Blog 19th-25th March 2007
Westminster, Gordon's 11th Budget, Sittingbourne and Sheerness
Monday was a quiet day as we began to wind up to the Budget on Wednesday and wind down for the Easter recess next week. I had a very stimulating lunch with (Lord) Parry Mitchell who sold his IT business last year and has just taken over from Estelle Morris on the e-Learning front. I chaired a meeting of the British Council on India where Rod Pryde, our director there, gave an excellent overview of where India is today and how the BC can play its part; depending on which set of figures you believe India could become the world's largest economic power by 2025…..Gordon Brown addressed the weekly Parliamentary Labour Party to a full house as we all looked for clues about the budget but he wasn't about to do a Hugh Dalton. Keith Hill, the PM's PPS caught me and said that Tony would see a couple of us, including James Arbuthnot MP and Christina Lamb (Sunday Times Foreign Correspondent) concerned about Afghanistan. I saw Lord Hunt (NHS Minister) and he agreed to see a deputation from the Worshipful Company of Information Technologists about IT in the Health Service and then I attended a photo shoot with Jethro Tull, (aka Ian Anderson) who I think has been one of our great experimental musicians over the past thirty years. It was a delight to meet him.
Walking the dogs on Tuesday was as much a joy even if the wind chill factor was high. I am though beginning to think that I may have to find a home for them as they need more space than I can give them in London. In the early evening, I walked across to Buckingham Palace for a Reception hosted by HM The Queen and HRH The Duke of Edinburgh. Before that I had interviewed, for my youtube site, Carline Flint MP, a Health Minister, hosted another British Council meeting this time on Saudi Arabia, attended the All Party Sports group and spoken at the Liverpool Cultural Capital 2008 meeting. I suggested a Cultural Bank Holiday for the nation and gold medals for poetry, music and arts. In the evening, Ken Pyne, the cartoonist, and I had supper together.
Wednesday was taken up with the Budget which was a real surprise. Both Corporation tax and Income tax were reduced and ex-ASW workers had something to cheer when the Financial Assistance Scheme was increased from £2.3 billion to £8 billion which was some result. There was much else too but as ever it'll take a couple of days to digest. After Gordon's speech I went and found Andrew and Alison Parr to tell them about the FAS changes and we then set off to find out more information (now elsewhere on this site). Jonathan Richards from The Times, who writes largely on IT, came in to chat followed by Sara El Nasari from the Design Council. In the evening, I went to Sir David Green's (DG of the British Council) farewell party at the Royal Court and caught up with Neil Kinnock, Myles Wickstead and Chris Mullin.
I moved my Thursday diary around and decided not to go to Brussels. Instead, I did GMTV where the car picked me up at 5.30am……..and then walked the dogs! On my way in to Westminster, BBC Radio Kent did an interview with me on my mobile on the FAS scheme. I was back in Rodmersham before the rush hour kicked-in and in the early evening I went to a presentation at The Coniston by the new owners. By October 2008, we will have a brand new spanking modern hotel worthy of Sittingbourne as the town begins, finally, to upgrade its image. Hooray.
The local Tory spokesman, already heavily criticised by David Cameron and known as a lame duck politician within his own party (and having scored an own goal last week on the Kent Science Park) has now done a complete u turn on schooling on the Island. He wants either a federated Academy or three secondary schools. For the past three years he has been supporting the middle schools and demanding two upper schools on the Minster College site, one for the academic and one for the rest. Extraordinary. He simply cannot resist jumping on the next band-wagon.
Friday was again spent in the Constituency. A number of people commented (favourably) on my GMTV interview……I spent an hour with the local Disabled Access group at Sittingbourne Station trying to resolve how we improve the colouring for blind and partially sighted people with Network Rail officials. Over a working lunch, I discussed with the young people from Swale Foyer how we should plan their Open day later in the year. I walked the dogs in the orchard, attended the monthly meeting of the Sittingbourne Labour Party.
Swale Borough Council is currently headless. Its CEO, Mark Bilsborough, has been on gardening leave for three months. I hope he returns shortly. We need his leadership. The Tories there have pressed a self-destruct button – fortnightly refuse collections, incompetent management by them of their Leisure contract (£7 million), the car parking fiasco and now the way they've managed the CEO issue.
Having walked the dogs again in the orchard early on Saturday morning, I made my way to Sheerness to meet former Britannia Lift workers to discuss how best to help them. This was our third meeting and we have agreed to have one more: another eventful week…………