Take a deep breath... Sarah Ludford reminds me of what I left behind...

I have mentioned in the past that I still receive press releases from Sarah Ludford, London's Liberal Democrat MEP, which I read not merely as a courtesy, but as someone interested on what our Parliamentarians are doing in Brussels and, regrettably, Strasbourg (Single Seat, anybody?).

Today, Sarah has commented on the declaration of the UK Supreme Court in a case brought by environmental campaign group Client Earth that the UK government has breached European air pollution rules. The Court decided to refer the case to the European Court of Justice (ECJ) for further clarification.

She notes;

The Supreme Court declaration that the government has breached the EU Air Quality Directive is regrettable but necessary. Instead of acting swiftly to protect the public from harmful levels of air pollution, a Tory Environment Minister just last week shamefully tried to water down EU air quality rules and the Tory Mayor of London drags his feet.

Air quality is something that does resonate strongly with this country-dweller, especially as I lived in London for forty-five years before migrating to mid-Suffolk.

The notes to editors that are linked to her press release make for grim reading;

1. Estimates of the number of premature deaths per year in London due to long-term exposure to air pollution range from about 3,000 to 8,000 (based on 2005 data).
2. 86% of the worst areas in the country for nitrogen dioxide pollution and 87% of the worst areas in the country for particulate pollution are in London.
3. More than 320,000 children attend schools in London within 150 metres of roads carrying more than 10,000 vehicles a day. This is the level of traffic that has been found to increase risk of developing or exacerbating asthma in children.

No wonder that I developed a persistent, hacking cough as years of working in Central London took their toll. It's much less annoying these days, although my weekly trips to London don't help. 

Well said, Sarah, well said...

More thoughts on the leadership contest

Now that my ballot is in - at least, I hope that it's in, I posted it first class on Thursday morning - I can perhaps reflect on the leadership race so far.

From a personal perspective, I have been disappointed. Not by the quality of the candidates, as I think that all three have had something to say and the means by which to deliver their vision, but by the actual campaigns. I expected people to contact me, by e-mail, or telephone, or even by letter (I'm quite old-fashioned like that) and that never happened. It would seem that you have to be a semi-public figure, like a PPC, or a membership secretary, to get contacted (apparently, Local Party Chairs don't fall under that heading, or Regional Officers for that matter).

I did get some e-mails from senior Party figures telling me why I should vote for X, presumably because I've been on their e-mail lists in the past (I particularly enjoyed the two I received from Sarah Ludford, telling me first to support Mark Oaten, and then later urging me to support Menzies Campbell), but as I've never been enthusiastic about supporting someone because the hierarchy tell me I should, they probably weren't very helpful. What I wanted was some content from the candidates, more about what they stood for.

Instead, we got the manifestos with our ballot and otherwise nothing unless you can attend a hustings meeting. You can follow the campaign via the media but coverage is on their terms rather than those of the candidates and can hardly be relied upon for neutrality.

I think we got the rules for leadership contests wrong. We should encourage the building of campaign teams, and more importantly, personal contact between campaign teams and the ordinary members. It is absurd that a potential candidate for the European Parliament is provided with a membership list, and leadership candidates aren't. I accept the cost arguments but perhaps the principle of a representative, informed internal democracy is overriding. After all, whoever wins this contest is going to be vaguely important in terms of the Party's future, I presume...

A token ethnic minority male writes...

I found this picture the other day and thought that my family might like to see me in best faceless bureaucrat mode. Notice how I am cunningly part-hidden by the microphone. On the far left is Baroness Sarah Ludford, a member of the European Parliament, next to her Susan Kramer, MP for Richmond Park and on my right, Lynne Featherstone, MP for Hornsey and Wood Green. In the middle is Mandy Wells, our former Regional Conference Chair. So what am I doing there?

Well, Mandy said that she needed an aide and, given the others on the platform, she wanted a token male. Having been married, I knew exactly what to do...