Gordon Hook

Much concern has been expressed recently about controversial plans to bring gas to the surface of the UK by so called “fracking” technology, which blasts water sand and chemicals at extreme pressures to release trapped gas deep under ground. It was thought to be responsible for 2 earthquakes last year near Blackpool.
Tomorrow(Tuesday) Lib Dem Environment Minister Ed Davey will publish the Government’s Energy Bill, promising it will bring down energy costs and secure future supplies. He will make clear that Britain must not be dependent on gas, despite George Osborne’s claim in the budget that, “gas is cheap, has much less carbon than coal and will be the largest single source of our electricity in the coming years”. Jennifer Webber, from the industry body RenewableUK, said the reforms must instead, “ensure that the expansion of renewable energy is at the heart of our energy strategy.” All Lib Dems would say “Amen” to that. This change of heart by the Government is yet further proof, if such is needed, of the highly significant role the Lib Dems are playing in this Coalition Government which would otherwise be a run away right wing Tory administration.

I am looking forward to the Olympic Games, which I sincerely hope pass off with no incidents either of terrorism or drug abuse. I sincerely hope that many, particularly the young, are inspired to move away from the arm chair/PC/iPod and engage in the pleasure of physical activity. I don’t care what that activity is….it doesn’t have to be competitive sport ( though I for one have had an enhanced life experience by participation in all manner of sporting activities….cricket/rugby/football….etc,etc) but activity as opposed to inactivity must be good for you in numerous ways.

If the flame currently travelling around the UK encourages our youngsters into worthwhile activity…..fantastic. If it raises awareness and stimulates interest…..fantastic. If it provides an excuse for fun and games en route, no harm in that…..but I must confess that unless you have a child to take to watch the procession, why would any adult go and stand on a pavement, probably with a plastic union jack in hand, to watch a flame pass by? I simply cannot fathom why grown men and women spent a proportion of the last two days and will do so for the next 68 days doing just that. I have a dislike of crowds. It doesn’t matter if that is Christmas Shopping crowds/political rallies/religious crusades/”pop” concerts/sporting events or any other mass activity of mankind, it always strikes me that emotion can and clearly often does take over from reality and clear thinking. All too often human beings abandon human behaviour and adopt some Neandertal pose, albeit temporary, often without the aid of alcohol or drugs,which I find disturbing.

Now I often find clear thinking difficult enough by myself, with the impact of an emotionally charged atmosphere it is next to impossible. Don’t get me wrong, I can’t imagine that Shaldon Bridge or Cathedral Close Exeter yesterday afternoon were particularly emotionally charged atmospheres, but the basic principle remains…..I have an aversion to crowds. Lots of people gathering to watch or listen to 1 or 2 people always seems the wrong way round to me. How much better if, to stretch the point, 22 people gathered to watch 50,000 taking exercise? How much better if the House of Commons listened to the millions rather then vice versa?

There is a place for emotion, and we shouldn’t be afraid of it….emotions are a release/ an out pouring of feelings of joy/pain/sadness/elation, but they are our emotions, generated by our reactions to a personal and often individual situation. Being an old fashioned Englishman (?) I may feel it best to hide emotions, and perhaps I would be a better person if I allowed them out more? I still get very emotional when I recall my brothers death, for instance, and I think many would understand that. I can get emotional about a passage of prose/a relationship/a view/a supreme human achievement….which takes me neatly back to the Olympics. I hope this summer I will feel emotional about some supreme human achievement, and it is the anticipation of such that stimulates my interest, not a flame on a pole.

Lib Dem Euro-MP Sir Graham Watson has slammed Tory ‘hypocrisy’ in claiming to be the party of law and order but failing to support cross-border crime fighting, despite its recent success in busting human trafficking and international paedophile rings.

Europol and Eurojust, EU agencies bringing together police forces and prosecutors from across Europe have been instrumental in the arrest of hundreds of paedophiles, drug dealers and human traffickers. One operation last year resulted in the arrest of 121 British paedophiles and the rescue of 60 vulnerable UK children. One recent operation resulted in the arrest of nearly 20 more. But each time the European Parliament has voted to increase the agencies scope and operations, Tories have refused to support them, with Liberal Democrats voting in favour.

MEP Sir Graham Watson said, “Time and again it has been proven that by working together across national borders we can stop the most disgusting and callous of crimes from taking place.”

“Organised criminal gangs do not simply stop their work at national borders and neither should our security forces. In order to secure our borders and stop children from being exploited, we must work with our EU partners. The Tories voting record on this demonstrates that they are no longer the party of law and order. Conservatives cannot be trusted to defend UK interests in Europe.”

An old adage, taught at my parents knee….or was that grandparents? No matter, it’s as true today as it was then, whenever then was.
I attended an evening meeting earlier this week with various leading educationalists from around Devon. I sat next to the Principal of Bicton College and learned much of the excellent work going on there, not least in the field of renewable energy. The theme of the meeting was the land, and what we are doing in our schools and colleges to teach land science. The general conformity of the evening was broken by the Chairman of the Devon NFU saying that basically they were all wasting their time, as no jobs existed for the students when they qualified, mainly because the large retailers (Supermarkets) were too powerful and exploited farmers. His main example was milk, where he claimed it cost a farmer in Devon 29p per litre to produce and the Supermarkets paid 28 p per litre for the product. Not much future in that then!
I was asked to speak, very much off the cuff as certainly I had prepared nothing. I challenged the NFU Chairman and those gathered in the room, with a story about an old friend, sadly long gone. He was an outspoken Professor from Sussex University and one of his great pleasures in life was to be controversial at dinner parties. Some 20 or 30 years ago, at one such dinner party, he claimed that no great reforms had ever been achieved without direct action, citing votes for women and the end to racial segregation in the States. He claimed that Proportional Representation would/could be the same. “Get every supporter in the land to switch their water on and within a week the Government would have to give in”, was his message. An awfully dubious measure and certainly environmentally destructive, but he held that if the end justified the means….etc. I challenged the NFU Chair with the same point…..force the Supermarkets hand by pouring your milk downthe drains til they gave in and gave you a proper price for the product. “Oh that’s been tried” was his response. But of course it hasn’t, not at least on the scale required….nation wide; no exceptions. Unity is strength et al. Again, it would be appallingly wasteful and I can’t justify that path, but worth a thought. So much better surely for farmers to go back to what my old Grandfather did…..sell it door to door with his own milk round and cut the rapacious supermarket chain out of it altogether….until or unless they change their ways. More Farm Shops selling locally produced products would be my way.
Interesting therefore to read this morning of a survey undertaken by Birds Eye, the food chain.They claim that having surveyed 2116 adults in the UK the average family throws away £270 worth of unused food per year.(that’s £5.20 a week) from a weekly food spend of £68. The main reason given was the temptation of the BOGOFs. (Buy one get one free) Vegetable and fruit were 2 of the main products thrown away.
So how do we solve this problem of waste? How do we address the “poverty” of dairy farmers? What can be done to help low income rural families?
We all need to consider the issues raised….they have serious and long term implications for us all. Certainly one way is not to build on our best agricultural land, which must be used for its primary purpose. We must take on board the implications of sustainable living and life styles, where we simply cannot afford to waste good food, wherever it comes from, and we must be prepared to encourage, perhaps by paying a bit more for our milk etc, to sustain local production, because in my opinion the day is fast approaching when we simply will not be able to afford to throw away £270 per annum on unused food. Waste not, want not.

Produce food locally wherever and whenever possible. Sell and consume it locally, cutting down food miles drastically and saving massive transport costs. Encourage local farmers to become entrepreneurs and develop the “Farm Shop”, probably often under the “cooperative ” banner. Local and specific example of the way to go? How much better to let the farmer at Seale – Hayne open his proposed Farm Shop selling organically produced wholesome local produce than to  build over his land that will thus be lost forever to food production.

Living Streets have teamed up with start rite shoes to encourage participation in next weeks, “Walk to School Week”.
Free shoes can be won by participating children…….learn more by logging on to “Living Streets”. This is a simple way to encourage children to walk to school thus saving the school run chaos, encouraging exercise and healthy living and reducing pollution and carbon emissions…..why not give it a go, at least for a week ? Ask your childs school if they are taking part, and if not encourage them to do so. I understand Haytor View in my ward are joining in…..I’d love to hear of others doing the same.

(Click picture to play video)

It is shameful that, despite all the promise on a four or five year old’s first day at school, or the passion of their teachers, you can all too often plot that child’s path just by asking how much their parents earn.

The £2.5billion Pupil Premium was one of the four pledges on the front page of our manifesto.  And now, with Liberal Democrats in government, schools are using the money for things like breakfast clubs; homework clubs; or to provide one-to-one-tuition. These are the sort of experiences many middle class children take for granted but a poorer child might rarely enjoy.

Yesterday I visited a fantastic primary school to see how they are spending their Pupil Premium, highlight our new Summer Schools to ease the transition from primary to secondary, and to set out our plans to reward teachers and hold schools to account.

The Pupil Premium shows that, in tough times, we are implementing Liberal Democrat values and prioritising help for those pupils who need it most.

Best wishes,

Nick Clegg MP

Leader of the Liberal Democrats and Deputy Prime Minister

PS Click here to find out how much money your local school will receive from the Liberal Democrats’ Pupil Premium.

At the recent DCC budget settlement a proposal came from the controlling Conservative group that the repairs budget for rural “C” roads should be enhanced. I pointed out that in fact urban “C” roads must get far more wear and tear, and therefore needed investment even more than the rural equivalent. As a consequence the “rural” was removed from the proposal and it become simply “C” roads.
I asked yesterday which roads locally would benefit as a consequence and was told that 2 in Newton Abbot would be repaired, and the one in my ward of Newton Abbot South would be Powderham. Details of date not yet known……mercies and small come to mind……..

I was very pleased to discover last week that the Government is making £200m available for so called “pinch point ” funding…..money for “small” projects of less than £10m which can be delivered by 2015 and which will relieve traffic congestion at pinch points. As readers will know I think (and have been so pleased to receive over whelming public support) the proposed construction of a single lane fly over at Pen Inn is a nonsense and will do little or nothing to help the traffic flow problem locally. How much better would a 2 lane fly over be? From the reaction my suggestion received, it seems everyone (with the possible exception of the Town Council) thinks so.
I made enquiries, as the Pen Inn seemed to meet the criteria…..but no, I regret it doesn’t. The A38 does, but not the A380…..one is Highways Authority one is Devon Highways, and apparently when it comes to pinch point status it really matters…..more craziness at the heart of government. So, the fly over will be built with one lane, despite money being available to alleviate what will be created…..at times it would be easy to think the inmates are running the asylum…..

Of course the vastly improved weather has helped, but irrespective of that, it has been a good week end.
Two of my sons were playing football for Aston Villa ( OK, a charity XI ) at Villa Park. I obviously wanted to be there, and duly witnessed them lose to a late winning goal from the opposition, 2 – 3…….not unllike the senior and rather better known team of the same name (at least this season) My sons team had led at half time, against the run of play it must be said, by a solitary goal scored by the elder of the two, Nicholas. (not a tap in as suggested on the tweat of the charity organising the event, but a realistic attempt on goal from at least 10 yards) Well done,Son!
This was the fulfilment of a life times ambition by both of the boys, who were, certainly as young boys and teenagers, very reasonable footballers, playing representative football for their area sides in Sussex. Aston Villa has been the family team for as long as any one can remember and clearly it was a great thrill to play a full game at Villa Park. It must be said that the standard of football declined steadily as the game wore on with cramps and muscle strains setting in all over the pitch. All players had to contribute approx. £700 to the Football Association charities, and I think my sons thought it was worth every penny.
Grand son Albie was the team mascot, and I think my lasting memory of the day will be the ceremonial hand shaking that took place between the teams and officials before the kick off, with little Albie, resplendent in full Aston Villa kit marching along the line of players and officials shaking hands like an old pro……all told, many good memories. The boys are already talking about finding the money to take part in next seasons event.
All credit to them and the others who participated and raised so much cash for good causes…..and of course to “The Villa” for giving them the magnificent facility.
Of such are memories made…….