Don't protest about Childrens Services or the state will section you and silence you What I find particularly concerning about the linked article is the way in which the father concerned was silenced as a result of being wrongly sectioned.  posted by john ¶ 1:05 PM 4 comments

  Election Result 2nd July 2009 Sutton LBC, Nonsuch
LD Gerry Jerome 1665 (50.6; +4.0)
Con 1329 (40.4; -7.2)
BNP 211 (6.4; +6.4)
Lab 88 (2.7; -3.3)
Majority 336
Turnout 41%
LD gain from Con
Percentage change is since May 2006  posted by john ¶ 12:04 PM 0 comments

  Acocks Green Mecca Bingo - campaigning about unfair taxation
This is about the fact that bingo uniquely pays 22% tax rather than the normal 15% for other forms of gambling including online bingo.  posted by john ¶ 1:38 PM 1 comments

  Election Result 25th June 2009 Angus UA, Monifieth and Sidlaw date: 25/06/2009
SNP 2486 (68.6; +14.3)
Con 698 (19.3; +0.8)
LD 439 (12.1; +4.9)
[Ind (0.0; -6.3)]
[Lab (0.0; -13.8)]
Turnout 28.7%
SNP hold
SNP elected at the first stage  posted by john ¶ 11:41 AM 0 comments

  Attachment Disorders The linked story in today's Daily Mail is about a boy who has an attachment disorder. No research has been done as to what extent the actions of the local authorities for young babies cause attachment disorders.

It needs to be done.  posted by john ¶ 10:04 AM 1 comments

  That Urgent Question Yesterday Another good sign of the new speaker regime is the agreement to an Urgent Question on Cybersecurity. This has the effect of discouraging ministers from announcing things outside parliament.

The ancien regime was very resistant to doing this.  posted by john ¶ 6:24 AM 0 comments

  A bit of a nasty world I am encountering a number of cases where it seems to be that things are getting nastier in this country.

Those are cases where things are done to people which don't seem to have any merit at all and seem excessively harsh.

We managed to prevent Eugene Sands from being deported on Friday with moments to go. He is a 77 year old ex police officer from New York who brought his wife's ashes back to the UK so he could spread them in the area where she was born and visit the site. He is living on a US pension. I really don't see why he is such a threat to the UK that he should be deported.

I am also dealing with a case where someone borrowed £2 without permission. The only reason his managers found this out was that he told them. He was sacked. This to me seems way over the top.

Then I have a case of someone who ended up getting a 5 year jail sentence because there were no resources to get him sectioned. He is not a threat to others. I did manage to get him released.

Then there is a case where someone went to pay for a ticket that she had not originally bought because she couldn't. Because she admitted travelling without a ticket she was fined. Had she not tried to pay for the ticket noone would have known.

In two of these cases people are being punished for being honest. It really is not in society's interest for people to be punished for being honest.

Then there is a case where a child minder can no longer look after a disabled child because the bureaucracy say that the home is not adapted. This means that there is now no child minder and causes problems for his mother.

At least there is getting some recognition of the really nasty things that happen in the Family Courts. (eg false allegations of learning difficulties)  posted by john ¶ 12:38 PM 2 comments

  Statement on extra parliamentary income I am a full time politician, but I remain a director of two companies that I founded and also other businesses that run through as John Hemming Trading My working week is around 70 hours a week. I spend about 4 hours a month chairing John Hemming & Co LLP. This means that over 98% of my time is spent on political issues.

I do not think it is right to concentrate on counting things when working out how effective an MP is. For me the measures of success are what I achieve for my constituency, for Birmingham and more widely. However, according to “they work for you”, I am above average on most measures of what an MP does (speaking, voting etc). I am also on three select committees which is an usually large number.

I have declared my external interests, but the new rules require more information about the amount of money I receive from various sources. Hence this statement.

I have two main sources of revenue from outside parliament. Those are John Hemming & Company (now JHC LLP) and John Hemming Trading. I am also a director of OMX which is a joint venture between JHC LLP and NASDAQ. I am not paid for this, but I am a shareholder and was one of the founders and the initial board chair. JHC is also a supplier to OMX. Approximately JHC employs 150 people, OMX employs 200 people and JHT employs 9 people. The majority of these people are in Birmingham although some are based in London and Newcastle.
I have been involved in business for over two decades having formed JHC in 1983. I have also been involved in politics for three decades. I have, therefore, structured my business arrangements to enable me to prioritise spending time serving the Community as an elected office holder.
My role with JHC LLP is to chair the monthly partners meeting which takes normally about 4 hours. I am also on the list to do work on behalf of the company at a chargeout rate of £1000 per hour. However, since my election as MP for Yardley I have not done any of this work.
I have only recently been reinstated as a director of OMX and in April 2009 I attended one board meeting on the telephone for under 1 hour.
I also send and receive emails in both roles and may have one or two phone calls in a week. I have also had meetings in a central London location with employees of NASDAQ.
I am not salaried in these roles, but I have a trading or professional income which is accounted for under schedule D. It varies from year to year and cannot be calculated until well after the end of the year.
In financial year 2002/3 I had a profit from JHC of 366175 and a profit from JHT of 15984. This gave a total of 382159.
In financial year 2007/8 I had a profit from JHC of 206125 and a loss from JHT of 3625. When combined with my income as an MP of 55244 (after contributing to my staff salaries)
this gives me 257744. In other words the income from those sources even adding on what my Mps salary gives me has gone down by 124,415 a year.
I do have other relatively small sources of income and the tax I paid in 2007/8 was 94,169.87 In 2007/8 I personally received from the exchequer even including the contentious ACA 76,619 that means I paid the exchequer 17,550.87 more than the exchequer paid me. Adding up the figures on the same basis for 5/6, 6/7 and 7/8 I have paid the Exchequer 111,702.43 more than the exchequer has paid me. Apart from contributing from my salary to pay for staff salaries I pay of the order of an additional 35,000 a year from my own resources towards providing a good quality service to local people.

It will take some time to work out what my income is now. The recession means that it will go down, but I don't know by how much yet.

I take the view that my objective is to be effective as a local Member of Parliament and that is what I aim to achieve.  posted by john ¶ 1:19 PM 0 comments

  Election Result 18th June 2009 Inverclyde UA, Ward 6 - Inverclyde South West

The SNP Candidate won with 1087 votes at the sixth stage.
First preference votes are given below: -
SNP 919
Lab 490
LD Eric Forbes 454
Con 171
Ind 67
UKIP 49
Free Scotland Party 17
Turnout was 26.5%  posted by john ¶ 1:29 PM 0 comments

  [2008] EWHC B10 (Fam) A case where what happens quite frequently (viz made up evidence and misleading reports) became public.

The baby, however, was still put up for adoption.  posted by john ¶ 7:39 PM 0 comments

  Mental Capacity in the chamber 2. John Hemming (Birmingham, Yardley) (LD): What recent assessment he has made of the effectiveness of the arrangements by which the Official Solicitor is appointed to act in the family division. [279664]

The Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State for Justice (Bridget Prentice): There has not been a recent assessment and there are not any plans for one. However, the family procedure rule committee has invited the family justice council to consider producing good practice guidance for those cases in which parties lack capacity to give instructions. That is currently being considered by the relevant sub-committee.

John Hemming: I thank the Minister for that answer. More than 100 times a year, mothers are prevented from opposing the adoption or the taking into care of their children as a result of a single expert opinion part-paid for by the local authority. Will the Minister meet me so that I can reveal to her the details of the dossier behind that and demonstrate how many mothers have their right to oppose removed because of mental capacity when in fact they do have the capacity to instruct a solicitor? I hope that a further assessment can be made and that these miscarriages of justice can be stopped.

Bridget Prentice: I will be more than happy to have a meeting with the hon. Gentleman about that, but I should say that the expert witnesses called to court to decide on capacity are not in the pockets of the local authorities. They are appointed with the agreement of both parties and they are there to answer the questions that the courts ask of them. It would be scurrilous to suggest anything other than that. I remind the hon. Gentleman of what Lord Justice Wall said after the hon. Gentleman attacked such an expert recently. He referred to the hon. Gentleman’s allegations as untenable and said that the way in which the hon. Gentleman described the expert psychologist was an abuse of position. I ask the hon. Gentleman to think very carefully about what the Lord Justices have said about his own behaviour in some of these cases.

Sir Nicholas Winterton (Macclesfield) (Con): I fundamentally disagree with the Minister. The hon. Member for Birmingham, Yardley (John Hemming) is doing a great service to justice and the families whose children are unnecessarily, unjustly and wrongly taken away from them. I also have such cases, and have liaised with the hon. Gentleman on the subject. Will the Minister accept his request for a meeting so that the dossier that he, I and others have produced can be discussed with her? In that way, she will see the injustice, secrecy and behind-the-door dealing involved in the current situation.

Bridget Prentice: I will be more than happy to meet the hon. Gentleman to discuss individual cases—as long as they are not in the middle of court proceedings, in which case such a discussion would be impossible. I shall be happy to discuss these things in general terms. The hon. Gentleman talks about the secrecy of the family courts, but my right hon. Friend the Lord Chancellor and Secretary of State has only recently addressed those very points in giving the media more opportunity to scrutinise the substance of what happens in the family courts. He has done that for a number of reasons—not least to give back to the public the confidence that the family courts are acting in the best interests of the child. That is what everyone in the House and in the Court Service would want.

Mr. Henry Bellingham (North-West Norfolk) (Con): Does the Minister agree that since the abolition of the death penalty, the most drastic action that a court can take is the permanent removal of a child against the wishes of the parents? The hon. Member for Birmingham, Yardley (John Hemming) referred to various cases involving mothers with low IQs who have their children put up for adoption; even though they wanted to contest the cases, the Official Solicitor refused to do so. Does she accept that the Official Solicitor’s inaction could be contrary to section 4(6) of the Mental Capacity Act 2005? Will she confirm that from now onwards, the Official Solicitor will contest all cases involving mothers with low IQs who wish to keep their children? Surely anything less would be heartless and wrong.

Bridget Prentice: These are very sensitive cases, and we should be very careful about the way we address them. The Official Solicitor’s job is to act on behalf of someone who lacks capacity. Their job is not to act on behalf of the child or the local authority, but, usually, on behalf of the adult—although occasionally it could be on behalf of the child—who lacks capacity. The Official Solicitor will so act only if there is evidence before the court suggesting that the adult lacks capacity to understand the court proceedings. The Official Solicitor would be acting outwith their responsibility as an officer of the court in doing anything other than acting on behalf of the person who lacks capacity.  posted by john ¶ 5:45 PM 2 comments

  Official Solicitor and Family Proceedings The article linked is another in the Sunday Times. Interestingly this is not via myself, but another route. It makes it clear, however, that there is a systematic problem.  posted by john ¶ 8:33 AM 0 comments

  By-election result 11th June Stockport MBC, Stepping Hill
LD W.E. Orrell 1779 (47.4; -6.1)
Con 1336 (35.6; -1.0)
UKIP 257 (6.8; +6.8)
Lab 225 (6.0; 0.0)
Green 158 (4.2; +0.3)
Majority 443
Turnout 38.7%
LD hold
Percentage change is since May 2008  posted by john ¶ 12:33 PM 0 comments

  Election Results 4th June 2009 Runnymede BC, Englefield Green West
Con 485 (39.5;-5.0)
UKIP 357 (29.1;+3.8)
Lab 150 (12.2;-0.2)
Green 128 (10.4;+10.4)
LD Ian Heath 108 (8.8;+1.4)
Majority 128
Turnout not known
Con hold
Percentage change is since 2008

St Albans DC, Harpenden South
Con 1602 (53.5; -21.8)
Lab 703 (23.5; +17.2)
LD Albert Moses 427 (14.3; +0.5)
Green 264 (8.8; +4.1)
Majority 899
Turnout not known
Con hold
Percentage change is since May 2008

Suffolk Coastal DC, Felixstowe South East
Con 856 (49.2; -10.6)
LD Bernard Price 693 (39.9; +18.0)
Lab 190 (10.9; -7.3)
Majority 163
Turnout not known
Con hold
Percentage change is since May 2007

Tewkesbury BC, Brockworth
LD Judith Mary Perez 940 (52.7; +10.4)
Con 679 (38.1; +15.4)
Lab 164 (9.2; +9.2)
[Green (0.0; -9.3)]
[Others (0.0; -25.8)]
Majority 261
Turnout 34.9%
LD hold
Percentage change is since May 2007

Three Rivers DC, Leavesden
LD Keith Williams 857 (63.3; -8.7)
Con 369 (27.3; +5.7)
Lab 128 (9.5; +3.0)
Majority 488
Turnout 33.4%
LD hold
Percentage change is since May 2008

Newhaven TC, Denton
LD Diana Conyers 644 (63.1)
Con 376 (36.9)
Majority 268
Turnout not known
LD hold

Southborough Town Council, Southborough North
Con 707 (51.5)
LD Jackie Prance 666 (46.5)
Majority 41
Turnout 46.7%
Con hold

Audley Rural PC, Halmer End
LD Christopher Cooper 231 (29.3)
Ind 205 (26.0)
UKIP 181 (23.0)
Con 171 (21.7)
Majority 26
Turnout not known
LD gain from UKIP

Ashfield DC, Sutton-In-Ashfield North
LD Margaret Ann Patrick 996 (33.8; -31.9)
Lab 612 (20.8; +4.0)
Con 519 (17.6; +7.3)
BNP 380 (12.9; +12.9)
Ind 299 (10.1; +2.9)
Green 140 (4.8; +4.8)
Majority 384
Turnout not known
LD hold
Percentage change is since May 2007

Burnley BC, Rosegrove with Lowerhouse
LD Iris Gates 645 (41.2; +1.1)
BNP 400 (25.6; -5.4)
Lab 304 (19.4; +1.0)
Con 215 (13.7; +3.4)
Majority 245
Turnout 32.8%
LD hold
Percentage change is since May 2008

North Kesteven DC, Heighington and Washingborough
Con 928 (44.1; -30.6)
Lincolnshire Independent 786 (37.3; +37.3)
Ind 391 (18.6; +18.6)
[UKIP (0.0; -25.3)]
Majority 142
Turnout 39.4%
Con hold
Percentage change is since May 2007

Runnymede BC, Egham Hythe
Con 720 (46.3;-5.5)
Ind 315 (20.3;+20.3)
LD Dorian Mead 285 (18.3;+3.3)
Lab 235 (15.1;-7.0)
[UKIP 0 (0.0, -11.1)]
Majority 405
Turnout not known
Con hold
Percentage change is since 2008

Runnymede BC, Virginia Water
Con 1080 (64.6;-7.7)
LD Alan Whiteley 376 (22.5,+6.5)
UKIP 216 (12.9;+1.3)
Majority 704
Turnout not known
Con hold
Percentage change is since 2008

Runnymede BC, Woodham
Con 1111 (65.0;-16.3)
LD Jennifer Coulon 337 (19.7;+19.7)
Lab 177 (10.4,-8.4)
Equal Parenting Alliance 84 (4.9,+4.9)
Majority 774
Turnout not known
Con hold
Percentage change is since 2008

North Lanarkshire UA, Coatbridge North and Glenboig
Lab 1529 (37.2; -10.6)
SNP 1254 (30.5; +1.1)
Independent 557 (13.5; +4.5)
Con 361 (8.8; -1.8)
No description 217 (5.3: +5.3)
Green 115 (2.8; +2.8)
SSP 81 (2.0: -1.2)

Turnout 29.3%
Labour gain from SNP

Caerphilly UA, St Martins
Plaid 723 (33.2;+5.9)
Ind 563 (22.8;+1.8)
Lab 367 (14.9;-2.1)
Ind 296 (12.0;+12.0)
Con 274 (11.1;-6.6)
LD Huw Price 248 (10.0;-7.1)
Majority 160
Turnout 42%
Plaid Hold
Percentage change is since 2008

Sandgate PC, Sandgate Valley
LD Ann Rimmer 162 (51.6)
Con 152 (48.4)
Majority 10
Turnout not known
LD gain from Con

Thanet DC, Thanet Villages
Ind 937 (47.3; +4.0)
Con 596 (30.1; -6.5)
LD Louisa June Rachel Latham 316 (15.9; +15.9)
Lab 133 (6.7; -13.4)
Majority 341
Turnout 41%
Ind hold
Percentage change is since May 2007

Bury MBC, Radcliffe West
Lab 879 (30.7;-13.9)
Con 870 (30.4;+3.1)
BNP 459 (16.0;-2.2)
LD Mike Halsall 429 (15.0;+8.4)
English Democrats 228 (8.0;+8.0)
Majority 9
Turnout 35.2%
Lab Hold
Percentage change is since 2008

Broxtowe BC, Beeston North
LD Barbara Caroline Carr 1038 (54.1; -3.7)
Con 437 (22.8; +5.2)
Lab 272 (14.2; -0.6)
Green 173 (9.0; +2.0)
[Others (0.0; -2.9)]
Majority 601
Turnout not known
LD hold
Percentage change is since May 2007

Epping Forest DC, Waltham Abbey Honey Lane
Con 719 (49.0; -7.3)
BNP 372 (25.4; -25.4)
LD Phil Chadburn 223 (15.2; +15.2)
Lab 152 (10.4; +7.3)
[Others (0.0; -40.5)]
majority 347
Turnout 32%
Con hold
Percentage change is since May 2008

Woodley TC, Loddon Airfield
LD Matthew John Hayward 609 (51.2)
Con 519 (43.6)
Lab 62 (5.2)
Majority 90
Turnout not known
LD gain from Con

Rossendale BC, Helmshore
Con 1015 (53.6; -6.6)
LD Simon Holland 490 (25.9; +14.7)
Lab 389 (20.5; +0.8)
[Others (0.0; -8.9)]
Majority 525
Turnout 42%
Con hold
Percentage change is since May 2008

Horsham DC, Nuthurst
Con 766 (68.8; -4.5)
LD Peter John Gerard Mullarkey 347 (31.2; +12.8)
[Green (0.0; -8.3)]
Majority 419
Turnout not known
Con hold
Percentage change is since May 2007

Wokingham BC, Wokingham Without
Con 1809 (67.3; -8.9)
LD David Raymond Vaughan 711 (26.5; +13.0)
BNP 166 (6.2; +6.2)
[UKIP (0.0; -10.4)]
Majority 1098
Turnout 44.5%
Con hold
Percentage change is since May 2008

Lambeth LBC, Prince's
Lab 1726 (40.7; -2.3)
LD John Roberts 1396 (32.9; +8.5)
Con 707 (16.7; +1.6)
Green 320 (7.5; -5.9)
English Democrats 93 (2.2; -2.0)
Majority 330
Turnout not known
Lab hold
Percentage change is since May 2006

Barnet LBC, Totteridge
Con 2837 (65.5; +20.0)
LD Jonty Stern 792 (18.3; +5.4)
Lab 699 (16.2; +5.0)
[Green (0.0; -12.7)
[Others (0.0; -17.7)
Majority 2045
Turnout not known
Con hold
Percentage change is since May 2006

Barnet LBC, Edgware
Con 2953 (63.1; +13.7)
Lab 1036 (22.2; -1.9)
LD Jonathan Davies 688 (14.7; -5.6)
[Green (0.0; -6.2)]
Majority 1917
Turnout not known
Con hold
Percentage change is since May 2006

East Dunbartonshire UA, Bishopbriggs South
Labour 1401 (39.2: -2.5)
SNP 837 (23.4: +3.3)
Lib Dem (Alistair McPhee) 736 (20.6: +9.8)
Con 500 (14.0: -0.1)
SSP 96 (2.7 : +2.7)
(No Independent or SUP candidates -13.4)
Turnout 38%
Labour Hold

South Ribble BC, Leyland Central
Lab 371 (34.5; +1.1)
Con 355 (33.0; -7.6)
LD Derek Bradshaw Forrest 350 (32.5; +6.5)
Majority 16
Turnout not known
Lab gain from Con
Percentage change is since May 2007

Welwyn Hatfield BC, Hatfield East
Con 954 (50.1; -6.2)
LD Hazel Laming 579 (30.4; +9.4)
Lab 370 (19.4; -3.2)
Majority 375
Turnout not known
Con hold
Percentage change is since May 2008

Welwyn Hatfield BC, Hatfield South
Lab 431 (38.0; +0.1)
Con 413 (36.4; -11.2)
LD Simon Archer 291 (25.6; +11.1)
Majority 18
Turnout not known
Lab gain from Con
Percentage change is since May 2008

Hatfield TC, Hatfield Villages
Con 615 (52.4)
LD Laura Anne Kearney 338 (28.8)
Lab 221 (18.8)
Majority 277
Turnout 29.9%
Con hold

Wellingborough BC, Brickhill
Con 750 (47.3; +2.4)
Lab 316 (19.9; -13.5)
Green 189 (11.9; +11.9)
Ind 183 (11.5; -10.2)
LD Julie White 149 (9.4; +9.4)
Majority 434
Turnout 37.7%
Con hold
Percentage change is since May 2007

South Somerset DC, Coker
LD Cathy Bakewell 1010 (47.2; +0.1)
Con 1002 (46.9; +5.5)
No Description 126 (5.9; +5.9)
[Lab (0.0; -3.5)]
[Green (0.0; -8.0)]
Majority 8
Turnout not known
LD hold
Percentage change is since May 2007

South Somerset DC, Ilminster
LD Carol Goodall 1192 (58.0; +10.1)
Con 862 (42.0; +7.3)
[Lab (0.0; -5.9)]
[Green (0.0; -11.5)]
Majority 330
Turnout not known
LD hold

Clitheroe TC, Littlemoor
LD Stephen Sutcliffe 542 (59.2)
Con 374 (40.8)
Majority 168
Turnout not known
LD hold

Ribble Valley BC, Langho
Con 530 (66.8; +1.4)
LD Susan Janet Knox 263 (33.2; -1.4)
Majority 267
Turnout not known
Con hold
Percentage change is since May 2007

Ribble Valley BC, Chatburn
Con 439 (75.3; -0.4)
LD Howard Douglas 144 (24.7; +0.4)
Majority 295
Turnout not known
Con hold
Percentage change is since May 2007

Boston BC, Kirton
Con 490 (42.2;+8.9)
Boston Bypass Independent 243 (20.9;-45.7)
UKIP 230 (19.8;+19.8)
Ind 122 (13.1;+13.1)
Lab 75 (6.5;+6.5)
Majority 247
Turnout 31.7%
Con hold
Percentage change is since 2007

Boston BC, Pilgrim
Con 110 (32.4:-16.7)
Lab 76 (22.4;+13.0)
UKIP 59 (17.4;+17.4)
Boston Bypass Independent 53 (15.6;-26.1)
LD Michael Sheridan-Shinn 42 (12.4;+12.4)
Majority 34
Turnout 27.4%
Con hold
Percentage change is since 2007

North West Leicestershire DC, Measham
Con 563 (35.1; -8.0)
Lab 447 (27.9; -10.0)
BNP 384 (23.9; +23.9)
LD Peter Douglas Thompson 210 (13.1; -5.9)
Majority 116
Turnout not known
Con hold
Percentage change is since May 2007

Watford BC, Leggatts
Con 534 (27.8; +1.0)
LD Malcolm Adcock 486 (25.3; -8.4)
Green 463 (24.1; -0.5)
Lab 438 (22.8; +7.9)
Majority 48
Turnout 36.6%
Con gain from LD
Percentage change is since May 2008

Gravesham BC, Painters Ash
Lab 626 (34.6; -6.4)
Con 623 (34.4; -11.6)
LD Ian Stevenson 562 (31.0; +18.0)
Majority 3
Turnout not known
Lab gain from Con

Birmingham MBC, Lozells and East Handsworth
Lab 3018 (42.2;+31.1)
LD Sabirul Islam 2000 (28.0;+15.1)
Con 1622 (22.7;-22.9)
Green 297 (4.2;-8.6)
UKIP 208 (2.9;+2.9)
Majority 1018
Turnout 38.8%
Lab Hold
Percentage change is since 2006

Cherwell DC, Kidlington North
LD Douglas Williamson 828 (49.2; -1.0)
Con 690 (41.0; +2.2)
Lab 165 (9.8; -1.2)
Majority 138
Turnout 40.7%
LD hold
Percentage change is since May 2007

Durham UA, Barnard Castle East
Con 1263 (46.9; +4.2)
Ind 634 (23.5; -20.0)
LD Michael Newlands 479 (17.8; +17.8)
Lab 319 (11.8; -1.9)
Majority 629
Turnout 38.9%
Con hold
Percentage change is since May 2008

Hart DC, Eversley
Con 488 (55.7; -44.3)
Ind 362 (41.3; +41.3)
BNP 26 (3.0; +3.0)
Majority 126
Turnout 44.1%
Con hold
Percentage change is since May 2007

Havering LBC, St Andrews
Hornchurch Residents' Association 1413 / Say No to European Union 433 / National Liberal Party - No to overdevelopment 291 (48.4; -1.2)
Con 891 (20.2; -14.3)
BNP 771 (17.5; +17.5)
Lab 455 (10.3; -5.5)
LD Keith Taffs 159 (3.6; +3.6)
Majority 522
Turnout 42.6%
Other gain from Con
Percentage change is since May 2006

Lancaster City DC, Castle
Green 1191 (53.5; -4.9)
Con 442 (19.9; +5.9)
Lab 369 (16.6; +0.2)
LD Rebecca Joan Parris 223 (10.0; +2.2)
[UKIP (0.0; -3.3)]
Majority 749
Turnout not known
Green hold

Newcastle Under Lyme BC, Seabridge
Con 602 (38.4; -10.2)
UKIP 352 (22.5; +5.7)
Lab 310 (19.8; -0.2)
LD Mavis Christine Brown 302 (19.3; +4.8)
Majority 250
Turnout not known
Con hold
Percentage change is since May 2008

Newcastle Under Lyme BC, Wolstanton
UKIP 475 (31.7; +2.2)
Lab 393 (26.2; -3.4)
Con 345 (23.0; -6.9)
LD Trevor George Johnson 285 (19.0; +8.2)
Majority 82
Turnout not known
UKIP gain from Con
Percentage change is since May 2008.

North Norfolk DC, North Walsham West
LD 808 (62.7,-6.4)
Con 385 (29.9;-1.0)
Lab 95 (7.4;+7.4)
Majority 423
Turnout not known
LD hold
Percentage change is since 2007

North Somerset UA, Hutton and Locking
Con 1411 (64.9;-4.2)
LD Jennifer Bindon 511 (23.5;+2.8)
Lab 253 (11.6;+1.4)
Majority 900
Turnout 42.7%
Con hold
Percentage change is since 2007

South Ribble BC, Walton Le Dale
Con 531 (54.3; -21.7)
Lab 241 (24.6; +24.6)
LD Martin Peter Cassell 206 (21.1; -3.0)
Majority 290
Turnout not known
Con hold
Percentage change is since May 2007

Warwick DC, Leamington Brunswick
Lab 605 (35.8; -9.1)
Con 428 (25.3; +3.8)
LD Charlotte Emily Farrington 216 (12.8; -4.3)
Green 209 (12.4; -4.1)
BNP 136 (8.0; +8.0)
Whitnash Resident's Association 96 (5.7; +5.7)
Majority 177
Turnout 29%
Lab hold
Percentage change is since May 2007

West Lancashire DC, Digmoor
Lab 515 (59.8; -16.7)
UKIP 236 (27.4; +27.4)
Con 110 (12.8; -10.7)
Majority 279
Turnout 27.9%
Lab hold
Percentage change is since May 2008

Brentwood BC, Hutton South
Con 1010 (75.5; +16.5)
LD Linda Doreen Price 232 (17.4; +17.4)
Lab 95 (7.1; +7.1)
[Others (0.0; -40.9)]
Majority 778
Turnout 44.8%
Con hold
Percentage change is since May 2007

Spelthorne BC, Ashford East
Con 903 (43.4;-9.8)
LD Diane Appleby 543 (26.1,+12.3)
UKIP 457 (22.0;+22.0)
Lab 179 (8.6;-4.3)
[Green 0 (0.0;-20.1)]
Majority 360
Turnout 37.3%
Con hold
Percentage change is since 2007

Winsford TC, Winsford Over
LD Janet Ann Fitzmaurice 417 (43.4)
Con 349 (36.3)
Lab 194 (20.2)
Majority 68
Turnout not known
LD gain from Con

East Hertfordshire DC, Ware Christchurch
LD Victoria Shaw 674 (46.8; +27.7)
Con 663 (46.0; +7.2)
Lab 104 (7.2; -2.8)
[Green (0.0; -10.6)]
[Others (0.0; -21.5)]
Majority 11
Turnout not known
LD gain from Con
Percentage change is since May 2007

Chorley BC, Wheelton and Withnell
Lab 841 (49.2; +4.3)
Con 634 (37.1; -18.1)
UKIP 179 (10.5; +10.5)
The New Party 56 (3.3; +3.3)
Majority 207
Turnout 52.8%
Lab gain from Con
Percentage change is since May 2008

Glasgow City UA, Drumchapel / Anniesland
Labour 2584 (48.4%:-12%)
SNP 1509 (28.3%:+6.8)
Lib Dem (Natalie McKee) 349 (6.5%:+2.5%)
Conservative 316 (5.9%:+1.2%)
Green 270 (5.1%:+2.1%)
BNP 177 (3.3%:+3.3%)
Independent 129 (2.4%:+2.4%)
(No SUP or Solidarity candidates -3.9%)
Turnout 26.9%
Labour Gain from SNP
Percentage change is since May 2007

Tandridge DC, Godstone
Con 1216 (64.1; +6.2)
LD Colin White 681 (35.9; +11.1)
[Lab (0.0; -6.8)]
[UKIP (0.0; -10.6)]
Majority 535
Turnout 44.2%
Con hold
Percentage change is since May 2008

Oxted PC, South
Con 1123 (55.6)
LD Robert Wingate 565 (28.0)
Lab 332 (16.4)
Majority 558
Turnout not known
Con hold

Derbyshire Dales DC, St Giles and Tansley
LD Cate Hopkinson 825 (43.7; -13.3)
Con 659 (34.9; -8.2)
Ind 406 (21.5; +21.5)
Majority 166
Turnout not known
LD hold
Percentage change is since May 2007

Matlock TC, Starkholmes and Riber
LD Ian Milne 210 (58.5)
Con 88 (24.5)
Ind 61 (17.0)
Majority 122
Turnout not known
LD hold

Bournemouth BC, Westbourne and West Cliff
Con 1308 (51.4;-27.1)
LD Noel Davenport 567 (22.3;+7.3)
UKIP 360 (14.1;+14.1)
Lab 166 (6.5;-0.1)
Ind 146 (5.7;+5.7)
Majority 741
Turnout 31.8%
Con hold
Percentage change is since 2008

Breckland DC, Queens
Con 863 (48.9; -15.1)
Ind 672 (38.1; +38.1)
Lab 231 (13.1; +1.2)
[UKIP (0.0; -8.5)]
[LD (0.0; -15.5)]
Majority 191
Turnout 33%
Con hold
Percentage change is since May 2007

Cotswold DC, Campden Vale
Con 1595 (73.1; -26.9)
LD Andrew Clayton 588 (26.9; +26.9)
Majority 1007
Turnout 45.4%
Con hold

Elmbridge BC, Esher
Con 1032 (50.0;-5.8)
Esher Residents Association 964 (46.7;+46.7)
Lab 68 (3.3;+3.3)
[BNP 0 (0.0;-21.3)]
[LD 0 (0.0;-22.9)]
Majority 68
Turnout 44.2%
Con hold
Percentage change is since 2008

Hambleton DC, Cowtons
Con elected unopposed (100.0; +12.5)
[LD (0.0; -12.5)]
Con hold.
Percentage change is since May 2007

Hambleton DC, Swainby
Con 477 (60.8; +4.6)
LD Rosemary Jean Dalton 275 (35.0; +35.0)
Lab 33 (4.2; +4.2)
[Others (0.0; -43.8)]
Majority 202
Turnout 53.0%
Con hold
Percentage change is since May 2007

Hambleton DC, Tollerton
Con 413 (64.3; -8.8)
LD Robert Adamson 229 (35.7; +8.8)
Majority 184
Turnout 40.0%
Con hold
Percentage change is since May 2007

Runnymede BC, Englefield Green West
Con 485 (39.5;-5.0)
UKIP 357 (29.1;+3.8)
Lab 150 (12.2;-0.2)
Green 128 (10.4;+10.4)
LD Ian Heath 108 (8.8;+1.4)
Majority 128
Turnout not known
Con hold
Percentage change is since 2008

St Albans DC, Harpenden South
Con 1602 (53.5; -21.8)
Lab 703 (23.5; +17.2)
LD Albert Moses 427 (14.3; +0.5)
Green 264 (8.8; +4.1)
Majority 899
Turnout not known
Con hold
Percentage change is since May 2008

Suffolk Coastal DC, Felixstowe South East
Con 856 (49.2; -10.6)
LD Bernard Price 693 (39.9; +18.0)
Lab 190 (10.9; -7.3)
Majority 163
Turnout not known
Con hold
Percentage change is since May 2007

Tewkesbury BC, Brockworth
LD Judith Mary Perez 940 (52.7; +10.4)
Con 679 (38.1; +15.4)
Lab 164 (9.2; +9.2)
[Green (0.0; -9.3)]
[Others (0.0; -25.8)]
Majority 261
Turnout 34.9%
LD hold
Percentage change is since May 2007

Three Rivers DC, Leavesden
LD Keith Williams 857 (63.3; -8.7)
Con 369 (27.3; +5.7)
Lab 128 (9.5; +3.0)
Majority 488
Turnout 33.4%
LD hold
Percentage change is since May 2008

Newhaven TC, Denton
LD Diana Conyers 644 (63.1)
Con 376 (36.9)
Majority 268
Turnout not known
LD hold

Southborough Town Council, Southborough North
Con 707 (51.5)
LD Jackie Prance 666 (46.5)
Majority 41
Turnout 46.7%
Con hold

Audley Rural PC, Halmer End
LD Christopher Cooper 231 (29.3)
Ind 205 (26.0)
UKIP 181 (23.0)
Con 171 (21.7)
Majority 26
Turnout not known
LD gain from UKIP

Ashfield DC, Sutton-In-Ashfield North
LD Margaret Ann Patrick 996 (33.8; -31.9)
Lab 612 (20.8; +4.0)
Con 519 (17.6; +7.3)
BNP 380 (12.9; +12.9)
Ind 299 (10.1; +2.9)
Green 140 (4.8; +4.8)
Majority 384
Turnout not known
LD hold
Percentage change is since May 2007

Burnley BC, Rosegrove with Lowerhouse
LD Iris Gates 645 (41.2; +1.1)
BNP 400 (25.6; -5.4)
Lab 304 (19.4; +1.0)
Con 215 (13.7; +3.4)
Majority 245
Turnout 32.8%
LD hold
Percentage change is since May 2008

North Kesteven DC, Heighington and Washingborough
Con 928 (44.1; -30.6)
Lincolnshire Independent 786 (37.3; +37.3)
Ind 391 (18.6; +18.6)
[UKIP (0.0; -25.3)]
Majority 142
Turnout 39.4%
Con hold
Percentage change is since May 2007

Runnymede BC, Egham Hythe
Con 720 (46.3;-5.5)
Ind 315 (20.3;+20.3)
LD Dorian Mead 285 (18.3;+3.3)
Lab 235 (15.1;-7.0)
[UKIP 0 (0.0, -11.1)]
Majority 405
Turnout not known
Con hold
Percentage change is since 2008

Runnymede BC, Virginia Water
Con 1080 (64.6;-7.7)
LD Alan Whiteley 376 (22.5,+6.5)
UKIP 216 (12.9;+1.3)
Majority 704
Turnout not known
Con hold
Percentage change is since 2008

Runnymede BC, Woodham
Con 1111 (65.0;-16.3)
LD Jennifer Coulon 337 (19.7;+19.7)
Lab 177 (10.4,-8.4)
Equal Parenting Alliance 84 (4.9,+4.9)
Majority 774
Turnout not known
Con hold
Percentage change is since 2008

Shepway DC, Hythe West
LD Neil Matthews 589 (39.6; +22.1)
Con 483 (32.5; -26.4)
UKIP 255 (17.2; +5.9)
BNP 94 (6.3+6.3)
Shepway Independents 65 (4.4; +4.4)
Majority 106
Turnout 46.1%
LD gain from Con
Percentage change is since May 2007

Hythe TC, Hythe West
LD Darren Briddock 618 / Samuel Matthews 597 (39.6)
Con 473 / 403 (30.3)
UKIP 335 (21.4)
BNP 136 (8.7)
Majorities 145 / 124
Turnout not known
LD gain from Con x 2

Shepway DC, Romney Marsh
Con 430 (58.7; -10.3)
Shepway Independents 121 (16.5; +16.5)
LD Sally Matthews 114 (15.6; -0.9)
Lab 68 (9.3; -5.3)
Majority 309
Turnout 41%
Con hold
Percentage change is since May 2007

Cambridge City DC, East Chesterton
LD Susannah Kerr 836 (37.6; -0.7)
Con 552 (24.9; -3.6)
Lab 319 (14.4; -3.8)
Green 313 (14.1; +4.1)
UKIP 201 (9.0; +4.1)
Majority 284
Turnout 35.5%
LD hold
Percentage change is since May 2008

Caerphilly TC, Castle
PC 206 (30.6)
Ind 156 (23.1)
Ind 133 (19.7)
Lab 123 (18.2)
LD Huw Price 56 (8.3)
Majority 50
Turnout 40.0%

Felixstowe TC, Felixstowe South East
Con 849 (48.9)
LD Bernard Price 691 (39.8)
Lab 196 (11.3)
Majority 158
Turnout not known
Con hold

Abbots Langley PC, Leavesden
LD Jeff Hill 864 (63.9)
Con 362 (26.8)
Lab 127 (9.4)
Majority 502
Turnout 33.4%

Warwick TC, West
Con 1247 (40.9)
Lab 958 (31.4)
LD Geoff Harris 320 (10.5)
Green 297 (9.7)
BNP 230 (7.5)
Majority 289
Turnout not known
Con hold

Crewkerne TC
LD Andrea Jean Stuart 1292 (47.3)
Con 1007 (36.9)
No Description 431 (15.8)
Majority 285
Turnout not known

Berkhamsted TC, Castle
Con 916 / 909 (42.0)
LD Freda Earl 780 / Ian Middleton Gent 769 (35.7)
Ind 486 / 339 (22.3)
Majorities 136 / 129
Turnout 47.8%
Con hold x 2

Rainhill PC
Julia Doyle Labour 635
Denise Aspinall Lib Dem 508
Stephen Bligh Tory 162
Lab hold

Frome PC, Berkley Down
LD Adrian Dobinson 522 (41.8)
Con 496 (39.7)
Ind 230 (18.4)
Majority 26
Turnout 35.9%
LD gain from Ind  posted by john ¶ 3:59 PM 0 comments

  Machine for Injustice The link is to another article about injustice.  posted by john ¶ 1:40 PM 1 comments

  Mental Capacity Issues in Sunday Times The link is to a story in the ST about mental capacity and the family courts.  posted by john ¶ 8:38 AM 0 comments

  Election Results 28th May 2009 Middlesbrough UA, North Ormesby and Brambles Farm date: 28/05/2009

Lab 549 (60.0 -7)
BNP 175 (19.0 +19)
Con 131 (14.0 -7)
LD John Michael Heath 63 (7.0 +7)
[New Nationalist Party (0.0 –13)]
Majority 374
Turnout 21.1%
Lab hold
Percentage change is since May 2007  posted by john ¶ 1:53 PM 0 comments

  Constitutional Reform It is interesting to see the flurry of proposals for constitutional reform cropping up now.

I have been part of discussions in parliament about how to reduce the power of the executive/government/king and increase the ability of the representatives of the people to hold the executive to account.

We may end up with some important improvements to the machinery of government through this process. I would, of course, wish to see the introduction of STV. That would allow voters the ability to chose between the candidates of a party.

I don't think as yet we have managed to get support for this from other front benches. However, there are positive noises being made.  posted by john ¶ 11:34 AM 0 comments

  Nivea Handcream and various toiletries This entry shows some of the futility of part of the debate about expenses claims. Back in 2005 a member of my staff who was an intern put in a claim for handcream. The claim was rejected.

I was phoned by a newspaper about this whilst driving to Devon. My wife spoke to them and we couldn't remember anything about the claim.

I have since arrived in Devon and checked the files. That is how I know the claim was rejected.

I have some difficulty in understanding why such things are stories that don't warrant the time that is needed to get the facts clear.

I have managed to extract (and redact) the letter now:

There are some serious issues about the way in which the ACA has been abused. However, by mixing up trivia with the more serious issues it sidetracks the debate.  posted by john ¶ 6:39 PM 0 comments

  Southall loses What we have in this particular case is the challenge of the interface between medical certainty (it probably is) and legal certainty (on the balance of probabilities). One is far less certain than the other.  posted by john ¶ 4:42 PM 0 comments

  Election Results 21st May 2009 Rutland CC, Cottesmore
Con 389 (68.1; +1.1)
LD Joanna Mary Burrows 182 (31.9; +31.9)
[UKIP (0.0; -33.0)]
Majority 207
Turnout 26.4%
Con hold
Percentage change is since May 2007

Barton on Humber TC, Bridge
Con 746 (62.6)
Lab 445 (37.4)
Majority 301
Turnout not known
Con hold

North Lincolnshire UA, Barton
Con 1576 (64.4; +15.6)
Lab 653 (26.7; +6.2)
LD Richard Alan Nixon 220 (9.0; -5.9)
[Others (0.0; -16.0)]
Majority 923
Turnout not known
Con hold
Percentage change is since May 2007

Salford City, Irwell Riverside
Lab 606 (37.6; -13.3)
LD Steven Ian Middleton 293 (18.2; -1.1)
BNP 276 (17.1; +3.8)
Con 189 (11.7; -4.7)
Green 125 (7.8; +7.8)
UKIP 123 (7.6; +7.6)
Majority 313
Turnout 17.5%
Lab hold
Percentage change is since May 2008

City of London, Bishopsgate
4 Candidates, all Ind 78 / 66 / 53 / 47
Majority 12
Turnout 21%
Ind hold

Cause: due to insufficient nominations in the full council elections on 16th March 2009.  posted by john ¶ 2:30 PM 0 comments

  EDM 1545 in Session 6-7 That EDM relates to opposing the attempts to exempt MPs expenses from FoI.

That this House notes the Third Reading of the Freedom of Information (Amendment) Bill on 18th May; believes that it is inconsistent and unprincipled to seek to exempt the affairs of the House of Commons and House of Lords from the obligations of the Freedom of Information legislation, which applies to all other public authorities and only took effect in 2005; believes that the passage into law of the Freedom of Information (Amendment) Bill would fundamentally undermine respect for both Houses of Parliament, all the Houses' hon. Members and officers, and most importantly Parliament's ability to have any authority or set any example on issues of accountability, openness or transparency in Government and public life; and believes that the argument that more laws are needed to protect confidentiality of correspondence between hon. Members and those whom they represent is not made out on the evidence, should only be introduced if careful and considered advice confirms an agreed need for changes to the law, and should not be used as an excuse, justification or distraction for a major attack on the rights of British citizens to hold to account all hon. Members of Parliament passing laws in their name.


Conservative Party
Shepherd, Richard
Open: 1 Closed: 0
Labour Party
Corbyn, Jeremy
Devine, Jim
Dobbin, Jim
Fisher, Mark
Hopkins, Kelvin
Jackson, Glenda
Jones, Lynne
Open: 7 Closed: 0
Liberal Democrats
Alexander, Danny
Baker, Norman
Barrett, John
Beith, Alan
Brake, Tom
Breed, Colin
Brooke, Annette
Browne, Jeremy
Bruce, Malcolm
Burstow, Paul
Burt, Lorely
Cable, Vincent
Carmichael, Alistair
Clegg, Nick
Davey, Edward
Farron, Timothy
Featherstone, Lynne
Foster, Don
George, Andrew
Goldsworthy, Julia
Hancock, Mike
Harris, Evan
Heath, David
Hemming, John
Holmes, Paul
Horwood, Martin
Howarth, David
Hughes, Simon
Huhne, Chris
Hunter, Mark
Keetch, Paul
Kennedy, Charles
Kramer, Susan
Lamb, Norman
Laws, David
Leech, John
Moore, Michael
Mulholland, Greg
Oaten, Mark
Opik, Lembit
Pugh, John
Reid, Alan
Rennie, Willie
Rogerson, Daniel
Rowen, Paul
Sanders, Adrian
Smith, Robert
Stunell, Andrew
Swinson, Jo
Taylor, Matthew
Teather, Sarah
Webb, Steve
Williams, Mark
Williams, Roger
Williams, Stephen
Willis, Phil
Willott, Jenny
Open: 57 Closed: 0
Plaid Cymru
Llwyd, Elfyn
Williams, Hywel
Open: 2 Closed: 0
Respect
Galloway, George
Open: 1 Closed: 0
Scottish National Party
MacNeil, Angus
Open: 1 Closed: 0
Social Democratic and Labour Party
McDonnell, Alasdair
McGrady, Eddie
Open: 2 Closed: 0
Ulster Unionist Party
Hermon, Lady   posted by john ¶ 2:24 PM 0 comments

  Scamalot - my historical position I have had a constant position in respect to MPs expenses and salary. That position is that they should be determined independently of MPs. I have, therefore, generally not voted on these issues.

I managed recently (with the support of colleagues) to persuade my own party to take this position and subsequently the House of Commons has now agreed that the Committee on Standards in Public Life should work out the answer and then MPs stick to it.

In the mean time I have avoided charging the maximum and tried to be cost effective with tax payers money.

It is, therefore, a bit irritating to be criticised because my wife cleaned the flat and we didn't claim for a cleaner, but instead claimed for cleaning materials.

That, however, is par for the course in politics. Once there has been a complete trawl through the expenses I will do a final response to all criticism.

I have already dealt with the oddity that the fees office rejected a request for equipment to help me deal with constituents problems. Hence I could not have the computer part of a TV/computer. I just wish that they would have told me before I bought the thing.  posted by john ¶ 12:15 PM 0 comments

  Expenses comparison for Yardley One other comparison that can be made is between my claims for personal expenses of £19,687 per year and those of Estelle Morris MP my predecessor who charged £5,040 more at £24,907 during the last year she was MP for Yardley.  posted by john ¶ 9:10 AM 0 comments

  A general election is needed Realistically the government are not going to have an election immediately. Hence following the speaker's announcement we need to work on fixing the problems in parliament.

Parliament's role is as the voice of the people. Hence people should not be threatened for talking to MPs. Furthermore Ministers should answer questions. We need to look at how we can make the operation of parliament more transparent, not only as far as expenses are concerned, but also as far as how legislation is written.

There is a lot of work to be done. Ideally we would also have an early general election. However, it is obvious that Gordon Brown will not have an election until he is forced to (or he thinks he might win).  posted by john ¶ 1:52 PM 1 comments

  The care debate The link is to a pair of articles in The Times about whether or not more children should be taken into care.  posted by john ¶ 10:41 AM 3 comments

  Independent proposes increasing MPs food allowance I have linked to The Independent's proposals in respect of food.

The new flat-rate allowance should cover only utility bills and rent or mortgage interest. A new subsistence allowance of £40 a day, to cover food and drink, should be made available, but only when Parliament is sitting. There is no reason why the taxpayer should fund MPs' Christmas turkeys or summer lunches.

In a sense it shows in the flurry of what others consider really acceptable proposals that the fact that the old subsistence allowance of £32 a day (actually slightly less) which was then reduced to £25 was not that massive.  posted by john ¶ 12:40 PM 0 comments

  The Speaker Must Go I link to an article in the Mail on Sunday. To me the biggest concern about The Speaker is that he has hobbled parliament in its role as the voice of the people.

He has basically acted as a trades union convenor for MPs trying to get the best deal for MPs, but undermining parliament as a result.

I sent an email to all MPs about a week ago challenging the authority of the speaker. Then I agreed to sign Douglas Carswell's no confidence motion.

Nick Clegg has now endorsed the calls for the speaker to go.

Pressure on Commons Speaker Michael Martin dramatically escalated today
when Liberal Democrat leader Nick Clegg joined public calls for him to
quit.

Mr Clegg abandoned Westminster convention that party leaders avoid
criticism of the office holder to demand the exit of "a dogged defender
of the ways things are".

"I do not think the Speaker should be made a scapegoat...for the
individual failings of many MPs, he told BBC1's Andrew Marr Show.

"But equally I do not think we can afford the luxury of a Speaker, who
is supposed to embody Westminster, who has been dragging his feet on
transparency and greater accountability in the way MPs receive their
expenses."

His intervention comes on the eve of the tabling of a motion of "no
confidence" in Mr Martin and reports he is set to announce he will step
down next year.



Key points:
Parliament needs a thorough clean out in order to make a fresh start
Parliament needs a Speaker prepared to lead reform
Speaker Martin should not be a scapegoat but he must go now, before the General Election so the process of reform can start
As a first step in addressing the expenses issue Parliament must accept the Kelly findings in full
But the expenses issue is just the tip of an iceberg. The whole system needs to change
If MPs are shown to have done wrong by the Committee for Standards, voters should have the right to sack sitting MPs and cause a by election
We must cut back the size and power of Whitehall
Give new freedoms including money-raising powers to local communities
Make voting fair
Have a written constitution prepared by a constitutional convention
This is why we need leadership from a reforming Speaker  posted by john ¶ 10:25 AM 1 comments

  Expenses and Parliament There are a number of issues that have been raised over the past week in respect to the expenses charged by Members of Parliament.

These do deserve some form of commentary. It is generally accepted that the system by which MPs charge for the costs of being in London is unacceptable. It was intentionally set up as a cash cow to be milked by MPs in preference to facing up to giving MPs a salary increase. MPs were encouraged to milk the system, but some of the abuses go much beyond this.

There are some really silly criticisms being made about some things which are really not wrong which conceal the fact that other things are wrong.

However, I feel that I should explain some of the points about my own claim for a second home. I took the view on being elected that I would not just try to claim the maximum.

The first point is that my priority in how I structured things was to try to get reasonably good value for the tax payer. I am a director of two companies and responsible for almost 360 employees in that way. Each company has different arrangements for expenses. I took the view that I would only do what is reasonable for one of the employees in one of my companies.

It is important to look at both travel and second home costs. On that basis the figures for Birmingham since 2005 are as follows:
John Hemming 59601
Lynne Jones 60163
Steve McCabe 61803
Gisela Stuart 73079
Clare Short 74500
Liam Byrne 84978
Richard Burden 86324
Roger Godsiff 90956
Andrew Mitchell 92822
Sion Simon 103259
Khalid Mahmood 104676

In being the lowest cost MP in Birmingham (I am not lowest on staff costs, but I will come to that) I think I have achieved the objective of being good value for money for the taxpayer. That really has to be the top priority.

Within that, then, there are questions about how things should be done.

One area I was unsure about was food costs. Food basically refers to subsistance. That is the cost of eating mainly in restaurants in the house of commons because I cannot fit in shopping and cooking into my schedules. There is a story told by Paul Flynn about another Labour MP who had friends visit who swiched on the cooker and set on fire the instructions which had been left inside the cooker which had never been used.

It is not realistic for MPs to go back their flats to cook. You could not imagine TV saying - "well we now have a 2 hour break in the budget debate whilst all the MPs go home and cook before coming back later tonight."

I live in Birmingham. I go to London on Monday and return later in the week. It is OK shopping at the weekend, but there is no time midweek for shopping in London.

The parliamentary authorities told my wife (who fills in the expense claims generally) that she should claim £400 per month for subsistance for every month.

There was some confusion about this recently because this includes August when the house does not sit. I had thought it was right because during the whole year things balanced out and most things operate on a financial year. However, the criticism of other MPs caused some confusion. I spend a lot more than this sum of money on eating during the year simply because of time pressures. I checked it out and I was right. It is the financial year that it is relevant to.

If you assume there are 150 sitting days (there are normally more). Then this works out at £32 per day. One of my companies allows staff £50 a day (Breakfast, Lunch, Dinner) so that seems entirely reasonable to me. It is what I pay other people.

In the interests of saving the taxpayer money I also travel Standard Class to London on the train. This means I need to pay for food on the train (or buy it in or close to the station). That adds to my costs.

Then there is the question of my flat. I own two flats in London. One in Covent Garden and one in Brixton.

The one in Covent Garden is like this in Martlett COurt it is a flat which was built by Westminster City Council and is in a housing co-operative.

Note that the rent on the one bedroom flat is £360 per week. Over the year this would add up to £18,270.

I have a two bedroom flat which would rent potentially for £24,000. The whole of the Additional Costs Allowance.

When flats are rented there are three elements to the rental payment. There is a cost of capital, a maintenance cost and a profit element. I believe it is reasonable for the taxpayer to fund the cost of capital and the maintenance costs, but not the profit element.

When I was elected I had a number of choices. I had a mortgage on another property in Birmingham at the time which needed payment and I knew that I faced a reducing income because of the time I spent on parliamentary business.

I could have rented out my Covent Garden flat (the Brixton one at the time was rented out) getting an income of £24,000 (taxable) and rented a flat for myself via the Additional Costs Allowance. Or I could have rented out my Covent Garden flat and then bought another smaller flat via the ACA. Instead I decided to live in Covent Garden and to put a mortgage on the Covent Garden flat which cost the ACA £9,900 per year as the cost of capital (now much less) and use the cash from that to clear the mortgage in Birmingham (on Osmond House for those people that know it). This has the effect of costing me £24,000 in income. It also allows the taxpayer effective use of my flat (admittedly for me to stay in it) for £5,000 below the market rental for a one bedroom flat.

From 2007 until recently I have had an alternating member of staff on a rota in London. They have stayed in the second bedroom in this flat. In 2008 my now 18 year old daughter moved to London. She now has the flat in Brixton, but from time to time sleeps on the couch in my Covent Garden flat (normally when we meet for dinner).

In the light of the criticism of Andrew George for having his daughter stay I make this clear. I see nothing wrong in allowing my daughter to crash on the sofa. I am saving the taxpayer something like £7,000 a year (in 2008-9) compared to other MPs who rent flats.

As far as the wider issue of expenses are concerned. I spend over £30,000 a year on providing a service to local residents out of my own resources. This includes me taking money from my parliamentary salary to pay extra money to my staff which has happened every year since 2005-6. Hence I spend more than the maximum on the staff/office budget, but it is not obvious because they do not report money taken from the MPs salary and put into expenses.

There are some fuzzy elements to the expenses system, but it is important to look at it in the round as well. There are those that argue because I am particularly wealthy that I should not claim expenses. I disagree. I have a job to do on behalf of the citizens of this country. It is entirely reasonable for me to have the costs of travel paid, for example, or to be paid a salary. I happen to put quite a large sum of money back into the pot from my own resources.

However, I have told the department of resources that I will make no further claims for a second home. That means also no claims for food as they go in as part of the second home claim. I went into politics to help others rather than to help myself to a cash cow. I haven't actually used the expenses system as a cash cow, but it is now tainted. There is no sense muddying the waters as to my motivations for about £10,000 a year (which is the difference between my 2008-9 ACA claim and the London Costs Allowance (the scheme for MPs who don't claim for a second home). My income including my salary from parliament has gone down by over £100,000 a year to have the honour of serving the people of Yardley. I don't mind this. I do mind people imputing the motivation of milking a cash cow.  posted by john ¶ 12:07 PM 1 comments

  Election Results 14th May 2009 By-Election Results

Gateshead MBC, Chopwell and Rowlands Gill
date: 14/05/2009
Lab 1221 (53.2; -3.9)
LD Ray Callender 898 (39.1; +12.5)
Con 177 (7.7; -8.6)
Majority 323
Turnout 32.15%
Lab hold
Percentage change is since May 2008

Anglesey UA, Llanbadrig
date: 14/05/2009
Ind 255 / 201 (100.0; +0.0)
Majority 54
Turnout not known
Ind hold
Ind unopposed in May 2008  posted by john ¶ 3:23 PM 1 comments

  Election Result 7th May 2009 Hartlepool UA, Rossmere
Lab 532 (42.3; +5.2)
UKIP 300 (23.9; -4.5)
LD Pamela Turnedge 166 (13.2; -6.4)
BNP 157 (12.5; +12.5)
Con 102 (8.1; -6.9)
Majority 232
Turnout 26.7%
Lab hold
Percentage change is since May 2008
Party defending seat: Lab. Cause: Death.  posted by john ¶ 9:33 AM 0 comments

  Hemming Welcomes LDV Loan I am obviously pleased that the government have agreed to provide a bridging loan for Weststar to become involved with LDV. I had been pressing for this for some time.  posted by john ¶ 8:39 AM 0 comments

  Youth Courts - the Model Answering Paul Rowen today Jack Straw indicated that his phase 2 of opening up the family courts would be based upon the Youth Court model.  posted by john ¶ 4:48 PM 3 comments

  MPs who are net contributors to the exchequer Now parliament has decided that more information needs to be declared and that some of the income that MPs receive other than for being an MP needs to be declared it will be interesting to see what comes of this.

It is a bit odd that only part of the external income is to be declared. An MP who rents out a flat has income from this, that MP also has to spend some time managing the tenancy even it it is merely to appoint a managing agent. However, it appears that this income does not have to be declared.

We will need to look at whether the whole of an MPs tax return needs to be declared.

I am one of the MPs with a larger extra parliamentary income than most. That mainly comes from John Hemming & Co now known as JHC LLP which is a parthership that I continue to be a partner in and chair the monthly partners meetings. This is a company I founded in 1983.

Chairing the meeting takes me on the Jubilee line over to London Bridge at about 10am and I return before 2pm. Hence it takes about 4 hours a month.

I take the view that the key test for MPs is whether or not they do a good job as far as their constituents are concerned. For example I chair the Lib Dem Group on the City Council and I attend meetings of the Leadership Team. That actually takes me more time than chairing JHC LLP. I don't get paid any extra for being involved with the City Council. However, I don't think this is problematic. In fact I think it is good to have MPs who are in touch with what is going on.

In starting work bringing together the figures that I need to declare I have thought of some interesting questions.

One of the interesting things to spot is firstly how many MPs earn more from outside parliament than from the tax payer. Then there is a question of how many MPs pay the taxpayer more than the taxpayer pays them. In calculating this it is sensible to take into account the Salary and probably the ACA figures (although you could consider the ACA as expenses), but probably not travel costs although you could include those.

Although I think I fit into this category - I am checking the figures, I am not sure that there will be that many more MPs who are net contributors to the exchequer.

I am aiming to get my figures together so I can fulfil the new rules within a week or two. It is not as easy as some simply because I don't get paid a salary for anything other than parliamentary activity (although I used to get a small sum from OMX). The business income I have is more like investment income and is linked to the profitability of both JHC LLP and my sole trader activities.  posted by john ¶ 4:17 PM 0 comments

  Quinton v Peirce & Anor [2009] EWHC 912 (QB) An interesting election leaflets case. (Justice Eady)

It is a judgment to read rather than be summarised apart from "don't use the data protection act in an attempt to get your opponents to tell you what will be in their leaflets before they print them."  posted by john ¶ 8:28 PM 0 comments

  Election Results 30th April 2009 Harlow DC, Staple Tye
LD John Strachan 604 (39.1; +6.0)
Con 544 (35.3; -15.3)
Lab 329 (21.3; +5.1)
UKIP 66 (4.3; +4.3)
Majority 60
Turnout 30%
LD gain from Con
Percentage change is since May 2008

Party defending seat: (Elected as a Conservative but subsequently sat as Independent). Cause: Disqualification.

Stirling UA, Bannockburn
First Preference Votes
Lab 1131 (39.9; -11.1)
SNP 1067 (37.6; +4.4)
Ind 229/89/28 (12.2; +7.3)
Con 173 (6.1; -1.2)
LD Ethne Brown 82 (2.9; -0.8)
Green 36 (1.3; +1.3)
Turnout 34.7%
Lab hold (Lab elected at sixth stage)
Percentage change is since May 2007

Party defending seat: Lab. Cause: Disqualification.

Sheffield City MBC, East Ecclesfield
LD Colin Taylor 2239 (44.3; +1.3)
Lab 1420 (28.1; -2.0)
BNP 719 (14.2; +1.6)
Con 564 (11.2; +0.3)
Green 107 (2.1; -1.2)
Majority 819
Turnout 36%
LD hold
Percentage change is since May 2008

Party defending seat: LD. Cause: Resignation.

Reigate and Banstead BC, Tadworth and Walton
Con 925 (64.3; -7.1)
UKIP 350 (24.3; +15.3)
Lab 163 (11.3; +5.0)
[LD (0.0; -13.2)]
Majority 575
Turnout 26.9%
Con hold
Percentage change is since May 2008

Party defending seat: Con. Cause: Death.

Gunness PC
Ind 277 (45.3)
Lab 176 (28.8)
Ind 119 (19.4)
Ind 40 (6.5)
Majority 101
Turnout 31.9%
Ind hold

Party defending seat: Ind. Cause: Resignation.  posted by john ¶ 12:44 PM 0 comments

  Flights into BHX from Mexico I have spoken to Birmingham Airport about the flight in from Mexico on Tuesday next. They are guided by the Health Protection Agency about how to handle this flight and ensure that if there is anyone infected that they don't infect other people.

I am also concerned that the best possible efforts are made on the flight to ensure that no cross infection occurs on the flight. Those points will be made to the authorities.  posted by john ¶ 9:15 AM 0 comments

  Demolition of Meadway Blocks Kicks Off etc There have been a number of local development projects that I have been concerned about. It is always a challenge keeping things on track as politicians do not have the authority to instruct people to develop sites. We do seem to have a local group of "rent an arsonist" who attack closed pubs. They hit the Yew Tree and Wagon and Horses some time ago. Then the Manor House (which is now demolished) and now the Ring O Bells is looking rather sad.

It is sad to see these buildings disappearing, but as things change it becomes difficult to maintain traditional structures. Government policy has caused problems for pubs for many years and there does not seem to be any shift in direction.

The Wagon and Horses is now Aldi. The original proposal here was a non-starter, but we could not leave the site in the state it was. This is the outcome.

Which looks better than the Ring O Bells now looks (this remains an issue to be resolved)

After many years nudging the project back onto the rails after it comes off the tracks the Swan Redevelopment is progressing.

We have, of course, in the above picture Bakeman House. Wheeldon House is now getting similar improvements.

As did Frogmoor, Gosmoor and Danesmoor in the past.

However, the meadway blocks are being demolished and the site redeveloped.

Which leaves The Manor House and the Iron Lane junction as another place to be resolved. We hope to have a new plan for this triangle in the current financial year.
  posted by john ¶ 10:07 AM 0 comments

  Family Courts - guidance The link is to all the practise directions and guidance relevant to the new rules.  posted by john ¶ 8:55 AM 0 comments

  Suicide over 3K legal bill The link is to a story about someone committing suicide as a result of a 3K bill from Treasury Solicitors.

I agree with the European COurt of Human Rights that Judicial Review with its costs is not an adequate remedy for the misbehaviour of the state.  posted by john ¶ 8:22 PM 5 comments

  Election Results 23rd April 2009 Aberdeenshire UA, Aboyne, Upper Deeside and Donside
Con 1144 (31.5; -18.3)
LD Rosemary Bruce 969 (26.7; +0.6)
Ind 842 (23.2; +23.2)
SNP 617 (17.0; -3.1)
BNP 44 (1.2; +1.2)
Ind 19 (0.5; +0.5)
Turnout 43.7%
LD Rosemary Bruce won on the 5th count
LD gain from Con
Percentage change is since May 2007

Highland UA, Inverness West
LD Alasdair Christie 1503 (59.6; +34.5)
SNP 556 (22.0; -6.8)
Lab 210 (8.3; -7.7)
Christian People's Alliance 115 (4.6; +4.6)
Con 111 (4.4; -2.5)
Solidarity 27 (1.1; +1.1)
[Ind (0.0; -23.2)]
Turnout 38.3%
LD gain from Ind
Percentage change is since May 2007

Redbridge LBC, Wanstead
Con 1300 (37.3; -5.6)
LD Kate Garrett 1030 (29.6; +17.9)
Lab 694 (19.9; -7.7)
Green 256 (7.3; -10.5)
BNP 171 (4.9; +4.9)
UKIP 33 (0.9; +0.9)
Majority 270
Turnout 40.7%
Con hold
Percentage change is since May 2006

Waverley BC, Alfold, Cranleigh Rural and Ellen’s Green
Con 429 (64.3; -5.9)
LD Richard Ernest Cole 238 (35.7; +13.5)
[Ind (0.0; -7.6)]
Majority 191
Turnout 45.1%
Con hold
Percentage change is since May 2007

Wycombe DC, Totteridge
LD Steve Guy 733 (54.1; +36.5)
Con 408 (30.1; -10.9)
Lab 214 (15.8; -25.6)
Majority 325
Turnout 31%
LD gain from Lab
Percentage change is since May 2007

Erewash BC, Derby Road West
Lab 696 (39.0; +6.7)
Con 584 (32.7; -12.7)
LD Ian Neill 301 (16.9; -5.4)
BNP 205 (11.5; +11.5)
Majority 112
Turnout not known
Lab gain from Con
Percentage change is since May 2007

Immingham TC, Bluestone
No Description 201 (76.1)
No Description 63 (23.9)
Majority 138
Turnout 13.3%
Other hold

Party defending seat: Ind. Cause: Resignation  posted by john ¶ 4:42 PM 0 comments

  Channel Island TV re Stuart Syvret's arress The link is to my interview on Channel Island TV (recorded in Central TV studios, Broad St, Birmingham), about Stuart Syvret's arrest.  posted by john ¶ 6:53 AM 0 comments

  Masterman-Lister v Brutton & Co [2002] EWCA 1889 I have linked to Bailli on this. I am having another go within the UK to demonstrate why the decision of the Court of Appeal in RP v Nottingham and also HP v Birmingham was wrong.

Both of these cases are now in Strasbourg as well.  posted by john ¶ 10:26 AM 0 comments

  Budget 2009 The budget looks like an attempt to hold things together until the General Election in the vain hope that something will turn up.

A few years ago I got a copy of the Treasury Economic Model programmes. However, without the data that the Treasury put into the model the model cannot be properly scrutinised. The treasury refused to provide the figures.

I would presume that the government have "kitchen sinked" the 2009-10 figures so they can point to improvements from their forecast for what I expect to be a general election in 2010. However, it is still not clear that their forecasts beyond that are at all reliable.

Superficially it appears some progress has been made on bingo taxation, however.

The real challenge is one of how we move towards providing public services in a more cost-effective manner. We haven't really managed to do that in the past. My own personal view is that we need to look at the bureaucratic overhead in running services and try to move away from overly complex assessments towards designing systems with localised feedback.

The government has gradually made the provision of public services more and more complex and at the same time prone to error. It is that approach that needs a systematic revisiting.

Talking as I do to refugees who have left the UK for other European Countries it seems clear that public services in other places are a higher quality. In Sweden, for example, they are very worried about any patients who have been in an English hospital. They immediately place them in an isolation unit to protect against MRSA.

Those doctors who have been concerned about "dumbing down" in the NHS are I think right to be concerned. I have seen two people recently in my advice bureau who have been harmed by wrongful initial diagnosis by less qualified practitioners.  posted by john ¶ 8:37 AM 0 comments

  Statebook - a Prototype The link is to a prototype spoof of Facebook by the Open Rights Group. It makes the point as to what the government can do by "sharing information".  posted by john ¶ 6:58 AM 0 comments

  Lenny Harper's affidavit about corruption in Jersey Police The link is to the Mail on Sunday's report of Lenny's affidavit for the court hearing in the RCJ.

The Court's reasoning for rejecting the application was that proceedings needed to be initiated in Jersey. There is no system of private prosecution in Jersey and the AG has said that he does not think he is subject to judicial review.

What is needed, however, is an attempt to do this.  posted by john ¶ 7:56 AM 3 comments