Category Archives: Labour Party

June 19, 2013 · 5:56 am

Two great London landmarks win prestigious cultural award

It was with great delight I learnt earlier this week that two iconic London landmarks have won the European Union Prize for Cultural Heritage, the Europa Nostra Awards, 2013. The London winners were named as Strawberry Hill and Kings Cross Station.

The buildings are markedly different from one another but they are each as deserving of this prestigious award. The Europa Nostra prize celebrates major achievements in sustaining Europe’s cultural heritage. Strawberry Hill and Kings Cross Station were in competition with 200 other projects and both received the award in the conservation category.

The award celebrates culture, architecture and great historical landmarks across Europe. Such landmarks are something we all appreciate but we can sometimes be guilty of forgetting to recognise their valuable contribution to society. The Nostra Europa prize reflects the growing pride and interest we take in European cultural heritage and these winners will undoubtedly be proud of their significant achievement, contribution and cultural investment they have made.

I am, of course, delighted that these two particular London landmarks have been awarded this prize – for which they both incredibly deserve to have done. Both sites had fallen into decay in different ways either socially or architecturally and required significant restoration. A combination of local community support and skilled partners worked hard to ensure the projects were completed to an extremely high quality.

For those who would like to read more I have included some details below or you can read more here.

Kings Cross station: Kings Cross Station was known for its depressing design and surroundings. It was certainly not a place to socialise; despite this it has played a major role in the UK’s rail and network history. The huge restoration of the station has transformed it into a hub where people can meet, eat, socialise and enjoy a spectacular architectural experience. The Judges said how impressed they were by many aspects of the transformed station including “the reversion of the Booking Hall to its former use, the innovation of a pub/restaurant in the Parcels Office, the newly-glazed and de cluttered train sheds, and the new track under the restored functions of the eastern range.”

Strawberry Hill: Dating from 1747 the gothic castle is a famous landmark both culturally and in the history of architecture. It had become seriously neglected, falling into decay and suffering even more from poor repairs. In 2007 a careful and painstaking detailed research and archaeology programme started. The judges of the Nostra prize applauded the ‘beautiful conservation’. The collection of stained glass and painted glass windows were rescued during the careful restoration.

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June 17, 2013 · 8:39 am

Honeyball’s Weekly Round-Up

Sadly the European Commission and Council have always been resistant to giving better and wider access to EU legislative documents for EU Citizens.  That is why in Strasbourg last week, the European Parliament adopted a resolution calling on the other two EU institutions to lift their opposition and resume the negotiations with the Parliament on a revision of the Regulation on Public Access to Documents.

The report was about empowering citizens to hold “Brussels” to account; not only the European Parliament, but also the Commission and the Council of Ministers.  Meetings of the Council of Ministers currently take place behind closed doors. If we knew how our Ministers voted in their secret meetings, we would be able to hold them to account, in all national parliaments across the EU.  Hopefully this will make the Commission and the Council stop their backstage collusion on this dossier and will actively follow up on this resolution to kick-start negotiations again as soon as possible.

You would think that UKIP, given their constant criticism of the functioning of the EU, would have welcomed this move.  However, UKIP refused to support transparent EU decision making on Thursday, by abstaining on the resolution.

In the same week, UKIP MEPs refused to support encouragement for all member states to establish a lobbying register, in a report on corruption, money laundering and organised crime. UKIP abstained on the paragraph which “encourages governments and public administrations to make registration in a lobby register a precondition for a meeting with a business-, interest-, or lobby-organisation”. On 3rd June, Nigel Farage wrote in the Guardian that UKIP would ‘clean up politics’ by demanding that all lobbying and donations to politicians be clearly registered.  UKIP are proving once again that they are more about grandstanding than actually trying to make a difference.

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June 14, 2013 · 8:03 am

Discussing the Gender Equality Index on Women’s Hour

Yesterday I appeared on BBC Radio 4′s Women’s Hour talking about the first Gender Equality Index to be published for the European Union.  I was joined by Marina Yannakoudakis for a very interesting discussion about this important document.  You can listen to our segment by using the media player below.

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June 13, 2013 · 6:58 am

GMB union working hard to improve female representation

I spent some time at the GMB Congress last month at which I heard about the findings of a piece of research by The Campaign Company (TCC) which had been commissioned by the GMB to explore how the union promoted and represented women.

It is a robust piece of research and TCC has, among other things, has spent some time asking women to share their experience of the union and asking them how to improve upon this.

Although the final conclusions have yet to be presented it’s an important piece of work nonetheless, not least because it illustrates how seriously the union takes women and their contribution in the workplace. If only the same could be said for all businesses and organisations.

The authors write in their summary: “This project is timely and has captured a mood for change. Indeed, we further believe that there is a strong business case that the union will be able to realise the expertise, commitment and energy of a large percentage of its workforce if these recommendations are implemented. This will give it a competitive advantage in relation to employers and other trade unions that may be competing over the same territory.”

This is something I often say of the boardroom and if businesses and organisations recognised the value and monetary capital women hold then they would recognise that they indeed could have a competitive advantage over rivals if they were to employ more women to senior positions.

The research also explored work which has been undertaken by other trade unions in this area. While the Union is seeking to address some of the issues, the report also notes an almost universal recognition that significant progress has been made in recent times and a profound confidence in and loyalty to the union. This leads us to believe that there is a firm foundation on which to build a programme that will have significant impact.

The proposals would require a major undertaking for the union and it’s a brave organisation which recognises the need to improve, and also acts upon this.

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June 12, 2013 · 10:44 am

UKIP´s Paul Nuttall MEP fails to support action against online child abuse

If I told you that Paul Nuttall, UKIP MEP for the North West Region had launched a major campaign in his region against online child abuse you would, I hope, think this is a very good thing to do. 

Mr Nuttall is indeed campaigning against online child abuse, as recently reported in the Rochdale Observer.

But there’s a catch. Mr Nuttall has not at the time of writing signed my Written Declaration in this subject, which I talked about in detail in my blog post yesterday.  As the declaration states

“2.   The cross-border nature of most online child sexual abuse content shows that strong international cooperation is necessary;”

You see, there’s a reason for Mr. Nuttall´s refusal. UKIP who hate the European Parliament while drawing the salary it provides and taking up their allowances, will quite simply have virtually nothing to do with the institution to which they have been elected by the people of their respective regions.

UKIP’s “principled” stance of accepting the goodies but not doing the work, extends to refusing to sign Written Declarations.

It does make you wonder about the extent of Paul Nuttall’s commitment to fighting online child abuse when he will not even put his signature to something which may greatly aid this cause.

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June 11, 2013 · 8:34 am

Written Declaration on Online Child Abuse

Despite its many positive advantages, unfortunately the internet has opened an all too accessible front for child abuse. All of us are only too aware that criminals and paedophiles are able to use websites around the world to distribute and share child abuse content.

Along with MEP colleagues Emma McClarkin ,Vicky Ford , Timothy Kirkhope, Silvia Costa, Richard Howitt, Gay Mitchell, Roberta Angelilli, Iva Zanicchi , Maria Da Graça Carvalho, Seán Kelly and Diane Dodds, I have co-signed this European Parliament Written Declaration:

1.   Child sexual abuse content is one of the most abhorrent types of content available, and the production, possession or distribution of such content is universally considered a criminal act;

2.   The cross-border nature of most online child sexual abuse content shows that strong international cooperation is necessary;

3.   The commercial distribution of such content could potentially be profitable for organised crime structures;

4.   Behind every image of child sexual abuse there is a real victim;

5.   The most effective way to deal with such content is to remove it at source in cooperation with law enforcement agencies;

6.   It is therefore important to share internationally information and expertise regarding the fight against online sexual abuse content;

7.   Adequate reporting and take-down mechanisms in respect of child sexual abuse content in every country are crucial;

8.   The Commission is called upon to consider developing as well as developed countries when establishing international cooperation to combat online child sexual abuse content;

9.   The Commission is called upon to support the creation of online child sexual abuse reporting mechanisms that meet acceptable global standards regarding transparency and freedom of expression;

The laws governing illegal online content differ from country to country which makes taking down abusive content and prosecuting the criminals responsible time-consuming and difficult.  In many cases there is also a commercial dimension to online child abuse content with the distribution of illegal material being profitable for organised crime.

In 2010 it was estimated that over 200 images of child pornography are put into circulation ever day and that the victims are getting younger and the content more violent and graphic. Other studies suggest that 10-20% of European children will suffer some form of sexual abuse as a child. This is an issue which is growing in severity and impact. The EU Commissioner for Home Affairs Cecilia Malmström hit the nail on the head. “The response of the EU cannot be too clear or too resolute. Whatever the EU can possibly do against that, the EU must do and will do.”

Global action is needed to fight online child abuse.  As you will have seen, this Written Declaration is a cross party project involving members from every main European political grouping. Ending child abuse is an issue that transcends party lines and enjoys support across the political spectrum. I hope we will see huge support from the European Parliament for the Written Declaration.

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June 10, 2013 · 8:23 am

Honeyball’s Weekly Round-Up

It emerged over the weekend that David Cameron will be teaming up with Kenneth Clarke this week to make the case for Britain’s continued membership of the EU.

In a speech ahead of next week’s G8 meeting of world leaders in Northern Ireland, Cameron is planning to say that the country faces a battle for its economic future, involving major domestic reforms and greater foreign ambition.

He’s planning to support Britain’s membership of the EU, describing it as part of a “desire to shape the world” by sitting at the “top table” of major international institutions. And he will urge the country to nurture a “sense of opportunity” that was “lacking for too long”.

Cameron’s staunch defence of Britain’s EU membership, a month after Michael Gove and Philip Hammond said they would vote to leave now, will be reinforced by Clarke who will warn that Britain will be “reduced to watching from the sidelines” if it leaves the EU.

The prime minister will indicate his sympathies lie with Clarke and not with his friend Gove when he outlines how Britain can improve its standing in the world.

The prime minister plans on saying: “Membership of these organisations is not national vanity – it is in our national interest. The fact is that it is in international institutions that many of the rules of the game are set on trade, tax and regulation. When a country like ours is affected profoundly by those rules, I want us to have a say on them.”

It’s hard not to feel that Cameron has let this issue completely run away from him within his own party.  I agree with his assessment of the importance of continued membership of the EU, so I have to ask him why he and his party have put it in such jeopardy.

Last week there was much discussion of the state of gender equality as people marked the 100 year anniversary of the tragic death of Emily Wilding Davison.  A lot of the discussion centered on our failure as a nation to properly venerate important and influential women from our past.  In the Observer yesterday people wrote in with their observations about the lack of Blue Plaques to women, including the extraordinary revelation that the plaque on the house of Millicent Garrett Fawcett reads “Henry Fawcett … lived here with his wife and daughter, 1874-1884.”

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June 7, 2013 · 10:29 am

From the Archive: UKIP’s remarkable ability to shed MEPs

This is a blog from 7 June 2011 regarding  the defection of David Campbell-Bannerman from UKIP to the Conservatives.  UKIP have continued to have problems holding on to their MEPs. Since this blog was written Marta Andreasen’s public row with UKIP leader Nigel Farage has resulted in her defecting to the Tories.

UKIP’s remarkable ability to shed MEPs

David Campbell-Bannerman who defected last month from UKIP to the Conservatives has written an interesting justification on Conservative Home. He argues that the Conservatives are the best placed party to secure Britain leaving the European Union:

‘I believe it is only the Conservative Party that can realistically offer a way out of the EU, through a future manifesto or through support for an In/Out referendum.’

I do wonder when he applied for membership which David Cameron  category of UKIP member he was listed under – fruitcake/loony/closet racist?

This does seem a very sudden decision, as in the current edition of this newspaper David Campbell-Bannerman criticises the Conservative-lead government’s defence and foreign policy in very robust terms. UKIP reaction has alleged careerism, and this image from the Independence Home website encapsulates many of their views.

I think the British media generally still underestimate how Eurosceptic the Conservative Party is, and this defection makes the Conservative MEPs an even more right wing grouping. UKIP do have a singular ability to lose MEPs. In the 2004-9 Parliamentary term a quarter of its MEPs departed for the delights of Spain and Her Majesty’s Pleasure. Since 2009 Nikki Sinclaire MEP no longer follows the UKIP whip following her complaints about homophobia and now another MEP leaves. Nigel Farage and Marta Andreasen are conducting a very public row at present. It will be little surprise if we reach the 2014 European elections with a quarter or more of UKIP MEPs no longer representing the Party the public thought they were voting for.

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June 6, 2013 · 7:48 am

Business needs more women – at all levels

The publication yesterday of a report looking at women’s contribution to the UK economy is a welcome addition to the large body of evidence that business needs more women – at all levels. 

The Women Business Council’s report to Government found that if women participated in the workforce to the same degree as men, the UK could increase its GDP by 0.5% per year, with potential gains of 10% by 2030.  Some 2.4m women not in work currently want to work.

Key recommendations include broadening girls’ aspirations and career choices by getting schools to partner with careers advisers, business and parents, and getting business to embrace the benefits of flexible working.

What is also needed are good role models, starting from the top in company boards to encourage women lower down the ‘pipeline’.  But the UK’s high profile attempts to increase the number of women on boards aren’t working.  As the latest Cranfield School of Management research shows, not only have the numbers of women on boards not increased but the rate has slowed.  Cranfield believes it’s because firms have “become complacent about the issue”.  So the European Commission’s proposal to increase female board representation to 40% is not only welcome but necessary.

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June 5, 2013 · 9:50 am

Sky’s knife-edge poll shows people want a reformed EU but repatriation of powers still remains impossible

Fifty-one per cent would vote to leave the European Union while 49 per cent prefer the status quo. Today’s poll broadcast by Sky News must give us all pause for thought.

 That being said, the results of the survey come with a significant health warning from Survation, the company who carried out the work, who state:

“A great deal of this opinion, however, is subject to change. 61% of ‘OUT’ voters would reconsider if certain key policy areas were renegotiated for the UK. Meanwhile 80% of current ‘IN’ voters would consider leaving if certain aspects of potential future EU integration were forced on the UK, being made to join the Euro chief among them.”

“Part of the uncertainty almost certainly stems from a lack of awareness of the EU and what exactly it means for the UK. Only 17% and 13% of respondents recognised a picture of the European Commission President José Manuel Barroso and European Council President Herman Van Rompuy respectively, compared to 71% who recognised German Chancellor Angela Merkel. Clearly awareness of the EU’s institutions is very low in the UK, when compared with awareness of the politics of other prominent European countries.”

“Similarly only 37% of respondents correctly guessed from 6 options that there were 27 countries in the EU, which suggests only around 25%, actually knew the correct response rather than guessing. 12% of respondents thought that there were as many as 36 countries in the EU. Meanwhile, of people who were not sure how they would vote in a referendum, the most common reason given was that they were “not sure what an ‘out’ vote would actually mean for the UK in terms of our new relationship with Europe”.

The EU debate more than almost anything else I have encountered over many years of political activism suffers from lack of clarity and lack of knowledge. For instance, voters do not really know what powers David Cameron seeks to repatriate. Even the debate on the 130 odd justice and home affairs measures which led the headlines not so long ago seems to have now disappeared into the long grass, possibly a deliberate ploy by Home Secretary Theresa May.

David Cameron is tellingly very quiet on other repatriation possibilities, mainly because they are just that – possibilities. As regular readers of this blog will know, I have long believed that unilateral repatriation is a complete non-starter. Why on earth would the 26 other EU member states agree to something demanded by only one of their number? 26:1 seems to me improbably long odds.

However, we should not rule out meaningful reform of the EU and its institutions. Reform from the inside is the only way Britain can go, though I concede that progress is often painfully slow. However, change does happen. The Common Fisheries Policy has been amended to do away with the ludicrous demand that certain fish be discarded and thrown back into the sea. As far as the European Parliament is concerned, we now have powers to co-legislate along with the EU member states. There is a long list of treaties from Maastrich to Lisbon which have amended the way the EU operates. This is how reform will happen, not by David Cameron having a hissy fit and taking his bat home, and we need to be there to protect our national interest.

The Labour Party is committed to a hard headed and patriotic case for EU reform. First out of the starting blocks will be a call for restraint and reform of the EU budget together with measures to stimulate growth and jobs across the continent. To this end Labour will look for agreement to appoint an EU Commissioner for Growth.

Since immigration is the number one public concern regarding the European Union, Labour will put in train talks to reform the transitional arrangements setting the terms for immigration from the new member states while at the same time seeking to reform the payment of family related benefits to EU migrants. There will also be a demand that the EU collect data on EU migration flows.

And Labour will also work to abolish the Strasbourg circus, whereby MEPs traipse to the Alsatian capital twelve times a year amid much expense and disruption.

The Survation survey shows an extremely low level of knowledge about the EU across the population of the United Kingdom. I passionately believe we as a nation need to address this. Ignorance is never blissful and, whatever your point of view on the EU, I do not believe anyone can defend the current situation whereby people don’t have the tools to actually know what is happening in an institution this country has belonged to for 40 years.

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