http://www.somertonandfromelibdems.org.uk/articlearchive.php Recent Press Articles from Somerton and Frome Liberal Democrats en-GB Somerton and Frome Liberal Democrats http://www.somertonandfromelibdems.org.uk/ Prater Raines Ltd http://www.praterraines.co.uk/ (c) 2010 Somerton and Frome Liberal Democrats 2010-07-31T10:48+01:00 United Kingdom http://www.somertonandfromelibdems.org.uk/articles/000118/have_you_seen_a_grey_squirrel_and_did_you_report_it_to_the_police.html I was reading an article in a paper the other day in which a lady was extolling the virtues of her garden. "It's so peaceful," she said, "flowers everywhere, birds singing, and we're always seeing squirrels on the lawn". I'm sure her garden was, indeed, delightful. But little did she realise that same garden had turned her, unwittingly, into a criminal. By observing a grey squirrel, but failing to report it to the authorities, she was breaking a law passed some time ago, I'm sure with the best of intentions, but still on the statute book. It's just one of the pointless laws we have in this country which still persist long after any possible use has evaporated. 2010-07-08T00:00+01:00 http://www.somertonandfromelibdems.org.uk/articles/000117/lets_free_ourselves_from_unnecessary_laws.html A surprised nation learnt last week they are committing a criminal offence if they see a squirrel and fail to report it. Or if they are "drunk in charge of a cow". Trivial examples, perhaps, of laws that still exist but serve no useful purpose. But more importantly, what about the over 3,500 new offences, brought in over the last decade or so. The unnecessary restrictions, the red tape, the bureaucracy which plagues business. 2010-07-08T00:00+01:00 http://www.somertonandfromelibdems.org.uk/articles/000115/some_good_news_in_the_budget.html The budget was always going to be a pretty brutal shock to the system, with the country facing a deficit of £145 billion The outgoing government knew that perfectly well, and they too factored in cuts of £44 billion in government spending, without saying what would be cut. 2010-06-24T00:00+01:00 http://www.somertonandfromelibdems.org.uk/articles/000116/thoughts_on_the_budget.html The budget was always going to be a pretty brutal shock to the system. There is no way that the country can recover from a deficit of £145 billion, the biggest ever recorded and larger proportionately than any other country in Europe apart from Ireland, without some very difficult decisions being taken. The outgoing Labour government knew that perfectly well. That's why they themselves factored in cuts of £44 billion in government spending, but of course that is conveniently forgotten now there are opportunistic noises to be made in opposition. I think many of us would like to know just how cuts of that size could have been made without touching any of the spending plans which are held out now as crucial to the country. 2010-06-24T00:00+01:00 http://www.somertonandfromelibdems.org.uk/articles/000113/im_having_to_learn_new_ways.html I made a little bit of history last week. I became the first Liberal minister to speak in the House of Commons since Sir Archibald Sinclair on May 16th 1945. It may be a small footnote to history, but it's my own! 2010-06-03T00:00+01:00 http://www.somertonandfromelibdems.org.uk/articles/000114/edms_and_other_matters.html There are several things I am having to learn to do differently in this Parliament. I am determined that being a Minister is not going to make me any the less effective as a constituency Member of Parliament, but the way I go about making the interests of my constituents heard has had to change. Up until now, if somebody in Somerset came to me with a problem, then I would often take the opportunity of standing up in parliament and either making a speech or asking a question to a minister about it. Now I am a member of the government, I don't have that freedom. However, I can write or speak to a ministerial colleague about whatever the matter is, with a higher chance of success in changing minds, so I hope I will manage to pursue matters in a perhaps less high profile but just as effective a way. 2010-06-03T00:00+01:00 http://www.somertonandfromelibdems.org.uk/articles/000112/housing_costs_are_the_biggest_issue_in_my_surgeries_says_david_heath.html It's curious. The biggest single issue to come up time and again in MPs advice surgeries and casework is hardly ever mentioned during election campaigns and barely registers in the acres of print devoted to political comment each week. And yet it's the biggest item of expenditure for most people under pensionable age, takes a very large slice of monthly income, and probably causes more worry and concern than almost anything else. 2010-03-12T00:00+00:00 http://www.somertonandfromelibdems.org.uk/articles/000111/we_need_more_affordable_housing_says_david_heath.html Imagine if a pint of milk cost £2.43, a jar of coffee £20.22, a packet of soap powder £28.53 and a chicken from the freezer cabinet £47.51p. All in all, if the cost of the average grocery bill came to £420.00. Thank goodness that even with inflation it's not quite that bad. 2010-03-12T00:00+00:00 http://www.somertonandfromelibdems.org.uk/articles/000109/can_we_improve_doctors_out_of_hours_service.html I had a miserable cold last week. I say that, not because I want or expect sympathy, but because when we are ill, we all want to ensure that we get the treatment we need, and sometimes that need doesn't fall conveniently into office hours. My cold was just that - a cold, and not something I'd dream of troubling a doctor with. If a toddler was running a high temperature, though, or someone with multiple health problems became sick, then you might very well want advice. 2010-02-19T00:00+00:00 http://www.somertonandfromelibdems.org.uk/articles/000110/can_we_improve_doctors_out_of_hours_service.html Somerset Primary Care Trust is to be congratulated on agreeing to a meeting with local people about the out-of-hours doctors' service. I raised the issue in parliament last week, pointing out that not a single out-of-hours doctor is based in my constituency, which extends over nine hundred square miles. Of course, there is a mobile unit based in Shepton Mallet, but many are not reassured by the fact that one car covers the whole of Mendip. 2010-02-19T00:00+00:00 http://www.somertonandfromelibdems.org.uk/articles/000108/schools_dominated_events_this_week.html I've had a very schools-centred week. Last Friday I went along to Huish Episcopi school, along with Paddy Ashdown, to meet fifth form students. Brilliant questions, and Paddy was, I thought, on top form, especially when asked about his multiple former lives as soldier, spy, diplomat, youth leader, MP and, latterly, King of Bosnia! I hope the students felt that they got as much out of it as they should have done. It was also good to see the new buildings taking shape, and I'm glad we managed to persuade the Learning and Skills Council before they went into a state of utter shambles, which has meant getting any commitment over the last year has been a herculean task. 2010-02-04T00:00+00:00 http://www.somertonandfromelibdems.org.uk/articles/000107/school_children_ask_pertinent_questions.html A group from Selwood School visited the Houses of Parliament this week and asked me questions about life as an MP and areas of policy, questions which wouldn't have disgraced an adult audience. 2010-02-04T00:00+00:00 http://www.somertonandfromelibdems.org.uk/articles/000106/a_question_of_tone__and_one_of_oversimplification.html Events in Haiti are absolutely horrific. It is hard to imagine a country less capable of withstanding such a natural catastrophe. They had nothing before the earthquake, and they certainly have nothing now. All those of us who are lucky enough to live in richer, more comfortable and safer places can do is to look on in horror and lend our financial support. And hope that, after the horrors, a better society emerges. 2010-01-22T00:00+00:00 http://www.somertonandfromelibdems.org.uk/articles/000105/crime_in_the_country_does_count.html Despite the bad weather a couple of weeks, there was a good turnout for a meeting with local farmers I had in Beckington village hall. They were concerned about the levels of crime they are experiencing on their farms, and they wanted to impress on me, and on the local police, that it wasn't something they were prepared to simply put up with. 2010-01-22T00:00+00:00 http://www.somertonandfromelibdems.org.uk/articles/000104/village_shops_dementia_care_and_electricity_pylons__a_mixed_bag.html Just over a year ago I put in an appearance as an auctioneer at a fund raising event in Kingsbury Episcopi. I remember writing about it at the time, firstly because it was great fun, but secondly because the event was so well supported by the village - it seemed almost the entire community was there. The event was raising funds to do something which a lot of villages would like to have the drive and gumption to do, to try and bring back a functioning village shop. 2009-12-04T00:00+00:00