Tale of two MPs (1) Norman Baker

I find that our MPs vary hugely in their quality irrespective of their party label, in fact I've made the point before that I don't have a loyalty to any one party, with MPs I would much rather they were honest, adequately represented their constituents and approached problems with common sense even if that meant at times going against the party line. Regarding the latter point I flagged up in a previous post how Frank Field was the one Labour MP who voted against the government on the reduction in VAT rate. It's almost impossible to believe that every other Labour member thought that this ridiculous policy was fine but there you go ...

Now to Norman Baker, LibDem MP for Lewes in Sussex. For some reason he has become a figure of fun to some bloggers but he was the man who temporarily relinquished his post on the LibDem front bench to investigate the strange death of Dr David Kelly. He uncovered a mass of detail and put his findings into a book (I should also mention again the blog written by Rowena Thursby which you can read here covering a lot of the Kelly business). For the record I consider that the way the aftermath of Kelly's death was handled has been one of the most disgraceful episodes in recent British history and I'm also appalled at the attitude taken by political bloggers and many newspaper columnists to Baker's findings.

Even his detractors will admit that Baker is assiduous in ferreting out information from government sources. I see on the BBC News website that there is a story here in which Norman Baker points out how hard it is to get an answer from Gordon Brown when he submits a written question. According to Baker the PM had only answered 4 out of 23 written questions he had posed in the past year satisfactorily. So had others replied on the PMs behalf - Baker checked this out with Brown and was assured by Brown that he personally approved each one of them.

far too gentle with Brown on the 'Today' programme this morning. My guess is that if BBC radio's best attack dog John Bearing in mind my recent observations on Brown not answering questions at PMQs this story re Norman Baker should be no surprise. But how can Brown continue with these tactics? It is making a complete mockery of the democratic process. Incidentally I hear that Evan Davis wasHumphrys had been the interviewer Brown wouldn't have appeared.

I hope Mr Baker continues to write to the Prime Minister and not be too disconsolate. For once at least the BBC have put up a story on their website which isn't positive about our dear Prime Minister.

VAT argument: Frank Field 1 Ken Clarke 0

At the back end of November when the reduction in the VAT rate was announced I was quite clear in my own mind that this particular policy wasn't going to do the job intended. There doesn't appear to be any evidence that it has motivated shoppers to go spending again, not that it would be easy to judge whether any extra activity would be down to the VAT cut or more likely the massive discounting taking place on the High Street. Interestingly Simon Wolfson of 'Next' and Sir Stuart Rose of 'Marks and Spencer' have poured cold water on the VAT plan this week.

This whole VAT thing came up for debate in the House of Commons last month and the government comfortably won the vote with a majority of 80. One Labour MP who voted with the Tories and LibDems was Frank Field. Now I am an admirer of Frank Field who is quite prepared to assert his independent view and go off message, we need more like him. It will be remembered that he led the rebels causing the government to cave him over the matter of the 10p tax rate. Incidentally what Gordon Brown did for purely political purposes, abolishing the 10p rate in his final budget, is something I believe should never be forgotten or forgiven.

It was former Tory Chancellor Ken Clarke who was one of the first cheerleaders for the VAT rate cut but I can't help thinking that perhaps he is feeling a bit silly now. Clarke is generally credited with doing a good job looking after the Nation's finances in the dying years of the Major administration and has business experience as well. Therefore I was surprised at him taking the stance he did on the VAT.

There are of course instances where the consumer will clearly benefit from the VAT rate change, particularly on the service side as opposed to retail. An example - a car needs £300 of work done on it to pass the MOT test. This is essential expenditure not discretionary purchasing. As such the saving on VAT would prove to be very acceptable! In the HoC debate Stephen Timms for the government reckoned that the average household spent £900 a month on VAT rated goods and services which would mean a saving of £20 per month following the VAT change. Put like that it sounds good but (a) I'm dubious about the figures and (b) I don't think that is enough money to make the family go out and spend the saving. It might go toward paying off a credit card bill (no bad thing) but stimulate them to spend more in the shops? I don't think so.

Bearing in mind that the VAT rate change was the flagship policy in last year's pre-budget report it looks as if the government aren't very keen to shout about its supposed benefits at the moment. My gut feeling is that it's there because of the insistence of the old chancellor (Brown) rather than the present incumbent (Darling).

Gordon Brown in a spot of bother

It seems to be the way in politics: at times when you are being praised over decision making all the luck seems to be on your side, however when your performance is being questioned then lady luck deserts you. This is certainly the case with Gordon Brown. During his ten years as Chancellor people were lauding him, something I never totally bought into. Luck was certainly on his side with reasonable financial stability on the world scene and the Tories at sixes and sevens. And whatever the failings of the last Major government at least Labour inherited a sound economy which had been repaired following the ignominy of 'Black Wednesday'.

When Brown became prime minister last year he was confronted with various crises: terrorist attacks, foot and mouth, flooding, and he was widely praised for his calm statesmanlike response to them. I think that praise was overdone to be honest. For instance the terrorists, thank God, weren't able to wreak their intended carnage on the populace and this made Brown's reaction so much easier. Similarly the foot and mouth outbreak was far better contained than the 2001 event and for that we can largely thank the Chief Veterinary Officer and other officials. Brown actually looked good last summer without being very extended.

I pointed out after Mr Brown's last budget in 2007 the con regarding income tax changes and I also mentioned in that piece how the BBC's political editor Nick Robinson had been taken in by Brown as evidenced by Nick's blog entry at the time. Now of course Brown's luck is deserting him because the abolition of the 10p tax rate is coinciding with the problems of the so called "credit crunch". Led by Frank Field a substantial number of Labour MPs are expressing disquiet about the removal of the 10p tax rate. Alistair Darling yesterday tried to buy off some of the rebels by suggesting that he might try and do something for the poorest in society at an unspecified later date. Of course Darling is in a cleft stick here - the 10p problem is 100% of Gordon's making but he, Brown, cannot be shown to have made a mistake.

One thing that is causing some criticism at the moment is the selection of services and products that go into the basket to determine the inflation rate. With minimal disposal income for many it's the payment of mortgages and council tax, the cost of food, heat and light that matters. You can always do without the purchase of a CD player or a trip to Disneyland! For many people their personal inflation rate is far higher than official figures would suggest.

There are other matters on the near horizon to worry Labour. Two I would mention are the impending local elections on May 1st and the totally unnecessary change in the law extending detention from 28 days (which the Director of Public Prosecutions is happy with) to the arbitrary figure of 42 days. No wonder Labour MPs in marginals are getting so jittery!

Should the government lose the vote on the abolition of the 10p rate and get trounced in the elections then Brown's position will be almost untenable. He might have to ask for a vote of confidence. Very interesting times for followers of politics!

A couple of good Labour MPs

It might be thought from my last two entries on this blog that I can't find anything good to say about any Labour MPs. So let me redress the balance. In this past month there have been a couple of interesting divisions in the House of Commons and in each case we have seen a number of Labour MPs voting against the government line. The first of these was regarding the lack of a referendum on the 'Lisbon Treaty' whilst the other was a Tory motion concerning the impending Post Office closures. Two of the Labour rebels risking the wrath of their party in each of these votes were Frank Field and Kate Hoey. I have a lot of time for both these two MPs who strike me as people of principle and with a good measure of common sense. So many MPs can best be described as "lobby fodder" I'm afraid, just sheepishly following the party line.

If I lived in Birkenhead or Vauxhall I would be sorely tempted to vote for Mr Field or Ms Hoey because of the people they are rather than the party label to which they are attached.