On compulsion, the simple reason I am against this is that where it has been tried – in Canada and parts of Australia – cycling rates plummeted. So the overall health impact of a ban has been highly negative. All the UK cycling groups like CTC, the London Cycling Campaign etc are against compulsion. We’ve made good progress at increasing cycling rates in Britain in recent years, particularly among children and I fully support encouraging helmet use – particularly for children – but I wouldn’t support legislation that reduced cycle use and damaged child and adult health. I have also heard of research that indicates helmets give cyclists a false sense of security and that drivers take less care around cyclists wearing helmets – but I haven’t …

The Government has been suffering a rare series of defeats in the House of Lords over its plans to cut support for disabled people. I’m a strong supporter of reforming welfare. More should be done to make work pay. But some of the changes to disability benefit – in the words of one of the independent Peers who helped defeat them – cross the line of decency. Bringing up a severely disabled child can be one of the most heartrending experiences – as anyone who has done it or who has friends of relatives who have – will know. The proposal to remove completely support for such children as soon as they become adults is abhorrent. Charities that campaign on behalf of the disabled say 20,000 blind people will also be hit by the changes. We’re not talking about the work shy or shirkers here – but people who through no fault of their own may never be able to work in the same way as is understood by …

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Outside interest group or body met

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03-Jun-09

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 It is available from 4 May-17 June and can be found at this link:

 www.parliament.uk/policing-priorities…

The same could be said about rock solid Labour seats in some northern towns. This does nothing to build trust in politics or to encourage people to get involved. It also means MPs in these safe seats have a job for life, however well or poorly they perform. If you remember the recent MPs' expenses scandal, there was a strong relationship between “safe seats” and excessive claims.

The Alternative Vote (AV) hands power away from the politicians and gives it to the voters. We keep the constituency link – one MP for one place. …

This is all the fallout from the Government’s wrong-headed and dogmatic decision to abolish the South West Regional Development Agency, which has done a good job for our region.

Mr Hayes also agreed that it was important an agreement is reached soon, otherwise Exeter, Devon and most of the rest of the region would miss out on the support available.He also confirmed it was important that Exeter is included around the table – which will come as welcome news to Exeter City Council and Exeter Chamber of Commerce, who …

It's widely predicted that tomorrow's provisional growth figures for the 3rd quarter will show a dramatic slowing from the first half of the year.
This will be as a direct result of the disastrous emergency budget after the election and retrenchment by individuals, private and public bodies and the rest of the Government's relentlessly pessimistic austerity gloom.
This is exactly what Labour and most economists have been warning about. Cut too far and too deep and you hit growth, costs jobs and ensure the long terms cost of reducing the deficit is greater than it need have been.
What is particularly scary about the Government's approach is they don't appear to have a plan B. They appear lashed to the mast of fiscal austerity whatever happens – even if growth continues to plummet.

How long can the Liberal Democrats – who were out and …

This confirms something some of us have been saying for some time, that because of our large elderly population, relatively low wages and higher than average proportion of public sector jobs the Westcountry will be hit hard by the ConLib Government's policies.
The elderly tend to use public services like the NHS and social care more, so are likely to be more affected by cuts to these services. Also, people on low incomes depend on Government support in the form of tax credits or pension credit so will be hit more by cuts to the welfare budget.

At the same time, with the Government's spin machine going into overdrive in the last few days – briefing out that schools spending will be protected as well as the NHS and cuts in defence less severe than expected, I wonder whether the Government's bloodcurdling warnings of the last few months …

Although this week’s report from the new independent Office for Budgetary Responsibility reported UK borrowing to be lower and tax receipts higher than the Labour Government predicted in March’s budget, the ConLibs continue with their fiction that having opened the books they have found things to be much worse than they feared, as an excuse for the cuts the Tories have wanted to make regardless.  

The nobel prize-winning economist, Joe Stiglitz, the Financial Times’ veteran economics columnist, Martin Wolf, and several others have repeated their warnings that the ConLibs’ policy risks stifling growth, reducing demand and tipping us back into recession - as well of course of pushing unemployment far higher than it would otherwise have been.  

This is the crazy policy one expects from the Tories but it is extraordinary that the Lib Dems appear to have meekly swallowed it. Keynes must be turning in his grave!  

Another short-sighted and wrong-headed decision …

In a hotly contested debate on Monday in the House of Lords, an attempt by Liberal Democrat Peers to kill the legislation was overwhelmingly defeated.  

A motion from the Cross Bench Peer Lady Butler Sloss expressing regret at the move and asking for a further delay was passed, but not with as big a majority as had been expected.  

The only other two cross benchers who spoke, supported Exeter’s case, as did the Labour Peers Lord (Larry) Whitty and Baroness (Brenda) Dean.  

The orders was also approved easily both in committee and on the floor in the House of Commons.  

It was a great tribute to the hard work of everyone in Exeter over so many years. An all-party delegation from the city last week, led by Conservative Lord Mayor Cllr John Winterbottom and including Lib Dem, Liberal and Labour councillors did a brilliant job at persuading …

A motion tabled by the Conservatives opposing Government plans to restore unitary government to Exeter and Norwich was defeated comfortably.  

Conservative MPs from rural Devon and Norfolk lined up to criticise the plans.  

But the proposals were strongly supported by Labour members including the former Home Sectretary and Norwich MP Charles Clarke.  

The Chairman of the influential Commons local government select committee, Dr Phyllis Starkey, also supported Exeter’s case pointing out that is enjoys all party support in the city, including from Conservative councillors.  

The Minister, Barbara Follett said the Government was restoring the full local government status Exeter had enjoyed for 800 years until it was taken away by the Conservative Government in the early 1970s.  …

It's ludicrous that councillors from Bideford and South Hams decide how much money to spend repairing Exeter's roads and which roads to repair when.  

We need Exeter councillors who are accountable to local people making those decisions and given the money to do so. Exeter would then get our fair share of resources, rather than it all going to the rural areas.  …

A legal attempt by Devon and Norfolk county councils to thwart Exeter and Norwich's aspirations was rightly put on the back burner by the High Court who said Parliament should take precedence.  

The House of Lords is full of Conservative and Liberal Democrat supporters of the powerful county lobby in this David and Goliath struggle. A very experienced cross bench Peer tells me the Lords has only rejected a Government order 3 times since 1945 and never one relating to local government organisation.  

It would therefore be a constitutional outrage if the Lords were to block the Exeter and Norwich orders – which enjoy strong support in those two cities. If unelected Liberal Democrat or Conservative Peers try to block the will of the people of Exeter and Norwich and the democratic Commons, all pretence by those parties to support the democratic principle and a reformed Lords …

Labour are still the underdogs and we must keep fighting like mad, but the narrowing of the polls is certainly putting a spring in people’s step and boosting morale at a vital moment.  

It is extraordinary that after 5 years at the helm, Cameron has failed to change his party or develop a coherent and robust set of ideas and policies.  

Labour must hold our nerve, keep working hard, campaigning hard, reminding people of what we’ve achieved, of Gordon and Alistair’s sound stewardship during the downturn and focus people’s attention to the fundamental choice the country will face when the election comes: the same old Tories or radical and progressive change with Labour.  …

It would seem the Trustees came across some past accounting problem that led them to declare the Northcott insolvent on Thursday.  

I hope that with some effort and good will, the problem will be addressed and overcome. From what I hear the theatre management, their main funder the Arts Council and the Adminstrator are working constructively together on both a short and long term solution.  

Meanwhile, the show goes on. Theatre Alibi launched their new national tour of The Ministry of Fear at the Northcott on Friday. It is a great production and was a superb performance. The opening night was packed out with a diverse and quite young audience. That should encourage the Northcott and its fans about its future.  …

After the huge sums Devon has already wasted on its own bid for unitary status, which it then withdrew, blowing yet more public money trying to thwart democracy in Exeter is little short of scandalous.

The Tories who run Devon pay lip service to local democracy and devolving power - but not when it comes to one of Englands great historic cities, it would seem!  …

If he doesn’t reveal the genuine warmth and humanity of his personality that those of us who know him know he has got in spades he is branded “dour”; if he does it’s “cynical manipulation” of the media in the run up to the election.  

I suspect some of those who watched the Piers Morgan interview will have reacted with less cynicism than the journalists who dismissed it. They will have welcomed the chance to see the PM as they haven’t before.  

I hope there will be more opportunities for the wider public to be introduced to Gordon as those who know him know him to be - warm, funny and engaging.  …

In fact, the figure is 5.4 percent, lower than it was in 1997 and the teenage pregnancy rate has fallen significantly as a whole.  

The Tories say they put a decimal point in the wrong place which mutliplied the rate ten fold. But the figure appears 3 times in their latest “Broken Britain” document. The fact that no-one spotted the mistake says something much more revealing about the Tories. They actually believed the 54 percent figure was right - showing how completely out of touch they are with the country they claim they want to serve.  …

Since the Government announced this week that it would grant Exeter's wish to run its own council – restoring to our city the status it enjoyed for 800 years until 1974 – the misinformation pouring out from Devon County Council's army of spin doctors has been unprecedented.  

Myth 1: “The change will mean a big increase in council tax”. In fact, council tax in Exeter is likely to go down. Single tier councils are more efficient and streamlined because you only need one set of officials. Council tax in unitary council elsewhere is lower than it currently is in Devon. There is no reason why it need go up in Devon either. See below.

Myth 2: “Devon will lose out if Exeter gets its own council”. In fact, those counties like Dorset, Wiltshire and Hampshire and many more in the Midlands and north whose main urban area has unitary status perform …

It restores the self- rule that our city enjoyed for hundreds of years until 1974.  

All those in Exeter who have worked so hard over many years to this end deserve congratulation.  

They include the business community, university, voluntary sector and all four political parties on the city council.  

That strong all party unity has been critically important to this result.  

But more than anything this is a tribute to the people of Exeter who have never given up on their desire to return to running their their own affairs in the same way as England’s other great cities.  

In means that in future Exeter councillors will once again decide on local matters affecting Exeter rather than councillors from Barnstaple, Kingsbridge or Tavistock. No longer will councillors or councils be able to pass the buck between them. A single council will be responsible for what happens in Exeter with councillors directly accountable to the people …

David Miliband, the Foreign Secretary, spent an hour taking questions on a whole range of foreign policy issues at Exeter University's world renowned Institute for Arab and Islamic Studies. Subjects included Iraq, Afghanistan, Iran, Bosnia and Israel/Palestine. David told me afterwards that he had thoroughly enjoyed the experience and had rarely been quizzed on such a range of subjects in so much depth. Thanks to Tim Niblock and all his colleagues at the University for organising the event at such notice and to everyone who turned up. I'm sorry capacity constraints meant that not everyone who wanted to come could get in. But anyone has any questions or points they would like me to pass on to David please let me know.  

Patricia Scotland, the Attorney General, was also at the University and Exeter Crown Court. She was particularly impressed by the work being done in Exeter on domestic violence. …

Their major muddle now over the economy comes after climate change last week and marriage the week before.  

In my policy area they have just announced their 3rd u-turn in a year saying they would use part of the TV licence fee to pay for universal broadband.  

Originally they supported our proposals to save region news on ITV using a small fraction of the licence fee. Then David Cameron told Jeremy Hunt to ditch that policy and they opposed any use of the licence fee except for BBC programmes. At the same time they opposed our plans to fund next generation universal broadband through small levy on fixed phone lines as “unacceptable interference in the market”.  

They now seem to be recognising what we and everyone else have been saying for yonks – that the market won't provide high quality broadband to about 30% of homes and businesses – particularly in rural areas.  …

As the Financial Times (no other) reported on Saturday, Job Centre Plus has “come into its own” during the worst global downturn since the 1930s.  One of the reasons unemployment is 450,000 lower than people predicted and much lower than in the recessions of the 1980s and 90s is because of the brilliant job Job Centres and their staff have done at getting people back into work or training.  

This is in part thanks to the reorganisation undertaken by the Labour Government bringing the benefits and job seeking functions together under one roof, with benefits tied to looking for work but with active help offered.  

It is crazy that just as the success of this system is being recognised and copied around the world, the Conservatives are proposing breaking Job Centres up and handing the benefits system over to local government.  …