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 http://bit.ly/taW9Sa

‘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.

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.

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.

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.”

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’.

Roger Godsiff Votes for EU Referendum

Hansard Debate - Roger Godsiff supports EU Referendum.