Susan Kramer's Informer Column 28th March 2008

We have just reached the 5th anniversary, if one can use that word, of the start of the invasion of Iraq. The Labour Government led Britain into war "on a false prospectus" as Sir Ming Campbell described it. The Conservatives were cheerleaders for military action. And MPs from both the other parties attacked the Liberal Democrats for opposition to the invasion. Colleagues who were MPs at the time remember the Conservative benches yelling "Chamberlain Charlie" at our then leader Charles Kennedy.

Five years on from the start of the invasion, 175 British troops have lost their lives, £7 billion of our money has been lost on this appalling adventure and, according to some estimates, 600,000 Iraqis have lost their lives. The risk of terror in this country has increased not diminished.

Like many of you, I was out on the streets in that great march of some 2 million people opposed to going to war. Since then it has become clear that the war in Iraq and the occupation of the country were the worst decisions taken by Britain in foreign policy in living memory.

Liberal Democrats in Parliament are asking both Gordon Brown and David Cameron to apologise for their part in authorising this disastrous military venture. Without the support of the Conservatives the Labour Government would have lost the vote in Parliament and the UK would not have joined in this war.

Now the Government continues to ask the brave men and women of our armed forces to put their lives at risk for no gain for either our country or the world at large. I ask you to join us in urging the Government to set a timetable for the full withdrawal of the remaining UK troops from Iraq.

Susan's Informer Column - Surveillance and ID Cards

No matter what one's views on nuclear weapons, it is still devastating that the monthly, peaceful women's protest at the Aldermaston atomic weapons site, a symbol of freedom for 50 years, was stopped last week by the High Court. Our freedom to speak and to demonstrate has been sharply curtailed. New Labour has used the guise of "terror" and an environment of fear to step by step limit our rights to gather and to protest against government and policy.

Last summer, claims of "security" led to heavy handed policing of the Climate Change camp protest against a third runway at Heathrow. One senior police officer had the cheek to tell me that the police were there to prevent a terrorist setting up an anti-aircraft gun on the site! No terrorist would have had a chance against a large gathering of very fit and young environmentalists! The police show of force was there to intimidate those of us who dare oppose Heathrow expansion.

And now the Government tells us it will sneak in its ID card scheme through the back door by linking new biometric passports to the system. The challenge to our freedom is the data base that will lie behind the cards and the way our ID will in effect link everything we do from our bank accounts to our mobile phones to our use of public services.

It is time to object more loudly to our growing surveillance society. Our ancestors extracted the freedoms we value from unwilling Governments over the centuries and some died in the cause. When we talk of British values, the most fundamental are our freedoms - freedom of speech, freedom of protest and freedom from surveillance. Let us not allow Government to remove them slice by slice.

Susan's Informer Column 9th February - Religion and law

Archbishop Rowan Williams' speech on accommodating Sharia law in Britain has set the cat amongst the pigeons and caused a new wave of resentment against the Muslim community that is none of its making. By chance, at the time of the Archbishop's speech I was meeting with 3 students whom I am mentoring in a project led by the Three Faiths Forum; one student is Catholic, one an Orthodox Jew and one Muslim. All three were taken aback. All three felt strongly that there must be one law for all citizens and all must be equal under the law.

Of course it makes sense to think through actions by Governments and other institutions so that arrangements are not thoughtlessly a problem for some parts of our community. Many Muslim students, for example, are unable to use student loans to go to college because simple arrangements are not in place to allow forms of financing without interest payments. So long as the costs are the same and open to anyone, a version compliant with Sharia would be sensible.

Some Orthodox Jews chose to use the religious Beth Din courts to settle issues like divorce but only if both parties agree. Enforceable arrangements must go through the civil courts. Some mosques offer mediation in disputes but the state does not enforce the verdict. The law of the land is underpinned by enforcement which is why most people of all faiths or none expect it to apply equally to all.

The Archbishop is a scholar and theologian. But given his role, surely a good dose of common sense should govern his speeches. It will be tragic if his words leave our society more fractured. We need to be brought together.

Susan's Informer Column 1st February 2007

MPs this week supported a below inflation salary increase of 1.9% which is very right especially when public sector workers are being asked to tighten their belts. It was rather an anti-climax event in the House of Commons as most of us were waiting to vote and then found the decision had been passed on the nod. When the whips all get together you do wonder if you are in a legislature at all!

But while a below inflation increase is right for us MPs, it is not right for the police. Last week I joined the police march on Westminster to protest. The Government had agreed that police pay should be settled by arbitration. But when that led to an award of 2.5% they refused to backdate it over the months in which the protracted negotiations had delayed the settlement in order to effectively cut the award to 1.9%. The police cannot strike which makes respect for arbitration all the more important and this back-handed tactic all the more galling. I am astonished that some newspapers, instead of backing the police, criticised the march of 20,000 officers from all over the country but all on their time off.

But back to Parliamentary tactics. Also last week we had in Parliament an excellent private members bill to enable local councils to set tougher planning rules on renewable energy and energy efficiency in new building. Would you not think that this was exactly what Gordon Brown would want to tackle Climate Change? In the end we were able to keep the bill alive for the moment by MPs hiding in their offices and suddenly springing out to make a quorum. What nonsense! It really is time that Parliament grew up.

Susan's article for The House Magazine on data loss

When last November, Alistair Darling suddenly announced that personal details on 25 million families claiming child benefit had gone missing, lost in transit, it sounded like a one-off event, another PR disaster for a Government that has become increasingly accident prone. But now, thank goodness, it may have been the tipping point in damning to oblivion one of the worst ideas the Government has ever had - the national ID Card scheme.

The loss of Child Benefit data was bad enough for the families involved who have since watched their bank accounts with anxiety. But that first admission was just the start. Hardly a week now goes by without the announcement that some piece of highly personal data on some group of people has been lost or mislaid from a Government office or institution. Ruth Kelly in December admitted that applications from 3 million learner drivers had gone astray in Iowa. It was an eye-opener for many people that data like this gets sent abroad. More recently the MoD has revealed the theft of laptops with details on applicants to the armed forces including driver's licence numbers, National Insurance numbers and in some cases banking information. The data was not even encrypted.

My Liberal Democrat colleagues have identified 37 million pieces of data lost in 2007, mostly by the Government, which, when you think about it, is not so surprising given all the data it keeps on us. What is surprising is how naively we assumed data was carefully protected and the way institutions have avoided telling us what is going on. The list includes 80 passports lost in the post every month; missing Council and hospital laptops; CDs and paper records found at homes or scattered on the street. My local hospital has called in the police to find out how medical test results on over a hundred patients ended up in the road in a black courier bag.

It is quite clear that key personal information has been going missing for years and those in the know have failed to get worked up about it. "Stuff happens" is not the right answer. Nor is the response our local newspaper got from the Department of Health that protection is provided by the Data Protection Act.

Clearly a root and branch review of how personal data is acquired, stored, transferred and disposed of - and how the whole process is monitored - is now required throughout Government. We have just heard that the London Strategic Health Authority is about to initiate such a review. It better be happening in every Government department and public service organisation or the public will lose whatever shreds of trust are remaining. And questions must be asked about the auditors who have not caught these problems in the past.

But at last we have had a glimpse of a silver lining. Like Nick Clegg, I will defy any attempt to impose any ID Card on me. So I am delighted with reports that the Government has now decided to kick the policy out beyond the next election. If we keep up the fight we should be able to bury it for good. A national ID Card scheme would be an expensive fiasco leading to bureaucratic nightmares, a honeypot for fraudsters and little help in preventing either terrorism or illegal working. But for the first time, these data loss fiascos have focussed people's attention on just how intrusive and invasive it is to have one's personal data available to public view. And that is the key argument against a national ID Card scheme. Our ID numbers would be the link to everything about our lives. Who would give that to any Government when no institution can even keep the most personal information sacrosanct?

Data Protection - Susan's Informer Column 13th January

2007 was the worst ever year for privacy. Some 37 million items of personal data went missing according to information that my colleagues and I have put together. You will have heard about the major Government disasters such as the loss of details on 25,000,000 families on the child benefits data base. But many smaller losses are now being exposed - for example 80 passports are lost in the post each month.

Private companies lose data too - one bank lost a disc in the post with information on the mortgages of over 60,000 people while another has mislaid data containing the personal information of its entire workforce.

Last week a bag containing the medical test results of over 100 people was found on Kingston Hill and in another incident NHS forms from north London hospitals were scattered in gardens in Hertfordshire.

Every public organisation now needs an independent review of how it handles sensitive data at every step, including how it is transferred to other organisations, and how it is disposed of or recycled.

There is no way that any democratic Government can expect the public to accept having their personal data copied and stored if safety is not assured.

As for the Government's ID Card plans - they should now be dead. The lesson of the past months is that data bases lose information, often on an extra-ordinary scale. The ID scheme which would be accessible to thousands of computers all over the country would be as vulnerable if not more so than most - and that is a risk we cannot accept.

New Year Message from Susan Kramer

I am one of the lucky people who enjoyed a wonderful Christmas with family and friends. But it makes me all the more determined to use 2008 to support families in Richmond and Kingston. Although our area is leafy and many residents are well off, we still have many vulnerable families. I will be focussing on families with severe mental health issues, including campaigning to keep open the residential programme at the Cassel Hospital. But most families today are facing huge pressures from high mortgages, childcare, school choices and time pressures. Families are the backbone of our community so we must find ways to give them support.

And this is the year for the ultimate battle on Heathrow. We have to stop runway 3, terminal 6 and plans to end our half-days of peace from flights. It matters to our local quality of life but also for tacking climate change. So that is my New Year's toast - "our families and our future".

Government must fund this vital life support

Susan's Guardian Blog Article about the Cassel hospital in Richmond

Some of the most vulnerable children in our society must be youngsters in families where a parent or a sibling suffers from a severe mental health disorder, writes Susan Kramer.

You would have thought, listening to government ministers or reading The Children's Act, that helping these children and their families would have been at the top of the priority list. Keeping a family together is the best result for children unless the circumstances leave no other safe option.

But our battle to save the family programme at the Cassel hospital in Ham (Richmond) shows the reality of government to be very different. The Cassel is one of very few centres in the UK that can assess and treat the really severe cases of families with mental health problems. The cases are so complex that the programme has to be residential. But the history shows that families can respond brilliantly and with support like this make new lives. The alternative for most families is removal of the children for foster care and adoption, often with their problems untreated, and little help for the parent or sibling with mental health problems.

But local authorities and PCTs don't want to pay the costs of a service like the Cassel. Once courts required them to do so but then a ruling from the law lords on the Children's Act removed that ability. Even legal aid to try through the courts is now just about impossible to access. And what is the government doing? - pretty much washing its hands of the whole matter and leaving it to local authorities and PCTs which simply do not have the budget for these cases even though they are few and far between.

Frankly, this is a service that should be funded centrally not locally. The cost in the long run of leaving families in turmoil, with children in and out of care and mental health issues unresolved has to be far greater than the cost of treatment.

But surely pure humanity should be the deciding factor in a civilised society. How can government look at some of the most disturbed children and families in the country, recognise that they can be helped - and then walk away.

Susan's Informer Column 3rd December 2007

All the reports of wrongful funding, even though about another political party, leave people like me just wondering why we are in politics. I lived long enough in the United States to see how "big money" can gain influence. Britain seems to be heading down that same path and it has to be stopped.

But with trust in politicians so low, we cannot credibly ask for the public funding of political campaigns. So I would argue for a strict limit not just on donations but also on spending, including the period between elections not just at election time. Politics has got to be clean and seen to be clean. The playing field has to be level.

It was a welcome contrast, at midnight last Sunday, for me to forget politics and go down the London Underground Tube tunnels to see how maintenance and upgrade are going. I have lots of quarrels with the PPP which part-privatised the Tube and gave us the collapse of the Metronet company which will cost every Londoner money. But the engineers and workmen down in those dark, hot, airless spaces were so impressively organised, professional and fast. Each night, the teams have only four hours to get their gear into the underground, carry out work, clean up and get out leaving the system able to run. I shall be a bit less furious with some of those Monday morning delays.

A few years ago, the Tube was crumbling after years of neglect. Much remains to be done but it is turning the corner in a way few believed possible. Perhaps politics as well can turn the corner and finally clean up its act.

ELECTION FIASCO

Susan Kramer MP for Richmond Park

8th October 2007

What a fiasco! Gordon Brown has finally announced that there will be no General Election this autumn and probably not in 2008. But this is after weeks of playing the tease with the political parties, including his own, and with the media.

Brown should have gone to the people to ask for a mandate when he took over from Blair back in June. Both the Blair and Brown are very Presidential, not like in the past when the party voted into power mattered more than the individual PM. Sadly, British politics has gone very much this way and the Tories as well as Labour claim to be very different under one leader rather than another. If we have to live with this style of leadership, surely a change of leader means asking the people for a new mandate.

It is now time to have a fixed term of 4 years for Parliament with elections on a set date not one chosen by the PM. Leaving the choice of election date to one person is a left-over from rule by kings. Of course we need a way for Parliament to bring down a Government between fixed elections if that Government loses its majority in the House of Commons. But we can solve that problem with a special election arrangement to follow any vote of "no confidence" in the House of Commons.

Politics needs to grow up. Governments should not be able to choose when to face the electorate but stand on their record whether times have been bad or good. Let's introduce fixed term elections now and get some respect back into politics.

Darfur

This summer I joined a parliamentary delegation to Sudan and Darfur. I returned with a little hope that progress might be possible to give the two million displaced people in Darfur the security to return home. But I also learned that this crisis is so complex that the international community must resist the temptation to simplify and rush for superficial solutions.

Our delegation consisted of one MP from each party, the British Ambassador and, most usefully, the newly appointed British Special Envoy to Sudan. We took no media and we kept the visit low key in order to really meet displaced people, host communities, and politicians.

Forgotten in all the concern for Darfur is the need to prevent civil war between North and South Sudan erupting again. If that happens, Darfur as well as South Sudan will be dragged into mayhem. But the North/South peace agreement is not being implemented in key ways and anger will erupt if elections promised by spring 2009 fail to take place. It must be touch and go that a census can be carried out and constituencies drawn up when boundaries are still in dispute and displaced people are in camps everywhere.

Negotiations for peace in Darfur must involve ordinary people, not just, as one lady put it, 'the men with guns.' The warring factions, including the Sudan government, constantly change allegiances, and split into sub-groups behind different commanders. The traditional split between nomads and farmers is increasingly blurred and every side has Arab and African adherents. It's the ordinary people of all communities who are effectively voiceless and who are, as always, the victims.

Susan Kramer, MP for Richmond Park.

Susan's Informer column

16 October 2006

NHS needs care

Every day we hear stories about a new NHS crisis. Budget gaps or issues around quality of patient care have been in the headlines for many months now. Local protests have grown around the country and in our area and it is a hot issue for many who do not normally carry placards or demonstrate.

Eighteen months on from the last General Election neither the government or the Tories seem to have answers to the challenges facing this vital service.

Endless reform has sapped the morale of many of the staff working day in and day out to look after us.

The latest idea is for more minor ops or procedures as they are called to be done through the network of GP surgeries.

Nothing wrong with innovation that benefits the care but is this the kind of solution that is going to work for the training of junior doctors who need to experience the routine as well as the more complex cases of care?

I have also heard GPs saying they are in general practice because they wanted to be generalists and so there are mixed feelings about broadening the remit of local surgeries.

The Tories are making much of an independent body to oversee the NHS as part of the solution to current problems.

I am not convinced that this would work. How would local people hold a national body to account when things go wrong or how could they sack those who sit on such a body or board?

The NHS is a complex organisation but neither Labour or the Tories seem to have the right mix of reform and funding to ensure we have a service that can get on with the job of caring for us and supporting the dedicated staff who perform miracles and make a difference to the lives of thousands of people locally and millions nationally.

2 September 2006

Great River Race

I have written in this column before about the voluntary work that people do in our communities for local charities and organisations, so I felt it was time to set an example myself.

Just over a week from now I will be taking part in the Great River Race. It starts at 9.30am on Saturday 16 Sept, just below Ham House, and will finish 22 miles later, at Greenwich. Last year 300 crews entered and it's a wonderful event.

The race has been going for 18 years and is a real mix of the dedicated rower and those who pursue rowing for recreation. It is a bit like the London Marathon, only on water.

Our crew comprises myself, John White, Richard Rowland and Liz James. We all now belong to The Skiff Club, based at Teddington by Trowlock Island. We are racing in a Thames Skiff, and competing in five categories: Mixed, Four Oared, Over-40, Thames-Based and Thames Skiff. The others know what they're doing. I'm a novice and grateful for their patience.

I am using the Race to collect sponsors for Emily's Fund - set up by the family of Emily Jenkins, who was tragically killed in last year's tube bombings, to make sure families and friends can quickly find the injured in hospital.

And in the event that we win a prize, the money will go to Integrated Neurological Services (INS), a local charity based in Kew. INS provides on-going rehabilitation and support to people living with Parkinsons disease, Multiple Sclerosis and strokes through a programme of exercises led by experienced therapists.

I hope you will come along and lend us support. I have to confess, the prospect of this race is quite terrifying!

Susan Kramer MP for Richmond Park

7 August 2006

Summer in our local communities

The summer holidays seem to bring out the best in our local communities. Last week I visited "Soul in Ham", a programme of fun for youngsters organised by volunteers from local churches.

Enthusiastic 8 year-old "pirates" were competing to see if the "yo" team could shout louder than the "ho" team. But the best part of the afternoon was a BBQ at the youth club where residents in their 80s and 90s from a nearby home joined the teenagers for sausages and a little "soul" singing. I'm not sure which group was the more surprised or the more enthusiastic.

Just a few days earlier, Richmond Council launched its "Community Payback" scheme where offenders, often youngsters who have been involved in anti-social behaviour, carry out tasks like painting out graffiti. The difference from previous programmes is that the community gets to identify the projects.

It would be nice if a greater range of activities were permitted in the programme - I know a number of older people who could use some trimming of their gardens - but it is moving in the right direction.

Later this summer I'm visiting the excellent youth programme at the Hawker Centre YMCA in Kingston and the sports and dance project in Barnes.

Susan Kramer MP for Richmond Park

26 July 2006

The Middle East Crisis

I rarely write about international issues in this column but the events of the last two weeks in Lebanon cannot be ignored.

I believe that the state of Israel has the right to defend itself but the bombings in Lebanon are out of all proportion to the threat to the Israeli population. But an even bigger question has been the role of the United Kingdom as this tragedy has unfolded.

My feeling is that Britain has been isolated across the world through its craven relationship with the USA.

As I write, Condoleeza Rice is calling for a cease fire but the destruction heaped upon the Lebanese people will take years to repair, even if a peace settlement is possible at this point. An international peace keeping force may be part of the longer term solution but Lebanon has seen years of investment blown away.

Lebanon's fragile government was making some progress and the aim was to establish a viable future for that country where terrorism could be sidelined.

Terrorism thrives when it exploits people's lack of faith in the future, yet you only have to look at Northern Ireland to know that progress can be made even after years of killings on all sides.

The real issue for me is that Britain now has no independence in the area of foreign policy. We are tied to the coat tails of the USA. The British government could not bring itself to criticise the Bush administration and much of this goes back to the decision to invade Iraq and all the consequences that flow from that.

Iraq will come back to haunt the government at every turn and the tragedy is that we have been robbed of our voice on the international stage, and people are dying as a consequence.

26 June 2006

Water shortages - at home and abroad

People in the developing world often contract diseases from the water they drink. Children are often the principal victims of illnesses which can mean an early death and a life cut short in infancy.

Clean water can be a precious and scarce thing.

In different parts of the world some walk miles every day to bring this vital lifeline back to their families and their home village.

As International Development spokeswoman for the Lib Dems I hear so many stories from different charities about the basic human right of access to clean water. Millions don't have that right. Organisations like Water Aid keep pressing the case for change.

What a contrast to life in our own communities.

Here in our area we fume at hosepipe bans and talk of restrictions, and with some justice. There is so much waste. Just this week we have heard that Thames Water has made big profits again - up 31 per cent - yet they cannot keep on top of the leaks that spill millions of litres of water every day.

It literally goes down the drain or onto our roads. We have a right to be angry about this. In the 21st century our hi tech, fast moving society cannot look after a resource which can mean the difference between life and death in other parts of the globe.

We should stay angry, but we should direct that anger into campaigning for change so that millions around the globe can expect a better life and a healthy future for their families.

Susan Kramer, MP for Richmond Park

10 June 2006

Update on Heathrow

Saturday was European Day of Action on Aviation, and those of us marching to protest about night-flights, runway 3 and the threat to end our current half day of peace from planes, mixed our banners with the flag of St George. Of course it was World Cup fever but it also seemed particularly appropriate. What could be more patriotic than fighting to save our communities from the blight of noise and air pollution?

It was quite devastating to walk the route of the planned runway 3 and see what peaceful fields and pleasant cottages will be flattened if the plan proceeds. How pleased I am with the tax ideas proposed by Ming Campbell last week to cut the basic rate of income tax and raise the tax free allowance, turning instead to taxing activities that hurt the environment. Only if we get serious about using the stick and carrot approach are we going to change behaviour. How mad it is that we don't have a fast rail service to get us to Germany and the World Cup for example so we only need to fly for long-distance journeys.

And I am seriously worried about the sale of Heathrow and our other London airports to a Spanish company, not because it's Spanish (not that sort of flag waving) but because so much money will have been borrowed to pay for the purchase. The pressure will increase for more flights to pay more landing fees to pay off the debts. It's up to us to make it clear to Heathrow's new owners that local people matter.

Susan Kramer MP

15 May 2006

The crisis in Darfur

I rarely use this column to discuss international matters but the agony of Darfur in the Sudan must make for an exception. A tragedy continues to unfold but so far it seems to have caught little broad, public attention in the UK. As we know from campaigns like "Make Poverty History", public concern has a remarkable impact on getting governments to act.

The current crisis stems from a 2003 uprising when rebels accused the Sudanese Government of arming an "Arab" militia to drive black Africans from the land. Actually the conflict is far more tribal than ethnic and nomad versus farmer in this land increasingly short of water. But so far 2 million people have been displaced and tens of thousands killed. Over 3 million people depend on humanitarian assistance.

Although the UK has been very good in keeping its aid promises, others have not and this month the Red Cross has had to reduce millions on food aid to half rations. Charities have been driven out by the violence so the worst is probably not known. The African Union has 7,000 peace-keeping troops in the area but they are woefully under resourced.

A peace deal has just been signed between the Sudanese Government and the largest rebel group and there is hope that UN troops from African and Arab states will be permitted to take over peace-keeping. We need those peace-keepers to be properly resourced and we need the promises of international aid money turned into hard cash fast.

Susan Kramer, MP for Richmond Park

19 April 2006

Local Graffiti

First some 'thank yous'. Thank you to the neighbour who saw our front door covered in graffiti and reported it to the local neighbourhood police team. And thank you to another neighbour who was so concerned that we shouldn't be upset that he came with a bucket and Mr Muscle to remove the words before we got up for breakfast. I don't know who the graffiti painter was, but I am reminded that we still have neighbours and friends who will go the extra mile to be supportive. This is a pretty amazing community.

And speaking of graffiti, on Tuesday and by the time you read this column, I will have taken the Liberal Democrat leader Menzies Campbell, to visit a project that demonstrates that graffiti can be beaten. In Ham, on Ashburnham Road, 500 local residents aged from 2 to 87 took on years of endless graffiti damage by designing, creating and installing a huge mosaic to eliminate a graffiti eyesore. Because the local community 'owns' the project, the graffiti has stopped. This follows similar projects in Kingston in places like Canbury Gardens - inspired by a local charity called Save the World.

No one involved in these community projects condones bad and destructive behaviour. But finding a positive response that works takes ingenuity and conviction. The experience of places like Ham and Canbury is that engaging communities - including the youngsters - in creative projects which they can look on with pride, changes relationships and behaviour. It's a good news message, and one on which we need to build.

Susan Kramer, MP for Richmond Park

3 April 2006

Focus on Local Schools

Our primary schools in both Kingston and Richmond are exceptional and among the best in the country. And Kingston as a whole does well at the secondary level although again I am part of the community battling Whitehall to give much better choice to parents in north Kingston who want a non-selective secondary school in their community.

Susan Kramer, MP for Richmond Park

4th December 2005

Fairtrade at Christmas

As the Christmas catalogues arrive, I am delighted to find more choices than ever for Fairtrade gifts to buy for friends and relatives. Kingston is already a Fairtrade borough with a range of local shops offering Fairtrade products and Richmond is on its way to achieving the same status.

For the poorest countries of the world, trade and improved opportunities to sell their products are more important than aid and debt cancellation, although these of course remain important. Aid, for example, helps provide the means to develop agriculture and manufacturing to take advantage of trade opportunities.

But the meeting of the World Trade Organisation in Hong Kong this month is a key date to get agreement. We have to press for the European Union and the United States to rapidly end subsidies which undermine agriculture and industry in the developing world.

But the Fairtrade campaign must also be wary of being turned into an anti-free trade movement for developing countries. Opening up markets in developing countries will require time, investment and support to allow local entities to adjust. But permanent protectionism will keep a poor country economically weak - the price will be paid by the poorest citizens.

In recent meetings, the EU and the USA and the strongest developing countries like Brazil and India are said to have found some common ground. But the poorest countries must not be squeezed out. Better no agreement than one that condemns the weakest of the developing world to another decade of extreme poverty.

Susan Kramer MP for Richmond Park

21st November 2005

Anti-bullying week

This is anti-bullying week for schools. Half of all primary school children and a quarter of all secondary school children said they had been bullied in the last year. It's a horrific number. It shows that bullying remains part of school life despite all the work of teachers, parents and pupils in the last few years.

Bullying by e-mail and text messages seems to be the latest thing - and it means that bullying follows a child day and night. Even going home doesn't provide much of a break.

In my surgeries parents tell me that children with learning difficulties are the special target of bullies. Indeed, I'm told that the combination of learning difficulties and bullying is a major cause of truancy.

But I still believe that a school which aggressively tackles the problem can make a difference. This is a good week for every parent to talk to their child's school and ask them what they are doing.

Young people are so capable of caring for others rather then picking on them. This week a group from Barnes came to Parliament to talk about ending poverty. These youngsters really cared.

And in Kingston, I got to help with awards to artists aged as young as 6 years , who had painted pictures to be auctioned in aid of the Shooting Star Children's Hospice - young children helping other youngsters.

Some say that bullying is just part of growing up. We must use this week to change that attitude.

Susan Kramer MP for Richmond Park

7th November 2005

Government White Paper on Education

Just over a week ago the Government brought out its new White Paper on Schools. For a brief moment it seemed that parents like those in North Kingston who have been campaigning for a local, non-selective secondary school or those throughout Richmond and Kingston wanting more places in all girls schools, might have a chance to achieve their goals.

But as the Education Secretary made her statement, the contradictions in this new announcement became apparent. The spin was parent choice and the reality was pretty much the status quo. When I asked, at Prime Minister's Questions, if we could have our North Kingston school, the bluster that followed showed the emptiness of the promises.

The story illustrates what is happening on the Government benches in the House of Commons. Its like watching a train wreck in slow motion as Labour backbenchers have lost any faith in the Blair leadership. They can see that much trumpeted new policies are either superficial and chaotic, like the schools paper, or utterly illiberal like parts of the anti-terror bill. Many are refusing to be dragooned into supporting Blair even though Labour have even taken to placing burly "whips", like nightclub bouncers, at the doors to the voting lobbies to intimidate their own party members.

This week will be the ultimate test as the anti-terror bill continues in the Commons. Its a poor time for the country to live with a Government that has lost its direction. Its also a political lesson to never overstay your time.

Susan Kramer MP for Richmond Park

9th October 2005

NHS Reorganisation

The NHS is about to embark on its favourite occupation - reorganising. And the Government did its favourite trick of springing on the NHS and local authorities consultation about the changes in late July, just as the summer holidays were starting and two days after Parliament went home.

No co-incidence then that at the heart of the changes is what equates to a revolution. Hospitals will all become "foundation" hospitals, that is independent organisations. District nurses will have to find new employers. No longer will the NHS provide any services to local people. The NHS will become by 2008, a body that "commissions" (i.e. buys) health services. And those services can be provided by anyone, private, voluntary or public. And to win the contracts the services must be "contestable" - competition by any other name. Co-operation doesn't seem to be in the picture.

Some changes have merit, notably giving a lot more power over a patient's treatment to GP practices. Though this could mean different treatment based on different priorities from one practice to another. But strategic and oversight power are likely to go to regional bodies, so that once again areas like Richmond and Kingston risk being overlooked because the focus will be on deprived areas.

This is one set of changes that Parliament must find a way to air and debate.

Susan Kramer MP for Richmond Park

12th September 2005

Heathrow Airport

For almost the first time I have started receiving letters from Kingston as well as Richmond residents to complain about disturbances from planes landing or departing from Heathrow. Quite clearly, the noise impact of the airport is reaching ever wider despite denials from the authorities.

Residents from all over London, whom no-one ever considered to be under the flightpath, are now reporting disturbing noise levels. Aircraft noise is simply getting out of hand. And constant claims that aircraft are quieter are pretty meaningless since they still remain loud enough to disrupt peoples' lives.

At present the Government is consulting on more night flights (the consultation ends 16 September so write to Alistair Darling MP ASAP if you wish to be heard). But proposals to end runway alternation, the plan which presently gives us half of each day without airplanes overhead, will be put forward next spring. Its clearly part of a plan to increase flights just in time for the opening of Terminal 5 and to advance the ground work for a third runway.

All the London MPs need to get together to battle this monster. Of course London needs a major airport. But the Government has convinced itself that London cannot thrive unless Heathrow continuously expands. But each new expansion brings only a small number of new jobs. Meanwhile London's strong economy depends on this being an attractive place to live and work. Unacceptable noise levels put that at risk.

Susan Kramer MP for Richmond Park

29th August 2005

Water Shortages

Finally, hot and sunny weather is forecast, after weeks in which it seems I must have grown webbed feet.

But despite all my soakings, we are going through a year of drought. This winter we received only 60% of our usual rainfall and the summer is only slightly better. London now has less rainfall per capita than Madrid or Istanbul. And our violent storms are less effective in replenishing our groundwater than the gentle rain of earlier eras.

The city also keeps growing. London's population is expected to increase by 800,000 in the next decade. No-one has seriously planned for the infrastructure. Today's leaking pipes can only get worse with 50% of the system over 100 years old. At the present pace of investment it would take 200 years to replace the entire network.

So faced with all this, we have to plan for water conservation. Some of it must be investment in those pipes. The Mayor should think again about expanding London. But no matter what, I suspect we will have to face up to universal water metering to really cut our use.

Of course, any metering system must give protection to those who cannot afford to pay for what they need - just as we presently do with the electricity system. And we must be sure that people do not stint on essential water to keep clean and sanitary. But acting to conserve water is at least better than finding one day that we have no choice.

Susan Kramer MP for Richmond Park

15th August 2005

The National Health Service

This has been a difficult summer for my family with close relatives and friends falling seriously ill. We've seen the NHS at its absolute best, with doctors and nurses performing with such dedication and skill. I lived for some years in the USA and to face serious illness without the battle with an insurance company for hospital payments and without the fear that private health insurance will refuse to cover lengthy treatment, is a relief that's hard to explain.

I intend to take up the cudgels on this issue in Parliament. So please write to me about your NHS issues - good and bad.

Last week a leading business figure again proposed scrapping the NHS system. We have to fight both to keep it and to improve it.

Susan Kramer MP for Richmond Park

18th July 2005

The London bombings

Its hard to realise that the London suicide bombings were two whole weeks ago. While life goes on, I still find my thoughts dominated by the events 7/7.

I am filled with admiration for the many heroes of that terrible Thursday. I was in Westminster and saw Londoners react with such calm and composure. The emergency services, many of whom live in this area, were amazing both in their courage and in the effective way they took control. The ordinary staff of London Underground, who are not emergency workers but staff and managers, heard the blasts and ran into the tunnels and the carnage. They evacuated the unhurt and stayed with the wounded until the emergency services could arrive.

Last Friday I went down to the mosque in Kingston to assure local Muslims that we recognise that they were not part of these horrors. Many came after prayers to tell me how horrified they were at the bombings and to repeat that Islam is a religion of peace not war. I was heartened to hear worshippers say that in this community their neighbours have understood and, if anything, the bonds of friendship have become stronger.

At a Churches Together Service on Sunday in Barnes, I found real interest in building a local version of the 3 Faiths Forum to bring local Christians, Jews and Muslims into regular dialogue. Nothing can bring back lives lost or compensate for injuries sustained on 7/7. But perhaps the ultimate defeat for terror is to build yet stronger bonds within our own diverse community.

Susan Kramer MP for Richmond Park

3rd July 2005

Making poverty history

This last weekend many of you told us, the politicians, to "Make Poverty History". It wasn't just the march in Edinburgh or the concert in Hyde Park.

Local youngsters and their parents in New Malden used the annual parade in the High Street to wear white and carry the message.

Pupils from St Agatha's primary school were so determined that the Prime Minister should fight for every child to get an education that they took the message in person to No 10 Downing Street.

We all know that ending poverty is hugely complicated and that the problems of the many countries of Africa won't be solved by outsiders like us imposing our ideas.

But African countries do need us to be an aid not an obstacle. In the past we have so often propped up the corrupt regimes we now complain of and we have used Africa's need for financial help to gain commercial advantage for our businesses rather than to develop a level playing field.

But this campaign by ordinary people is changing the politics. Without it, would the rich countries really be doubling aid to Africa or cancelling debt on such a scale? Would Europe or America really be prepared to cut subsidies and trade barriers to let African agriculture and industry have a chance?

Our challenge will be to make sure that we keep up the pressure and stick with it. The sceptics say we will forget in a month. In Kingston and Richmond I don't think so.

Susan Kramer MP for Richmond Park

Climate change is in the headlines again, alongside green taxes and we are fast approaching a tipping point when radical action has to be taken to avert international disaster.

As I write this we are hearing about a major new report which says that the state of the planet, if left untackled, will lead to economic and human disasters as big as last centuries two s world war with displaced people and devastation of lhomes and land masses.

Al Gore , the former US Vice President ,is to be brought in by Gordon Brown to try to influence the American government following his compelling film An Inconvenient Truth.

Governments around the world need to change their ways just as we are all expected to change our individual behaviour in practical ways at home.

In two weeks time we expect a Climate Change Bill in the Queen's Speech. Let us hope it is more than mere warm words and that it will have annual targets so that we can see what the government is setting out to achieve.

Closer to home Richmond Council has been in the news with its proposals to introduce different levels of parking permits to take account of the amount of emissions that different cars produce. 4 X 4s are the top offenders and owners of these would pay the most.

Those with cars like the Honda Insight will pay no charge and Toyota Prius owners would get a 50 per cent reduction on the annual permit costs.

The proposal is out for consultation. I support the principles behind it and I would urge residents to respond.

Our Lib Dem council is clear where it wants to go but I have to wonder about the views of local Tory councillors who have attacked the plans while their colleagues in Parliament keep telling us they are now all green right down to their grass roots.

It is time to stand up and be counted, for governments, public bodies and individuals to come together and take actions that can prevent disaster on a global scale - time is short and actions must be bold

CHRISTMAS DEBT

MATERNITY SERVICES ARE VITAL

We are in the middle of a baby boom. Lots of expectant mothers across my constituency rely on the maternity services provided by Kingston Hospital.

That is why I welcome the recent announcement by the hospital board that midwives rather than consultants will take the lead under a major expansion of the maternity department.

An expansion of posts will create more than thirty new jobs expanding the current 114 already at the hospital.

This will allow for another 500 births a year - a 10 per cent increase.

I am all in favour of midwife- led births leaving the skills of the consultant obstericians to focus on pregnancies with complications.

This piece of good news is happening against a background of a national shortage of midwives.

A recent national survey shows that maternity centres across England are under pressure. 24 of the 39 units surveyed had to close for periods of 24 hours or more.

London is particularly hard hit with only a quarter of the capital's maternity units being able to set up meetings between expectant mums and midwives prior to the birth.

There is pressure nationally for the smaller midwife-led units to close.

We must get the government to see sense and to create the climate where more midwives are trained to reduce the national shortage of professionals so that more women have access to a first rate service for the birth of their child.

But surely pure humanity should be the deciding factor in a civilised society. How can government look at some of the most disturbed children and families in the country, recognise that they can be helped - and then walk away.