A Rose by any other Name.....

I spent Monday at home and yesterday in parliament, listening to the Same Sex Marriage debate. It was at times infuriating, moving and challenging. There is no doubt that this is an issue that divides opinion, often, but not always, along religious lines. To be honest it highlights, maybe like no other issue, the need to disestablish the church.

My view is that the most sensible way to have resolved the differences of opinion would have been to accept the amendments proposed by Greg Mulholland and Simon Hughes making the distinction between religious and civil marriage clear. It would have then been far easier to have made the case to faith groups that what they choose to do with regard to recognising same sex marriage, or second marriages or whatever else, is their business and what the state does is the state’s business. To quote my dear pal Colin Ross (who was also quoted by Greg in his speech):

“I am a gay man and not religious. If I wanted to spend my life in a loving relationship recognised by the state I want to be able to do that – without any religion having their opinion on it – but what is more I want to have the same rights as everyone else. The current Marriage (same sex couples) Bill does not offer equality, the legislation is flawed it still doesn’t provide equality especially in respect of pension rights when one partner dies and issues affecting the Trans community, likewise the Civil Partnership legislation was not about equality – as it neither gave equality to marriage and also did not allow opposite-sex partners to have Civil Partnership as well. Mr Mulholland’s proposals would for the first time deliver equality for everyone who wanted to spend their life in a loving relationship recognised by the state and enjoy the rights that come with that.”

As someone who was christened a Catholic, baptised in a Pentecostal church, and at times a member of the Church of England, Baptists and Free churches – I spent much of my life in the same bubble that many Christians find themselves in now. The teaching on marriage was clear and until recently remained unchallenged. Through having the privilege of having many gay friends some with a strong faith, some without, I have been on my own journey in squaring the circle of church orthodoxy and my own experience. 

One of the biggest influences on my thinking has been Desmond Tutu whose position is beautifully summed up here. More recently the brave decision of Steve Chalke, a leading evangelical, to speak up in favour of same sex marriage has pushed the debate on in the church. But as the past couple of days demonstrate, and contrast Gerald Howarth’s outrageous “aggressive homosexuals” comment with the moving speech by Katherine McKinnell on Monday, it is clear that no uniform Christian understanding of the nature of marriage exists any longer.  Let’s be clear, marriage is an institution that predates the church, the mosque and the temple. And clearly is defined differently in countries where polygamy is permitted. So the idea that there is one, universally agreed definition, is ridiculous. 

But, having said that, I would expect my fellow Liberal Democrats to have more appreciation of just how difficult it is for those who have grown up with the church’s understanding of marriage to square their own circles. Simon Hughes is a good friend of mine and I know just how much he has wrestled with this. My advice to him throughout has been that he had to do what he believed was right, and because he couldn’t please both sides he had to make his priority hanging on to his own integrity. However hard many fellow Lib Dems may have found his decision yesterday, I would hope we could respect that, for him and others, their faith came first. 

Much has been made of the fact that we have party policy on equal marriage. Yes we do, we also have lots of party policy that has been ignored while we have been in coalition. Yesterday was a free vote because it was seen that this was a conscience issue. To be honest I actually think issues like the bedroom tax, attacks on welfare benefits and legal aid are conscience issues too (!), but there was not the same furore about the fact that our MPs were whipped against party policy in those and other cases. 

So as the dust settles, credit must go to Adrian Trett and Lynne Featherstone for all they have done to get us to this point. This is a reason to celebrate. But we must also respect the reality that for some people of faith balancing their religious and political values is often an excruciatingly painful process. 

Leaving the Coalition - If not now - when?

“The creatures outside looked from pig to man, and from man to pig, and from pig to man again; but already it was impossible to say which was which.” George Orwell, Animal Farm

I've just blogged about this at Liberal Left here

Shock and Awe - Confessions of an Anti-War Campaigner

It's hard to imagine it is 10 years since that fateful day we found ourselves dragged into an immoral, illegal, unjust war. Last night I was in the Palace of Westminster for a Defence Working Group meeting - reflecting on that day, 10 years earlier, when myself and three friends had sat through the debate which sealed the fate of thousands.

Yas, Avais, Sharon and I had got tickets through our local MP Patrick Hall and found ourselves on the front row in the gallery, directly above the Lib Dem benches. I had been distraught at what was happening and had been agonising about what I could possibly do to protest. I'd looked into the possibility of absailing into the chamber to make my point - but had been persuaded that wasn't the safest thing to do. Instead, Yas suggested we took red paint in to make our point. Both being somewhat 'well-endowed' we concealed bags of red powder paint in our bras and nervously awaited an opportunity to make our point. 

Anyone who listened to that debate will agree there were some magnificent speeches, not least by John McDonnell. So magnificent was his indeed that Sharon couldn't help but respond by standing up, holding onto the railings and shouting down into the chamber "I absolutely agree with everything that gentleman has said. The British people don't believe your lies......' As many in the public gallery and then chamber broke into spontaneous applause the men in white tights rushed over and carried her away. The men in white tights then came and surrounded Yas, Avais and myself - warning us that if we continued applauding we too would be removed. It was at that point Yas whispered to me "I'm chickening out. I've got 14 unpaid parking tickets and I don't want to get arrested!" I thought long and hard about what to do - this was shortly after the anthrax incidents and I 
confess, the sensible side of my nature got the better of me - not least because I was sitting directly above Simon Hughes' and it wasn't him I was angry with! But however ill advised such a demonstration may have been, it merely showed just how utterly powerless most of us felt in the face of such blatant lies and deceit.


For me the most disturbing memory of that evening was seeing Blair and Straw laughing and patting each other on the back at the end of the debate. Even if they genuinely believed they were right, the fact that they had just condemned so many Iraqi and British sons and daughters to certain death I felt called for a rather more solemn response. My later encounter with John Reid rather reinforced my view that parliament had been well and truly hoodwinked.

As we sat up waiting for operation 'Shock and Awe' I exchanged emails with my pal who was defence correspondent for the Telegraph at the time. 'If he's got them (WMD) why isn't he using them?' I asked. 'He's waiting til they get to Bhagdad' was his reply.

As soon as news broke that the attack had begun Sharon and I met in the middle of 
Bedford with the black crepe ribbons we had prepared to tie round the lamp posts as a mark of our horror at what had happened. As a councillor at the time I managed to get a 
debate - but sadly couldn't persuade the Mayor to agree to fly the flags at half mast. We had an active STWC group in Bedford so were able to arrange a number of demonstrations and meetings. 

Before the war started I found myself in a spot of bother at work (I was a Youth Service Manager at the time) since I had passed on an email about student action to Richard Angell (now of Progress) who was the regional officer for the Youth Parliament at the time. He had passed it on to the local MYPs one of whom had shown his head teacher. The fact that my name was on it (I was Weerasirie at the time so immediately identifiable) lead to the local press being involved and my boss threatening me with a disciplinary - not helped when my then 16 year old daughter lead her whole school out in protest - er.....with a name like Weerasirie it was rather obvious we were related! But I was immensely proud of her when the following week, along with her pal Amber, she spoke at the People's Assembly - thus began an interest in challenging injustice that has lasted to this day. 

Ten years on I am surprised at how little attention this anniversary has attracted. Yesterday on Today we heard from one of our ex servicemen who is still suffering from PTSD and is homeless. We haven't even been able to properly care for our own let alone the countless thousands still suffering in Iraq because of a war conducted on a false prospectus. 

What the Lib Dem's Stand For. My response to Alex Wilcock's Meme

Never knowingly one to shirk a challenge I was delighted to get an email from Alex Wilcock inviting me to join his Meme restating what we as a party stand for. I am someone who constantly quotes the preamble to our constitution – and have only just returned from speaking at an International Women’s Week event, where I quoted it to explain why I am a member and to underline the importance of matching political allegiance with personal values. 

I didn’t have a lot to argue with about what Alex has already said. The challenge though it seems to me, is saying something which doesn’t turn out to be a truism. Trying to incorporate the Ryan Cotzee shorthand of “Stronger Economy, Fairer Society” is slightly problematic for me, to use that old test, would anyone sign up to the opposite – “Weaker Economy, Less Fair Society”? Fair can be a bit of a weasel word in so many ways which is why I appreciate the preamble because it actually explains what we have in mind. After all, many Tories think fairness is about getting rid of inheritance tax and cutting benefits to the most vulnerable. 

Like Alex I love the line “no-one should be enslaved by poverty, ignorance or conformity” which underpins everything I believe, along with our commitment to equality. This brings me to the issue many of us are struggling with at the moment – it is no good having a statement of beliefs if it isn’t reflected in our values, and no good claiming to hold core values if they aren’t reflected in our actions. That is what should define us, that is what should determine our priorities. 

So if I were to try and encapsulate the essence of who we are and what we stand for it would be this. 

We believe that everyone should have the opportunity to thrive and make their most of their lives, free to do as they choose so long as it doesn’t harm others, free from those obstacles that prevent them from enjoying their lives such as poor health, discrimination, injustice, living in poverty or fear. We believe that the state’s role in this is three-fold. Firstly to be a safety net, protecting us by providing public services such as the health, fire and police services, the welfare state, adequate regulation to protect us as consumers, employees and employers, access to justice whoever you are. Secondly to provide a ladder – through education and other opportunities to develop our full potential. Thirdly by ensuring the right infra-structure is in place, through for example road and transport networks, housing, or the right environment for business to develop. That is why as Liberal Democrats we are committed to policies that achieve those ends, that ensure those with the most contribute more, recognising that a fairer, more equal society is good for all of us. 

And now I’d like to hand over the baton to the following:

Maelo Manning

Michael Carchrie Campbell

Nick Barlow

Lester Holloway

Responding to Rennard

Having spent most of the last week in Eastleigh I only caught snippets of the Rennard story, but it appears to be another case of what is a universal human failing, the belief that anything brushed under the carpet will not eventually come back and bite you in the bottom.  And having witnessed the hundreds of volunteers who have, at their own expense, piled into Eastleigh – and the hundreds more working tirelessly on the phone banks – what really angers me is the thought that those in positions of power in the party appear to care little for the “poor bloody infantry”. When Chris Huhne lied it wasn’t just himself and his family he betrayed, it was the thousands of activists who worked and continue to work tirelessly to get him and his colleagues elected, because they believe in the values of this party. When any politician, of any party, betrays his or her party values they betray every one of us. 

Of course, this is a complex case and Lord Rennard is protesting his innocence, however, we would not be in this position in the middle of a vital by election, had the party taken the allegations seriously in the first place. Having a robust complaints procedure is not only important for complainants it is also important for those against whom allegations are made. When so many women from across the party tell a similar story, it is impossible to explain why no formal investigation was instigated.  If Rennard is innocent he has also been denied justice by never having had an opportunity to put his case.

The claim has been made that no-one wanted to make a formal complaint. I understand that, but that doesn’t preclude a management investigation, someone may not want to put their head above the parapet and initiate a formal complaint, but they may be more comfortable to be a witness as part of a wider investigation.  I was a union activist for long enough to know how hard it is for anyone to complain about the behaviour of their bosses, having been involved in more than one case where the member taking out a grievance led to a counter disciplinary by their boss and the end of her career. As activists the consequences may not be losing one’s job, but potentially one’s opportunity to progress. To be honest I know enough people in the party who have admitted to not speaking out about all sorts of things for fear it would harm their prospects within the party (not least because of the number who have asked me to do it instead). When you see people getting side-lined or vilified for being honest or raising concerns, is it any wonder we have a culture in the party that prevents people speaking up? One of the anonymous complainants is a good friend of mine, I know full well why she feels unable to speak out publicly and since I was at the same event as her and since she spoke to me about the incident immediately after it happened, I know how upset she was at the time.

I must say I fully support Stephen Tall’s call for an independent investigation. As a branch secretary I was involved in a serious case of bullying – the first internal investigation found the perpetrator not guilty because only half of her team had complained! We had to insist on an external investigation, which then led to a disciplinary which found her guilty. We can’t change what has or hasn’t happened up until now, but we can as a party show some remorse and accept that we haven’t handled things well.  Let’s hold our hands up, bring in external investigators and ultimately I hope, ensure we have enough people adequately trained to ensure our grievance and disciplinary procedures are robustly applied.  If not, we risk not only losing further support in the country, but also another tranche of exasperated members.

Information about Linda Jack 4 PCC

This morning a voter in Bedfordshire has kindly informed me that the BBC has been directing those wanting to learn about their PCC candidates to this page. This is my personal blog and has nothing to do with my candidacy for PCC - apologies to anyone who has ended up here in error. I have informed the BBC of the mistake, in the mean time you can visit my PPC website here.

I'm a Celebrity - So my Constituents can go Hang for a few Weeks....

The news that my infamous MP had hotfooted it to the jungle hit me between the bleary eyes at some point during the Today programme this morning. A few minutes later I had ITV Daybreak on the phone, asking if I could come on the programme to talk about it tomorrow - swiftly followed by the BBC and Sky. Unfortunately I had to tell them I am currently the PCC candidate for Bedfordshire, which meant they all dropped me like a hot potato. 

So, I am forced to resort to my blog. Of course the last time I resorted to my blog to take on Ms Dorries she contacted a dear friend and told him she was going to sue me. I confess my response was, bring it on. The fact is that she apparently lives under the misapprehension that she is "Teflon Woman" that nothing she says or does will have any consequence. She got away with lying to her constituents (admitting she pretended she was in the constituency when she was apparently in her "First Home" in the Cotswolds), and allegedly fiddling her expenses (apparently despite a police investigation the CPS didn't want to prosecute - Denis McShane come to mind?) oh and of course, Derek Conway may have paid the ultimate price for employing his children while they were students, but apparently that is OK for Ms Dorries.  

But maybe this latest escapade will turn out to be that step too far. She has upset her constituency party once again (I understand they weren't best pleased when she spoke about "killing" Cameron) and at last has forced the hand of the parliamentary party who have now withdrawn the whip. 

So, what would happen to you or me if we just decided, on a whim, to up and leave work for a week and let's say....swan off to Australia? Well, when I was in the army that would certainly have been considered going AWOL (Absent Without Leave) or desertion (once a capital offence). As an employee I would certainly have been on a disciplinary, and more than likely dismissed. But of course, when you are employed by 70,000 odd constituents.....it's not quite so easy to get dismissed - and even if you upset them all, you generally get a breathing space until the next election. 

Ms Dorries claims that she is doing this because she can reach millions of people with her message about 20 weeks.........I don't want to rain on your parade Nadine, but I suspect it was more to do with the alleged £40,000 fee? But, you could prove me wrong and donate it to a local charity. Maybe a foodbank? They are after all the fastest growing charity sector at the moment. And maybe I'm a bit old fashioned, but I thought the job of the MP was to reach out to their constituents - not half the known universe?

However, as a pal pointed out earlier this evening, you could see it as that she is only following in the footsteps of our erstwhile transported ancestors, but in this case, self sentencing herself!

I'm not usually too keen on 'I'm a Celebrity' but if the threatened Lib Dem phone bank comes off......we may be in for a treat in the Bushtucker Trials :-)

Of Mice and Men......and Cam er on

The juxtaposition of the Number 10 cat, a dead mouse and Mr Yeo calling his boss out with reference to said rodent, has led to the odd comment on Twitter. Most recent from Isabel Hardman of the Spectator who said "I never met a mouse I liked. One ran up a boy's trousers leg when I was at school." And that in response to the inimitable Peter Mannion who had let us in to the astonishing revelation that "yes there was a tipexed outline marking spot of dead mouse found on Indie press office floor."

All of which reminded me of what was one of the highlights of my wonderful couple of months in the States. Sitting at the kitchen table with my beautiful Aunt June (I hope I look that good at 86!),  hilarious Uncle Steve (or Reg as he now prefers to be known) and wonderful cousin June (Steve's daughter), in Branson Missouri; June and Steve were reminising about their childhood during the war. They had a couple of mice which they kept in the dolls house. Said mice multiplied until there were 150 of them. Having been told by their mother that they had to get rid of them, they decided they may be able to sell them to the pet shop in Hightown, Luton. They borrowed their mother's suitcase, although she refused to let them punch holes in it given it was in the middle of the war she was unlikely to be able to get another one.

                                     Cousin June, Aunt June and Uncle Steve Reg

They got on the bus to Hightown, balancing the suitcase full of mice on their laps. Steve (aged 9 at the time) kept begging June (12) to be allowed to open the suitcase a fraction as he was worried the mice would suffocate. Eventually she relented and said yes, he could open it, but just a fraction...................

Unfortunately he opened the lid - a fraction - just as the bus jolted to a halt. Yes, the lid flew up and all the mice escaped, all over the double decker bus, up stairs and down! They managed to catch around 25 before they were unceremoniously ejected from the bus (this wasn't the only time, they had also been ejected with the family goat - but that's another story!), so they walked down the hill into Hightown to the pet shop. Unfortunately the pet shop owner had a similar problem with mice breeding like rabbits mice so their idea about making their fortune was dashed. Unable to get back on the bus they walked home up the hill, apparently releasing a couple of mice every time they came to a house with a basement :-)

So where was I? Allegations that Mr C may be a mouse rather than a man? Well, it may not be immediately apparent, but I'm not Mr C's greatest fan - however, I do find Tim Yeo's goading a tad childish. Coalition (however much I personally hate it) means THE TORIES AREN'T IN CHARGE!!!! Mr Yeo? You been asleep? Not only did your esteemed party make a manifesto commitment to oppose a third runway at Heathrow - it was also in the Coalition Agreement. IMHO, mouse like behaviour would be if Mr C rolled over and let you tickle his tummy! 

And on that point, I am reminded that my daughter spotted a field mouse climbing into our outside ventilation hole.......sweet dreams.








 

Light the Blue Touch Paper and..........

OK, it looks like I have been a wee bit inactive for the last few months. That would be true! Having spent a great couple of months in the States I came back and threw myself into the thankless task of job hunting. But that doesn't mean I haven't been completely silent elsewhere. 

Today I followed up my February CiF piece with one raising the question about whether Nick Clegg should stand down as leader........if the LDV poll is to be believed that should annoy and please members in equal measure! To be honest, when I got the call from the Guardian this morning I knew it wasn't going to be easy to write and I hope even those who disagree with me will appreciate my attempt to be balanced. 

I have always been very fond of Nick and as my CiF piece explains, supported him because of his unquestionable liberal values. But those issues which used to be the hairline fractures in our theoretical discussions and policy disagreements, have, over the past two years become chasms. The leader who promised to double our presence in parliament over two parliaments now faces the possibility of achieving the opposite. He is a good man who I know believes he is doing the right thing, that it is a price worth paying for the country and the party. But I am afraid I disagree profoundly with him. Our erstwhile supporters feel betrayed that the party who promised a new kind of politics has slipped itself into the mire.


Elsewhere I have contributed to The New Statesman, Shifting Grounds, Lib Dem Voice and have my own Children and Young People Now Blog commenting on youth issues. 

Today I have also submitted my application to be the Lib Dem PCC candidate in Bedfordshire - gives a whole new meaning to lighting the blue touch paper.....

Time for the Coalition to Look to the Future

A few days ago I was speaking at a Financial Literacy conference in Orlando. One of the most interesting contributions came from Chase Card Services - their research had found that "consumers are more optimistic and spending more". This where the President has taken the view that investment in growth rather than tackling the deficit is the priority, in stark contrast to "Austerity Britain".

So I am delighted that today Ed Randall has written this thought provoking piece for Liberal Left responding to the double dip recession,  as he points out:

 "It isn’t any longer good enough to complain that the Coalition was saddled with an almighty Labour mess. It was, but the Coalition government has to look – and be seen to look – to the future and not to the past. It isn’t any longer good enough to insist that the Coalition has no alternative but to insist on accelerated deficit reduction, and to go on treating ‘deficit reduction [as] the most urgent issue facing Britain"

On Afghanistan, Syria - what should be the Liberal Response?

I have been a bit inactive on my blog recently. Busy elsewhere, but no excuses really. I get the same urge to vent my spleen from time to time - but my spleen tends to end up deposited elsewhere.

So what has got me back to my personal therapy space? It's the news over the last day of the loss of six servicemen in Afghanistan. Whenever we hear the news of a British soldier lost on active service I admit to shedding a few tears. These are usually young men and occasionally young women, with their whole lives ahead of them. But the enormity of the situation has focused all our minds on why we are there and what a "price worth paying" amounts to.

And it raises again the question of whether we should intervene in Syria, how, why and when.

As a young woman of 17 I took "the Queen's shilling" and joined the army. Never believing my country would ever ask me to do anything that was immoral, illegal or unjust. So my opposition to the Iraq war was augmented by a recognition that many of our young men and women would have done the same thing. And the news today that those young men who lost their lives, apart from one, were aged 19-21 was excruciating.

We grieve for them, but also their families, in my case, especially the mothers. I have a son a wee bit older -  I immediately think about how I would feel if it was him. I imagine what it will be like for these mothers on Mothers Day - only a few days away. An empty space at the dinner table. No loving card or message, no bear hug, or that inevitable phone call "Mum, can you lend me some money?". The child you have nurtured, scolded, taught, nursed, encouraged, excused. Laughed with, cried with, lain awake worrying about. The much loved fruit of your womb lost - and lost forever, no parent ever expects to bury their child.

It is a serious responsibility when our politicians send our young people to war - and one too often influenced not by a commitment to human rights, peace or our own security, but as we saw in Iraq, personal gain and vanity. And who can honestly say we have made things better in Afghanistan? A country that like Iraq, was a convenient scapegoat in response to 9/11.

So what to say about Syria? We intervened in Libya for much less. Can we stand aside while communities are massacred? Will we remain inactive until it becomes akin to what happened in Bosnia, or Cambodia? How do we value life - in units of one, or in multiples of 1,000?

I confess I really struggle with this. The obvious answer is a robust UN response (isn't that the whole point of the UN?) with peace keeping troops protecting the vulnerable. But, rather in the way the US has continually blocked a humane response to the actions of the state of Israel,  Russia and China do the same in their own interests.

One of the most tragic legacies of the Iraq war has been to undermine any moral legitimacy we, or the US may have had in terms of intervening - and I have heard robust arguments against any intervention, given that often the inevitable result (as in Iraq) is likely to be far more civilian deaths.

If we return to the principles that underpin our party, the idea that we can ignore what is going on elsewhere in the world is inconceivable. The long term lesson surely is that we ignore despotic rulers at our peril. However, the challenge for us now is to find the right response - what that is, I guess many of us are still struggling with.

So as I write this, tears running down my cheeks listening to the tributes to these young men from their "brothers in arms" I continue to ask that question, what should
our response be?