20 Most Recent Press Articles

July Column

Written by Malcolm Bruce MP on Tue 1st Jul 2008

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Privilege working with Alan Campbell - a hard act to follow

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Alan Campbell's announcement that he will be leaving Aberdeenshire Council later this year is a seminal moment for the authority. He has steered the council through its formative years with skill and a steady hand. He will be a hard act to follow.

I first met Alan in 1971 when I joined NESDA - the North East Scotland Development Authority - as Research and Information Officer. Alan was working in Aberdeen County Council's Clerk's department with special responsibility for NESDA so we had a lot to do with each other.

Although when I arrived the North East was still digesting the Gaskin Report which predicted economic and population decline for the region unless we could find a minimum of 16,000 jobs just to stabilise the economy.

We were certainly seeking to build on our traditional industries - especially food processing - but I doubt we would have come close to what was required had it not been for the advent of the oil and gas industry.

The influx of oil and gas operating and service companies grew to a near avalanche in the seventies and the pressure on our local authorities was intense.

Aberdeen County Council, under the political leadership of Maitland Mackie, supported by bright young administrators like Alan proved itself up to the task and the success of Aberdeen as Europe's Offshore Oil capital was no small thanks to a small team of which Alan was a key part.

I have no doubt that he learned then the right interface between business and local government to accommodate development and keep pace with providing infrastructure and services. Those are the qualities our local authorities still need.

I hope Aberdeenshire Council can find a successor capable of meeting the challenges of tomorrow. I am sure that Alan will find a role in the North East suited to his talents and of benefit to our community. Good luck to him.

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Local income tax fairer - but has to be local

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I have little doubt that local income tax is an inherently fairer system than the council tax for financing local government. Nevertheless, the proposals coming forward from the SNP administration at Holyrood, are anything but local and essentially unworkable.

There are two reasons for this. The first is that the SNP want the rate to be set by Ministers removing any scope for local discretion. The second is that the 3p rate, which is all the tax varying powers of the Scottish Parliament allows, would leave local councils even more dependent on grants from Edinburgh than they are now.

We know from bitter experience that North East Councils are the losers from this. The only system that will work for us is one that leaves more of the taxes raised locally in our area to fund local services and centralising parties which Labour, the Conservatives and the SNP all are, will not deliver this.

In addition, the SNP's proposals flawed as they are fatally undermined by their dependence on the current cost of council tax benefit being transferred to the Scottish Parliament Government's, which the Government have refused on the grounds that if council tax is abolished there is no case for council tax benefit.

In any case, it will be more efficient if the tax collection authorities administer any new system rather than requiring an expensive alternative collection system.

So we are left with a council tax freeze which has tightened John Swinney's control over our budget and is unlikely to lead to any radical change other than further erosion of local government.

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Can we find food and energy for 9 billion?

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For a world that became used to an era of cheap food the recent rise in prices has come as an unwelcome surprise. But if your food bills are uncomfortable think of some of the poorest people in the world who having just climbed out of perpetual hunger have been knocked back.

According to the World Bank 100 million more people are going to bed hungry this year compared with last year to add to the 850 million permanently hungry people. This has wiped out the benefits of 10 years of development aid.

Why has this sudden shift happened? Of course it is partly to do with poor harvests but also due to rising living standards in China and India as people eat more meat which produces a shift to grain feed for livestock.

Bio-fuels are blamed but apart from US maize this is probably minor. In any case, we need sustainable alternatives to oil and gas and sustainable bio-fuels, for example from sugar cane or by-products.

While it is accepted that prices will probably come off the peak most experts believe that food prices will stay high compared with recent years.

This ought to be good news for farmers but as local pig farmers will testify that is not necessarily so. A lot of the profits are being siphoned off by supermarkets and speculators which, using record low real interest rates in the USA, can buy up food commodities and force up prices for profit.

Nevertheless, against a background of a rising world population with rising aspirations we will have to rethink our agricultural policy worldwide.

That will include supporting more productive agriculture in developing countries for both small and larger scale producers and helping the growing numbers of urban poor who need affordable local food supplies.

It is complacent to assume that we can find the energy and food we will need to supply the basic needs of the 9 billion people the world population is heading for let alone meeting their rising aspirations.

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Last call to save post offices - for this round

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Next week is the closing date for representations to save our rural post office services.

In some ways we have escaped -for the time being- some of the more drastic closures we might have expected. However there is clearly concern at the proposals to close three full time offices for Rhynie, Lumsden and Kennethmont and people in Collieston face losing their shop and post office.

Rhynie, in particular, are making a strong case to keep a full time office. Lumsden is unhappy about the hours proposed for them and there was a mistake in the posters issued with the new part time hours for Kennethmont.

I will be chairing a public meeting in Rhynie next week which will be attended by post office representatives who will explain the proposals and respond to representations.

We have been faced with a steady erosion of post office services over the years and the lack of positive government support to maintain and develop our post offices has brought us to this pass.

If on top of the present round the Post Office fails to win the competitive bid to run the successor to the Post Office Card Account then there is almost certainly going to be another round of closures.

I have no doubt that community representatives and members of the public will make strong representations for better arrangements than those proposed and I will do my best to reinforce the case.

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Deterring good people from political office?

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Public pressures on high profile politicians and party leaders is clearly taking its toll. Wendy Alexander, for example, insisted she had followed legal advice over donations to her leadership campaign which, ironically never took place.

Nevertheless, continuous questioning and criticism led her to conclude she should resign.

Party leaders face almost constant intrusion into their personal lives and motives and the national media are happy to whip it up.

I wonder if journalists and broadcasters ever wonder what kind of people will in future be prepared to undergo this constant barrage of personal abuse and vilification which is also hurtful to family and friends.

I have met many people of talent and ability who have refused to get involved in politics not through lack of ideas or conviction but to avoid subjecting themselves and their families to false accusations and outpourings of vitriol as if politicians were somehow subhuman.

ENDS

Read "July Column".

Website Column: mid-June

Written by Malcolm Bruce MP on Mon 16th Jun 2008

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If 42's the answer, what's the question?

While the Government won the vote on 42 day detention in the House of Commons, the debate now moves to the House of Lords

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Some weeks in politics are quiet and in others just about everything happens. Last week was one of those.

The Government secured its legislation to lock up people for up to six weeks without charge but only with the support of the nine Democratic Unionist MPs from Northern Ireland. That's therefore the last time Labour can accuse the Tories of relying on Unionist support.

What is more extraordinary about this is the lengths the Government have gone to achieve such a draconian piece of legislation against the opposition of even the former Attorney General and in the certain knowledge that it will be blocked in the Lords and probably rejected by the European Court of Human Rights.

The concessions offered also appear unworkable. No Home Secretary could give the House of Commons a reason for the detention without prejudicing any future trial. So MPs would be presented with a take it or leave it situation which they could hardly oppose in ignorance of the facts.

In Douglas Adams Sci-fi comedy The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy the answer to the ultimate question was 42 prompting the response if that's the answer what's the question?

According to opinion polls the public are in support of the Government. Well, of course people want to support anti terrorist measures but I suspect if you ask people if they approve of locking up innocent people without charge they would not agree.

Another question is what affect it will have on alienating the communities from which most suspects will be drawn. Certainly, internment in Northern Ireland had to be abandoned because of the resentment it caused among Catholics.

So this saga will run on into next year at least.

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Davies by-election simply bizarre

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If the 42 day rule was not dubious enough it was overshadowed by the bizarre decision of David Davies, Shadow Home Secretary, resigning to fight a by-election.

Arguably the opponents of 42 days had won the argument and he had played his part and would have continued to do so.

It appears he had a confrontation with his leader David Cameron who was equivocal on the issue and chose to take his frustration to the country in a pointless by-election which he may well win but will prove nothing other than to demonstrate all is not sweetness and light with the Tories.

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Beginning of two-speed Europe?

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No sooner were the media reacting to David Davies than that event was followed by the Irish voters' rejection of the Lisbon Treaty in a referendum causing turmoil for the future workings of the EU.

The result can neither be ignored nor discounted. It requires the leadership of Europe to find ways of engaging people in the decision making process and making it more transparent.

Ever closer Union?

Certainly the European Commission's accounts need to be sorted out as well as MEPs' expenses.

At the same time there has to be much better explanation of why EU decisions need to be better streamlined and why the EU needs to speak more often with one voice if Europeans are not to be marginalised in world events as strong powers like the USA, China, India and Russia can act while we are still deliberating.

Perhaps we need to decide what we mean by democracy. A complicated treaty does not easily lend itself to a simple Yes or No vote and the opponents of the Treaty in Ireland gave a multitude if often contradictory reasons for their vote.

Would it be democratic if 500 million citizens across Europe agree a course of action and 4 million could block it? Because Ireland alone had a referendum?

That is not the case this time but clearly states that really do want to move closer together are not going to allow one small country to stop them.

Is this the end of the EU? I don't think so. But almost certainly the Irish vote marks the beginning of a two speed Europe with Britain and Ireland - and some others - in the slow lane.

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Have your say on Post Offices

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There is still time to make your views known on the proposed post office changes in Rhynie, Kennethmont, Lumsden and Collieston

Consultation over the future of our rural post offices moves up a gear in the next two weeks. Meetings and soundings of opinion have been going on in a few communities.

I have distributed material to all the affected areas inviting comments and opinions. On Monday July 7 just before the consultation ends the Royal Mail have agreed to attend a public meeting at the Community Hall, Rhynie at 7.30 p.m.

I know people will be pressing a strong case for more opening hours and for different opening days in some communities.

The Royal Mail has already had to correct its posters and leaflets for Kennethmont which wrongly suggested the new hours would be Tuesdays and Thursdays instead of Tuesdays and Wednesdays.

The Royal Mail need to hear and respond to local concerns and explain exactly how the new arrangements can serve the community.

I urge people to make their views known as strongly as possible.

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Marking 25 years in Parliament

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Another memorable milestone was passed last week. June 9 marked the 25 anniversary of my election to the House of Commons as MP for Gordon. On the same date in 1983 Tony Blair and Gordon Brown were also elected.

Malcolm with his Liberal MP colleagues outside the House of Commons in 1983

Of my own colleagues Paddy Ashdown, Charles Kennedy, Jim Wallace, Alex Carlile and Archy Kirkwood (the last three all in the House of Lords) entered Parliament on the same day.

Simon Hughes was elected in a by-election in March 1983 and he Charles Kennedy and myself as three still serving MPs are having a party for friends and colleagues in London.

My local party is having a modest celebration at which I will be selected to contest the next general election and later in the year the party leader Nick Clegg will be attending the Gordon Liberal Democrats annual dinner at the Marriott in Dyce.

Read "Website Column: mid-June".

June Column

Written by Malcolm Bruce MP on Mon 2nd Jun 2008

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Further decline of our rural post offices

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Although the one post office in my Westminster constituency of Gordon scheduled for closure - at Montgarrie - closed some time ago the reduction in hours for others will come as a disappointment.

Rhynie, Lumsden and Kennethmont will all be reduced to just a few hours a week causing inconvenience for some customers and a loss of income to the businesses.

Rhynie is the busiest and will be displeased to be reduced to two four hour sessions in a week. It will remain in the shop but means that the shop will have to offer the space for the whole week while only receiving a reduced benefit.

Although Lumsden folk will not be unhappy with the move to the shop they are clearly unhappy at the two three hour sessions a week they are offered - especially as one coincides with the over 50s club. There is added uncertainty as the shop and filling station are I am told both going on the market.

Kennethmont is being proposed to have two hour and a half sessions a week.

Collieston will also see a reduction to a few hours - temporarily in the shop but to move shortly to another location - perhaps the village hall if suitable arrangements can be made.

I have been in touch with all the postmistresses and community representatives to offer support for any representations they wish me to make.

Post office closures and cutbacks have been a process of attrition over the last 20 years as they have been stripped of business and may now lose the Post Office Card Account - once a promised lifeline - which could herald the closures of thousands more.

This is sadly not the final word. Those saved today may yet be at risk in the future.

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High oil prices - mixed fortunes for the North East

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Oil prices and oil taxation have been in the headlines recently and are an especially real focus of attention in the North East.

The high oil price is stimulating a massive increase of exploration and appraisal activity as companies try to squeeze maximum production from the reservoirs.

That is obviously good news for service and supply companies and those employed in the sector.

However hard-pressed motorists and hauliers are really feeling the effect and North East businesses are clearly being challenged to stay competitive in the face of record transport costs.

We produce quality products from our traditional industries in the North East but the markets are in the south and they need help to reach them. It should be possible to offer some form of rebate to remote areas to offset the growing disadvantage - and greater incentive to send freight by rail.

In these circumstance we hear the old cry 'It's Scotland's oil'. Well not yet it isn't. I have long argued that Scotland should be entitled to a share in the oil and gas revenues but that should be part of a wholesale reform of UK finances - not a pick and mix solution to suit SNP headlines.

Taxes should be allocated as appropriately to each tier of Government. At present local authorities and health boards which provide most of our daily services are exploited through unfair settlements from both Holyrood and Westminster.

Holyrood gets a block grant instead of an allocation of taxes raised in Scotland to fund the services it provides.

However, to demand a stake in the oil revenues without, for example, offering to take our share of the national debt or social security payments is a one-sided offer made in the certain knowledge that it could not be offered.

That is what the Calman Commission is designed to address and it should look to the work of the Liberal Democrats' Steel Commission of which I am a member which has come up with some radical, fair and transparent proposals.

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Ghana's oil - a second chance and we could help

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I read too that North East companies are hoping to share in the contracts for developing Ghana's offshore oil and gas fields. Given the subsea expertise we have here it should be a reasonable expectation.

Having recently visited Ghana with the International Development Committee

I hope that that country's good fortune will be a blessing for them and not the curse it has proved for so many other African countries.

There are reasonable grounds for optimism. The country is one of the best governed in Africa which appears to have an open and effective democracy.

However, it has suffered under military dictatorships before and its democracy is relatively newly re-established. Its early promise was dashed. This is Ghana's second chance.

There is an election in December. It is to be hoped that this will pass without challenge whether the Government is re-elected or the opposition wins.

It is also to be hoped that a taxation regime for oil and gas will be established that is fair to Ghana, open and transparent and ensure the proceeds flow to the national budget to fund services and development and enable Ghana to fulfil its hopes of becoming a middle income country by 2015 and give Africa a much needed success story.

Training Ghanaians to run their own oil and gas industry may be one of the North East's exports.

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Uncertainty continues over capital projects

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I wonder how long it will be before the gap between SNP promises on capital investment and delivery will become apparent to everyone.

The North East is in major need of new and upgraded schools and leisure facilities, health centres and hospital improvements and transport links - including the Aberdeen By Pass and a commuter rail service between Inverurie and Aberdeen.

Yet these are all being postponed while the administration works out new proposals for funding capital.

Their last statement on the subject talked of £150 million a year. The North East alone could absorb that - yet that is for the whole of Scotland.

I raised this at Prime Minister's questions and although I did not get a satisfactory response it confirmed that there is a gap between what is promised and what is actually happening.

The SNP claim they will deliver £12 billion in capital investment over three years but do not say how, when public agencies have nothing they can bid for and the Scottish Futures Trust which was to be the big answer to PPP is unformulated, may not get Treasury approval and is only talking of £150 million a year.

Meanwhile, how is Aberdeenshire to proceed with seeking funding for new schools, roads, stations, swimming pools etc.? And is it surprising that Garioch Medical Practice have sought their own public private partnership to meet the area's need for a new health centre?

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Slow down and celebrate All Saints

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My family and I enjoyed attending All Saints' Episcopal Church, Whiterashes, for its 150th anniversary service last Sunday afternoon. The church has enjoyed a revival in recent years thanks to the dedication of a few stalwarts and the service, with lusty singing and an address by the Bishop of Aberdeen and Orkney whom I first encountered when he was head of the student chaplaincy at Dundee University.

We were also treated to a virtuoso organ recital from the organist of another Alma Mater, the University of St Andrews.

Afterwards, to my children's delight, given their enforced attention during the service (remarkably good they were) we repaired to the village hall for tea, juice, cakes and chat.

I was reminded that I had first visited the hall nineteen years ago to support the village's campaign for a speed limit.

So next time you are driving through Whiterashes slow down and look at its delightful little church.

Read "June Column".

May (2) Column

Written by Malcolm Bruce MP on Thu 22nd May 2008

Column from Malcolm Bruce MP

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Burma and China - two faces of catastrophe

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Two cataclysmic natural disasters within the same number of weeks is unusual and gives a sharp contrast to the way in which the governments of the countries concerned have handled them.

China has been under the spotlight for its handling of Tibet, but the response to the earthquake has been exemplary in terms of the deployment of China's own rescue services and the relative openness to international help.

Burma's military regime has conspired to turn a natural disaster into a human catastrophe.

Thousands died in cyclone Nargis' tidal surge, but many more are dying as a result of starvation and disease, living in the aftermath without rescue, food or clean water in a tropical swamp filled with dead bodies.

International agencies, NGOs, and charities have been compromised at first in what they can say. The Burmese military have apparently been allowing minimal access which has allowed those with established connections in the country to reach at least some of the survivors. Criticism could clamp down on this limited rescue operation.

Nevertheless there have been calls for the UN to invoke the Responsibility to Protect, which would allow international agencies to enter the country using force if necessary in order to reach those in need of humanitarian aid.

There is a real risk of a monumental diseased epidemic which would threaten survivors made vulnerable by malnutrition and disease under the brutal Burmese regime which has not hesitated to force people off their land and use forced labour to plant and harvest food for the army while the people starve.

The priority now is to do whatever is possible to reach those in desperate need. Governments and others in the region should take the lead with international support.

But this episode just serves to underline the brutality and self serving corruption of the Burmese Government and the desperate need for them to be removed.

China has shown a human reaction to its own disaster. It must stop turning a blind eye to the inhumanity of Burma's generals, whose survival China - along with India - effectively controls.

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New Labour disintegrates

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The Government's embarrassing climb down over the 10p tax rate on top of the credit crunch has brought to an end Gordon Brown's reputation for prudence and economic competence.

As the Liberal Democrats' Treasury spokesman when Gordon Brown came to power, I was never as impressed as commentators were at his competence. After all, he started by sticking to Tory spending plans and adopting the Liberal Democrat policy of giving independence to the Bank of England.

He then made the tax system impenetrably complicated by introducing a 10 pence tax rate and endless means tested benefits.

He banged on about boom and bust economic management while imposing just that on public sector finances. At the same time, he presided over an unsustainable credit boom that many of us criticised as bound to lead to a crunch.

Now he risks presiding over the disintegration of the New Labour project which brought together a coalition of disillusioned Conservatives and core Labour voters. Simultaneously, they are deserting Labour pushing the party into third place behind the Liberal Democrats who made net gains in councils and seats in the local elections in England (and increasing the share of the vote in the Troup by-election in Aberdeenshire).

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Food prices require new strategy for agriculture

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Increase in food prices across the world to record levels has pushed food security issues up the international agenda and threatens to push millions of people into hunger.

Simply to meet its commitments forced the World Food Programme to appeal for $500 million extra dollars increased to $750 million just six weeks into the appeal. Josette Sheeran, Chief Executive of the WFP, told my committee that the price of rice had topped $1000 a tonne.

When we visited the WFP headquarters last week, we were told that the prime cause of record food prices was raising living standards in India and China. Inappropriate subsidies for bio fuels also contributed as did restrictions on exports by producer countries which distorted the market forcing up prices.

While it is expected that once northern harvests start to come in prices will come off the top, they are unlikely to return to the prices prevailing before.

Clearly we need a strategy to increase the productivity of poor farmers in the developing world. Many are barely achieving subsistence and the urban poor need cash to meet rising food bills.

Often this is about improving roads as well as irrigation and fertiliser. It is also about ending export subsidies from Europe while improving the way markets operate.

North East pig farmers, for example, will testify to the fact that pig prices do not meet the costs of production and many will be going out of production. Prices will then go up but too late for many pig farmers. How long before a bacon roll is a luxury item?

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Embryology - stop looking, stop finding

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The embryology and human fertility bill raises ethical issues which clearly exercise many. Certainly, it is a piece of legislation to which all MPs give especially closes attention.

Fundamentally, it is about creating the framework for scientific research in areas which have only recently become possible. For some it goes too far in mixing animal and human cells and predetermining foetuses.

However, I strongly believe, subject to proper regulation and review, we should allow research which could enable us to cure or prevent disease or create wanted siblings with the right genetic mix to save the lives of their older siblings.

Nobody can know whether research will yield positive results, but if we stop looking for cures we are going to stop finding them.

I voted accordingly and I am pleased that so did the overwhelming majority of MPs.

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Ray Michie - partner on Home Rule

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I was very sad at the death of my former colleague and good friend Ray Michie, latterly in the House of Lords as Baroness Michie of Gallanach but from 1987 to 2001 MP for Argyll and Bute.

I knew Ray from when we were both candidates and we campaigned together on many occasions. She was a passionate Home Ruler, and before the 1997 election we jointly wrote a pamphlet on the need for a federal United Kingdom.

In it we suggested that a new written constitution for the United Kingdom should be marked with a new anthem and a new union flag. Paddy Ashdown was furious and disowned our work. It did neither of us any harm as we were both re-elected with dramatically increased majorities.

Ray was educated at Aberdeen High School for Girls and her daughter, Deirdre, who worked as an intern for me, lives in Aberdeen where she has gone on to far higher things.

Ray was enthusiastic for Gaelic and the Highlands and a first class constituency MP. Her commitment to Home Rule should not be confused with nationalism. Ray was every inch a Liberal but she was a patriotic Scot that wanted Scotland's national identity to be fully recognised within the framework of a federal United Kingdom.

She believed, as I do, that Scotland gives and gets more from the union than separately but that for this to work Scotland's identity must be secure. She knew that we need to do more at Westminster to achieve that and she would ensure, as I hope I will, that Scotland will never get sold short under any political label.

Ray was also delightful company, and I have fond memories from early in her time as MP, being warmly entertained in her delightful home in Oban overlooking the island of Kerrera by her and her fun loving husband, Iain, who sadly predeceased her.

Read "May (2) Column".

May Column

Written by Malcolm Bruce MP on Mon 5th May 2008

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Sea change in Labour's fortunes

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The local election results in England and Wales clearly marked a sea change in the fortunes of Labour. It appears that the New Labour project has come off the rails and exposed the fundamental divisions within the Labour Party.

That happened in Scotland a year ago and has now happened in Wales and the North of England. Labour has lost the coalition of Conservative and Social Democrat forces that put it and retained it in power. In the process the party fell into third place behind the Liberal Democrats who also gained seats and councils from both Labour and the Tories.

The issue now is whether voters will spend the time from now through the next election voting for whatever instrument can beat Labour or whether voters will evaluate the merits of alternative parties.

Although voters did turn out for the Conservatives it is not clear either what the Conservatives could do differently in office or what people want them to do. Worryingly the British National Party gained votes and seats and I have certainly met voters in Scotland who are totally opposed to separatism but nevertheless voted SNP to "give Labour a kicking".

Naturally, I hope that people will recognise that the Liberal Democrats are trying to offer a constructive approach to politics through fairer taxes, more local decision making, co-operation internationally and commitment to a balanced environment.

It makes for real debate but if people take part we might have more chance of getting a government people want rather than just throwing out those they have tired of.

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'Listening' Gordon should abandon post office closures

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Nick Clegg was right to address another Labour policy that is generating anger and resentment across Britain - the systematic closure of thousands of our local post offices with the North East in the firing line this month.

The Conservative Government started the process of diverting business away from post offices then stating they were not viable and closing thousands. Labour has accelerated the plan.

What is so infuriating is that successive Governments have failed to provide a business plan or investment that would have helped sustain the network or accept that millions of people use post offices even if the value of transactions is small.

The Government is saying fewer people are using post offices so they need to close them. This ignores the fact that reducing the network and the range of services drives people away.

Nick Clegg called on Labour to halt post office closures now. He is right and if Gordon Brown is listening as he claims he is he will react accordingly.

I am really concerned that communities will be left not only without access to the post office but in some case without a local shop as the loss of the post office will be the last straw.

Once we know our local 'hit list' I will be working with the community to try and limit the damage but without a change of policy it will be very difficult.

I helped develop a policy now adopted by the Liberal Democrats which would help secure investment and a viable future for local post offices. The Government would do well to adopt it.

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North East 'swicked' on business rates

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Aberdeen City Council is currently mired in controversy as a result of a £27 million annual shortfall in its budget. Of course, councillors and directors must be held accountable for the decisions they take but it is clear that the origins of the problems go back many years and the council has been reorganising itself to address them.

So without disagreeing with the need for the council to put its house on order I was shocked to learn by how much the City is being short-changed by the Scottish Executive.

Answers received by my colleague, Alison McInnes MSP, show that businesses in the city paid out a massive £378,178,069 in rates over the last three years and received back only £226,834,000 - a shortfall of £151,344,069.

Allowing for the fact that Aberdeenshire which I also represent is a net beneficiary from the redistribution it is nevertheless the case that North East businesses from the city and shire have over the last three years contributed £51.136million more than the councils have got back.

Population pressures in Aberdeenshire mean we need more school and community facilities but find it hard to meet expectations with a tight funding settlement and a moratorium on new capital projects imposed by the Scottish Executive.

Through business rates and personal taxation the North East makes a substantial positive contribution to the Exchequer and the Scottish Executive. It is high time this was recognised in the funding settlements to our councils and health authorities. On the basis of these figures I would not blame North East businesses and taxpayers for believing we are being swicked.

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Progress on sign language

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There is one area of particular interest to me in which the Prime Minister is playing a helpful role and that is support for sign language.

As a result of a meeting I, sign language users and their representatives had the Government is planning an initiative in England (following on from Wales's example) to set up a model to encourage the wider use of sign language by providing course to the parents of deaf children and training more interpreters.

Ministers are also considering encouraging hearing pupils to learn sign language as a foreign language. This happens in Scandinavia and creates greater awareness of issues facing deaf people within the hearing community as well as providing the base for a pool of possible interpreters.

Eventually I want British (and Irish) Sign Languages to be given legal recognition in the same way as Gaelic and Welsh as this would drive forward the rights of sign language users.

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University must retain global reach

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I had an enjoyable visit to Aberdeen University's Culterty Field Station in Newburgh marking its 50th anniversary and the turf cutting ceremony for an extension to the facilities and the replacement of wooden huts.

I have, of course, visited the centre before during my 25 years as the local MP and indeed enlisted its support to analyse the cause of pollution and eutrophication in the Ythan Estuary. The main problem turned out to be the backwash of sewage from the Aberdeen City outfall rather than the local plant or run-off from the fields.

The centre now has a global reach specialising in deep water observation and the development of vehicles and instruments for carrying this out. Much of the funding for this research comes from the National Environmental Research Council. There is also useful commercial partnership with the offshore oil industry.

It may well be that the Department can provide useful research and information to the Scottish Executive to support the Marine Bill but it is vital that it is not restricted in its ambitions by any outbreak of parochialism.

This, in my opinion, has weakened the Rowett and Craibstone facilities, which once provided UK input but once restricted predominantly to Scotland found it hard to maintain the same pre-eminence.

Universities must always be able to advance on merit and without boundaries if they are to live up to the name. There must be no restriction on their access to UK or international funds.

Read "May Column".

Online column April (3)

Written by Malcolm Bruce MP on Thu 24th Apr 2008

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10p tax rate - where were Labour and Tories?

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Parliament returned this week after a two week recess (that totally failed to overlap with our school holidays) during which I was able to make a number of visits across the constituency.

MPs' return was dominated by the row in the Labour Government over the ending of the 10 pence tax rate. This was astonishing given that the decision to end it was taken a year ago.

At that time only the Liberal Democrats flagged it up. Ming Campbell, our leader at then time, spoke on it in his speech commenting on the Budget and Liberal Democrats forced a vote against it.

The Conservatives abstained and Labour members supported the Government. Only now, under pressure from low income earners hit by the predictable unfairness of the change and the threat to their seats are disaffected Labour MPs teaming up with the Tories to confront the Government.

It is a sorry comment on New Labour that the Chancellor and Prime Minster are maintaining that they will not give in to pressures having just capitulated to the richest people in the country over capital gains tax. I do not favour soaking the rich but I am in favour of a fair and progressive tax system rather than one that overburdens those on low incomes.

I have long called for a system that raises the threshold at which people start paying tax. Right now it is only the Liberal Democrats who are championing that.

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Thanks frae the member fae Auchterturra

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I was delighted to be invited to the celebration of the conferral of the freedom of the City of Aberdeen on Scotland the What? I arrived on the North East in 1971 (an inabootcomer) just as the trio where at the start of their great run.

Of course, as we were reminded, their partnership started at the University and what was to be their final outing at the Edinburgh Fringe became the start of more than 25 years of hilarious entertainment.

For me it drew me into the character of Aberdeen and the North East the richness of the Doric and its understated humour.

Having over the years been privileged to represent Turriff, Huntly, Keith, Rhynie, Clatt and Wartle I suppose in their world I might be the Member for Auchterturra wi' Clatt.

When I was first elected I found myself writing letters on behalf of constituents to 'Buff' Hardie who was then secretary to the Hospital Board. I became a regular attendee at their shows at His Majesty's but also managed to see them twice in London among an appreciative but sometimes mystified audience.

Last year I was also privileged to be seated beside Steve Robertson when he was the guest speaker at Books Abroad's 25 anniversary ball and thoroughly enjoyed his company and the entertainment he provided.

Buff's son continues the tradition (and what an image of his father) in Flying Pigs. In response to their thank you from the familiar boards of His Majesty's I can only respond by saying; "George Donald, Steve Robertson and Buff Hardie, thanks for the memories and (as it says in the official language of their freedom scrolls) above all for 'makin a'body laugh'."

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Going backwards on the by-pass and A90

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No Government can do everything expected of them and certainly cannot do it all at once but I am deeply disappointed that our key transport needs are going backwards in terms of start and completion.

The last administration in Edinburgh had set a timetable for the Western Peripheral Route and the dual carriageway on the A90 between Tipperty and Balmedie of 2010. The Western Peripheral Route was then put back to 2011.

However both these projects have been delayed by the administration to 2012 for the A90 and 2013 for the Western Peripheral Route. These are serious slippages.

Major infrastructure projects always take time both in terms of planning and public enquiries and then in tendering and construction. However, this delay looks much more like constraints on the budget as the administration tries to fulfil too many uncosted promises it can't now afford.

Business and commuters north and west of Aberdeen will be seriously affected by this delay and as housing development continues congestion will increase.

Ministers were keen to announce the appointment of reporters for the preliminary hearing for a public enquiry claiming that people will be pleased they are getting on with the by-pass.

They are less keen to advertise the fact that under the SNP the date for the completion of the by-pass and the Balmedie - Tipperty dual carriageway has slipped two to three years

That makes the lack of any commitment to a commuter rail service even more disappointing. Literally, thousands of people commute each day between Inverurie and Kintore and Aberdeen and it is hard to believe that a commuter rail service would not be well used.

It would also reduce pollution and congestion and offers environmental benefits. Yet the administration has shown no appetite for bringing it forward.

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Garioch swimmers deserve a pool

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Visiting Inverurie Academy this week I was bombarded with questions on a wide range of topics. What was clear is that young swimmers in the Garioch are keen to see the building of a 50 metre pool in the North East.

Naturally, those of us who have been campaigning for an Olympic pool for the North East for years welcome the news of a contribution from some branch of the Scottish Government.

What is a little puzzling is the Scottish Sports Minister has been unclear and fairly unsupportive. Yet, last week the first minister appeared in an exclusive (i.e. managed news) on the front page of one of our local daily papers clutching a sheaf of used tenners 'for the pool'.

With the more than £5million put aside by the City Council, support from the University and possible support from other institutions, including Aberdeenshire Council, we are well on the way to realising a proper Olympic Pool - in time, I hope for the run up to the London Olympics in 2012.

Credit for this should go to those dedicated swimmers and their coaches who have campaigned for years first to persuade the City Council to give a lead and then to produce swimming performances that show we have swimmers of real class who deserve facilities to match.

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We need to work together for fairer funding

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The funding crisis affecting Aberdeen City reinforces the need for a fairer long term settlement for both are local councils. Finding £27million of savings out of the current year's budget is clearly painful and controversial.

However it is also true that the City has the lowest funding settlement in Scotland and has had to meet the high cost of single status which should have been resolved years ago and was imposed but not funded by Government. Social work budgets have also risen way above inflation. Clearly the city has had to take action.

Aberdeenshire is not unaffected having to impose two per cent cuts across the board and finding its settlement has reduced from 92% of the Scottish average to 88%.

So why is it that two of the richest areas of Scotland suffer the tightest financial settlement?

The main reason is that funding for local authorities comes from council tax (frozen this year) and Government grants which are more generously applied to other authorities.

Our businesses pay their rates to Edinburgh not to Aberdeen or Aberdeenshire as they did before the Tories established a national business rate. Almost certainly much of this - possibly tens of millions of pounds a year -is being diverted elsewhere.

With high employment and above average pay (although not for everyone) we also pay above average income tax to central government and most of that we never see again.

Yet our need for services is at least as great as elsewhere and the cost of providing them in many cases higher because of distance and a relative small population base.

Whatever the formula is based on it does not seem to fit the needs of the North East.

We need to go a lot further than replacing the council tax with a local income tax, which the Scottish Parliament probably cannot do on the existing settlement.

We need business taxes to be paid directly to the local authorities and more of personal taxes paid locally to stay locally with a matching reduction in the level of tax raised by the Exchequer.

In the long run we need local taxes for local services.

In the meantime we need a fairer settlement for the North East and all our political parties locally should get together to fight for that. Otherwise, these crisis will recur and not just in the City.

Read "Online column April (3)".

April (2) Column

Written by Malcolm Bruce MP on Mon 7th Apr 2008

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Hannah's success makes the case for a 50 metre pool

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Homegrown swimming talents such as Hannah Miley strenghtens the case for an Olympic pool in Aberdeen

I continue to be thrilled and delighted by the amazing progress of Inverurie swimmer Hannah Miley who has qualified twice over for a place in the British Olympic team. She has established British and European records and continues to improve spectacularly making her a real medal prospect with her eyes firmly set on gold.

It is several years since her father Patrick who is also her coach came to see me and invited me to the Garioch swimming club to meet Hannah and other swimmers who were achieving great results in cramped and difficult conditions.

It is from that time that I became a champion of the campaign for improved swimming and other sporting facilities in the north east and especially for the provision of a 50 metre Olympic sized pool.

So far this has not borne fruit for Hannah who has had to travel to train to an Olympic standard.

Undeterred Hannah, who is an outstanding role model for young people, has carried on determined and cheerful.

I am told there are other young girls coming up behind her who are achieving times better than Hannah at their age which bodes well for the future but reinforces the case for a 50 metre pool in the North East. With other North East swimmers achieving Olympic standards we surely merit some investment which at the moment all seems headed for the central belt.

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No boycott but China must change

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It is perhaps because of personal knowledge of an Olympic hopeful that I view with mixed reactions current protests surrounding the Beijing Olympics.

Malcolm does not back a boycott of the Beijing Olympics but does call for China to change

I am pleased that the protesters are generally not calling for a boycott of the games. To deny a dedicated young sportswoman like Hannah Miley her opportunity to compete would be unbearably hard and inappropriate.

China's record on human rights and democracy not only in Tibet but across China is well known and has not changed since the decision to go to Beijing was made.

I don't blame protesters for taking advantage of the games to highlight China's record and the Chinese authorities were naïve if they didn't expect it.

China has benefited from our trade and we have benefited from cheap Chinese manufactures. Nevertheless, China faces growing criticism for its repression of Tibet, acquiescence in the situation in Darfur and abuses of human rights across China itself.

The Chinese leadership should stop denouncing the Dalai Lama and meet with him. He is after all asking for autonomy for Tibet within China something that Hong Kong has.

I will be visiting China in June, leading MPs from the International Development Committee. We will be discussing our poverty reduction programme in China and partnership with the Chinese in third countries.

We need to engage with China not isolate or exclude it but the stormy progress of the Olympic torch may help the Chinese to realise that their enhanced status in the world requires a change of attitude over human rights and freedom of expression.

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Labour taxes low earners

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More than a year after it was announced it seems Labour MPs have just woken up the unfairness of the abolition of the 10 p tax rates and the unpopularity of the Government's post office closure programme.

Liberal Democrats voted against this at the end of last year's budget debate when Labour MPs who are now protesting supported their government.

Since the time I was Treasury spokesman for the Liberal Democrats I have strongly supported reforming the tax system to reduce the threshold at which people start paying tax.

It is unfair that lower earners pay a far higher percentage of their income in tax than higher earners. This Government introduced the 10p rate claiming it would help do just that. So abolishing it increases the burden of taxation on lower earners.

The Government claim that this is offset by improved child benefit, working tax credits and fuel allowances but not every body qualifies or applies for these and millions will be poorer from this week.

Ironically, these are many of the same people who use their local post offices for cash transactions in some cases because they do not have or cannot get a bank account. Their lives will be made even more difficult when their local post office closes.

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Zimbabwe - Africa must stand up for change

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Many people, I know will be watching the deteriorating situation in Zimbabwe with growing despair. It is clear that Robert Mugabe and ZANU-PF have suffered a major electoral setback yet he and his cronies and thugs are still trying to steal power back.

Africa must stand up for change in Zimbabwe - Malcolm

Of course, we in the UK, the former colonial power have no credibility as critics and are caricatured as the enemy, and the opposition are being accused of being stooges for white neo-colonialists.

In reality, what is clear is that the economy of Zimbabwe has collapsed, inflation is unimaginable and only the support of expatriate money from exiles is keeping many people alive.

What is crucial now is that African leaders, especially South Africa, stand up and fight for democratic change in Zimbabwe.

Zimbabwe's problems are not limited to itself. The whole region has been dragged down. Zimbabwe was and could be again a driver of economic progress and success which would invigorate the whole of southern Africa.

The UK has rightly led the commitment to give priority and substantial extra investment in aid and development to Africa. If African leaders stand back and allow Mugabe to retain unconstrained power in Zimbabwe then I believe people in the developed world would be right to question whether this commitment was well placed.

The world is watching Zimbabwe and how Africa deals with it. This could be a critical turning point for Africa. I hope it is in a positive direction.

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MPs expenses - reform must be fair and transparent

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It is open season for the media and the public to attack MPs salaries and expenses. It is easy to do and my general reaction is just to get on with my job.

Nevertheless, it is clear that we need to review the system, have it independently adjudicated and compared with comparable situations on the private sector and based fully on receipts and full disclosure.

The annual amounts claimed by each MP under the main headings have been disclosed in recent years. For the last full year mine are as follows:

The House of Commons' Chamber

The headings covered are for accommodation in London (£19,518), incidental expenses (mainly costs of running a constituency office) (£20,183), staffing (salaries and employers national insurance for three full time staff) (£86,566); members' travel (£24,485); members' staff travel (£4,179); centrally purchased stationery (£728); postage (£2,134) computer equipment (£787)

These allowances have been established because MPs do work long hours, are away from home for four days a week for much of the year and travel extensively around their constituencies and between London and Westminster.

To do this they need staff support, a place to stay in London and the means to rent and run an office in their constituency.

This is all now being reviewed. I hope the outcome will be an arrangement that is clear fair and transparent. Of course it will not satisfy those who regard all MPs as a waste of space and money but will perhaps meet with some approval from those who recognise our parliamentary democracy requires to be funded in a reasonable fashion.

ENDS

Read "April (2) Column".

April Column

Written by Malcolm Bruce MP on Fri 28th Mar 2008

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Budget does not inspire

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Alastair Darling's first budget does not seem to have boosted confidence in the fragile state of the economy. A big hike in spirits duty will raise little revenue but serves to damage the whisky industry's exports just as it was making real progress in a number of key markets.

The last time whisky duty was increased was when Ken Clark slapped it on in a fit of pique after losing the vote on VAT on domestic fuel. It damaged the industry while generating less revenue and was subsequently reversed.

The industry is currently investing in new capacity with new distilleries planned for example in Huntly and Buckie. Hopefully, this setback will not deter new investment.

The ending of the 10 tax rate represents an increased tax bill for lower earners who are also faced with rising food and fuel costs. If lower interest rates are not passed on to mortgages then consumer spending will further depress the economy.

The Chancellor did not have much room for manoeuvre but this budget does not inspire.

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Garioch Life Centre needs considered decision

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Liberal Democrats are currently asking locals in Inverurie for their views on the proposed Garioch Life Centre.

There have been objections from immediate neighbours, those concerned about the football pitch and those who do not approve of the commercial elements in the centre.

However, there is also widespread recognition that Inverurie needs a new health centre and at a time of constraint in public service funding complementary partnership between the providers of health care and related commercial interests may be the best and perhaps the only way to secure the investment.

I understand the site will accommodate the new medical centre, related parking and an upgraded football pitch under the control of the Academy.

The football pitch will therefore not only be secured but upgraded to Sports Scotland specification.

Most of the building will be used by the medical centre with room for expansion, by Aberdeenshire Council health related staff, a spa/gymnasium, pharmacy and other health related units.

This means the building will be overwhelmingly allocated to health and lifestyle related services.

In sum, the commercial elements of the development will contribute to the capital cost of the building, pitch upgrade, parking, running costs and maintenance.

NHS Grampian is facing significant constraints on its capital allocation. It is important that the community takes a balanced and objective view of what is proposed. This is, after all, what the local health service providers believe is the best way forward. To reject it would clearly make future provision of local health services problematic. That is the dilemma facing the planners.

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Post office closure plan flawed

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In the next few weeks the list of post offices facing closure in the North East will be published. We already know that the consultation process is a sham. Elsewhere in the country where a campaign has succeeded in keeping one post office open another one has closed.

What is more serious however is that the strategy behind the latest batch of closures is fundamentally flawed. The theory seems to be that post office business is in decline (largely as a result of Government policy to drive people away) and that by closing offices the remaining business will be shared among the offices which remain open making the business more viable.

However, the Post Office has already closed 3000 post offices and the business has declined more than predicted. So further reduction in the network will weaken the Post Office's unique selling point - its accessibility.

The idea that, if rural offices are closed, people will travel to the nearest surviving one does not bear examination. They will either go elsewhere for services not exclusive to the Post Office or more likely for postal services they will go to the one in a town adding to the queues and inconvenience there.

So we are embarked on a process of attrition when what is required is investment in the fabric and infrastructure of the network, recognition of the social benefit of the post office and imaginative ways of developing new services to generate income.

I am afraid that is too much to hope for and meanwhile we will just have to make the best case we can to keep open the offices that are vital to the rural economy.

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North East Tourism under-promoted

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A snowy Easter was probably not the best way to launch the tourist season although it has provided an unexpected late boost for the ski resorts.

It remains my view that the Scottish tourist authorities underestimate the attractions of the North East and consequently under-promote our area.

For most people Scottish Tourism means Edinburgh and the Highlands. Yet, much as I enjoy the west coast the variety of indoor and outdoor things for people to do in a narrow range is far greater here.

Golfing holidays are popular and with new golf courses being developed across the region can become more so. To that we can add castles, distilleries, coastal, mountain and hill walks and entertainment, leisure and shopping.

That said we need more in the way of modern attractions and it is unfortunate that there is not only a shortage of investment but the financial settlement for Aberdeen City is so tight that what there is, is being curtailed.

As new air services to and from Aberdeen grow we need more attractions and we need to promote and support what we have got. To illustrate two of these I visited the Glen Garioch visitor centre and Dean's new café and shop to mark British Tourism week.

I was, at the same time delighted that the bill proposing to put the clocks permanently forward made no progress in the House. It comes up every year as surely as reports of the first cuckoo.

Geography dictates that time zones are based on the Greenwich meridian. Ninety per cent of the British Isles lie to the west of this meaning that we are firmly in the correct zone but if leaning anyway it is towards Atlantic Time.

It is France and Spain which are in the wrong time zone not us. That is why when we last tried it it was unpopular throughout the UK not just in Scotland and Northern Ireland. It is also why Portugal abandoned it and reverted to the same time zone as us.

Changing the clocks will not boost tourism. Investment and promotion will.

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Ministers make progress on sign language

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My call to the Prime Minister to boost support for sign language is making progress. Two ministers, Andrew Adonis and Ed Balls have both been I touch to confirm their commitment and take information from those involved as to how to move forward.

I really hope this may be the start of a move to give full legal recognition of British and Irish sign languages and to train and provide many more interpreters.

At the moment, Wales leads the way. Now I hope England will make advances and Scotland will not be left behind.

Interestingly, last week I met the Polish disabilities minister and interested Polish MPs who are considering giving sign language legal recognition. If they do I believe it will signal to the UK that this is the way forward.

ENDS

Read "April Column ".

Mid-March Column

Written by Malcolm Bruce on Thu 13th Mar 2008

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Scotland only local income tax presents a challenge

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I have long campaigned for the unfair council tax to be replaced by a fairer system based on ability to pay. There is probably a majority in the Scottish Parliament for such a change but it is going be a major challenge to introduce it on a Scotland only basis.

I have already stated my view that freezing the council tax may be a short- term populist measure, especially when coupled with cuts in capital spending, that could lead to damaging cuts in services.

The problem that also then arises is that the benefit and tax credit system is administered by Westminster, where ministers have said that the £400 million paid in council tax benefit is not money for the Scottish Parliament to spend.

That means that replacing the council tax with a local income tax using the Scottish Parliament's 3p in the pound tax-raising powers, will be difficult and will require top up grants to compensate for the loss of benefits and the shortfall between 3p and the 5p to 6p which straight replacement of council tax will require.

An additional problem will arise if the SNP insists that the tax rate is set centrally rather than locally as this would negate the major point of the tax.

Within this constrained framework councils would have even less control over their own resources.

Personally, I favour a more radical solution that would leave more of the taxes we pay going directly to our local councils and health boards rather than being 'laundered' by the Treasury.

But a radical reform such as that would need to be introduced UK wide and that requires the removal of centralising parties from their present dominance.

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Scotland's pig producers deserve sustainable deal

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I met a delegation of local pig farmers lobbying Parliament last week. Unlike other agriculture sectors raising pigs has never attracted subsidies and the farmers are not looking for any now.

The problem is that the industry lost money when movement restrictions were imposed following last year's foot and mouth outbreak resulting from negligence for which they have received no compensation.

Malcolm Bruce met with farmers from his constituency to hear the concerns they have for the pig industry.

What has made matters worse is a sharp rise in cereal prices increasing feed costs. So production costs have increased but there has been no corresponding increase to the farmers meaning they are all losing money on every pig that goes to market.

This is clearly unsustainable and is causing further contractions in Scotland's already much reduced pig herd.

From the consumer's point of view this means that we will have less opportunity to buy British pig meat which is subject to the highest welfare standards in Europe and will be buying pork and bacon reared in conditions that we in the UK have outlawed.

Government and supermarkets should act now to avoid further decline.

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End discrimination against North Sea investment

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Last week the Scottish Liberal Democrats adopted a motion calling on the Government to end its tax discrimination that is depressing investment in the UK oil and gas industry.

The Scottish Liberal Democrats have called on the Government to end the tax discrimination which has depressed investment in the UK oil and gas industry.

The industry is vital to our local economy but also supports hundreds of thousands of jobs across the UK as well as contributing to our balance of payments which, without the North Sea, would move from disastrous to dire.

Yet the Government, along with the majority of public opinion sees only record profits for the oil majors, $100 a barrel oil and up to 110p a litre at the pumps.

What they do not recognise is that the North Sea is an expensive province and the UK tax regime is seen to be capricious compared with other areas.

Many of the oil and gas jobs are in small and medium companies operating in a highly competitive environment, which is vulnerable to short term changes. Projects for long term exploration and development look at average prices and the cost of alternatives. The threat of unexpected adverse tax changes could be enough to derail a marginal development.

In the coming decades we will need to reduce our dependence on fossil fuels and develop alternatives some of which will adapt the subsea and offshore technology in which the North Sea excels.

Nevertheless, we need to maximise long term production from our own oil and gas reserves using more sustainable methods. The Government's opportunist tax grabs show scant understanding of this.

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Case for compulsory ID cards losing support

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The Government announced the start of the first phase of identity cards last week, starting with foreign workers, who, of course, have no votes and no right to protest. They then move onto airport workers, who all have identity cards as a condition of employment, anyway.

The whole approach shows that the Government is now on the back foot on the whole issue. The project, which could cost £19 billion is hugely expensive and fails to inspire public confidence.

The Government is losing public support for a compulsary ID card scheme.

Recent losses of millions of personal records from Government databases have reinforced most people's views - and certainly mine - that Government cannot be trusted with our information that most of us don't want them to have.

Government computer date processing schemes have to date proved expensive and unreliable. It is not credible that ID cards will defeat determined terrorists or criminals. They will however cause inconvenience and limit the freedoms of most law-abiding citizens.

Government has now said they will not be made compulsory without a vote in Parliament, clearly recognising that Tony Blair's previous gung ho determination to steamroller them through won't wash and that Parliament, in its present mood is unlikely to vote them through in the face of public scepticism.

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Parliaments and voters can't negotiate treaties

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I spoke in the debate on the amendment proposing a referendum on the Lisbon Treaty making it clear why I wouldn't support it.

I am not an enthusiast for the referendum as an instrument of policy making because I am not convinced it does lead to the wide, deep and considered debate people claim.

Nevertheless, when the EU was considering sweeping away all the accumulated treaties since the Treaty of Rome and replacing it with one over-arching constitution, I was persuaded this would have been a radical re-launch of the European Union, warranting a watershed referendum - especially as constitutional requirements necessitated this in a number of member states.

However, this project fell at the first two fences in France and the Netherlands taking us back to the traditional way of updating the rules of the EU by negotiating an amending treaty.

That was a difficult and painful process, requiring long negotiation among 27 member states under first the British and then the German presidency.

It is not possible for Parliaments to negotiate treaties still less voters. Lisbon has actually returned some powers, strengthened the role of national Parliaments, granted key opt-outs to the UK and other members and set out the basis to leave the EU.

If member states had a referendum and voted no it would be impossible to know what to do next as individual voters would have had different reasons for voting.

It would be possible for voters to vote for a re-launched EU with a constitution or to vote as to whether we want to stay in the EU as amended by the Lisbon Treaty.

So I can accept the case for a referendum for Yes/No to the EU but voting on the Lisbon Treaty would cause chaos and confusion. After the pain of the last two years the enlarged EU needs the working arrangements of the new Treaty.

Read "Mid-March Column".

March Column

Written by Malcolm Bruce on Mon 3rd Mar 2008

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Hope for 2010 rail freight deal

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I had a very useful meeting with Transport Minister, Jim Fitzpatrick about support for switching freight from the North East to the south from road to rail.

Malcolm Bruce has discussed with Transport Minister Jim Fitzpatrick the need to extend incentives for companies in the North East to switch to rail freight services.

Under the present arrangements grants are available for loads travelling from the south and being redistributed from Grangemouth. However, loads returning south to England (where most of our markets are) without being offloaded in Scotland do not currently qualify for support.

As a result the present service, which has been supported up to now by ASDA, is in danger of folding.

I was accompanied to the meeting by neighbouring MP Sir Robert Smith and Aberdeen North MP. Frank Doran has also given support to our representations.

It became clear that the present arrangements were negotiated by the central belt without proper consideration of the needs of the North East. Had these been taken into account it is possible the outcome may have been different.

Because the scheme requires the support of the European Commission there is no chance of amending it. However a new scheme to be brought into effect by April 2010 is currently being planned and the Department have told us they would be very willing to work with North East freight companies on the criteria and how they could meet them.

We have passed on the relevant contacts to the local companies involved and very much hope they will be able to persuade the department of the strength of the case. We will also make representations to the European Commission in support.

The reality is that the north east of Scotland is an economically productive area producing a range of high quality goods for markets in the south and abroad.

However rising transport costs are a major challenge and we pressed the minister to recognise how they could help reduce our balance of payments deficit and help the environment by ensuring our quality goods get to markets competitively by rail.

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Fair Trade good - but not the whole answer

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Consumer support for Fairtrade has increased rapidly and continues to play a valuable role in helping to assist development in countries and communities.

I was happy to attend the launch of Fair Trade fortnight early this week. I have already written to all the schools in the constituency urging them to take part in the fair trade campaign. I know many of them already do.

The rise of consumer support for Fair Trade products has been phenomenal growing by over 80 per cent this year. Ellon is already a Fair Trade town and other communities are following suit.

Seven million producers across the developing world are receiving income boosts through supplying fair trade products.

Of course this is no substitute for fair trade deals and reaches only a fraction of the 2 billion people living on less than a pound a day. Nevertheless it does give hope and gives us ordinary consumers a chance to do something in our daily lives to help at least some poor people in the world.

Ironically, world food prices have risen sharply making the poorest people even poorer while giving some hope to small farmers in developing countries of a rise in incomes. The trick is to bring these things together to raise the living standards of all poor people.

So buy and promote all fair trade products and keep pressing the Government and international institutions to do even more to tackle poverty.

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Outrage at Speaker's ruling

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I share the outrage of my Liberal Democrat colleague, Ed Davey MP, that the Speaker of the House of Commons refused to allow a debate on an amendment proposing a referendum on Britain's future membership of the European Union.

What made it worse was that the Speaker who has presided over the opening stages of each day's debate on the Lisbon Treaty absented himself from the chair on this occasion leaving it to his hapless deputy.

A number of my colleagues had worked long and hard with the clerks of the House to formulate an amendment that was entirely in order and available for debate.

Yet the Speaker chose to deny 63 MPs representing at the last election almost a quarter of the vote debating a crucial and distinctive position.

This would not be allowed in most democratic institutions I know. Ironically in the unelected House of Lords for example every amendment that is in order can be debated and voted on. Otherwise there is usually a business committee where these issues are thrashed out beforehand.

Only in the House of Commons is it left to the discretion of the Speaker who kowtows almost entirely to the Government and the official Opposition.

On the issue let me say I campaigned in the last election to support a referendum on a European Constitution that subsumed all the existing Treaties from the Treaty of Rome, through the single European Act, Maastricht and Amsterdam. The Treaty of Lisbon does not do that but adds to the existing treaties,

The Treaty cannot be amended only accepted or rejected. If the UK by Parliamentary vote or referendum did not ratify the treaty the other member states would move forward without us leaving us marginalised.

Therefore the issue we have to take to the British people is given it is more than thirty years since we last voted on it should we not decide whether our futures lies fully in or fully out of the EU. There is no space for a semi- detached member.

There is much that can and should be done to improve the EU, although there is also much to commend it. But the UK cannot lead Europe from the touchlines as we found the last time the Tories were in Government.

All parties in Parliament are entitled to our view but we should also be allowed to debate it.

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No Plan B on capital spending

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The SNP are getting very hot under the collar about criticisms by me and other Liberal Democrats at the crisis they are creating in capital investment by local authorities which threatens our school building and leisure development programmes. I guess we have touched a raw nerve.

The SNP rant and rave at the massive strides they claim to be making and keep saying nothing happened when the Liberal Democrats were in Government when in reality we had new schools, transport upgrades, health centres etc.

The point we are concerned about is that the SNP have decided to develop a new way of funding capital developments which they hope will unlock capital more efficiently than the old PFI systems.

Well, I wish them well in that but I have two major concerns. The first is that they have suspended all new capital bids (while claiming the credit for the ones that were already in the pipeline). Secondly, their new scheme needs approval from the Treasury who have indicated that it will not be forthcoming.

There appears to be no Plan B (other than the prospect of a synthetically created SNP-London row) so that we could end up after two years of no development with no plans for restarting it.

For a growth area like the North East this has serious consequences. We urgently need new and upgraded schools but everything is on hold. The SNP want swimming lessons for all children but there is no prospect of replacing our overcrowded swimming pools.

So, we will continue to ask the questions looking for answers not the bluster which is all we are getting so far.

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Brazil has own agenda as climate change confuses

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There is concern from Brazil that they are accused of destruction of the Amazon rainforest in a bid to produce bio-fuels.

The challenge of climate change is complicated and multi-layered. As a founder of the G8 plus 5 climate change dialogue I was in Brazil last week to discuss the prospects for international agreements that could meet the needs of the developed and developing world.

The complication came from India and China who are experiencing their coldest winter for years which, they believe, defies the warnings of global warning. However, this is entirely compatible with the climate change predictions.

Brazil, however, has a different message. Brazilians feel angry that the world is attacking them over bio-fuels and the destruction of the rain forest.

Brazil has spent more than 20 years developing sustainable production of ethanol from sugar cane waste. Now with 100m dollar oil they are ready to take it to the world market but bio fuels are being condemned because of practices in the USA and Indonesia.

Brazil insists that they are not destroying the Amazon rain forest and they are trying to promote sustainable development of their other forests consistent with giving land to their poorest people.

We in Europe can barely comprehend the size of Brazil. The whole of Europe would fit inside the country with a margin to spare. I visited the Pantanal in Matto Grosso, itself one state in Brazil (not the biggest) which measure s2000 kilometres in all directions.

An overlay map showed Belgium, Ireland and Switzerland not quite covering the whole Pantanal just a small area of the province.

President Lula da Silva gave us some robust figures to show Brazil can produce food and bio fuels and protect the forests. They would like understanding and support. Will they get it?

Read "March Column".

Late January Column

Written by Malcolm Bruce MP on Wed 30th Jan 2008

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Rail expensive and doesn't compete…

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At a time when air travel is experiencing disruption and delays it is worth underlining that the North of Scotland is not well served by service alternatives, especially rail, a matter I raised in the House this week.

I rarely if ever travel to London by rail - not because of any prejudice on my part - quite the contrary I enjoy rail journeys but because the journey time is prohibitively long for someone travelling to and from London every few days.

Speaking in a recent Westminster Hall debate, Malcolm Bruce called for improved rail links between North East Scotland & England.

I am therefore pressing the Government for their policy on improving the quality, reliability and competitiveness of existing services as well as their vision or lack of it for the future.

If you are planning a rail journey from the North East finding the best route and fare is not easy. Gone are the days when you can go into a ticket office and get the best advice.

To give an example my office priced a journey for a long weekend next month from Thursday- Monday starting from Huntly to Bristol. The cheapest price for one adult is a Saver Return at £168.30 on a restricted ticket. If you wanted to purchase an open ticket it would be £279.00 for a Standard Open Return. Quite a jump. However, you may be able to obtain a cheaper fare if you have the patience and time to investigate the single fares on offer too. If you do, you can eventually find a fare for £92 - again restricted to the trains specified.

Incidentally, this journey will take 10½ by train compared to 9 hrs 55 minutes for the 547 miles by road (according to the AA's route planner).

It is hardly surprising that people opt for cheap air travel when they can - especially as the three cross border train operating companies have some of the biggest fare increases and generate the most complaints.

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…And we lack the vision of the French

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Apart from delivering a more reliable service which offers better value for money the Government has shown no strategic vision for the future.

Where the French have built a network of very high speed trains and also intermediate links we offer an unreliable under-invested service.

For example there is a direct Eurostar summer service from London to Avignon which takes 5 and a quarter hours and costs £189 return. Paris to Marseille is a regular service, which takes 3 hours and 3 minutes and costs typically £36.50 return. London to Edinburgh is an even shorter distance yet has a minimum journey time of 4hours 12 minutes.

Yes it would cost a lot of money to follow the French example. Network Rail estimates £50 billion to build lines to Glasgow, Edinburgh and Wales.

Yet we are talking about a new Forth crossing costing £4.5 billion. If that money could be found by the Scottish Government then a Scotland UK strategic partnership could surely fund the billions needed over the next ten to 15 years to invest in our railways.

Nor should we accept that investment stops at Edinburgh and Glasgow. There is little benefit in cutting the journey time to Edinburgh to 2 and a half hours and find it takes longer to reach Aberdeen.

If the journey time for the 120 miles from Aberdeen to Edinburgh could be cut to around two hours then we might get close to a journey time to London that can compete with air.

So far the Government have ducked out of an investment that would provide a real legacy.

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Standing up for Scottish banknotes

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Malcolm Bruce recently raised the issue of universal acceptance for Scottish bank notes.

Last week I also made a stand for Scottish banknotes which enjoy a somewhat anomalous status.

They are issues by the Scottish clearing banks under the authorisation of the Bank of England yet they are not legal tender in the way Bank of England notes are.

I asked the Secretary of State to ensure their acceptance in England where they are increasingly being taken.

He stressed they are legal, accepted by English banks for no charge and should be acceptable everywhere. While that is helpful information and support it doesn't help those who face difficulties using the south of the border.

Maybe the Scottish banks should provide guidance on their notes to avoid difficulty and embarrassment. After all they account for a disproportionate share of UK banking.

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Afghanistan a different challenge from Iraq

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The International Development Committee of which I am chairman will shortly be producing two reports on the quite different conflicts in which the UK is engaged namely Iraq and Afghanistan.

It is clear that Iraq is a quite different situation than Afghanistan and may lead to different conclusions.

Our committee is quite clear that although Afghanistan is difficult and the outcome by no means certain there is a good reason for our involvement.

Security in the region and the wider world will benefit from a stable Afghanistan and talking poverty among the Afghan people can only be achieved in a stable and secure environment.

The challenge is to provide enough security to enable development to take place and bring down poverty.

Since the Taleban, two million girls have been enrolled in schools and basic health care covers most of the country.

This basic provision needs to be improved and capacity of the Afghan armed forces, police and local and national government improved.

This will only be achieved if the insurgency can be kept in check and the international and national agencies co-ordinate their activities better. It is , I believe, worth doing what we can to help.

The people of Afghanistan have seen so many changes of regime they see all of them as transitory and so hedge their bets.

Forthcoming elections represent a challenge and will inevitably see criticism focused on outsiders. If democracy were to fail and the Taleban to return our security would be threatened but progress for the Afghan people, especially women and girls would be reversed.

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Rules blunt excess of ambition?

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There is a certain irony in the fact that leading Labour politicians competing for internal elections have got themselves into so much difficulty over donations.

In the cases of Harriet Harman, Wendy Alexander and Alan Johnson the amounts are fairly small but nevertheless the rules were set up by the Labour Government so there is little excuse.

In the case of Peter Hain we are talking several donations totalling a very large amount and triggering a police investigation. He had no choice to resign and may not be back.

The irony is that in his youth Mr Hain was a hot headed young Liberal who advocated civil disobedience. As his political ambition grew he turned his back on that to seek high office as a pillar of the Labour establishment. He has lost office over an election he didn't win and didn't need to enter. Maybe he has been caught by an excess of ambition.

Read "Late January Column ".

January Column

Written by Malcolm Bruce on Wed 16th Jan 2008

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Nick's New Year confidence

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As the House of Commons returned after the Christmas break the new Liberal Democrat leader, Nick Clegg, had his first chance to question the Prime Minister. He chose to concentrate on winter fuel bills after record fuel price increases.

His delivery was confident and the general view of the House was that he had done well. It was also an appropriate issue which the Government has yet to address. Winter fuel payments have not kept pace with price increases which means more people will worry about the cost of heating their homes.

Fellow Liberal Democrat MP, Steve Webb, reinforced the message by asking why the Government was cutting back on the Warm Front scheme, which offers grants to people towards insulating their homes. Here in the North East we have a lot of houses built in the Seventies for which effective ways of insulation do not exist and the Government should be doing more to help meet this challenge.

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PM backtracks on ID cards

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Also at Question Time the Prime Minister appeared to start backtracking on the Government's commitment to compulsory ID cards. When challenged he said that the Government was moving ahead with it but it would depend on an assessment of the voluntary scheme and a vote in Parliament.

This appeared to be recognition that there has been a loss of public confidence in the security of data following the disappearance of millions of records.

ID cards are very expensive and contrary to the Government's claims will not help defeat terrorism or serious crime.

It now appears that a majority of MPs has turned against something that threatens individual liberties at vast expense and could lead to the abuse of data.

Government should only collect the data it needs and only use it for the specific purpose for which it was collected. It cannot be trusted with more.

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Nuclear cuckoo in the nest

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The Government also committed itself to more nuclear power stations for England and Wales while claiming all the risks should be borne by the private sector. Time will tell whether this will make a difference and close monitoring will be needed of energy pricing mechanisms that could be manipulated to favour nuclear power.

My concern is that just as alternative technologies such as wind, wave, tidal, solar, combined heat and power, biofuels and energy efficiency are beginning to offer competitive results and new technologies such as carbon capture offer real potential billions of pounds could be diverted to nuclear power.

It could act like the cuckoo in the nest of our energy policy, squeezing out other fledgling technologies.

There are other concerns too. The cost of dealing with the radioactive waste so far collected is estimated by Government at £70 billion and that is not even for a permanent safe solution.

Apart from that if we argue that we must have nuclear power to meet our emissions targets it is difficult to state that other countries such as China, India or Iran should not invest hea