Letter from Parliament - Jim Dobbin MP

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Jim Dobbin MP

We live in troubled times. I do not condone the violence I saw on TV by police and students during the demonstration about tuition fees and cuts in Higher Education but I do support the right to demonstrate and the vast majority of students were there to protest peacefully. Why is it that every time we have a right wing government in power (and this Lib Dem Coalition is as right wing as Thatcher’s Government) we end up with riots on the streets? Remember the Poll Tax riots and the destruction of the miners. Well we here we go again.

The university fees issue is the first of a number of austere measures that will challenge the British people in the near future. Public sector cuts to local government, the NHS, the police, the fire service and the voluntary sector are all lined up for harsh and provocative legislation. We have not seen the last of public demonstrations or strikes. All this because the coalition is driven by right wing capitalist ideology using the deficit as an excuse.

I have consistently voted against student fees and I always will. I have also supported a fair graduate tax even if it is a complex system. Do not forget students are being loaded with this new fees system because the coalition have cut 80% of the university teaching grant the removal of the Education Maintenance Allowance with a dodgy pupil premium for those on free school meals is a con. It is not new money but recycled money.

We are witnessing the break up of public service delivery. We will all suffer, yet there is another way. From 1918 to 1961 the UK national debt was over 100% of the Gross Domestic Product and we still managed to introduce the welfare state, the NHS, state pensions, comprehensive education, build millions of council houses and industries. The austere winter weather recently appears to fit in with the mood of the country.

I visited Budapest at the beginning of December with the European Scrutiny Select Committee to take evidence from their politicians and civil servants as Hungary takes over the EU Presidency. It was cold and snowing as we left Budapest but not as cold as here at home. The further Education Awards Evening in the Town Hall was a great success and the achievements of the students were worth celebrating.

At the Parliamentary AGM of my union Unite I was elected as an officer of the group. I met with Health Minister Anne Milton on two issues, firstly, Involuntary Tranquilliser Addiction which is concerned with prescription addiction to tranquilliser drugs issued by GPs and hospital doctors and, secondly on Animal Testing, to ensure that the special status of the human embryo is upheld as it is laid out in the Human Fertilisation and Embryology Authority, which states that the HFEA must satisfy itself that there is no other way of doing the research avoiding embryo use. We wanted reassurance from the Minister that all alternatives in research and experiments should be exhausted before the use of human embryos to maintain the special status of the embryo. These are issues I campaign on in the Commons.

It was a pleasure to have a group of pupils and staff from Brimrod Primary School in Parliament for an education visit. Everyone enjoyed their time here.

As Vice Chair of the North Korean Group I met the North Korean Ambassador to discuss the North South Korean stand-off. The parliamentary group is pursuing a process of encouraging peace and reconciliation.

On Thursday 9 December I had a meeting with Cardinal O’Brien from Scotland as part of his annual visit to Parliament.

The weather has curtailed my normal constituency programme but I have managed to carry on with surgeries locally. Rochdale Council of course is one of the first casualties of the coalition with our local Lib Dems caving in and running off in turmoil. I am watching the current local political scene with interest.

I wish all of my constituents a Happy and Holy Christmas and I hope and pray for a peaceful New Year.