Author Topic: Guto Bebb MP  (Read 31054 times)

0 Members and 1 Guest are viewing this topic.

Offline Ian

  • Administrator
  • Posts: 8949
Guto Bebb MP
« on: March 09, 2012, 05:03:12 pm »
From the office of Guto:

An overview of February rather than a diary!
 
First of all my sincere apologies.  February was so hectic I failed to keep my diary.  I will try and make good my failure by giving a quick overview of my efforts over the past month;
9/2 to 19/2
 
The February recess started on the 9th and I managed a very busy week in the constituency catching-up with the workload on a local level.  In addition to meeting numerous individual constituents I undertook two constituency surgeries in Conwy and Penmaenmawr and did two public meetings in Penrhyn Bay and Llandudno.  I also managed a full morning in Capel Garmon looking at the proposals to re-open the White Horse.
On the 13th I went to Venue Cymru to see Yes Prime Minister which was excellent.  The audience was surprisingly numerous and it is a credit to the team at the Venue that a West End play can take a full week residence here in Llandudno during February.
 
Week Commencing 20th February
 
Back to Westminster and a very busy two weeks ahead of me.  The Welsh Select Committee Report on Inward Investment was published on the Monday to a very positive response from media outlets in Wales with the Western Mail highlighting an “important contribution” to the debate about the future of our economy.  The criticism of the performance of the Welsh Government on the economic issues facing Wales was severe but recognised as being fair.  Most important was the recommendations we made to rectify the position.  Will they be acted upon by the Welsh Government remains to be seen.
The 23rd saw the annual Conservative Parliamentary Party dinner which was a most enjoyable event with a star turn from Jacob Rees-Mogg who was very funny if not on message in his use of our Liberal Democrat colleagues as the recipients of most of his funniest comments.  The following morning I attended a strategy meeting for the Parliamentary Party where we were provided with extremely interesting insights into the current state of public opinion.  It is remarkable to note that two years into this government the opinion polls continue to show the Conservative Party at a higher level of support than what we achieved in 2010.  The highlight of the morning was the superb speech from Boris Johnson, the Mayor of London, who was as entertaining and enjoyable as always.
Following a dash across London and a train and car journey I was back in the constituency office in time to undertake a Friday afternoon surgery.
 
 
Week Commencing 27th February
 
After spending the morning in the constituency office it was down to London for another week.  I had a DL Committee at 4.30 which is a little know but often used procedure where statutory instruments or European legislation is passed into law.  On this occasion it was an obscure change to some Scottish legislation.
The 28th started early since I was hosting the Israeli Ambassador to the UK, Daniel Taub, at a breakfast reception.  The meeting was very well attended and since I was in the chair I decided to ask the first question.  Despite the numerous challenges facing Israel and the concerns about the Iranian nuclear threat Ambassador Taub was incredibly upbeat about the future.  From this meeting I headed to the Welsh Select Committee where we were continuing our investigation into services provided for ex-servicemen and women in Wales where we heard evidence from forces representatives.  Then it was to a meeting with a number of colleagues to prepare for a briefing session with the Foreign Secretary to discuss developments in the Middle-East.  Our aim was to ensure that the meeting was effectively planned in order to ensure that we made the best use of the time available to us on Thursday.
My next stop was the BBC studios in Millbank to respond to the Cuts Watch Wales report on the impact of the changes to the Welfare State in a Welsh context.  What a silly report.  Despite concluding that there was, and I quote, “a paucity of evidence”,  the authors conclude that the changes will have a significant impact upon Wales.  The fact that the BBC ran the report, despite such a health warning, as their main story tells you a lot about their political position and so-called neutrality.    My next meeting was with the Federation of Small Business national research team to discuss their proposals for a fuel duty stabiliser to deal with the growing pressure on rural communities and small business as a result of the high price of fuel.  The Treasury have responded to this issue with a reduction and freezing of duty equating to 10p per litre since May 2010.  However the pressure of high prices continues and as such the proposals from the FSB were undoubtedly interesting and worthy of consideration.
Following a quick lunch I then attended the APPG on Tourism in Wales of which I am a vice Chairman.  Our initial aim has been to address the VAT issue as it affects tourism in Wales with VAT rates here being 20% compared with lower rates on the hospitality sector in other parts of the European Union.  The good news is that the Treasury have now agreed to allow the British Hospitality Association to use the Treasury model to test their evidence that a reduction of VAT on accommodation from 20% to 5% will actually be revenue positive for the Treasury over a ten year period.  This is a major concession but we will need to keep up the pressure.  Before 5pm.  I also had a meeting with the Secretary of State for Wales and the team of Welsh Conservative MPs in anticipation of Welsh Questions.  After this meeting I had a feeling of relief.  Only two votes at ten and it would be the end of a rather hectic day!
 
The 29th kicked-off with another breakfast meeting – this time with the British Retail Consortium as part of my work with the All Party group on retailing.  The focus, as with the FSB yesterday, was very much on the forthcoming budget.  British retailers have had a very difficult few years and there were significant concerns highlighted about both the planning system and the operation of business rates.
 
Following a catch-up in the office I attended Welsh Questions and asked a question about the Cuts Watch Wales report before enjoying a lively session of PMQ’s.  At four in the afternoon I walked down Whitehall to attend the St. David’s Day reception at Downing Street.  It was a superb event not least due to the attendance of Sam Warburton and Warren Gatland.  However, I also managed to discuss double glazing windows in Llandudno and railway services from London with David Williams from the Hospitality Association.  The great work of the Llandudno Air Training Corps was the subject of a conversation between myself and Air. Commodore Dai Williams who is originally from Denbigh and the highest ranked Welsh speaker in the RAF whilst I also had a detailed conversation about the Common Agricultural Policy with the FUW and the impact of the VAT rate on small businesses with Iestyn Davies from the FSB in Wales.
 All in all an enjoyable and very useful event.   
       
St David’s Day was the busiest day of my week.  Following a meeting with the Foreign Secretary I made my way to the Chamber where I had a question to the Leader of the House.  Subsequently I spoke in a debate on the change from RPI to CPI in relation to the up rating of public sector pensions and managed to annoy the Labour members in attendance.  I was pleased to be able to point out in debate that the Labour Party had adopted the CPI measure in preference to RPI for their own staff.  Finally, despite being downgraded to a one line whip and as such witnessing most of my non-Welsh colleagues departing for their constituencies I stayed to contribute to the St. David’s Day debate where I delivered the final speech of the day.  I left the chamber at 6pm after a seven hour marathon and made my way across London to catch the train home.
 
2nd of March and to Dolwyddelan for 9.30am to celebrate Wales Tourism Week.  I was given a great introduction to what Dolwyddelan has to offer the tourist not least the three castles (yes, three!), hidden waterfall and historic church.  The proprietor of Elen’s Castle, Mrs. Hardy,  was very welcoming as was the team from Menter Siabod.  I left at 12.15 and drove to Bangor where I was a guest on a Radio Cymru’s ‘Dau o’r Bae’ - a review of the week in politics programme.  I then drove back to Conwy to hold a surgery which was well attended.
Getting home at 6.15 it was a case of a quick shower and back in the car with Esyllt to the Patrons dinner at Caerhun.  Whilst I was expected to say a few words I was delighted that the guest speakers were Gavin Williamson, a good friend of mine and the MP for South Staffordshire and Janet Finch-Saunders AM.  We had a great speech from Gavin and Janet gave an insightful commentary on the way in which the Welsh Government is failing Wales so badly.  The food was as good as always and I can only thank John and Rose once again for their hard work, god humour and kindness.
 
Nothing is so firmly believed as that which we least know.  ― Michel de Montaigne

Si hoc legere scis, nimis eruditionis habes.

Offline Ian

  • Administrator
  • Posts: 8949
Re: Guto Bebb MP
« Reply #1 on: March 12, 2012, 03:48:08 pm »
Please follow the link below to the headline article in yesterday's Sunday Telegraph which has broken the story of the mis-selling of sophisticated derivative products to small and medium sized businesses. Professor Dempster - Professor Emeritus at the University of Cambridge's Centre for Financial Research and an expert on derivatives is quoted as saying that "I think this could be at least the same size as PPI".  Making reference to the enormous scandal of the mis-selling of Payment Protection Insurance to consumers.
 
http://www.telegraph.co.uk/finance/newsbysector/banksandfinance/9135986/Bank-mis-selling-victims-from-the-chippy-to-the-small-hotel.html

The following link  will take you to the case study of the Llandudno Hotelier, Colin Jones and his experiences with RBS.

http://www.telegraph.co.uk/finance/newsbysector/banksandfinance/9135947/This-product-was-not-right-for-my-business.html

If you know of anyone in a similar situation, please ask them to make contact with Guto in confidence
Nothing is so firmly believed as that which we least know.  ― Michel de Montaigne

Si hoc legere scis, nimis eruditionis habes.


Offline Ian

  • Administrator
  • Posts: 8949
Re: Guto Bebb MP
« Reply #2 on: March 19, 2012, 11:05:18 am »
From Guto:

Monday 5th of March
Started the week facilitating a meeting between Conwy Council Corporate Director Ken Finch and coach and taxi operators in my constituency concerned about the mismanagement of the school transport contracts.  It would appear that since responsibility for this aspect of transport policy was given to Denbighshire relationships have broken down and spending is out of control with a reported overspend of £290,000 this year.  I can only hope that the meeting will harness the goodwill of the operators who desperately want a positive working relationship with Conwy and to provide a high quality value for money service to the taxpayer.
 
Arriving in London late afternoon I caught-up with some office work and read a number of papers in relation to credit swap default contracts before a meeting that I have organised on the issue with a specialist solicitor and Richard Fuller MP.  This has the potential to be a very big story.
 
Tuesday 6th of March
Meeting with Stuart Brothers, solicitors and Richard Fuller MP to discuss the way in which credit default swaps were sold to small businesses with heavy handed sales pitches describing the products as being similar to a ‘fixed rate mortgage’.  Significant number of complaints identified with Banks throwing everything at cases in order to try and avoid liability.  Where have the Financial Services Authority and the Financial Ombudsman Service been on this issue to date is a key question but I do feel that my hunch about two constituents being badly treated by their banks will be proved to have been correct.
 
Later in the afternoon I attended a meeting of the Silt Committee which is considering further reform of the Welsh Assembly.  Anybody with a view on this issue will need to provide evidence to influence their deliberations with written submissions welcomed in addition to attendance at a number of road shows that they will be holding across Wales.  From this meeting I went to the CAMRA reception to celebrate the Great British Pub and authentic British and Welsh beer.  It was great to meet with Ian Saunders of the Abercolwyn CAMRA branch who is now responsible for the CAMRA operation in the whole of Wales.  He kindly invited me to visit the Albion in Conwy to see the refurbishment for myself.
 
Wednesday 7th of March
A meeting with colleagues at 10am to discuss our recent meeting with William Hague at the Foreign Office before attending a seminar on family taxation.  The bias against single earner families continues to be a key aspect of our tax system which is very difficult to justify.  From this seminar it was on to PMQs for another weekly session of Punch and Judy for politicians.  I then had a meeting with the Holocaust Educational Trust to understand what they can offer to schools in Aberconwy which will build upon the work which is currently being done in the constituency as part of Holocaust Memorial Week.
 
I was then engaged in a dash across London to catch a train to Cardiff.  In addition to a committee meeting tomorrow morning I had organised a number of meetings with key Assembly Members and the Deputy presiding Officer.  Whether you like the Assembly or not what is apparent is that Members of Parliament and Assembly Members need to work together – it is Wales and our constituents that will suffer if we do not.  All my meetings were very positive and I feel that my working relationship with Assembly Members will improve as a result of simply talking to each other.
 
 
 
Thursday 8th of March   
My positive comments about working together were shown to be optimistic this morning when a joint meeting of the Economy Committee of the Assembly and the welsh Affairs Committee from Westminster was rendered a farce when Edwina Hart AM, Minister for the economy within the Welsh Government, refused to allow her officials to give evidence.  This was despite the fact that officials from the Department of Transport had travelled specifically to Cardiff in order to give evidence even though the did not have to do so.  Silly gesture politics by a woman who is tasked with rectifying the economic under performance of Wales.
 
Following the committee meeting I had a meeting with the Andrew RT Davies AM the new Conservative Assembly Leader before heading back to London in time to vote.  Then it was off to Downing Street to pre-dinner drinks with the PM before heading with some colleagues to a restaurant.  The PM was supposed to have joined us but in view of the tragic outcome of the raid undertaken to try and release a British and Italian hostage in Nigeria.  Under the circumstances I was very impressed by his decision to invite myself and several colleagues to his family home above 11 Downing Street.
 
Friday 9th of March
Early train and back to the constituency in time to undertake my weekly surgery.  Not as busy as usual today with only three appointments.  I then did a short interview for Radio Wales and Wales Today before heading to the refurbished Albion Public House in Conwy to meet the local CAMRA team.  All four local brewers have a stake in the Albion and I felt as if I was going back in time to a traditional local.  My grandfather lived in Upper Gate Street in the late 1930’s and early 1940’s and the Albion would have been his local.  He would have felt at home with a real fire, good beer and no music!
 
Saturday 10th of March
A Welsh victory in the rugby setting-up an opportunity for the Grand Slam.  Not a great performance but the right result.  I watched the game with the twins and Tomos the cat and we were all suitably exited!
 
Sunday 11th of March
I was delighted today to see the Sunday telegraph run a three page feature on the issue of credit swap defaults focusing on two cases which I have been closely involved with.  This is a huge scandal and will, in my view, result in numerous businesses being compensated for sales practices which simply cannot be defended.       
Nothing is so firmly believed as that which we least know.  ― Michel de Montaigne

Si hoc legere scis, nimis eruditionis habes.

Offline DaveR

  • Administrator
  • Posts: 13712
Re: Guto Bebb MP
« Reply #3 on: March 19, 2012, 11:09:52 am »
What is he doing about the Pier Pavilion site?

Offline Yorkie

  • Member
  • Posts: 5255
Re: Guto Bebb MP
« Reply #4 on: March 19, 2012, 11:30:47 am »
What is he doing about the Pier Pavilion site?

He had set aside some time on Saturday but unfortunately the Rugby got in the way!    ZXZ
Wise men have something to say.
Fools have to say something.
Cicero

Offline Ian

  • Administrator
  • Posts: 8949
Re: Guto Bebb MP
« Reply #5 on: April 03, 2012, 10:44:47 am »
From GB:

Monday 19th
An earlier than usual start this week since I have been invited by the British Association of Leisure Parks, Piers and Attractions to attend their annual lunch.  I have worked with the group, not least Tim Bastion from Llandudno, in order to try and mitigate the changes proposed by the Treasury in relation to the way in which gaming machines are taxed and managed a meeting with a Treasury Minister to argue the case some four months ago.  We shall see on Wednesday whether the Treasury have been sympathetic.  It was also good to catch-up with Cllr. William Knightly, leader of the Conservative Group on Conwy Council who attended the event in his professional capacity.
 
Following a stint in the Chamber it was a case of dealing with paperwork until we voted later that evening.  I am almost on top of things which is a relief!
 
Tuesday 20th
The first meeting of the day was with Tesco but not in relation to the proposals for Llanrwst I hasten to add.  I wanted to see how they interact with the food supply chain and as a result of this meeting I expect to visit their Welsh supply chain and their Dairy Herd Research Centre in the near future.
 
At 10.30 I witnessed the pomp and ceremony of the visit to Westminster Hall of the Queen.  The Speaker made what can fairly be described as an interesting speech which did not go down well with the Prime Minister if later TV pictures are to be believed!  I then proceeded to a meeting with the Israeli Deputy Prime Minister, Dan Meridor.  What an interesting man and such a varied career.  He made one interesting remark which is worth further consideration.  All states in the Middle East assume that Israel has a nuclear capacity although this has never been confirmed.  Despite this fact countries such as Saudi Arabia, Turkey and Egypt have not developed their own nuclear capacity.  Is it not revealing that now, with Iran on the verge of becoming a nuclear power all three countries have stated that they would also aim to join the nuclear club.  They never made such a comment in relation to the Israeli capacity which indicates a level of trust not often associated with the relationship between Israel and her regional neighbours.
 
At four I attended the newly formed APPG on the Media in Wales and subsequently attended a meeting of the 301 group.  With the budget expected tomorrow it was a quiet day in the Chamber and once I had voted in the final division I was happy to head home around 10.15pm.
 
Wednesday 21st
An early start this morning to do a Radio Wales pre Budget interview.  As I was waiting for the studio to become free Michael Burke wandered into the reception in a pair of tracksuit bottoms before advising me that I should read the Guardian with a pinch of salt.  I should stress that I was simply doing my research on the Labour Party position!
 
I managed to get a PMQ today and was fortunate enough to be able to give Blind Veterans UK (formerly St Dunstan’s) some publicity.  The Prime Minister responded very well and made some generous comments in passing about Llandudno.  The Budget was a very odd affair.  The content was very good, especially for businesses but was there anything apart from the freezing of the age allowances which we did not already know?  The pre budget leaks have been very damaging in my view allowing the media to concentrate the evening news on the so called ‘granny tax’.  Poor politics.
 
I did the main S4C evening news live from College Green where the key issues thrown at me were the comments made by the Chancellor about regional pay and the now infamous ‘granny tax’.  I am less than happy with the Treasury submission to the Pay Review Bodies on the issue of regional pay and despair of those who use the so called 18% differential as a political battering ram.  That figure is based upon simply averaging wages within the public and private sector.  There are differentials but basing your arguments on a figure that compares apples with pears is not indicative of a desire to do what is right.  In my opinion, this issue will run for much longer than the changes to the ‘age allowance’ .
 
I caught the 9.07 train from Euston and was home around half past midnight.  The paper reviews on the Radio as I was driving from the station were pretty depressing.
 
Friday 23rd March
A very full day in the constituency including a surgery in Dolwyddelan, Betws y Coed and Capel Curing with a  total of thirteen appointments.  I thoroughly enjoyed myself before accepting an invite from the FUW for a quick pint of local real ale at the Tyn y Coed Hotel in Capel Curig.  I drove home through the vast empty acres of Dyffryn Mymbyr (all in the Aberconwy Constituency) almost gasping at the beauty and splendour of Snowdonia on a fine early spring evening.
 
Saturday 24th March
The double glazing meeting at the Imperial went well with some 35 businesses in attendance.  It was, under the circumstances, a remarkably positive meeting with many of the speakers stating their desire to work constructively with the Local Authority if Conwy are willing to come to the table.
 
Sunday 25th March
I attended the Conservative Rally today at St. Asaph.  There was a good turnout and it was great to see so many candidates and councillors from Conwy in attendance.  David Jones gave a good speech before heading down south whilst I did interviews for the BBC, ITV Wales and S4C.  Unlike Wednesday when I was dealing with two controversial issues, today it was three issues since the Peter Cruddas affair was exciting the media in terms of ‘cash for access’.
 
 Not a great week for the Conservative Party but it should be noted that the activists were positive, looking forward to the Council Elections and reporting a positive response from canvassing despite all the negative headlines of the past few days.
Nothing is so firmly believed as that which we least know.  ― Michel de Montaigne

Si hoc legere scis, nimis eruditionis habes.

Offline DaveR

  • Administrator
  • Posts: 13712
Re: Guto Bebb MP
« Reply #6 on: April 03, 2012, 10:51:48 am »
From GB:

Monday 19th
An earlier than usual start this week since I have been invited by the British Association of Leisure Parks, Piers and Attractions to attend their annual lunch.  I have worked with the group, not least Tim Bastion from Llandudno
He obviously hasn't worked that closely with him, since his name is Tim Batstone, of HB Leisure.  ;)

Offline Ian

  • Administrator
  • Posts: 8949
Re: Guto Bebb MP
« Reply #7 on: June 08, 2012, 03:55:27 pm »
From Guto Bebb:

Thematic Overview - Easter to Whitsun
 
The Budget
 
I really do not have an excuse.  Following a very busy period up to the Easter recess the period between Easter and Whitsun has been bitty, messy and less than enjoyable from a backbench perspective – and that is before I start discussing the budget!
 
However, my office team say that some people do read my weekly diary thus I am going to start again with a diary piece about the Whitsun recess and then back to normal service with a weekly diary up until August.  At that point I might revert to the useless service of the past two months – but maybe not.  Before embarking on the diary though I want to share my thoughts on the past ten or twelve weeks on the basis of three or four themes such as the budget, local elections, my increasing workload on the back of what I would now describe as the mis-selling of interest swap products to small businesses and issues of a general interest which have arisen in the constituency.
 
There is only one place to start though – the budget.  Seldom has a budget been so thoroughly leaked and subsequently trashed as the budget presented by the Treasury team in late March.  As I write we have witnessed a week where three of the key VAT and tax changes proposed have been reversed.  This is on top of a number of other reversals which have been announced since the budget was presented.  I would not be surprised if more changes were made before the final budget motions are presented to the House before the summer.
 
So what went wrong?  At heart this was a good budget for businesses and also a significant reduction to the tax burden for most low and middle income taxpayers.  The reduction in Corporation Tax rates should be welcomed if we want a competitive UK and the increased Personal Allowances are great news for Sole Traders and Partnerships.  At the next General Election I will be able to tell a myriad of small businesses in Aberconwy who are structured as husband and wife partnerships that they can make a profit of £20,000 before paying a penny of income tax – that is good news.  However, these business friendly changes were not what made the news – probably because they were leaked for days in advance.  No, what made the news were the significant VAT changes and the rather unfortunate timing of the freezing of the age allowance and the reduction of the top rate of income tax.
Taking the Age Allowance and the Higher Rate of Tax first,  I find myself in a quandary.  I am an ardent believer in the often repeated call to arms that Nigel Lawson utilised when he was Chancellor of the Exchequer; “taxes should be low and should be paid”.  I remember well the decision taken by Lawson in 1988 (or was it 1989?) to reduce the highest rate of tax from 60% to 40% in one go.  That was a phenomenal tax cut and as a committed student socialist I found the decision to make rich people significantly richer to be repugnant.  How wrong I was.  Churchill famously said that if you were not a socialist at twenty you did not have a heart but if you were not a Conservative by thirty then you did not have a head.  Well, it took me significantly less than ten years to see the error of my thinking as a student.
 
My father was a Chartered Accountant and I worked with him for two enjoyable years coming to the conclusion that whilst it was an important and interesting job,  it was not for me.  What stayed with me was the simple fact that the taxes paid by those paying the highest rate of tax at 40% was actually significantly higher than that which the same group had been paying when the tax rate was 60%.  In other words the Lawson tax change made rich people richer but also made the state better off with higher tax yields and thus more public spending.  This was accounted for in two ways;
 
1)    Tax planning was made more difficult as the system was simplified and with the top rate of tax at 40% the justification for avoidance was significantly less than at 60%.
2)    People worked harder because they reaped more of the reward.  Thus productivity amongst the wealth generators of the UK improved significantly.
 
Now then, you may ask – why the history lesson?
 
In my view, we did need to reduce the top rate of tax but from 50% to 45% is half hearted and leaves us with no competitive advantage when compared with EU competitors once you have included the 2% National Insurance that also has to be paid.  We should have had the courage to say that 50% was a temporary tax, a barrier to growth and had to go.  Will we be able to reduce the 45% to 40% before the General Election?  I suspect not in view of the past few weeks.
 
 
As for the Age Allowance being frozen – in principle the reason for this decision makes sense.  The personal allowance enjoyed by all of us has increased dramatically and will continue to increase until the level of £10,000 is achieved and even surpassed.  Under these circumstances the simplification that comes with a single allowance for all is a goal that we should aim for.  The financial loss for those who have seen their Age Allowance frozen is around £83 per year although those hoping to benefit from it in the near future will be left on the Personal Allowance and for them the tax loss will be in excess of £250.
 
These sums are not huge and in view of the complexity of withdrawal rates for those eligible for age allowances but with an income in excess of £26,000 it could be argued that the goal of tax simplification will save more in avoided accountants’ bills than in a tax advantage foregone.  However, that is not how people have seen the change.  The missing ingredient from this Budget as far as tax changes are concerned was political calculation.  Reducing the higher rate of tax is a policy I support but I would have been more radical.  A single Personal Allowance for all,  equal to the current Age Allowance is an aspiration that I support.  To introduce both measures in the same Budget was inviting a storm of headlines claiming that a tax grab on poor pensioners was funding the tax reduction for higher rate tax payers.  It was politically inept.
 
The word inept brings me on to the myriad VAT changes announced and subsequently changed in the budget.  You know what I mean, the tax on churches, pies, caravans, energy drinks and other odds and ends aiming to simplify our good friend Value Added Tax.  Now I would be the first to argue that VAT needs to be simplified.  A tax system that classifies Pringles as cakes thus subject to VAT at 0% whilst other crisps are taxed at 20% is clearly in need of streamlining (Pringles have a less than 40% potato content and so much artificial ingredients that anybody reading the VAT case in question would never eat them again even if they do come with no VAT attached).
 
The problem arose because the mandarins had not done their homework.  The definition of when a pie would be taxed and when not was plain silly with every chance that a pie served at the same temperature in summer and winter would have a different rate of VAT!  In the case of the proposed 20% VAT on static caravans there was a clear underestimate of the number of businesses that would be affected – not least in an area such as the North Wales Coast.  There was also a real doubt, on the basis of statements made to the House of Commons in 1973, whether the so called anomaly was anything of the kind.
 
When I was selected by the Conwy Conservative Association in 2004 and re-selected by the Aberconwy Conservative Association in 2007 I was asked the same question.  If a conflict arose between what was right for my constituency and what the Conservative Government wanted to do what would be my course of action.  Between the budget and the U-turn last week I hope that my course of action was exactly as promised.
 
I highlighted my concerns with Ministers and the Whips.  I went on a delegation to the Treasury to argue our case against the proposal.  I met the Chancellor and agreed to abstain rather than vote against the Government when the consultation process was extended.  I contacted all relevant businesses to ask them to contribute to the consultation.  I co-signed a joint response to the consultation with other Conservative MPs.  I attended a debate in the House to highlight our key concerns and surprisingly I was the only member from North Wales in the chamber.  In effect, I and many colleagues made a nuisance of ourselves, argued our case and ultimately won an agreement to introduce a much lower rate of VAT on static caravans which the industry can live with and threatens few,  if any jobs,  as compared to the original proposals.
 
Some colleagues argued that we should, at a time when the Government was in trouble, present a united front.  In my view that is not the role of a backbencher.  Yes I want to support my Government but I want to do so on the basis of good policies that are right for the UK, right for Wales and right for Aberconwy.  Not enough of this budget met that criteria and under those circumstances I would much rather the publicity that comes with a U-turn than the years of frustration that would have followed the imposition of an ill-judged policy.  The best thing about the change though is that again it shows that backbench Members of Parliament are not just voting fodder.
 
Apart from the above the Budget contained much that I liked!       
 
 
Guto           
Nothing is so firmly believed as that which we least know.  ― Michel de Montaigne

Si hoc legere scis, nimis eruditionis habes.

Offline Quiggs

  • Ad Free Member
  • *
  • Posts: 497
Re: Guto Bebb MP
« Reply #8 on: June 08, 2012, 07:02:18 pm »
if this CONservative government makes many more 'U' turns, it's in danger of disappearing up it's own orifice.  :D
Dictum Meum Pactum

Offline Merddin Emrys

  • Ad Free Member
  • *
  • Posts: 4426
Re: Guto Bebb MP
« Reply #9 on: June 08, 2012, 07:12:22 pm »
The problem is that it is a coalition government, bound to be tricky!
A pigeon is for life not just Christmas

Offline DaveR

  • Administrator
  • Posts: 13712
Re: Guto Bebb MP
« Reply #10 on: June 08, 2012, 07:26:19 pm »
I wish he would get more involved on local issues. What's his position on the Pier Pavilion site, what efforts has he made to break the deadlock with it etc etc. It's local issues like that that will win him the next election, not waffling on about VAT on pasties...

Offline Ian

  • Administrator
  • Posts: 8949
Re: Guto Bebb MP
« Reply #11 on: June 11, 2012, 05:04:09 pm »
From the office of Guto Bebb:

Despite Conwy being a target council for the Welsh Conservative Party I had my doubts as to whether we would be able to jump from 18 councillors to the 30 needed for overall control.  Nevertheless I did feel at the start of the year that a comeback of sorts was on the cards and expected us to win the 22 we managed in 2008 and, if we were lucky, possibly two or three other seats.
 
It was not to be.  By the time the Prime Minister came to Llandudno Town Hall to launch the Welsh Conservatives local election campaign I was aware of the fact that we were in a defensive fight.  Since the Budget candidates in the Aberconwy constituency had been reporting back to me that the biggest issue on the doorstep was the so called pensioner tax – the freezing of the age related personal allowances for those of retirement age.
 
Throughout the Easter Holidays and on weekends after going back to Westminster I campaigned in all of our Aberconwy target wards and also supported candidates in Clwyd West.  David Jones did the same in Aberconwy since our aim was to sell a “Team Conwy”, to the electorate.  In my view we had a strong story to tell;
 
We wanted to use the cash allocated to the Welsh Government to freeze council tax to do just that.  All the other parties disagreed.

We wanted to highlight the significant above inflation council tax increases that had been implemented by the ‘Anybody but Welsh Conservatives’ coalition at Conwy Council since 2008.

We wanted to highlight the good governance and accountability of Welsh Conservative controlled councils such as Monmouthshire and the Vale of Glamorgan.  In the later all council spending above £100 was being published whilst at the former all expenditure over £1 was published.  That is what I call transparency and open government – advocated by many,  but delivered by Welsh Conservative Councils.


Despite the failure of the Welsh Government to pass on the money allocated for a Council Tax freeze a council such as Monmouth had frozen their local council tax whilst maintaining high quality and customer focused services.
Finally, we wanted to highlight the fact that the only party to have consistently opposed the Local Development Plan for Conwy, a plan based on central assumptions about population growth which would result in some 6,500 new houses, was the Conservative Group.
On all five counts we failed and not just here in Conwy – we were actually a rather decent result in comparison.  In Monmouthshire we lost overall control of the council whilst in the Vale of Glamorgan we lost over half our seats.  Throughout Wales the party went backwards and we lost some 60 seats.  I fail to comprehend the official party position that stated that this was the second best local election performance by the Welsh Conservative Party since 1996.  When you fall from having one councillor for every two that Labour has in Wales in 2008 to having one for every 5.7 in 2012 then you have had a very poor result.  Sometimes the truth is needed more than political spin!
 
The sad fact is that it was to a significant extent a “made in Westminster” failure.  Despite a strong message in Wales of success and innovation the party was punished for weeks of confusion and lack of clarity that followed the Budget.  This fact should not be ignored, hidden or denied.
 
In Conwy we probably did do better than the Welsh result falling from 18 to 13 seats.  In Aberconwy we held on to three seats, lost two and gained one leaving us with one less than on the day the election was called.  Clwyd West did marginally worse losing a net four councillors.  The good news in Aberconwy was the election of two youngish councillors in Paul Roberts at Caerhun and Sam Cotton in Deganwy.  Frank Bradfield maintained our seat at Craig y Don whilst Janet Howarth kept one of our two seats in the Gogarth Ward.  It was a real shame to see Gail Hall lose in Dwygyfylchi and that was, in many ways as a direct result of the LDP issue.  This is worth further discussion.
 
There is no doubt in my mind that the vast majority of those who voted in these local elections did so on the basis of national issues.  Some very deserving candidates lost as a result and some rather undeserving candidates won.  This is not a statement just about Conwy but applies to Wales and the rest of the UK.  However, if there was one local issue that did generate some it was the LDP.  Did it change votes though?
 
In Craig y Don we saw the re-election of Gareth Jones as a Councillor.  If there was one ward in Llandudno where the LDP was a big issue then it was Craig y Don and yet a man who is seen as a leading player in Plaid was elected despite the fact that Plaid Cymru led Conwy Council throughout the discussions and attempted compromises over the LDP.  Despite having only one vote for every three won by the Welsh Conservatives in Conwy in May they continue to lead the Council.
 
Why and how a senior member of a party that had advocated the building of 6,800 houses in Conwy was elected to a ward which on May the 3rd had two very sensitive development sites within it is a mystery.  When the LDP came before the Council in late May Gareth was absent and I must give him the benefit of the doubt as to his reasons.  However, all but one of the Plaid Councillors supported the LDP which included Bodafon fields as a possible development site.
 
In Glan Conwy,  Dan Worsley, a doughty and long standing opponent of the LDP was defeated by part of the Conwy Council establishment, Graham Rees.  I have no doubt about the integrity or commitment shown by Mr Rees to his ward over many years but when the developers see the opportunities presented by the LDP in this village what can a councillor who voted for the LDP do.  Not much I suspect.
 
The same ‘nimby’ attitude was apparent throughout the election campaign.  I lost count of the number of candidates who opposed sites within the LDP which were in their wards having dutifully voted for the LDP in the past and doing so again on the 30th of May 2012.  I always thought that once elected a councillor had a duty to all the residents of the Borough and not just their own wards.  However, this appears not to be the case with Councillor after Councillor voting for the LDP whilst recording an objection to a particular site.  That is in my view an abdication of duty. “ No” to the destruction of a green field in your own ward but “Yes” to similar destruction in other areas – all on the basis of baseline figures produced in Cardiff.  So much for a local development plan!
 
The sad fact of the matter is that we had an important council election decided not on council issues but on Westminster policy failures.  We had the only key local decision relegated to a ‘nimby’ parade with councillors of all political persuasions supporting a flawed policy as long as it did not impact their own wards.
 
I am proud to say that the 13 Welsh Conservatives stuck to their principles.  A Local Development Plan should be based on a plan that integrates the needs of the communities and the economy of Conwy.  They all voted “No”.  The Welsh Conservative Party might be persona non grata in Conwy with all the other parties including the independent party (they are a party – why else take a whip and have a leader?!) working together to control the council. 
 
However, the message from 2012 is that for a change of direction in Conwy we will need a favourable national position as a backdrop and not the ill-judged six weeks suffered between the Budget and the election.  It is a sad fact but the Local Elections of 2012 indicate that winning an election on the basis of the performance of an individual Council is almost impossible.  The Councils that changed hands in May did so with no regard to their performance over the past four years.  If they were Conservative led or Liberal led they fell because the Budget was so poorly planned and executed.   
 
I find this to be most depressing.  What is the point of local democracy if accountability is not part of the equation?  In 2012 being of the wrong political persuasion resulted in almost certain defeat even if your track record was superb – that is not accountability but it is the basis for councillors and councils to increasingly ignore people and communities.  After all, doing well or badly in your job makes no difference if your party is in power at Westminster and having a poor couple of months so why try?  It would appear that we get the democracy that we deserve.     
Nothing is so firmly believed as that which we least know.  ― Michel de Montaigne

Si hoc legere scis, nimis eruditionis habes.

Offline Ian

  • Administrator
  • Posts: 8949
Re: Guto Bebb MP
« Reply #12 on: August 07, 2012, 12:09:21 pm »
From GB's office:
Day one in America - 22nd July
I was very fortunate to be chosen as one of six MPs to visit Washington DC, Pennsylvania and Boston as guests of the US State Department.  I was even luckier that my wife agreed that I could go during the first ten days of the summer recess!

Following a seven hour flight we landed in Virginia on a humid evening before being driven to Washington.  Despite being 11pm in the UK we had a dinner engagement that evening with Jason Isaacson from the American Jewish Committee.  Over dinner we enjoyed a thrilling insight into the state of US relations with Israel and other states in the middle east before discussing the forthcoming election for President.

Whilst the view from Jason was that Obama should be able to defeat the Republican challenge such an outcome was by no means certain.  A key issue creating some questions in relation to the Obama re-election campaign was the fact that this campaign would see both sides spend comfortably above the $1billion mark for both candidates for the first time in history!  To think that the last UK General Election cost a grand total of £55million!

 I got to bed quite early, around 11pm but of course on reflection that was 4am in the UK.  With an 8am start tomorrow morning I think I made the right choice despite some colleagues heading for the roof top bar!

My second day - 23rd July

What a busy and interesting day and it is only 5.30pm.

Our first appointment was at the Meridian International Centre located in an old and grand mansion that witnessed the meeting between the Chief of Staff of the French military and the US military when the United States decided to enter the First World War.

Following an overview of our nine day programme, we were given a superb presentation into the strengths and weaknesses of the US federal system.  Our speaker was Dr. Jeremy Mayer from George Mason University who gave a fascinating overview of how the three branches of the US government work and the relationship between the federal level and the states.  He was both incredibly insightful and very funny with a two hour presentation over far too quickly.

 I suspect that the main message is that the system is a mess but it seems to work and the American people like it!  As a country founded on the rejection of government, the whole system created over two centuries but based on a simple constitution amended on only 27 occassions, appears designed to ensure that no part of government is able to trump any other.  The only challenge to this over the past fifty years has been the growth of the US military as a result of World War Two and the Cold War.  Since the President is accountable for the military,  the growth in the armed forces has created a similar growth in Presidential power.

From this meeting we went for lunch with Ambassador Tim Roemer who was a former congressman and for three years, the US ambassador to India.  The discussion was wide ranging but focused strongly on trade, business opportunities in Asia, energy security and the population explosion predicted for the US.  A fascinating insight and another prediction for a narrow Obama win in November.

Our next meeting was at the State Department to meet the Chief of the European desk.  I asked her for three reasons why we should be optimistic about the future  of the eurozone but she gave me none despite stating that the US considered the survival of the euro to be essential.  I was also fascinated by her interest in Scottish Affairs.  Suffice to say that the State Department is taking the possible break-up of the UK seriously.

I am now off to Congress to meet the British Caucus group on Capitol Hill.  I will report back!

This evening we had a reception on Capitol Hill hosted by the British Caucus in Congress.  This group have more than 100 members which is pretty good in the context of 435 members of congress and 100 senators.

The Congress building and surrounding complex is special.  It is remarkable to consider the extent of the confidence that was expressed by a young nation when buildings of the size and quality of the Senate, House of Representatives and the Supreme Court were built.  Diplomats and other foreign visitors in the 19th century could not have failed to be impressed by the ambition of the new nation expressed by such a scale of construction.
The meeting went well with a number of Congressmen and women in attendance.  I met my own pair, Congressman Charles Dent of the 15th District of Pennsylvania with whom I will spend four days from Thursday afternoon.  A Republican,  first elected in 2004,  Congressman Dent has Bryn Mawr University in his patch -   (proof that whether the Welsh people emigrated to the US or remained in Wales we were committed to building Universities be they Aberystwyth or Bangor in Wales) - built with subscriptions from the workers, or an University such as Bryn Mawr in the New World.

Other Congress members worthy of mention were Congresswoman Nan Hayworth from the 19th District of New York State who has not only holidayed in Llandudno but also managed to spell  the name correctly in front of her Chief of Staff.  That claim to fame was trumped by Congressman Ben Chandler from the Sixth District of Kentucky who has visited Conwy Castle and almost evert other castle you care to mention in Wales.  I also enjoyed a good discussion with Congressman Robert B Aderholt from the Fourth District of Alabama.

In all it was a great event and an indication once more of the warmth of the relationship between the US and the UK.  Spare a thought though for Muffy Day, Chief of Staff to Congressman John Campbell from the 40th District of California.  Recently married her husband is treating her to her first Spurs game as the North London team tour the US.  How misguided can you be?  A football (sorry, soccer) supporter in the US is a rare thing but to be a Spurs supporter and take your new wife to the match is verging on the bizzare!  To cap it all Gareth Bale is not playing due to injury.

Visit to the British Embassy in Washington - 24th July

Our first engagement this morning was at the British Embassy to meet our Ambassador, Sir Peter Westmacott.  What a superb building!  Built in the late 1920's it is an elegant and impressive house which has welcomed every British Prime Minister who has visited the US.  The main staircase has huge portraits of King George III and his wife, "the last King and Queen of America" as the Ambassador stated supressing a smile.  I do hope that the Americans enjoy our sense of humour!



Our meeting concentrated on economic prospects for the US, the view from Washington of the Eurozone crisis, and update on defence matters and a very interesting insight into the presidential race as it stands.  There is little doubt that whilst Obama is the favourite he remains very vulnerable to a downturn in the economy and with 10 year yields in Spain hitting an unsustainable 7.6% it might be contagion from Europe that decides the future of the US President.  We shall see.



Our second engagement today was at the Department of Defence in the Pentagon.  The size of the complex is beyond what you would have expected even from TV pictures.  Bult in 1941 the Pentagon is still the largest low rise office building in the world and walking around the outside walls is a mile long journey.  There are no fewer than 24,000 staff in the Pentagon at any one time.

Our first stop was the memorial to the 183 people killed on 9/11 when the third plane hit the building.  All 59 on the plane were killed and a further 124 staff at the Pentagon.  It would have been worse if it was not for the fact that the Pentagon has been slowly rebuilt due to concrete cancer (a sixteen year process) and the plane hit a rebuilt part of the building which had new steel reinforcements.  Otherwise the damage and loss of life would have been much worse.

The memorial was simple but effective and to be there with a group of American schoolchildren was quite moving.

Our meetings with the Department of Defence staff concentrated on NATO and European defence capacity.  The news was not good.  We claim in Europe to not want the US to be the world policeman but increasingly only the US has the capacity to deliver any reasonable level of engagement at a military level.  Cuts over twenty years across NATO have left many member countries with little or no capacity to act.  Even what was done in Libya could only be delivered now by the US due to downgraded capacity in France, Belgium, Denmark and the UK. As a final point it should be noted that US Federal Government spend on defence is some $750billion per year.  That is a figure that is confortably greater than the entire annual budget of the  UK.

Following our visit to the Department of Defence we has an appointment at the Congressional Budget Office (CBO) to learn about this organisation and their work for Congress.  Meeting the Deputy Director, Bob Sunshine, we were all impressed with the fact that the CBO has a responsibility to put a price on proposed legislation before such legislation is enacted.  Simple but effective.

Both main parties support the CBO fully and thus there is a degree of transparency to the legislative process which is not always available in the UK.  I was impressed and the example reports that we were provided with does show how useful a tool this office could be for an MP wishing to understand the financial consequences of decisions.

From the discussions we had on the bus back to the hotel it would appear to me that there was a cross party consensus that this was a type of organisation which could and should be developed within the UK.

My evening appointment was a private dinner with the Chief Executive Officer of the National Association of Convenience Stores (NACS).  Representing thousands of small, medium and large chains of retailers across the US and other parts of the world,  NACS members in the US employ 1.9million staff and account for 82% of all petrol retail sales.  They also have a significant percentage of the beverage, cold food and tobacco market.  I was fascinated to learn how NACS manage to represent all retailers regardless of their size and found the explanations of the ways in which retailers had changed in order to survive to be fascinating.

I got back to my hotel tired but enthused by the amount of information I had been privileged to share with experts in their own fields today.  This trip is developing into an incredibly useful learning experience and it is only Tuesday - a full week to go!

Wednesday 25th July 2012 - Washington

An 8.15 start this morning in order to visit the Government Accountability Office who are responsible for auditing government programmes.  They can be compared with the National Audit Office in the UK in terms of what they do.  In view of my background in economic development I was very interested in the fact that they chose to use their work on government economic support programmes as a case study for our group.  When the words 'duplication of effort', 'confusion', 'lack of effective targetting' and 'no focus' were used I could have sworn that I was back in Wales!  Those are exactly my view of the business support structure operating in Wales as things stand.  An useful meeting.

Following this we split into groups to follow our specific interests.  Nadhim Zahawi and myself had requested a meeting with the officials of the Senate Committee that found HSBC Bank guilty of money laundering.  In less than 36 hours our hosts arranged a meeting for us with the Chief Counsel of the Committee, her deputy and three interns who worked on the research that showed HSBC to have acted as a conduit for money laundering in Mexico and through a subsidiary in Japan, the Russian underworld.

This was a sobering and depressing meeting.  When you hear directly from the Chief Counsel to Senator Levin, the Chairman of the Pernament Senate Committee on Investigation, that the City of London is 'dirty' and second only to Paris in terms of corrupt behaviour then I for one take notice.  A major institution based in the UK is the subject of a hugely critical report entitled "US Vulnerabilities to Money Laundering, Drugs and Terrorist Financing.  HSBC - A Case History" - this is a shameful state of affairs.

To finish on this,  it is important to note that all this work (a massive report which utilised 1.4million documents) was undertaken by a team of nine staff and a similar number of interns.  Our Select Committee structure needs to have similar ambitions since we do have the resources.

After lunch Nadhim and I met with three Congressmen, two Republicans and one Democrat.  Our first meeting was with Congressman James Cooper from Tenessee, who sits on the Armed Services Committee.  He gave as further insight into the proposed reductions in US defence spending.  We then met Congressman Mario Diaz-Balart, a nephew of Fidel Castro and a staunch republican.  A great meeting with a positive upbeat message about what the US can and should do to get going again as an economic powerhouse.  I think that we will hear more from this man.  Our final meeting was with Congressman Lee Terry from Nebraska to discuss farming and energy policy.  He had just returned from a briefing on options for the Nuclear Industry within the United States which was useful for myself as a North Wales MP.  The message on farming was that prices and markets had been improving but were now under threat due to a lack of rain in the mid west which was now increasing the price of feed and thus reducing profitability for meat and dairy farmers.  Congressman Terry also felt that the emphasis on bio-fuel was distorting the market.

The final event of a very busy day was dinner at the home of Ms. Alma Candelaria who leads the efforts of the State Department in relation to these type of visits.  She had very kindly invited her neighbours to join with us and thus we were sitting down with college students, teachers, engineers and office workers to discuss how real life in the US is at this point in time.  It was great!
Nothing is so firmly believed as that which we least know.  ― Michel de Montaigne

Si hoc legere scis, nimis eruditionis habes.

Offline Llechwedd

  • Member
  • Posts: 470
  • Sixer
Re: Guto Bebb MP
« Reply #13 on: August 07, 2012, 12:52:04 pm »
Is he our MP?  Who is paying for the US jolly and why?

Offline Ian

  • Administrator
  • Posts: 8949
Re: Guto Bebb MP
« Reply #14 on: August 24, 2012, 04:11:41 pm »
More From GB's office:

Back from the States I decided to keep the diary going for another two weeks in order to provide a response to the question – why do Members of Parliament have such long holidays.  Well I do hope that offering a flavour of two weeks in the recess will offer some proof that for many of us the recess period is a crucial opportunity to engage fully with issues in the constituency.

1st August

Despite keeping up to speed with my e-mails whilst away (thank you new technology) the train journey from London was a good opportunity to get on top of everything before getting back into the office tomorrow.  I knew I was back in Wales when the signs on the A55 mentioned significant traffic jams both west and east of Abergwyngregyn due to an overturned lorry.  Thanks to Radio Cymru I was informed that the road was clear and despite all the warnings from my office I managed to get through and home with no problems.  However, I now know what will be on my agenda first thing tomorrow.

2nd August

My first engagement this morning was to name a bus!  Yes, you read correctly, I was naming a bus in memory of my uncle, Dewi Bebb, the first North Walian to have played international rugby for Wales.  A Bangor boy, Dewi was fortunate to do his National Service with the Royal Marines (chosen as a result of seeing the film Cockershell Heroes at the Plaza in the mid 1950′s).  Two years in the Marines turned the promising athlete of Friars School into a winger who was selected for Wales on the wing as a student at Trinity College, Carmarthen.  A Swansea and Wales stalwart for a decade he won 34 caps, scored eleven tries and was twice selected for the British Lions being top scorer on his tour of South Africa in 1966.

It was an honour to name the bus in his memory and the next time you catch the X5 which travells between Bangor and Llandudno do check to see whether you are on the Bebb bus!

From the launch I headed to the office.  In view of the problems with the A55 yesterday I agreed to do a phone-in on Radio Wales and was delighted to be joined by my good friend David Williams, Chair of the North Wales Business Club, who spoke a lot of sense about the need for long term planning for our transport links here in North Wales.

Having caught-up with a significant amount of traditional letters rather than e-mails I finished the day visiting a Llandudno business that has been having problems with one of the nationalised banks.  It is often difficult for an MP to argue with a high street bank on behalf of a constituent but when the taxpayer owns some 94% of the bank in question I feel that I have every right to get involved.  I do hope that the meeting results in a rather more sensible approach from the bank over the next few months.

3rd August

Two surgery appointments in the office in Conwy this morning before dashing to Bangor to do an interview for Wales Today.  Back to the office to sign some letters and then up the valley to Betws y Coed to do a surgery in the Memorial Hall.  I was delighted to have a few takers and justified the cost of parking as a result!  I then headed further into the mountains to undertake a surgery at Dolwyddelan.  Whilst there was only one constituent waiting for a discussion I still find undertaking surgeries in every part of the constituency to be very rewarding.

Heading home from Dolwyddelan I stopped at a number of businesses in Betws in order to ascertain how the summer season was progressing.  Despite the odd success story it would be fair to say that the season as yet has not been as good as hoped for – we can only hope for a better end to the season if the weather holds for September and early October.

4th and 5th August

I took the weekend off to be with the family!

6th August

I had arranged to have Monday in the office in order to keep my paperwork in order and to a large extent that is what I did.  However, I do keep an open surgery at any time when I am in the office and Monday was no exception with two constituents from the Llandudno area coming into the office with issues that I might be able to help them with.  In view of the way in which the rest of the week appears to be planned it was a good thing that I was able to deal with most of the outstanding correspondence today.

7th August

This morning I had the pleasure to visit the Gorse Hill Caravan Park above Conwy.  I had met one of the directors, Rob Thomas Evelyn during the period after the budget announcement on VAT at 20% on static caravans.  I argued against this proposal meeting ministers and the Chancellor to explain why such a significant change would be damaging to hundreds of businesses across Wales and dozens in Aberconwy.  The pressure worked and the compromise of VAT at 5% seems to be acceptable to all.

Gorse Hill is a fine example of why we were right to argue against the initial proposal.  A superb site in a stunning location it is a prime example of a long term self financing business based on serving customers well and constantly investing in the site to maintain a competitive advantage.  It is a park that cares for the locality, customers and staff and I am delighted that they have not seen their business plan trashed by an ill considered tax increase.

Back in the office I dealt with some correspondence before meeting Richard Foxall from Horizon, the joint venture company tasked with developing a second nuclear power station at the Wylfa site in Anglesey.  I am convinced that a new facility will benefit not just the economy of Anglesey but the whole of North West Wales and the work that has been done identifying the skills that will be needed is impressive.

The update was useful and without breaking confidences it can be said that there is a decent chance that Horizon will be taking over sooner rather than later.  Such a development would see Wylfa become the first option for a nuclear new build in the UK.  With the energy bill expected to be part of the legislative programme this autumn I hope to be able to contribute to ensuring that we finally start to encourage serious energy generation in this country.

8th August

Some months ago I agreed to participate in an Industry-Parliamentary exchange which aims to encourage MPs to try and gain a further understanding of industry and commerce.  I opted to use my time to understand the way supermarkets interact with local food producers and the farming community.  The first part of my programme was with Waitrose when I visited their Menai Bridge store and a farm which was in their supplier group for Welsh Lamb.  This visit took place during the Easter recess.

Today I am using one day of recess to visit the Tesco Dairy Centre of Excellence which is a partnership with Liverpool University.  Located on the Wirral the centre is a working dairy farm of some 250 acres with 200 milking cows.  To say I was impressed is an understatement.  The first fact, confirmed by the NFU, is that Tesco pays well above the market rate for their milk.  Their current price for all their liquid milk (some 1 billion litres) is over 29.5p which is some 5p per litre above the market rate which has created such headlines during the past few weeks.  To put this figure in context it means that Tesco are currently paying some £50m more for their milk than the market demands.  Not bad for a big bad supermarket!

In addition the centre of excellence undertakes research with Tesco funding in order to ascertain best practice models for a variety of farming methods whilst also underaking research into common ailments which often impact upon dairy herds.  A particularly interesting piece of work surrounded the issue of animal lamelessness which has an impact on fertility and thus reduces milk yield.  All this research is fed back to the Tesco dairy group through a combination of supplier workshops and farm visits.  It was all, I have to admit, a far cry from the view that everything Tesco does is bad.

From this superb session I headed into Liverpool in order to visit a Tesco Partnership Regeneration store in Toxteth.  In simple terms a regeneration store is when Tesco commit to employ staff from a designated postcode area and to also recruit a certain percentage of staff who have been unemployed for twelve months or longer.  Meeting the store manager I was simply amazed at his committment and enthusiasm and when he started giving me some of the figures I started to share his pride at what Tesco have achieved in Toxteth.

At the store in question 50% of man hours had to be offered to the long term unemployed.  Working with Job Centre Plus and a teaining company 98 members of staff were recruited from this pool and today, sixteen months later over 92% are still in work.  To put this in context that is a higher percentage than Tesco achieves through their normal recruitment process.  However, these facts did not even come close to comparing with the reality of meeting the staff.  From redundant bank workers told that they had no future at 50 but employed by Tesco four years later, to a mother of seven working for the first time in twenty years, the stories were of an opportunity grasped, a chance given to prove their worth and an opportunity to gain some self esteem.  I can tell you, it was moving stuff.  I met a shelf stacker given his first job at 24 (and since promoted) and a bakery worker who had bee “on the sick” for ten years.  She now states that she will need to be carried out ot Tesco when she hits the retirement age.

What this store proved to me was that people want to work, they want the opportunity to be part of a team, the satisfaction of proving that they have a contribution to make and the chance to show freinds, family and crucially themselves that they are productive members of society.  If this kind of success can be achieved under a system that continues to penalise work I can only feel confident that much more can be achieved once we have the Universal Credit in place which will ensure that work always pays.  As one staff member told me “I really want to work more than sixteen hours but as things stand it does not pay to do so”.  Come April it will.

This was a great day and a superb experience.  Tesco might never be flavour of the month with some people but they deserve huge recognition for these two initiatives.

9th August

I did a quick pre-recorded interview with Chris from Radio Wales this morning.  I do hope he gets to run the story but to be fair to him and his exclusive I will refrain from saying any more.

On a bright sunny day I then had a surgery at the Llandudno Junction Memorial Hall where I noticed that the Junction must be one of very few towns where the number of those lost in the Second World War is higher than in the First World War.  According to Jean, who looks after the Hall amongst a host of other community work in the area, it reflects the significant population growth that was witnessed in the Town between the wars.

From the surgery I headed to Ysbyty Gwynedd for one of my reguar sessions with Mary Burrows, the Chief Executive of the Betsi Cadwalader Health Trust.  As always it was a very good session and the proposals for the future of Llandudno are positive despite the real budget challenges faced by the Trust in the context of Assembly Government cuts.

10th August

Paperwork all morning before heading to the recently opened Welsh Food Centre in the old Home Farm buildings of the Bodnant Estate.  I met Michael McLaren and his team and it was a joy to see a £7m investment six years in the planning coming together in such a manner.  I do believe that we will see the centre grow from strength to strength.

I was disappointed to have missed the official opening due to the Lords Reform debate commencing on the same day.  However, I am certain that I saw more on this visit not least the now completed ‘teaching kitchen’ which is a marvel!  This project received one of the very few european grants awarded to a private sector led project.  I am quite certain that Michael and his team have made more of their grant than many a public sector organisation have managed with grants of ten times greater.

I was pleased also to meet John Walter Jones, the former Chief Executive of the Welsh Language Board, in the farm shop.  Michael immediatley asked whether John was there to check on their use of the Welsh language to which John stated (quite correctly) that if only 5% of businesses made a committment similar to that which is seen at this development then he would be a very happy man.  It is truly impressive to see the way in which both languages take their place naturally and confidently throughout the complex.  It is a real example of best practice.

Returning to the office I made a few follow-up calls and signed some letters before heading home.

11th August

Saturday but no rest for the wicked!  The Eglwysbach Show is a great event and with the sun out the Aberconwy Conservative Association stand was busy all day.  I honestly do not believe that I stopped talking between ten in the morning and five in the evening but it was great.  It was good to meet constituents from all parts of Aberconwy and I hope that the opportunity to give the local MP a good talking to was appreciated by some more vocal visitors to the stand.

I must admit that I never cease to be impressed by the way in which such a show can be put together by what remains a small rural village.  Carry on the good work.

13th August

I had a site meeting this morning at the Pen y Garnedd Forest above Dolwyddelan.  Despite forestry being a rather obvious part of the rural economy Conwy Council have been almost obstructive in their dealings with the owners and their management team in relation to the harvesting of a part of the forest.

On site I saw local plant hire and haulage contractors and the workers were all local.  Why therefore did the Council make life difficult for the venture?  Is it acceptable to hear that  Councils such as Denbigh, Gwynedd and Flintshire are much more aware of the economic impact of forestry?  It is a sorry sate of affairs.

I was back in the office just before lunch and read some paperwork in relation to my on-going work on the interest rate swap issue.

At two thirty I was in Llandudno to meet the Hoteliers who met the Council to discuss double glazing in the Conservation Area following my success in persuading the Council of the merits of such an approach.  However, the initial meeting had not gone as well as I would have hoped; I think we have a lot of work to do if we are to have a policy that protects the heritage of the town but acknowledges that the properties are, in most cases, actively trading small businesses.

The frustration of the hoteliers is that the officers at Conwy seem reluctant to work with them and the initial meeting has not resolved this issue yet.  If we are not careful the Council will end-up with more boarded-up windows as we see at the Clarence or the St. Tudno rather than the improvements that they wish to see.  Ultimatley a town such as Llandudno will only suceed as a partnership between the private sector business community and the local authority.  The Council need to re-think their approach and to do it soon.

Back in the office I had an hour long conference call with Bully Banks, the membership organisation working with me on the interest rate swap scandal.  In view of the partial redress offeredvby the FSA we need to redouble the parliamentary efforts from September onwards in order to keep the pressure on the Banks and the FSA.

14th August

Following an hour in the office I attended a coffee morning at Cwrt St. Tudno with Anne Roberts, former Mayor of Conwy who has recently moved into the complex.  I had a warm welcome and it was good to hear some of the concerns that residents have at both a local and national level.

From Llandudno I wentvto Trefriw, Ysbyty Ifan and Penmachno for hour long surgeries which are always a good way of finding grass root issues in all parts of the constituency.  Following the Penmachno surgery I attended a Cartrefi Conwy consultation event relating to proposed new houses to meet local needs within the village.  The designs looked good and if the local demand can be proved then this could be a good development for the village.

So there you have it, two weeks of recess.  Enjoyable it has been and extremly worthwhile but I do hope that you agree that it is not a holiday!  As for a holiday, I’m glad to say that I will have twelve days with the family from tomorrow.  I am up to date with my post and e-mails and the surgeries of the past fourteen days has identified plenty of issues to keep the office busy for the next couple of weeks.

Please feel free, as always, to contact my office is there is anything, I or my staff can do to assist you.  I shall be back in the Constituency office after the Bank Holiday before the return to Parliament on 3rd September.
Nothing is so firmly believed as that which we least know.  ― Michel de Montaigne

Si hoc legere scis, nimis eruditionis habes.