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Parliamentary and constituency report, August 2012

Posted by Mark Lazarowicz, MP for Edinburgh North and Leith, at 09:44, Tue 7 August 2012:

The House of Commons is now in recess, but there were a number of important debates in which I took part before Parliament rose.

Bankers’ Bonuses tax

In a debate on the Finance Bill, I spoke in favour of Labour’s call for a new tax on bankers’ bonuses which could be used to tackle youth unemployment and build new badly needed affordable housing.

I know that there are many people here in Edinburgh who work in the financial sector, whether serving customers behind the counter or in offices, that never saw the kind of bonuses that senior executives enjoyed. Yet in many cases they either lost their jobs or saw their pay frozen as a result of the financial crisis.

The recent revelations of the abuses that took place such as rigging interest rates or laundering drug money have only reinforced the case for a new bonus tax which could be to use in reviving the real economy, with the number of young people long term unemployed in Scotland now totalling over 15,000. You can find my speech at http://bit.ly/OMloQ3

Remploy - update

In my last newsletter I highlighted the uncertainty facing disabled workers at the Edinburgh Remploy factory at South Gyle as the Government has announced plans that will see sweeping closures of Remploy centres across the UK.

A business plan for the Edinburgh factory is now being assessed but I urged the Minister responsible to set out a timetable for its future to be decided as quickly as possible so that workers do not face a long period of uncertainty. You can see what I said at http://bit.ly/OMokvP The fact that the Edinburgh Remploy factory has been given a temporary reprieve doesn’t mean it has a secure long-term future yet.

Passenger announcement - rail investment delayed

The International Monetary Fund has recently told the UK Government that it should boost the economy through increased investment in order to avoid a prolonged depression. That’s something Labour has been saying for months. Even in the age of the smartphone and videoconferencing, good transport links are still essential to businesses and should be a good prime candidate if the Government chooses – as I believe it should - to heed the IMF’s words.

I have been consistently calling on the Government to push ahead with High Speed 2 and to make a commitment that it will link Scotland with London and of course Europe through High Speed 1. You can find more on this at http://bit.ly/LCpVsx

The greatest benefits, whether environmental or in terms of reduced travelling times, would be seen on the longest journeys but unfortunately the Government has failed so far to commit itself to building the line beyond Manchester and Leeds.

It has announced investment in rail more generally but some of this is simply confirmation of plans announced under the last Government but since left in limbo. There is to be new funding for the East Coast Line but as yet no plans for the form this will take.

We may have a long wait to find out as the Government has left it up to Network Rail and the next holder of the ‘franchise’ to come up with proposals and the new operator of the line will not take over until December of next year. I’ve made the case for the East Coast rail franchise to stay in public ownership, or be run as a ‘mutual’ or cooperative. Along with Sarah Boyack MSP, I spoke in favour of this again recently at a ‘consultation meeting’ on the future of this franchise in Edinburgh, organised by the UK Department for Transport.

Economic consequences of independence

I spoke in a debate at Westminster on the economic consequences of a yes vote in the referendum on independence. The Scottish Government has tried to clarify what independence would mean for the economy with Scotland, suggesting that an independent Scotland would continue to use pound sterling and the Bank of England regulating the financial sector.

However, I warned in the debate that this risks creating a democratic deficit with decisions affecting the Scottish economy such as interest rates being taken in London but Scotland having no say over them – exactly the situation that the Scottish Government says independence will end. You can read what I said in full at http://bit.ly/MwGTWT

I’ve also been backing the Better Together campaign, for a strong Scotland in the UK. You can find details of the campaign and how you can support it at http://www.bettertogether.net

House of Lords reform – and the future of the UK Coalition

I also took part in another major constitutional debate on the House of Lords in which I argued that those who make our laws, whether in the House of Lords or a new second Chamber, should be democratically elected. You can read what I said at http://bit.ly/LxmJcX

Since then, the Deputy Prime Minister has announced that because of the failure of many Tory MPs to support the reforms, they will not be pursued for this Parliament. Labour had made it clear that although it wasn’t going to make the government’s job easier by agreeing in advance to a fixed timetable for the legislation, we would have agreed to vote to end debates on particular sections of the Bill to allow it to go through.

It is hard to see how the Coalition can now work together effectively, although it may try to struggle on until 2015. The case for an early General Election is now stronger than ever; the country certainly needs a change of leadership, and a UK with a progressive government could help change attitudes and policies at European and wider international levels.

Electoral register – individual voter registration

The Government is intending to introduce individual registration for a General Election in 2015 and then to redraw constituencies on the basis of those who are on the register at that point. If it should be a basic principle that those who make legislation are democratically elected, equally all those who are entitled to vote should be on the register.

The danger is that in big cities like Edinburgh where some areas have a highly mobile population, many people could be left off the register who should have the right to vote. This could mean that Edinburgh and other cities, where Labour has strong support, become underrepresented. I have written to the Electoral Registration Officer for Edinburgh to urge her to conduct as comprehensive a canvass as possible and I raised this with the Minister responsible as you can see at http://bit.ly/MdxDX1

One effect of the fall-out between the Tory and LibDem sides in the coalition is that it now looks as if the changes in the number of MPs and Parliamentary constituencies planned for 2015 will not go ahead, and so the Edinburgh North and Leith constituency boundaries for the UK Parliament will stay the same for that election.

Arms trade treaty

Negotiations took place at the UN to conclude the first binding global agreement to regulate the arms trade. I urged the UK Government to provide as strong lead – progress in cutting poverty in many of the world’s poorest countries so often depends on ending conflict and instability which is fuelled by unregulated arms sales.

People can be forced to flee their homes and land to avoid fighting whilst conflict can make access for aid agencies difficult or impossible. You can find more on this at http://bit.ly/QgAmDG The failure to agree a treaty was a major blow.

Water and sanitation

2.6 billion people worldwide are still without basic sanitation. A lack of access to clean water and sanitation that we take for granted is one of the key causes of disease in developing countries. This is an issue which a number of you locally have raised with me and I have urged the Government to make this a priority. I recently pushed the Minister on this again in the House of Commons as you can see at http://bit.ly/MOqkDm

This is just a summary of some of the issues I’ve recently been involved in at Parliament. You can find out more on my website at www.marklazarowicz.org.uk. You can also find details of some of my activities here in Edinburgh North & Leith. Have a look at my webpages on ‘Mark in the constituency’ at http://www.marklazarowicz.org.uk/working_hard_for_you

Last, but certainly not least, like most people, I’ve been enthralled by the magnificent performances of ‘Team GB’ at the Olympics, particularly our own competitors from Edinburgh North and Leith (at least two current residents, and others with strong local connections including Sir Chris Hoy) – congratulations to them all!