Neil MacDonald

A Hard act to follow

So Blunkett has gone.  I have met him a couple of times and comes over as being approachable and committed. Clearly his achievement in reaching the highest levels of UK politics is magnified by his blindness. I'm sorry to see him go as he has given anti-social behaviour the priority it needs and we now have Community Support Officers, ASBOs and more community police officers. At conference he said that he wanted to be a "Tough Home Secretary in a compassionate government".  I think he achieved his aim.

I have been impressed by Charles Clarke's performance at Education and think he deserves promotion. Clarke is definitely a bruiser and will easily manage the hard man part of the Home Secretary's job.

Fressingfield Foxhunting

Was up in Fressingfield - it's almost on the Norfolk border - speaking to local people.  There is a concern that the introduction of a ban of fox hunting is the first stage in banning every other field sport - fishing, shooting, falconry, etc.

This is completely untrue.

Foxhunting is being banned because it is cruel. This is a widely held view and many non-partisan voices have called for a ban: see the website of the RSPCA.  The RSPCA don't appear to have a problem with fishing or shooting and neither do the Government.

Home by Christmas

When politicians promise that troops will be "Home by Christmas", they have a pretty poor record.  It is very pleasing to see that the Black Watch battlegroup is now back in the UK, in good time for Christmas.

Media reports suggest that the troops have aquitted themselves well whilst in the "Triangle of Death".  The fact that two US battalions are required to replace them tells its own story.  These guys deserve a Happy Christmas.

A labourer is worthy of his hire

I am very pleased to support the TUC call for an increase in the minimum wage from £4.85 to £6 over the next two years.  I worked on the minimium wage for a time in 2002.  It was only £4.30, so has come a good way in those two years. A rise is an essential part of the fight against poverty.

A rise in the minimum wage may cause some unemployment but at the moment the economy is in good shape and there are 600,000 vacancies in the UK. Hopefully any unfortunate people can find new work easily and anyway the minimum wage has not caused any noticeable rise in unemployment.

The CBI claim that no rise is possible is laughable.  Do you know how much the average FTSE director's pay  went up by last year? A whopping 17%.

A decent minimum wage is the hallmark of a civilised society and needs to be set at a realistic level.

Kerry Pollard MP

I was down at the House of Commons one evening last week, soaking up the atmosphere in Committee Room 11.  The evening was organised by Kerry Pollard, the MP for St Albans, and involved several candidates from the Eastern Region.  It was good to hear how the others are getting on and pick up a few tips for campaigning.

There were two junior ministers there as well: Gareth Thomas (International Development) and Ivan Lewis (education).  It was good to get access to them and I was able to quiz Ivan about Educational Maintenance Awards.

To round off the evening there was a political quiz, which I won on a tie-break with Dave Monaghan, the Bury St Edmunds candidate.

Pre-Budget Report

The Pre Budget Report, delivered today by Gordon Brown, is something to cheer loudly about.  It celebrates the economic achievements of the Labour Government since 1997 and also looks forward with a vision of helping families and improving the skills of the British workforce.

The tough monetary decisions taken by Gordon Brown when he became chancellor now means that Britain has the

• lowest inflation for thirty years
• lowest mortgage rates for forty years
• longest period of sustained growth of 200 years
• fourth largest economy in the world, having just overtaken France

The challenge now is to equip the economy for the demands of the global marketplace and provide even better public services for future generations.  There is something for everyone in this report, but these items caught my eye:

• A ten year strategy for childcare with a vision of high-quality childcare for all parents who need it
• Paid maternity leave increased from six to nine months
• An extra £50 on the winter fuel allowance for the over-70s
• An extra billion pounds for councils, to keep down the rate of council tax increases - I'm really pleased about this one as council tax is a big issue on the doorstep.

A very positive message of a strong economy and aspirations to improve the lives of hard working families.

Minister for Children

Margaret Hodge, the Minister for Children was in Ipswich this week.  I joined her for a visit to Parkside Pupil Referral Unit.  This PRU takes 32 children who refuse to go to school - this might be because of fear of school or large groups of people and often the children have multiple problems.  Most of the children are in Year 10 and 11, although Parkside now takes Year 9 pupils with the aim of returning them to mainstream schooling for their GCSE years.

The school takes an innovative, flexible approach and includes work based placements as well as traditional schooling.  They have good facilities for computing, science, art and cookery. We were treated to a loud drumming session just before we left, so I can report first hand that they have good music facilities too!

Parkside has an excellent record in helping difficult kids go on to achieve their potential in future life. Hopefully it will go from strength to strength.