Open, Honest and Transparent Politics

Just a thought – in all the calls for open, transparent and honest politics, was there any info from any of the parties as they negotiated how to change their manifestos, pledges and promises in their attempts to get into power?

Folkestone and Hythe Can Count On Election Night Excitement

Shepway District Council Leader Robert Bliss has announced that votes cast during the next national election will be counted overnight, ending speculation that the Folkestone and Hythe count could take place the day after the election.

The overnight count is a favourite of many political observers. Nationally and locally commentators, have expressed a desire to keep some of the excitement of election night and do the count through the night.

During his Leader's Address at the full council meeting on Feb 18, Cllr Bliss said he had managed to ‘bribe officials with the promise of pastries’ to do the count on the night.

Since September last year numerous news reports have mooted the possibility of counts being held on the day after the vote in order to verify an increasing number of postal votes.

Recently moves have been made to ensure that counts are started within four hours of the ballot closing. The proposed changes would not make counting the next day impossible and due to the relatively short time to hold the next election they are unlikely to be in force by the time voting commences.

Interview with Donald Worsley [conducted Sunday 10 Jan]

This is the first of a series of interviews with the Parliamentary Candidates from the three main parties. Interviews with Lynne Beaumont and Damian Collins will follow.

Being the Labour parliamentary candidate for Folkestone and Hythe must be a thankless task. The seat was created in 1950, and has always returned a Conservative MP. Incumbent Michael Howard has held the seat for over 26 years, and in the last general election Labour were thumped in third place, their share of the vote falling by 7.7% on the previous election down to 12.5%. Labour’s last councillor in Shepway District council seat went in 2005, and after the 2009 county elections only two Labour members sit on Kent County Council.

However, Donald Worsley is prepared to stand and be counted. Without the public profile or exposure of other candidates, he has gained publicity in recent times for criticising his own party over key decisions. Mr Worsley says this is not done to gain headlines, but for the benefit of Shepway residents. As a member of the Labour Party since the 70s his loyalty is not in doubt, rather one gets the feeling that the party he joined has changed almost beyond recognition and Mr Worsley, an extremely principled man, has not changed in the same way.

Holding forth on a wide range of subjects and possessing a dry sense of humour, Mr Worsley is engaging company. Generously giving up his free time, FUTS met Mr Worsley and talked at length about issues concerning the Labour Party both nationally and locally.

Will Labour win the next election?

I think we will come close, if not winning it outright. It comes to the difference between the party which brought us out of the economic crisis rather than taking the easy decision. Voters don’t want soundbites.

Surely Tony Blair and Alistair Campbell were the masters of soundbites?

The Tony Blair leadership was of its time. The problem was they didn’t deliver on sound policies. They gave the electorate the wrong impression inviting glitterati to number 10 when they would have done better to invite out of work miners and nurses.

Expanding on this, these mistakes were compounded by taking us to war in Iraq, and made worse by going to war in Afghanistan. The billions spent fighting terrorism would have been better spent on home security, protecting people on our own streets. I hope we are out by the end of the year, far too many are being killed unnecessarily.

The July bombings in London were ‘home-grown’. Is it possible to stop this entirely?

We should be more concerned with who we let in. We must not allow people in who preach hatred.

If we can move onto domestic issues, The Labour government is considering a ‘firesale’ of certain national assets, including the Channel Tunnel. Isn’t this harmful in the long run?

If it helps to cut the national debt then it is necessary. I would rather see spending on infrastructure, but we need cuts. We should cut the number of government quangos. We should be addressing the issue of money going abroad. We have been trying to attract investors, but in my opinion we should be investing in industry.

On Eurotunnel specifically, I would like to see the monopoly of the operators taken away. This has been abused, with high ticket prices the result. Why does it take the best part of a day to get a train out of a tunnel? Eurotunnel’s criticism of Kent Police was scandalous. We should be taking back the railways; privatisation was the last act of a desperate Tory government.

Isn’t there a problem for Labour in that Gordon Brown’s ‘light touch’ policies were the reason for the crisis?

The economic crisis was caused by massive bank frauds in the USA and subprime mortgage defaults. Gordon Brown responded to the crisis and saved our banking system here in the UK from total collapse. With hindsight we should have stopped RBS and Northern Rock from putting billions at risk. The Bank of England let us all down in that respect and must share the greatest burden of the blame for failing to put a stop soon enough to the banks cavalier approach to risk. Personally I was then of the opinion that with the near meltdown of Northern Rock the Governor should have been sacked at the time.

Where do you stand on immigration? When Nick Griffin was on question time, Jack Straw struggled to answer a question about the problems of immigration.

We can’t have a population of 70 million if we need to build cities and the infrastructure that goes with it. It just isn’t possible. We should quadruple our efforts to remove those here illegally, even if we depart from the European Convention of Human Rights. The United Nations should be helping to solve the problem. The UN can’t ask for 0.7% of our GDP and not tackle the problem. The problem started under Mr Howard as Home Secretary and has continued to this day.

But surely given that we are now in the European Union, and the majority of immigrants are from these countries, talk of tackling immigration is just sloganeering?

Immigration from within the EU is a tolerable price we have to pay for economic prosperity and lasting peace in Europe and for some their Spanish villas or stag nights in Prague or Dublin.

Tackling illegal immigration with an iron fist is not sloganeering: it's a strong belief I hold to. We can't allow illegal care home workers, waiters, cabbage pickers and others to slip under the radar. Likewise we should not stand by and let Asylum Seekers tie up our courts and politicians in Political Correctness gone mad.

People who have travelled thousands of miles to get to the UK to seek Asylum and travelled through numerous other countries to get here are really the problem of the United Nations not the UK. The UN should resolve the issues of Asylum and people trafficking and in the continents and countries where it originates from not on the doorstep where it ends up. Exporting aid and importing Asylum seekers is not an equation that holds good.

What is your opinion of the Conservative and Lib Dem policies in the run-up to the election?

The Tories have to answer – ‘What will they do?’ Ken Clarke is criticising his own party while David Cameron does not say in any detail what they will cut. The most insidious cuts are decisions not to raise public sector salaries, and to cut benefits. This benefits only the rich.

I am not sure what the Lib Dems stand for. Nick Clegg wants savage cuts while Vincent Cable wants a tax on mansions. These are not serious policies.

Michael Howard has been re-elected for the last 26 years. Why is this? What credit would you give him?

I haven’t stood against him before. Personal loyalty follows a hard-working MP. I’m not saying he isn’t hardworking, I disagree with his policies. The last year for him has been very bad. Had he not been standing down I would have been calling for this. I think all MPs have a lot to answer for over expenses. MPs have long been misappropriating the public purse, and the issues over second homes have been inexcusable. I wonder if the next Folkestone and Hythe MP will commute from the area - I would.

But the voters must agree with the Conservative policies?

I don’t believe they have had a credible alternative. It is up to me to put forward a different view and a clear distinction between the Conservatives and Labour.

Let’s move to Labour in Shepway. You regularly have letters printed in the Herald, but where is Labour in Shepway? There are no local councillors and it doesn’t seem possible that Labour will win the Folkestone and Hythe seat.

There is not enough national input into Kent, and certainly none in Shepway. There isn’t enough money in Shepway to compete with the other parties. But it is important to stand. Never criticise if you are not prepared to stand up and be counted. Of course, I think a Labour MP would be better for the area.

How do you campaign in the local area?

We will have devised a campaign by the end of the month. The campaign will be to show that nationally Labour is delivering benefits for Shepway that the local authorities, (Kent County Council and Shepway) are not. There are 4 key points.

1. The high speed rail link.
2. The Little Cheyenne wind farm.
3. The academy schools.
4. We will show respect to the Gurkhas by giving them pensions.

The local authorities have avoided making a decision on Lydd airport for far too long. They have also not tackled a second rate, two-tier education system which has allowed low pass rates to continue in some schools. In addition to this, a Tory government will inevitably lead to a local lorry park between Sellindge and Aldington.

Why are there no Labour councillors?

The County Council elections were a disaster, coming in the middle of the financial crisis. We didn’t put our message across loud and often enough. Now it is difficult as you have to be in opposition to have opportunities. I recall that the Shepway Lib Dems had the chance to make changes, but then lost this over the ‘tax and toilets’ fiasco.

On the Labour Party website there isn’t a page for Folkestone and Hythe or Shepway Labour group. Why not?

We don’t have the resources. Without a regional MP here Shepway will be forever ignored. The website takes time and costs money. The local party couldn’t afford it.

Surely it can’t cost too much to maintain a website? There are free alternatives. Doesn’t this show there is no will in the party?

At the moment we don’t have the ability to attract new members with larger pockets and people are disillusioned with the way the party is run from the centre. Labour Party members are not wealthy people, and as we don’t have a sitting MP we do not see much of our membership subscription returning to this area. We get a pittance back from central office.

But there doesn’t seem to be a Labour presence in the District. Will we see more Labour councillors standing? Will you be in opposition at District level?

We have an aspiration to. That’s one of the reasons I am standing at the moment. I don’t think socialists have fought hard enough to challenge the local status quo. I do my bit. It’s a start and with lots of local issues such as Lydd I think we can make a change.

Do you support the plans for Lydd airport expansion?

I support the plans as a hub for jobs for the local community, for development and engineering apprenticeships. There will not be ½ million passengers, but there must be improvements to infrastructure. You can’t expand Lydd airport without expanding the road and rail links.

But why aren’t there any votes for Labour here? People know the party exists, and there are some Labour candidates, so why aren’t the voters choosing Labour?

Elections are won by people on the ground, delivering a message and showing people the difference it can make. I think for too long people have stressed soundbites, media releases and television appearances as a way of winning elections. There is no substitute for foot slogging.

So does this mean you have lost members? Can Labour fight a campaign here?

Our membership has suffered. I think there is a forgotten part of the Labour party philosophy where the party listens to its members and is open to ideas. The 2008 Party Conference was more like a presentation, and this has been bad for membership. People want honest answers, not bland platitudes.

Will politics return to how it was before the age of presentations?

I think it will. That is the way I shall be addressing the campaign, with real policies no matter how radical.

It has been noted before that you are willing to criticise the national Labour Party and some of its decisions, most notably Dungeness and the failure to hold a referendum on the EU. Can we expect more of this?

I don’t go out of my way to speak out of line, but neither will I always follow what is coming from Party HQ. My criticism is always for the benefit of Shepway.

With that the interview ends, we finish our drinks and go our separate ways. It seems impossible that Mr Worsley will be off to Westminster, and unlikely that we will see a Labour presence in the District council anytime soon. Given the scandals that have marred the perception and engagement with politics nationally and locally, that may be Shepway’s loss.

Mr Worsley's latest blog, 'Heroes in the Snow', is up on Romney Marsh Times here.

Howard in Hot Water

As the expenses revelations continue I can’t have been the only one interested to if any dirt would be thrown up around our MP for Folkestone and Hythe the Right ‘Honourable’ Michael Howard. And on June 1 dirt was quite literally what we got with The Telegraph’s ‘Howard’s £17,000 Claims For Gardening’ http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/newstopics/mps-expenses/5418996/MPs-expenses-Michael-Howards-17000-claims-for-gardening.html.

Mr. Howard has not commented at length or in detail on the expenses scandal, nor divulged any of his own claims, stating repeatedly in his columns in the local rags (http://www.michaelhowardmp.com/articles/120509.htm http://www.michaelhowardmp.com/articles/050509.htm) that he will wait for the results of the investigation being carried out by Sir Christopher Kelly, the Chairman of the Committee on Standards in Public Life.

If he was hoping to escape the Telegraph investigation, he has failed. It will be interesting to see if Mr. Howard justifies the gardening expenses as ‘within the [much debated] rules’ – for a refresher on the Green Book, see here http://www.parliament.uk/about_commons/hocallowances/hocallowances06.cfm (the link to the Green Book is at the bottom of the page in the text). Remember they must be "wholly, exclusively and necessarily incurred for the purpose of performing parliamentary duties." (p.3)

Unfortunately (or perhaps fortunately) he has long made clear his intention to step down at the next election so we won’t get the chance to cast him out of Parliament. Whilst batting away suggestions he should publish his claims and avoiding detailed comment on his own expenses, Mr. Howard has used his column to repeatedly state that “everything to do with the remuneration of MP’s – pay, pensions, allowances – should be decided independently. MPs should have no say in them”. Changing the rotten system is the focus, rather than MPs who claim for gardening and such like.

However, for all his support that MPs pay and allowances should be decided independently his recent voting shows that the Right ‘Honourable’ member for Folkestone and Hythe does not feel this should extend to employees of MPs. On April 30 Mr. Howard voted AGAINST a motion (http://www.publicwhip.org.uk/division.php?date=2009-04-30&number=108&mpn=Michael_Howard&mpc=Folkestone_%26amp%3B_Hythe&house=commons) that

‘…would mean that instead of the MPs receiving an allowance with which they could employ assistants and staff, the employment contracts would be between the staff and Parliament directly, who would pay their wages directly and set standard terms and conditions.’

Perhaps Mr Howard wants to keep a close eye on his office staff. It might be worth mentioning that Mr. Howard employs his wife (a bestselling author and part-time model), although according to The Independent on a salary of less that £10,000 (http://www.independent.co.uk/news/uk/politics/sixty-tories-claim-16340000-each-to-employ-relatives-869721.html). She may do a fair day’s work, but if the MPs themselves set the terms and conditions, can the voters be expected to trust what they are told or judge what is fair and reasonable?

Again on April 30, Mr Howard voted AGAINST full and complete disclosure of directorships and other remunerated employment, (http://www.publicwhip.org.uk/division.php?date=2009-04-30&number=106&mpn=Michael_Howard&mpc=Folkestone_%26amp%3B_Hythe&house=commons), which would have disclosed the following:

· the precise amount of each individual payment made in relation to any interest,
· the nature of the work carried out in return for that payment,
· the number of hours worked during the period to which the payment relates, and,
· the name and address of the person, organisation or company making the payment (except where disclosure of the information would be contrary to any legal or established professional duty of privacy or confidentiality) .

which seems a little suspicious given that on the Register of Members’ Interests (http://www.theyworkforyou.com/mp/michael_howard/folkestone_and_hythe#register) Mr Howard has 5 remunerated directorships, several entries in the ‘remunerated employment, office, profession, etc’.

We are entitled to know this as apart from questions of transparency (which is one of the real issues with expenses), impartiality and possible conflicts of interests, MPs should be performing parliamentary duties. Mr. Howard has stated politics is not for the money, a statement that will be cheapened somewhat if we find out he has been somewhere else for the money rather than representing his constituents' interests. From May 14 2001, Mr Howard has attended around 44% of votes. I wonder if we will find out where he may have been and how much he was earning during his absences.

- update, 2nd June, Telegraph reports Mr Howard has diverted over £44,000 to the Folkestone and Hythe Conservative Association. (http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/newstopics/mps-expenses/5425235/MPs-expenses-Michael-Howard-paid-44000-to-Conservatives.html)