced congestion charging in London and there would be a good case for doing this in Birmingham as part of wider transport policy but this can be done by an elected City Council and you do not have to have a Mayor to do this.

Elected Mayors were a ‘trendy idea’ and some Councils adopted them.  Some of these Councils, like Stoke, have since scrapped the idea while others, like Hartlepool, showed what they thought of the idea by electing a candidate who stood as a monkey to be Mayor!  What the people of Birmingham want is good governance by their elected Councillors and not a gimmick which will eliminate still further the role of the elected Councillor as is the case with the London Assembly which is virtually powerless.  I will urge anybody who cares to listen to vote ‘No’ and I am quite prepared to work alongside similar minded people in other parties to defeat this proposal.

Badger Cull

The Government does have to combat Bovine TB but there is no need for them to slaughter Badgers to achieve this.  Badgers can be trapped and vaccinated and this is a much more humane way of dealing with the problem of Bovine TB rather than wholesale slaughter.

Saturday 16 July 2011

Southern Cross, CQC's and PCC's

Responding to a letter that I sent to Paul Burstow MP, Minister of State for Care Services before the closure announcement, Paul Burstow said reassuringly: “The Government is determined to maintain continuity and quality of care for all care home residents across the country.
Mr Burstow also said: “We consider the private sector should be fully capable of resolving this issue”. 
I wish I could share his confidence but residents of Southern Cross have no grounds to be confident in the performance of the private sector as they have learnt to their cost. If Government’s continue to abandon large areas of social provision to the private sector without adequate oversight vulnerable members of our society will continued to be viewed as tradeable assets - much to the delight and profits of private equity funds -  and not people.

The performance of the Quality Care Commission (CQC) has been worse than lamentable in this respect as has the Press Complaints Commission (PCC) in the case of Murdoch. It seems that all you have to do is put 'Complaints Commission (CC) in a title and you are guaranteed ineffectiveness.

Sunday 10 July 2011

Roger Godsiff wishes Salma Yaqoob a speedy recovery

Responding today to the news that the Respect Councillor, Salma Yaqoob, was stepping down as a Councillor in Sparkbrook due to her worsening health Roger Godsiff said “I was very sorry to hear about Salma Yaqoob’s deteriorating health problems.  It is perfectly understandable that she should concentrate on regaining her health and she will have the love and support of her family and friends in achieving this.  I wish her a speedy recovery.”

Wednesday 6 July 2011

NoW Phone Hacking Scandal

Speaking today after the latest revelations of phone hacking from the News of the World employees, Roger Godsiff MP said: “These events will have disgusted most people. The idea that a newspaper and its owners could access the mobile phone records of victims and relatives of terrible crime is utterly contemptible”.
Mr Godsiff went on to say: “What is needed is a full and independent judicial enquiry with the ability to subpoena witnesses and take evidence.
In the light of allegations of large amounts of money having been paid to sources within the police for stories and the poor record of police investigation in this matter to date, the Metropolitan Police or any other police force is not an appropriate body to conduct this investigation. Nor is the Press Complaints Commission (PCC) which has shown itself to be toothless and serve the interests of newspaper proprietors and not those of the general public.
With regard to Jeremy Hunt’s decision to give Rupert Murdoch’s News Corporation the go ahead to acquire BSkyB, I can only reiterate what I have said previously that I am totally opposed to this take-over. I share the views of many others that the assurances which Murdoch has given about the independence of Sky News is not worth the paper that any such assurance was written on. Recent events have only served to confirm my worst fears in this regard”.

Wednesday 8 June 2011

Scandal of Southern Cross

Birmingham MP Roger Godsiff joined the attack over the scandal of the financial crisis at Britain’s biggest nursing homes group, Southern Cross Healthcare, tabling an Early Day Motion (EDM1863) highly critical of the financial management of the company as well as naming both a former and current senior Government advisor who benefited substantially from the flotation of the company in 2006.

The hard hitting EDM tabled by the Hall Green MP states that: ‘Elderly people who need residential care should be helped to live out their lives with care, support and dignity rather than having their futures determined by the avaricious greed of financial entrepreneurs and their apologists who view care for the elderly as just another commodity and market opportunity to make vast sums of money’.

One of the 753 homes currently run by Southern Cross is the Oaklands home in the Moseley district of Mr Godsiff’s constituency and he firmly believes that residents of Oaklands and all the other 30,000 Southern Cross residents can do without the worry and distress that is being caused by the present financial uncertainty.

Former and current senior Government advisors involved with Southern Cross are Baroness Morgan of Huyton and Jeremy Heywood.

Baroness Morgan, who served as Tony Blair’s political secretary, is one of the longest serving board members at Southern Cross and sits on the company’s remuneration committee which determines the pay of senior executives and directors. She received £53,000 from the company last year. Jeremy Heywood who was appointed Permanent Secretary to the Prime Minister’s Office in 2008, was co-head of UK investment banking at Morgan Stanley which acted as financial adviser and lead manager for the 2006 flotation and yielded a 300% return on its investment in Southern Cross for its private equity group owner Blackstone and its directors a year before the share value collapsed.

The 2006 flotation valued the company at £423 million and raised £175. It is normal for advising banks to charge a fee of at least 1%.

Mr Godsiff has also written to Heath Secretary, Andrew Lansley MP asking him if the Government will undertake a financial review of other care sector providers to ensure that they are fit for purpose.