Ros in the Lords: Parliamentary Buildings (Restoration and Renewal) Bill

Monday saw the Second Reading of the Parliamentary Buildings (Restoration and Renewal) Bill, which creates the formal structures required to carry out the task of saving the Palace of Westminster from ever more rapid decay. Admittedly, some of their noble Lords seemed rather determined to fight a battle that had been lost more than a year ago, but Ros was focussed on the task at hand...

Baroness Scott of Needham Market (LD)

My Lords, I start by reminding the House that I am a member of the shadow sponsor body. I agree with every word that the noble Lord, Lord Carter, said about the clarity and focus of the members of the sponsor body in delivering this project. I can assure the House that, even though we are still in shadow form, we are behaving as much as we can as if we were doing the job and, therefore, a huge amount is already going on. However, there comes a point where we need to be on a statutory footing, and that is why we need the Bill. I pay particular tribute to Liz Peace and the other external members, who are working well over and above their expected time commitment to come up to speed, not only with the project and the labyrinthine way in which we make decisions but on how their special expertise can be used to best effect.​

The time has come when we must get on with it and get the project off the ground. It is not to Parliament’s credit that this building has been allowed to deteriorate to its current form. I often think that we are so accustomed to that deterioration that we do not see it any more. We do not see the portakabins in the courtyards because there is no space; or the large parts of the building that are covered in scaffolding because the masonry is falling off; or the piles of unwanted material cluttering up the ground floor because there is not anywhere to put it— the fire risk has already been referred to by the noble Baroness in her opening—or the constant and expensive patching up of the mechanical and electrical services. Through all of these we plough on regardless.

What we are doing to the heritage here is tragic. I have been here for almost 20 years and have only just realised that there is a mediaeval cloister in the House of Commons and that this historic gem is in a state of serious disrepair. The one fact that really struck home to me—which, to my shame, I had not realised—is that in this entire Palace there is only one lift that meets modern accessibility criteria. That is disgraceful.

The Joint Committee has done a great job. It has pointed out—the noble Lord, Lord Blunkett, referred to this—that restoration and renewal brings forward a chance for democratic renewal. However, I would add that, in this most conservative of institutions, restoration and renewal can also be a catalyst for operational renewal in areas such as catering, support functions such as IT and security, visitors, education and so on. When I talk about Parliament in the context of this work, I mean the whole of Parliament as an institution and not only the Members.

It is a very complicated project. It has many technical challenges in a confined space in a world heritage site, with the complexities of all the different activities that we need this building to deliver, whether as a home for our democracy, an operational Parliament, a workplace for many, a visitor attraction, an educational resource and so much more. So Parliament made the right decision 18 months ago when it decided to use the model successfully used for the Olympics—I am glad the scrutiny committee supported that. That committee focused attention on the relationship between the sponsor body and the delivery authority that it will establish in statutory form. As the noble and learned Lord, Lord Hope, said in his opening remarks, it is a well-trodden, contractual relationship—or should be.

For me, the key is that for everything to work, the brief set by the sponsor body, acting as the single client, must be clear and not subject to constant change. The most important relationship is that between Parliament itself and the sponsor body. For the sponsor body to act as the single client effectively, it can certainly take the lead, but it is not Parliament. The democratic renewal of which I spoke earlier must be led by Parliament itself. The sponsor body should reflect the wishes of Parliament, certainly by offering up ideas and options, but mostly by looking at how the current Parliament’s aspirations can be met and ensuring that future aspirations are not stopped.​

The same goes for operational renewal. It is not for the sponsor body to tell Parliament how to run its security, catering or visitor management, but rather to explore with Parliament what opportunities there might be for more efficient, effective and imaginative services.

The sponsor body is ambitious, and Parliament should be too. From much of the work the sponsor body has done so far in talking to many Members and staff, it is quite clear that there is a lot we could do right now. We do not have to wait for restoration and renewal, but we are so conservative that we never change anything. Many of the questions raised by Members and staff about restoration and renewal are about not the building work itself but how the building will be used. That should be in the hands of noble Lords and the Administration, not the shadow sponsor body.

We have heard a lot about Caroline Shenton’s book, and she gave us a copy when we started. The previous Clerk of the House of Commons commented that Barry needed a sponsor body. I am sure that may be right, but we must be realistic that the sponsor body itself is not a magic bullet. Parliament has a responsibility to be ambitious and to make this work. Parliamentary oversight of the work after the event is important, but the real value lies in engagement before the decisions are made, really understanding the potential consequences of particular options and aspirations and guiding the sponsor body accordingly.

The approach taken in the Bill envisages key milestones in the project which require parliamentary approval and an estimates committee with financial oversight powers. There will be a serious focus on communications between the sponsor body and Parliament, but we need to give more thought to how that will work the other way round: how Parliament is going to communicate with the sponsor body. There is potentially a very important role for the Deputy Speaker, the Services Committee chaired by the noble Lord, Lord Laming, and the arts and heritage committee. Then there will be the usual mechanism of debates and questions, all of which will play an important part. The sponsor body has established a set of key strategic objectives, which include health and safety, security, accessibility, heritage, effective working and value for money. Very few people would disagree with any of them. The job of the sponsor body is to commission a project that delivers as many of them as possible, but there will be points where Parliament will have choices to make. They may be difficult choices, and Parliament will need to be very clear about where its priorities lie.

Day 7 - Tbilisi, and a nice long soak...

Whilst Borjomi is famous for its mineral water, Tbilisi is famous for its thermal baths, where you soak in the warm waters supposedly renown for their health giving qualities. Various famous people came to Tbilisi, bathed and were seriously impressed. These days, it’s rather more of a tourist thing, but it looked like fun, so I had booked a private room and a peeling before arriving in Georgia.

I had picked one of the more highly recommended, recently refurnished baths, and arrived to find something rather spectacular, at least on the outside. And, somewhat to my relief, it was just as nice inside.

For about £65, you get two hours in a private room, large enough to hold four, if you’ve brought friends along. The room, or at least my one, came with a warm thermal bath, a cool thermal bath and a scorchingly hot Finnish sauna, which you can alternate as you feel the desire. For not much extra, a rather stocky Georgian will come to the room and give you what is called a peeling, where he scrubs you with a mildly scouring hand mitt, soaps you and then rinses you off. Anyone who has been to a Turkish bath will understand what I’m talking about. You lose quite a lot of dead skin, and come out of it rather smoother than you went in.

They’ll also bring you food and drink, including alcohol, and the room comes with a menu. The room is charged by the hour, rather than per person, making it potentially very reasonable in cost terms.

And it was very good. I came in slightly weary and a bit frazzled, and left rather more relaxed.

The rest of the day was spent walking around the city, despite the heat. Tbilisi is a very walkable city, and even if your accommodation is less than central, the Metro system can bring you to the old town quickly and efficiently. I rather liked the place, and if time permits, I’ll bring Ros, as I think she’d like it too.

Day 6 - Borjomi back to Tbilisi, the day of the big match...

There’s no doubt that this was something of a helter skelter sort of the trip, and I didn’t really allow myself much time to stand and stare, so it was time to head back to Tbilisi, for I had arranged, via an online app, a ticket for Georgia’s home Euro 2020 qualifying match against the mighty Gibraltar.

The train times out of Borjomi being somewhat inconvenient - either too early in the morning or too late to get to the game, I had to improvise. A taxi was arranged to take me back to Khashuri, to connect with the train from Poti to Tbilisi, and a train ticket purchased via the Georgian Railways app.

Georgian driving etiquette is vaguely familiar, given the amount of time I’ve spent in Mumbai over the years. Patience does not figure hugely, and overtaking manoeuvres can be a bit “close your eyes and wait for the crash” from a passenger perspective. But my driver got me to the station easily enough. Change was a different matter, as my 100 Lari note as clearly more than he could handle. Luckily, a nearby bank solved the problem, I paid him a ridiculously reasonable fare - Tbilisi taxi drivers are clearly not reflective of the rest of Georgia - and I could catch my late running train.

Back in Tbilisi, the weather was rather threatening, very warm with the promise of thunderstorms. I borrowed an umbrella for the walk to the Boris Paichadze Dinamo Arena, the home of Dinamo Tbilisi and also the national stadium. I wasn’t alone, with what looked like an organised group of fans matching to the stadium singing and lighting flares. The atmosphere didn’t seem particularly tense, and given the likely absence of away supporters, it didn’t seem to be a concern.

Arriving at the stadium, the mobile ticket on my phone was scanned and I was in, in good time for a 3 Lari beer and an encounter with three Gibraltar fans, all from England. They had clearly travelled without any great expectation of a glorious victory but were there for a good time and an explore.

The game itself was fairly uneventful. Gibraltar started off keeping virtually everyone behind the ball, daring the Georgians to come at them, which worked for about half an hour, when the ball was rather prodded in from just inside the area by the Georgian midfielder, Guilia. At that point, the Gibraltar tactics changed, and they pushed forward a bit more. Just before half time, they won a free kick just outside the box, which was curled towards the top corner only to be clawed away by the Georgian goalkeeper.

The second half was a contest between a collection of skilled, but not terribly team orientated individuals, aka Georgia, and a well drilled but not terribly skilful Gibraltar. A goalkeeping error and a slightly dubious penalty saw the Georgians run away with a 3-0 win, which was probably deserved on the run of play. Fair play to the Gibraltarians though, they do try to attack the opposition, rather than keeping ten men behind the ball for ninety minutes.

It never did rain, but the floodlights attracted hordes of insects, a feast for the local swallows who swooped in time and again. It was probably more productive than being a Gibraltar forward was likely to be...

Day 5 - Borjomi and the little train that could...

Regular readers will be aware that I rather like trains. Admittedly, I am not one of those people who can tell you all about locomotives and stuff, fascinating though I’m sure it is, but I like to go on journeys, and trains allow you to get more of a feel for a place and an opportunity to see it up close.

There is what is described as a tourist train from Borjomi to Bakuriani, a ski town rather higher up in the mountains. It is slow, taking two hours or so to cover a journey which takes about half an hour by bus, but as I was on holiday...

Meet our locomotive, built in Czechoslovakia in 1966. Behind it are three reasonably simple carriages with large windows and plenty of space. The seats are comfortable enough, but you’re making this journey for the views.

The late morning service theoretically allows a connection with the early morning train from Tbilisi but, as our departure time approached, the Tbilisi train didn’t. I hope that there wasn’t anyone intending to make the connection, for we set off on time, without seemingly a thought of waiting.

The slowness is a by-product of the general “upness” of the route, which winds around and around as it gains altitude, often seeming to double back on itself. And it’s rather neglected too, with the station buildings in various states of decay. Indeed, the only money that appears to have been spent is on some spectacular new hats for the stationmasters - they appear inordinately proud of them.

It became apparent quite quickly that our conductor had something of an eye for the main chance. Occasionally, passengers would disembark at a station and be escorted to the locomotive for a ride in the cab. Unfortunately, not being particularly pretty, I didn’t get my hopes up. But it was a lovely ride, with some gorgeous countryside and, for the connoisseur of railway stations, some interesting architecture.

We got to Bakuriani, albeit somewhat later than scheduled, leaving me about three quarters of an hour to briefly explore the town, find a snack lunch, and get back to the station.

The return journey was for standing in the covered open ends of the carriages, taking pictures and enjoying the mountain air. Until Tba, that was. The train driver had caught my eye and indicated that I should spend some time in the cab. I didn’t hesitate.

It’s clear that this is a way for the train crew to pad what is probably a pretty small wage, although I suspect it breaks the routine too. After all, the train is moving at about 10 mph, and they drive the train up and back once a day. They offer to photograph you at the controls, give you a stool to sit on whilst you travel, allow you to take all the photos you want. What could be better?

I left them 10 Lari, which might have been overly generous, but I didn’t care. It was worth it for the fun alone, and the return train fare had only been 4 Lari...

Day 4 - Tbilisi to Borjomi, and a value for money train ride...

I’d rather lost track of this, but perhaps I ought to catch up before moving onwards...

It was very early in the morning in Tbilisi, and even earlier according to my body clock, but when the alarm went off at 5.20 a.m., I was ready to go. Better still, my hotel was too, for when I went to checkout, they had very efficiently arranged a picnic breakfast for me. And yes, it did appear to have enough food to feed three people, but I was hardly going to complain.

My taxi whisked me through the empty streets of Tbilisi to the main station, I went to the ticket office as indicated the night before, and asked for a one way ticket to Borjomi. Two Lari, I was told, the equivalent of about 56p. That seemed unlikely, but sure enough, the ticket said Borjomi, and I silently expressed amazement as I headed to the platform.

Now you might wonder what you get for 2 Lari, and the answer is, well, an aging but reasonably comfortable seat on a train which travels rather slower than its aerodynamic design implies. We travelled reasonably steadily as far as Khashuri on the main line, and I began to wonder how the whole journey could take its scheduled four hours or so.

All became clear as we left Khashuri and headed up the single track branch line. I don’t know if it comes down to a lack of maintenance, or the nature of the track, but we proceeded up the valley at about 10 mph, stopping occasionally in remote spots to drop off or pick up who knows. It was, indeed, the sort of journey where, if you knew the route, you could probably get off, run a bit, and pick up the train further along the route.

But we did eventually get to Borjomi, and I headed to my hotel, the rather extravagant Crowne Plaza. Unsurprisingly, given how early I was, my room wasn’t available, so I left my luggage and set off into the Mineral Water Park.

Borjomi is famous for its water, which tastes not unlikely Vichy’s St-Yorre, i.e. slightly salty, and can be found everywhere in Georgia and beyond. And thus, it is a tourist attraction, where you can take the waters as you stroll up the valley of a tributary of the River Mtkvari, try the fairground rides and enjoy the greenery. However, if you’re a bit hardier, and have some decent walking shoes, you can walk rather further up the valley to the thermal pools.

It was a nice day, and I had some time to kill, so I set off. It was a bit warmer than I had thought, and rather further than the signs implied, but it was a nice walk, and I eventually reached the Tsars Thermal Baths, which looked like a rather nice spot, filled with locals for the most part. I hadn’t brought swimwear with me, unfortunately, so I turned round and walked back down the valley for a bite of lunch and some pampering.

I’d booked a two hour Ayurvedic session, on the basis that they had a Keralan masseur and the chances of my finding one much closer than Georgia was fairly remote.

It was every bit as good as the spa menu promised, and I spent the evening on the balcony of my hotel room, as an electrical storm lit up the night sky....

Day 3 - Skopje to Tbilisi, via the world’s meeting point...

Skopje Airport, and not Skopje Alexander the Great Airport, is the equivalent of, say, Leeds Bradford Airport, but without the glamour. It’s functional, no more, no less, but it has the advantage of not being a place you can easily get lost.

The flight to Istanbul was short and uneventful, although Turkish Airlines managed to serve a cooked breakfast which was better than just about anything British Airways have ever served me, and they do this for a flight of just over an hour and a half.

My connection in the new Istanbul Airport was rather less than that, but I bypassed the short connection route and headed into the heart of the airport. And my, is it something, a vast shopping and eating opportunity with convenient parking for aircraft and connections to just about everywhere. Mogadishu? Check. Ulaan Bataar? Certainly, via Almaty. And, unlike Heathrow, it didn’t seem to be particularly stressed, as everyone seemed pretty relaxed. It’s an airport that seems to work, and if there is a flaw, it’s that there aren’t many convenient hotel rooms available.

As an comparison with the fiasco that is Berlin’s new airport, it just shows how ambitious Turkey is, even whilst its government edges ever closer towards authoritarianism.

I made the next flight easily, in fact, so easily that I went for another walk - those steps don’t do themselves, you know.

The Tbilisi flight is another two and a half hours eastwards, and the Turkish meatballs with a vegetable casserole were most welcome. And, unlike most European airlines, business class on Turkish Airlines comes with wider seats, rather more legroom and a fair bit of recline.

Tbilisi. Capital of Georgia. Home to some of the world’s most rapacious taxi drivers. My advice is, do your research first so, when they somehow forget to start the meter, the 90 Lari fare they ask for can be negotiated down to something more like the 30 Lari it should be. It’s a pity, as Georgians seem like a friendly enough bunch, but their Tourism Ministry need to do something about that.

My hotel was within a reasonable walk of the main station so, having settled in, I set off to explore and buy my train ticket for the next day. I found the station, even found the ticket office and managed to find out that they don’t sell tickets in advance on the route I would be taking.

I would have an early start the next morning...

Day 2 - Skopje, skoping out a new city...

North Macedonia is country number 65, and whilst for some of my FIRC colleagues, I am a mere amateur, my goal of visiting more countries than I have birthdays is well on target. But why Skopje, and why for just thirty-three hours?

Well, it comes down to those frequent flyer miles and the best means of using them. The best connection for my next destination is through Istanbul, but I didn’t want the hassle of a Turkish visa, thus somewhere with an early, but not too early, flight to Istanbul allowing the connection to be made.

My hotel was on Macedonia Square, close to the enormous statue of Alexander the Great. And it is very big. The idea of the government was to build big statues to celebrate the historic past of a country which, strictly, doesn’t have that much.

And there is a lot of statuary. Now, given that the country could do with some infrastructure, I would probably have used the money differently, but then I’m not trying to create a sense of nationhood.

I didn’t really have any plans, but did what I usually do, i.e. go and find the railway station and have a look around. Take my advice. Don’t bother. Skopje’s railway station is undoubtedly the most depressing place I have ever been, dark, gloomy, neglected. There are trains, albeit not that many, but you wouldn’t want to turn up too early, or during the hours of darkness.

The old railway station is now the Museum of the City of Skopje, with the clock stopped at the moment the 1963 earthquake struck the city. And that’s why they built a new one. Socialist brutalism is a thing, but not one to cherish.

The city lies between two ranges of hills, and the River Vardar runs through its heart on its way to the Aegean Sea. Its primary role in Skopje is to provide an excuse to build new-classical buildings along its banks, but it’s grey and not terribly inviting.

In the afternoon, I went for another walk, this time heading northwest along the river, past the home ground of FK Vardar, apparently the most renowned football team in North Macedonia. No, I hadn’t heard of them either, perhaps because they’ve never met an English opponent in the twenty seasons they’ve taken part in European club competitions. It’s a big stadium though, and the national team play here.

My goal was the Skopje City Mall, and to get there, my route took me through the City Park, which is rather peaceful and, whilst it isn’t terribly nurtured, it’s a nice place to walk.

The shopping mall is where the young of Skopje go to hang out and, whilst by our standards, it’s not that special, there’s a decent range of shops, some of which are vaguely familiar, including an outpost of Lush. But there wasn’t enough to persuade me to hang around, so I headed back to the hotel and an early night.

For I had a plane to catch in the morning...

Day 1 - London to Skopje, taking the scenic route to the spa...

So, here I am, sitting on a balcony overlooking a small spa town in the South Caucasus. And the water is slightly, but noticeably salty, best drunk warm. You may wonder what I’m doing here and, to some extent, I’m wondering too. But it’s been fun, and a little bit erratically journeyed.

Perhaps I ought to go back to the beginning...

When I arranged this trip, it was on the basis that Ros would be busy travelling somewhere else and, as is our habit, when Ros goes somewhere, I go somewhere that Ros might not be that interested in, or with an itinerary that wouldn’t really suit her. I had thought that this trip possibly fell into both categories, but certainly the latter.

That might be explained by the first leg of the journey, on Sunday morning, which took me to Skopje, the capital of North Macedonia, via Warsaw and Vienna, with a journey time of just over fifteen hours. There is a catch to using frequent flyer miles for your journey, and in this case, it meant either some fearsomely early starts (which I’m not good at), or arrival times in the middle of the night (which aren’t high on my preference list either).

Using the Lufthansa lounge at Heathrow’s Terminal 2 is strongly recommended - they have jelly beans and a typically Germanic breakfast (hearty) - before LOT Polish Airlines safely conveyed me to Warsaw, where I spent a happy(ish) hour walking laps of the airport - I’m doing the Society for Civil Servants walking challenge, and attempting to do 15,000 steps a day. I then found their lounge and ate their free snacks. Their onward flight to Vienna was very civilised too, on time, and with a perfectly decent inflight meal.

Into Vienna, and more airport laps - my, is Vienna Airport big? The Austrian Airlines lounge was surprisingly ordinary though, enlivened only by the sight of Sir Nicholas Soames catching up on his reading before heading home from a NATO Parliamentary Assembly meeting in Bratislava. I didn’t disturb him, although if I had, it would have been to say how much I enjoy his Twitter feed.

Their inflight meal on the short hop to Skopje was pretty good though, with a hot, breaded chicken breast with potato salad as the highlight.

We arrived in Skopje just before midnight, and I had only one goal - to get to my hotel room and crash. I made it without drama...

Suffolk - where self-help means doing something you’ve paid someone else to do...

I’d be the first to accept that, when money is tight, a steadfast reliance on local government to do things for you is probably unwise, unless, of course, you have little choice. However, it is a step beyond that to ask lower tiers of government to take on duties that you’re levying a tax for, but keeping the money.

And that’s the case with what is charmingly called Suffolk's Community Self-Help Scheme.

Suffolk County Council, like so many other local authorities, is seeking to make savings, and apparently, has a mere £120,000 per annum available for highways work other than basic maintenance. So, they’re seeking support from Town and Parish Councils to fill the void. The Community Self-Help Scheme is described as a response by the County Council to requests to empower and support town and parish councils across Suffolk to carry out small local maintenance tasks in their communities.

Now set aside the fact that, as a Parish Council, we’d really rather not do that, but they explain that;

The limitations on local authority budgets means that Suffolk County Council prioritises its funding and its focus on maintaining a safe network for all users. As a result, we are not able to undertake the extra works which town and parish councils would like to see being done to maintain and improve the look of their areas.

Now, you’re probably thinking what I’m thinking, that would be things like traffic calming, or something vaguely infrastructure related. But no, they go on to provide a handy list of the range of works that Town and Parish Councils might like to take on;

• Sign cleaning
• Fingerpost cleaning/painting/repair
• Tree pruning/branch removal
• Hedge cutting/pruning
• Siding out of footways, or paths (removing encroaching grass and weeds)
• Grass verge cutting
• Weed killing/weed removal
• Developing verge reserves

It is my understanding that Suffolk County Council will retain legal responsibility for maintaining the road network to a satisfactory standard, a point they emphasise;

Suffolk County Council, as the highway authority, has a duty to uphold and protect the rights of the public to use and enjoy all highways for which it is responsible. 

Suffolk County Council, as the highway authority, remains bound by statute (Highways Act 1980) to maintain the highway network in a safe condition. The County Council sets out in its policies the level of service it will provide to discharge its duty to maintain.

So, why should I, or my fellow parish councillors, seek to take up their generous offer? After all, if anything were to go wrong, and volunteers found to have carried out the work in a manner considered inappropriate by Suffolk County Council (who have every incentive to pass the buck), we become liable - Suffolk County Council require the signing of an indemnity should we seek to do any work.

I’m not sure that I see the benefits outweighing the risks to the Parish Council.

Funnily enough, I did once clean a road sign in the Parish, as it was annoying me, but if I had had to fill in a bunch of paperwork, and ensure that the Parish Council had £5,000,000 worth of public liability insurance, I’m not sure I’d have bothered. In truth, I have no idea how much that level of public liability insurance costs, but it’s an additional cost, and duplicates the insurance that Suffolk County Council already hold.

And does anyone really expect that a Parish Council, run by volunteers, can achieve the same economies of scale as a County Council, with its trained professionals and lawyers? Consider me a sceptic.

So, I may sneak out and clean the odd road sign in future. But it may be in the guise of a concerned citizen, rather than as a parish councillor. You can’t be too careful, after all...

Mid Suffolk elections 2019 - a time of unexpected nervousness and high drama...

On Wednesday, I had made time to listen to an East Anglian Daily Times podcast, previewing the local elections across Suffolk. The presenters had concluded that Mid Suffolk was likely to be the least interesting of the five contests and, to be honest, I didn't really have grounds to disagree. A notional majority of fourteen on the newly trimmed thirty-four seat authority, and only really the Greens and the Liberal Democrats - both plucky but seriously under-resourced - standing in their way.

It turned out slightly differently...

When the early results started coming in from across the country on Thursday night and the early hours of Friday, it became apparent that the Conservative vote had melted down. But, and this was an important "but", it did seem that there were serious campaigns being run in those places. That wasn't entirely true in Mid Suffolk. Yes, in our held and target seats, campaigns were being run, and in many wards, if you didn't want to vote Conservative, you had very few options - half of the seats were Conservative vs A N Other - but still...

By the time I woke up on Friday morning, the sheer horror of overnight events must have been beginning to dawn on local Conservatives, and, as the very much paper candidate in Claydon & Barham, a two member ward with two Conservative candidates and a Green, it was beginning to dawn on me that a most unlikely outcome was not entirely impossible.

The count started at 9 a.m., and as the ballot papers had been verified overnight, there must already have been some unease in Conservative circles, as it turned out.

Things started to go sour early, with Bacton going to the Greens - goodbye Conservative Housing portfolio holder - by nearly 2:1, the Green canddiate having painted the sheep on his smallholding with "Vote Andy". It wasn't even close, and when Ringshall & Battisford went Green soon after, I did begin to wonder.

And then it became clear that this was going to be pretty bloody for the Conservatives, when their leader, Nick Gowrley, bit the dust, losing to our very own Keith Scarff by 114. Now, Keith has lost so many elections at District and County levels by agonisingly small margins that I seriously wondered why he does this to himself, but he got himself a proper scalp. He'll be a very good councillor for the south end of Stowmarket.

The notional Conservative majority was now eight, and only six seats had been declared...

Fressingfield went Tory (no real surprise there), and I lost in Claydon & Barham by 290 (the Green got within 155 of the County's Police and Crime Commissioner!). As a paperless candidate, resident outside the ward, I'd gained 35% of the vote. The game was, most definitely, on...

Three more holds, Kathy Guthrie and Matthew Hicks for the Conservatives in Debenham anjd Hoxne & Worlingworth respectively, and John Field in Blakenham for us with 51.7% of the vote, and then the result which made me think that no overall control was a real possibility, with a Green gain of one of the seats in the north Stowmarket ward of Chilton.

Notional Conservative majority now six...

Onehouse's veteran Green councillor won handily and then Eye returned its expected Conservative, but only after a scare. The Returning Officer had called the candidates together to advise that the Liberal Democrat candidate, Tim Glenton, had narrowly won. And then he hadn't, losing by forty-nine (I'm guessing that a bundle check undid the original verdict).

The Conservatives held Walsham-le-Willows and Stonham, Penny Otton, our Group Leader, was safely returned in Rattlesden with 64% of the votes. The two member ward of Haughley, Stowupland & Wetherden returned the two expected Greens with majorities of around 1,000 apiece, Rickinghall returned Conservative Jessica Fleming (who clearly divides her time between Cabot Cove and mid-Suffolk), although her sole opponent (Labour) got within 200 votes.

Another Green gain in Thurston, and then a result which seemed at first amazing but turned out to have rather more significance than anyone might have imagined, as my successor as Local Party Treasurer, David Child, lost by one to the sitting Conservative. Now, my suspicion is that there was no campaign in the central Stowmarket ward of St Peter's, but I'm a bit out of touch, so I'll put it down to bad luck.

The notional Conservative majority was now done to four. But they did have the Independent in Combs Ford, who'd been a portfolio holder in the outgoing Conservative administration. So, it was still six really...

And then, Gislingham went Green, and the Conservatives lost another to the Greens in the newly created Stow Thorney ward - everything east of the railway line in Stowmarket.

Mid Suffolk was notionally a no overall control authority!

Palgrave returned the expected Conservative but we were still to hear from Needham Market, a Liberal Democrat stronghold for thirty years and Ros's old District seat between 1991 and 1995 (yes, it all started there). I knew that the Conservatives hadn't campaigned but still, it's the Conservatives and I'm used to bad news. We couldn't have lost, could we? But no, we hadn't, and Mike Norris and his new running mate, Steve Phillips, were very comfortably voted in by a 2:1 margin.

That left Stradbroke & Laxfield (safe Conservative and with the former Green candidate not running) and the two member ward of Elmswell & Woolpit, notionally split with one Green and one Conservative... who lost by more than two hundred!

And so, the carnage was over, leaving the Mid Suffolk Conservatives headless and out of control, with key leadership figures gone, along with their seemingly impregnable majority.

The final outcome - Conservatives 16 (minus 8), Greens 12 (plus 7), Liberal Democrats 5 (plus 1), Independent 1 - leaves the council absolutely hung, unless Gerard Brewster, the Independent, swaps sides. I don't know if he will, indeed I strongly suspect that he won't, but from the comments I've heard, the Conservatives hope to hang on with the casting vote of the Chair. One vote switched or extra in St Peter's ward and a coin toss, and we would have seen possibly the first ever Green/Liberal Democrat coalition administration, a point that the Green Leader, Andrew Stringer openly stated as being the likely outcome afterwards.

The voting shares are a cause for thought though;

• Conservatives - 40.68% (thirty-two candidates)
• Greens - 34.00% (twenty-one candidates)
• Liberal Democrats - 17.69% (19 candidates)
• Labour - 4.30% (9 candidates)
• Independents - 3.00% (2 candidates)
• UKIP - 0.32% (1 candidate)

We're back in third place, having come second across the District in the 2017 County elections. All credit to the local Greens - they appear to have swallowed whole the classic ALDC playbook and they're very persistent - but it could be argued that, were we to be more ambitious, it could have been us.

From a proportionality perspective the result reasonably reflects the votes cast, for the vote share, if applied proportionately, would have generated a result;

Conservatives 14, Greens 12, Liberal Democrats 6, Labour 1, Independent 1

FPTP saves the Conservatives again, though.

The conclusions I draw from the results are as follows;

1. In this instance, an anti-Conservative pact, albeit a very informal, possibly accidental one, worked. The absence of Labour, UKIP and any corps of independents helped, and you're unlikely to replicate that in many places. We have a joint group on Suffolk County Council and Mid Suffolk has two relatively friendly groups at District level.
2. Labour simply don't exist in rural districts like Mid Suffolk, and even where they were the only opponents to Conservatives, they rarely did well.
3. Our local Conservatives don't campaign between elections - they seldom have to - but when circumstances combine as they did on Thursday, they are extremely vulnerable as they seem unable, or possibly too arrogant, to respond here. Again, I don't suspect that's the case in a lot of other places.
4. Whilst UKIP didn't play any significant role in Mid Suffolk, their absence saved the Conservatives from a far worse drubbing. I suspect that even I might have won had they contested Claydon & Barham, for example.

And so, the apparently least interesting contest in Suffolk turned out to be the most dramatic, even on a night of drama across the county. And, for the first time in nearly a decade, Liberal Democrats were not counting their losses and mourning their disappointments. We nearly ended up with a gain of three, but we have something to work towards for 2023, and thoughts now turn to winning back Bosmere and gaining Stowmarket South in the 2021 County elections - bearing in mind the possibility of revised boundaries in the meantime.

We've got some of our mojo back, the Greens have the wind in their sails, and the world looks like a very different place all of a sudden...

An unfortunately timed planning application...

Early April, with nominations for the District and Parish Councils closed, and a sense of hiatus, as we wait to see who our new District Councillors might be - Creeting St Peter has moved from the old Stowupland Ward to a new, two-member, Needham Market Ward. And then, a somewhat unexpected event, a planning application that impacts directly on the village core.

The key roads in the village are three in number. Pound Road, which becomes Creeting Lane as it leaves the village, runs through the middle, and is our connection to the outside world in both directions - north towards Stowupland, south towards Stowmarket and Needham Market. Two roads runs broadly eastwards off it, The Lane from the centre of the village, and a private road to Roydon Hall Farm about 150 yards further north. The U-shape that they form encloses an area of meadow, access to which is only possible through a house on Pound Road called, aptly, Meadows.

The planning application is an interesting one, seeking to demolish “Meadows” and replace it on the site with five four-bedroomed houses - executive homes, I guess you’d call them. The meadow is to be left untouched, although the design of the application is such that the option of extending into the meadow (which is much larger) remains open.

Five houses isn’t very much, I hear you say, and in that sense, you’d be right. Except that there are only seventy or so houses in the village, many of which are single storey and certainly smaller than four bedrooms. In addition, the village is designated as non-viable by the District Council, lacking as it does any facilities or services. 

It was clear that this was going to be controversial, and it was agreed that an Extraordinary Parish Council would be needed. Social media (yes, we have well established village Facebook and WhatsApp groups) was already abuzz, especially as the meadow borders many village homes.

As Chair, my job was to remain calm, work with our Clerk to organise a meeting and invite residents to take part and make their voices heard. There was only one minor complication - I wasn’t going to be available to take the chair due to a prior engagement. It was all slightly awkward.

Luckily, as previously mentioned, my Vice Chair is perfectly capable, as is our Clerk, and so, having indicated what I thought needed doing in advance, I left it to my colleagues to handle things.

The report from the meeting was interesting. Twenty-three residents had turned out for the meeting, or in other words, twenty-two more than we usually get, and there was some quite robust, and well-founded, criticism of the proposed development. A view was taken as to a formal response from the Parish Council, and Richard, my Vice Chair, set to work afterwards drafting our submission to the District Council.

It was an impressive effort, and the follow up was just what you would hope for, with engagement with our District Councillor (who added his own elegantly drafted suggestions) and all those who participated in the meeting. Frankly, I can’t see that I could have done a better job.

And so, Creeting St Peter Parish Council Fulfilled its obligations as a statutory consultee. That doesn’t sound very dramatic, or big, or important, but to the residents of the village, it is a demonstration of what we do, quietly, meeting after meeting. It also, I hope, reassures them that the Parish Council is in good hands, which is important to me and my colleagues.

And now we await the response of the District Council. They haven’t always been seen to serve us well, particularly in terms of enforcement, but they have a District Plan, a five year supply of housing plots, and the law on their side.

Let’s hope that they see it our way...

And, in Creeting St Peter election news...

Nominations closed on 3 April, and I was somewhat relaxed about my likely fate. After all, my colleagues were all thoroughly capable so, were the worst to happen (a contested election and defeat), Creeting St Peter Parish Council would be in good hands. I did at least know that my nomination papers had been successfully filed which, as it turned out, put me at a distinct advantage.

For, when dawn broke the next day (or at least not that long afterwards), it turned out that I had delivered two of the three nomination forms. From a personal perspective, not having to fight an election was probably preferable, as I would have had to campaign properly - at least one leaflet and some door knocking - but from the perspective of local democracy, it’s a bit disappointing.

I could try to convince myself that the lack of competition is due to my winning personality and glorious leadership, but you can really go too far in assuming that. It is more likely that nobody cares enough to run against you. Perhaps somewhere between the two poles is more accurate, who knows?

And so, I have (up to) another four years in office. Admittedly, I can’t currently see the circumstances whereby I fail to see out the term, but I’m a statistician, and in my world, there is no such thing as certainty. I also have a validly constituted Council, as we need a minimum of three councillors to function, and we have three.

Will I continue as Chair? Well, that isn’t entirely up to me, although I’d be happy to do so if that suits my colleagues. My current Vice Chair is thoroughly capable of stepping up, although there is a slight complication in that he didn’t submit a nomination paper. So, on that point, we’ll see.

I do have some ambitions for the next four years though. I’d like to improve the way we communicate - we’re a bit “earthbound” in terms of how we reach out to residents - and we could do more to engage them in our work on their behalf.

I’d also like to do something about the street lights. They are elderly, increasingly unreliable and expensive to run. Yes, there are only ten of them, but they are one of the few bits of infrastructure that we have control over, and they don’t go unnoticed. I’ve had some thoughts on how we might achieve something, but really need to focus on that now.

Other than that, I just want us to run our Parish well, maintaining a strong relationship with the Parochial Church Council and doing what we can to improve the fabric of our community. It’s not big, or particularly clever, but in a world where people have seemingly little faith in politicians, even Parish Councils can be a force for good, reminding people that they can make a difference.

Wish me luck!…

Welcome to the new politics, even if it does look sadly familiar...

I’ve been a Liberal, and then Liberal Democrat, for a long time - thirty-five years now. And, whilst I would prefer to deny it, I am a bit tribal in my politics. I probably cut those of my political family a bit more slack than I might otherwise do, possibly because I know them better. It’s also possibly because I acknowledge that, as a liberal, life is complicated, and people’s motivations are predicated on life experiences that I may very well be utterly unaware of. And, I know that people are flawed, myself included.

Political parties, whilst apparently monolithic on the outside, are not wholly discrete actors. There are members of all political parties who might credibly find a home elsewhere and, in any event, political parties vary their positions in response to a range of external stimuli.

And it’s for these reasons that I’ve seldom remarked on Party defections with anything other than regret.

One of my older political acquaintances announced this week that he was joining Change UK, and took some flak for doing so. I was sorry to see him go, but respect his right to do so. He has his reasons, and I’m sure that he didn’t take the decision lightly. And, depending on what happens, he may return one day. I’d like to think that we could make that easier, rather than harder.

Politics, particularly politics of the political centre, requires the building of coalitions of interest in order to achieve change and, as liberals (as opposed to centrists), we should have a clearer understanding of that than most. Thus, whilst wanting to maintain a liberal political force in British politics, we should show a little bit of tolerance for those who agree with much of our agenda but don’t feel that they are liberals for whatever reason. We will, at some point, need their votes.

Sadly, the news that Change UK have produced a (no longer) secret strategy paper which proposes a slow and steady strangulation of the Liberal Democrats suggests that they don’t see it the same way. The document, if genuine, looks like a classic “new-entrant to a business sector” paper where, in order to achieve viability, you have to drive somebody else out. And, in economics, that might work. In politics, especially FPTP politics, it’s rather less likely.

What it has achieved is to cast suspicion on the motives of a new political party which already lacks a coherent philosophical base. What is Change UK in favour of, as opposed to being against? Are their leaders able to coalesce around ideas because they’re in favour of them, rather than picking some popular policies from a competitor as a form of “sheep’s clothing”? To be blunt, I’m not convinced.

They are, in political terms, a threat for Liberal Democrats (obviously). They are fishing for voters in a similar pool, they will compete for limited media coverage, and they have the advantage of newness, regardless of whether that is justified or not. But, unless they can offer something genuinely unique, their only prospects for long-term survival are electoral reform or a collapse of the Liberal Democrats.

The former means enlarging the coalition for electoral reform, rather than cannibalising it, and the latter requires them to consistently outpoll the Liberal Democrats and make inroads in local government. The latter is surprisingly difficult, as Liberal Democrats found out in 2011-2015 - low membership equates to poor numbers of candidates, thus little likelihood of significance. It also requires a core of people who know how to run a campaign - basic stuff like getting nomination signed and submitted, for example. They will need to find people to do that, which means that this round of local elections probably came far too soon.

But they’re also going to have to come up with some policy ideas now, and as many new political parties discover, that’s where the problems start. New members in the early stages see a party as a blank canvass for their own aspirations, and as it becomes more obvious that they will need to compromise, you start to lose people - the “that’s not the Party I aspired to” dilemma.

So, we shall see. At this stage, I don’t see much to tempt me, but you can and should never say never...

A gentle reminder that underlying dread is not a new thing

It’s been an unusually hectic week on Planet Bureaucrat, but I did manage to find time to join Ros at the launch of a new exhibition at the National Archives on Wednesday evening.

In many ways, it takes reminding that, just thirty years ago, the two superpowers and their allies faced off across the centre of Europe, nuclear weapons blatantly targeted at each other’s centres of population and industry. And, whilst by then, Mikhail Gorbachev’s attempts to reform the Soviet Union were interesting, there was little to suggest to most of us that the whole communist edifice was going to collapse catastrophically and suddenly any time soon.

I’m old enough to remember “War Games”, the programme too shocking (and truthful) to broadcast, which demonstrated in rather unnerving fashion the effects of a nuclear weapon dropped on central London. The fact that such an event seemed entirely possible, if not probable, hung over political debate, even if there was a general consensus that, if it really came down to it, surely nobody would be insane enough to actually push the nuclear button. It would be mutually assured destruction, right?

One of the most interesting exhibits was an extract from a speech drafted for the Queen in the event of an attack. Reading it, you could imagine her voice, stoic but slightly trembling, attempting to reassure - probably unsuccessfully. There was also a recreation of a shelter under the stairs, complete with tins of Fray Bentos and Vim because, as we all knew, in the event of a nuclear attack, Vim would be critical in restoring civilisation afterwards. Yes, we might all be glowing, but the smoking remains of our homes would be clean.

The National Archives are something of a hidden treasure, tucked away next to the Thames at Kew, but their exhibitions and events are fascinating, given the records and documents they hold. They’re a cracking research facility too, with devoted, enthusiastic and knowledgeable staff. 

So, if you’re in the area, do drop in, you’re bound to find something of interest...

Ros in the Lords: Historic Rights of Way

Yesterday saw a Grand Committee debate on historic rights of way, linked to the Countryside and Rights of Way Act 2000. It would be fair to say that the commitments therein to recording all existing rights of way is unpopular with the Minister...

Baroness Scott of Needham Market

I would like to thank my noble friend Lord Greaves for securing today’s debate, for setting out the issues so clearly, and for his tireless advocacy of public access and rights of way.

Between 1993 and 2005, I was a county councillor in Suffolk and, for most of that time, I chaired the public rights of way committee, so I have got quite some form in this area. I remember reading a summing up by Lord Denning in which he said that nothing excites an Englishman so much as a footpath - I have always thought that said a lot about English men.

The cut-off date for claiming these historic rights of way might have seemed a good way off at the time the legislation went through, but it is now coming in near horizon. There are two points I wish to make. The first concerns the reliance on the voluntary sector to make sure that the claims are made before the cut-off date. Groups such as the Ramblers do, and always have done, an amazing job, but they are volunteers, with all the limitations of time, money and expertise that that entails. There is a very strong reliance on local groups. Admittedly, they all know their own areas very well but, like all voluntary groups, their capacity will ebb and flow over time, with more or fewer members and so on. I just do not think it is right that the capacity of the volunteers should determine whether an ancient right of way is extinguished - that just does not feel right to me.

My second concern is around the capacity of local government to deliver within this timeframe. It is well known that council finances are now at breaking point. The legal teams that have to deal with public rights of way claims are now often part of more generalist teams, and they have to compete with areas such as child protection, which - absolutely naturally - take priority. As we have heard, the current caseload is around 4,500. I suspect that, by 2026, the backlog will be so enormous that it will pretty much negate the whole idea of providing certainty for landowners - this will just drag on for decades. Therefore, there should be common cause rather than pitting one side against the other.

I have a final point to make on local authority budgets. The evidence base for historic rights of way is often found within documents such as tithe maps, enclosure awards and so on, many of which are held in local archives. Local archives themselves are coming under enormous pressure as council budgets are squeezed. I am a board member of the National Archives and we have oversight of all this. In some councils, the situation is very serious. One contingency that many are looking at is a significant reduction in the opening hours of local archives, which would make it even more difficult for local voluntary groups to gather the evidence that they need. 

Under the existing legislation, the Secretary of State can extend the cut-off date by five years, and that leeway was put into statute with a purpose. I believe that, with the points that have been made, and to which I have added - the situation in local government, the absence of the secondary legislation and the collapse of the Discovering Lost Ways project - a very good case has been made for delay and, preferably, an entire review.

Creeting St Peter - once more unto the breach, dear friends...

It’s that time once again, when a parish councillor’s thoughts turn to the question of re-election. Given my occasionally erratic presence on Creeting St Peter Parish Council - I’ve been co-opted twice and resigned once, so the electoral cycle appears not to have taken - I’ve only previously put in one set of nomination papers, eight years ago, so it’s been a case of making sure I got the forms printed, completed and signed.

Fortunately, despite many distractions, I managed to get it done this week, and so wandered around the corner from my conveniently located office to Endeavour House, the glass and steel base for both the County and District Councils, to hand three forms over and make myself an official candidate.

And so, hopefully, the campaign starts here. Well, I say “campaign”, but we haven’t had a contested election here in recent memory, and there are no burning issues likely to provoke a mass defenestration of the serving councillors, so it’s possible that all candidates will be elected unopposed.

In some ways, that’s a positive endorsement of the work we’ve done over the past four years, but in truth, whilst I do think that we’ve been pretty effective, I suspect that most residents are just not that engaged. After all, it’s hard to claim that we have a significant impact on their day to day lives.

So, I await news of the close of nominations with a degree of equanimity. And, if there is a contest, my thoughts will turn to a leaflet...

What do you do when democracy fails you?

The reports that Nissan are about to announce the cancellation of their proposed plans to build the X-Trail in Sunderland have led to a degree of comment. There are those who have rather unkindly suggested that the good people of Sunderland are paying the price for believing what they were told during the referendum campaign about the rosy prospects for the country outside the EU.

But, in a complex world, it is easy to believe those whose narrative reflects your perceived experience. After all, they’re telling you what you want to hear, feeding into years of unhappiness.

No, if such an announcement comes to pass, it will be a matter of some sadness for a community that has been forced to reinvent itself with little support from central government, and has had the guts ripped out of it by people who knew little of life in communities like Sunderland, or in so many other former heavy industrial towns and cities of the North.

The solution for the loss of heavy industry was two-fold - encourage foreign investment to create skilled jobs on the basis that we acted as a jumping off point into the European Single Market, and relocate public sector jobs to now struggling locations - Merthyr Tydfil, Bootle, East Kilbride, to name but three. The latter addressed two primary goals - reducing the cost of the Civil Service by removing tranches of work from the expensive South East, and creating jobs in deprived areas.

Reductions in the Civil Service paybill, combined with contracting out of more functions of government, have been a blow, and the current move towards reducing estates and focusing on regional hubs in bigger towns and cities won’t help. But, more importantly, putting foreign owned business facilities on the wrong side of an emerging tariff barrier risks jobs too.

In terms of Nissan, the signing of the new Japan/EU Free Trade Agreement offers three choices. First, with the tariff on car exports reduced, cars can be shipped to Europe directly from Japan. It doesn’t mean that they will, especially if manufacturing costs in Europe are competitive with those in Japan. Second, there is the option of moving car production into the remaining European Union, to benefit from remaining within the Single Market space.

It’s the third choice that is exercising some. At some point, Japanese car manufacturers operating in the United Kingdom were offered assurances by the United Kingdom Government. We don’t know what they were, but it might be reasonable to assume that the question of financial risk was at the heart of them.

Can the United Kingdom really offer an open-ended commitment like that, and how many other foreign investors would want to strike similar deals in return for staying in the country? That’s a challenge, and one which got little in the way of calm attention.

I don’t know how much of British industry is now owned, actually or effectively, by foreign investors, or how much of their production is sold within the EU-27, but I suspect that such companies employ a lot of people, many of whom will have been persuaded to vote Leave, even where their employers publicly acknowledged the problems that Brexit would cause them. The argument that, “they’re only saying that, they’ve invested too much in Derby/Oxford/Sunderland to move now”, is only valid where the impact of tariff barriers is, or is seen as likely to be, less than the cost of new plant and machinery somewhere in the European Union. And Slovak labour costs weigh that calculation against, say, Sunderland.

It could be that, in voting to leave the European Union, Sunderland inadvertently voted for the world to leave it. The bitter consequences of democracy, I fear, but with choices come consequences. Nobody ever said that they had to be desirable ones, but now is not the time for triumphalism. It never will be...