Sarah's bulletin: 16 July 2010

Dear friends,

Nick Clegg speech

After 2 months of coalition government - so short a time for the volume of achievement! - Nick Clegg has made a speech today which surveys our opportunities in government. He pledges 'by the time of the next election, on 7 May 2015, Britain will be a more liberal nation'. I particularly like this bit:

'A free society is a better society, so long as people have the resources and opportunities to make the best of their lives… I believe illiberal politics is usually based on pessimism. When politicians or political parties fall prey to the idea that people are not capable of creating good lives and good communities for themselves, they resort to central government fiat and regulation. I think the last government sometimes fell into this trap. One of the problems we face today is that the people do not trust politicians; but it is perhaps an even greater problem that politicians very often do not trust the people.'

But Nick also addresses the charge that Liberals just want to set people free without support. He refers to:

'a vital element of the liberal approach, as opposed to libertarians, or neo-liberals if you prefer. Libertarians believe that simply clearing away obstacles will set people free. Liberals understand that for a person to have power over their life, they need capabilities too.'

This is a great speech which you can read here. All of us know that there will be bumpy times on the governing rollercoaster in these 5 years, not least over public spending cuts (though always remember who got us into this mess, an unholy mix of bankers and Brown). But when things look tough I will go back to Nick's speech and remember what the big prize is - a country liberated from paternalism, authoritarianism, statism and centralism. That is why I have been a Liberal for 30 years, and some of you for even longer.

Home Secretary announces review of counterterrorism law

It seems that every week I write with more 'good news' on what the coalition has been up to in justice and home affairs! This week Home Secretary Theresa May announced the review of counterterrorism powers promised in the coalition agreement. This will re-examine all the counterterrorism powers that Labour put in place with complete disregard for civil liberties.

The purpose of the review is to examine whether current powers are appropriate in the light of both the terrorist threat and the need to secure both public safety and individual freedom. It will cover the use of control orders for terrorism suspects, stop & search powers including with regard to photographers -- something I have been active on - pre-charge detention, deportation of foreign nationals who pose a threat to national security, dealing with organisations that promote hatred, the use of surveillance powers and access to phone and e-mail data.

This is quite a shopping list, much of which is included in the 'Freedom Bill' LibDems have been pushing for years and now have the chance to implement. This is all part of the government's -- and in particular the LibDems' and Nick Clegg's -- programme of restoring civil liberties and repealing unnecessary laws. Want your say on it? You can, in another innovation, by the submitting your own suggestions to the government here!

EU banking 'super-regulator' to be based in London

The City was victorious this week as European finance ministers agreed to base the new European Banking Authority 'super-regulator' in London rather than Frankfurt. This body will regulate banks, insurance companies and securities markets and may have the power to ban risky financial products. I strongly welcome the location of this important EU agency to our city, in recognition of the fact that we are the financial services capital of Europe.

…and your savings to be safer

Still in the financial realm, the European Commission this week proposed new measures to shore up public confidence in the financial system so that if your bank fails your savings are guaranteed up to €100,000 - about £82,000 on current exchange rates compared to £50,000 at present - and paid back within 7 days. This is of benefit to everyone -- and it is now up to the European Parliament (and Sharon Bowles as the chair of the EP economic affairs committee) and governments to make it a reality, though some of the latter are expected to fight it…..

Diabetes and HIV/AIDS

As co-chair of the EU Diabetes Working Group, I and my colleagues this week met with health Commissioner John Dalli to impress upon him the extent of the diabetes public health emergency (30 million living with the disease in the EU alone), the need for investment in diabetes research for a cure and a strategy for prevention. The meeting was very useful and we look forward to working with him more during the next 5 years.

And in another development in public health policy, the European Parliament passed a resolution last week arguing for a more 'rights-based' approach to tackling the AIDS epidemic. Here too the figures are truly staggering: 33.4 million people living with HIV/AIDS, which remains a terminal illness, around the world. The idea behind the 'rights-based' approach is that the Universal Declaration of Human Rights guarantees the right to access to health care, and that this is therefore not an optional luxury but something governments are obliged to provide their people with. It is also important to make sure that people living with HIV are not discriminated against or vilified, they have rights when seeking employment or a place to live too.

New UN women's agency

After four years of negotiations the UN is set to create a new agency charged with protecting the interests of women and girls around the world. Bringing together 4 previous bodies that dealt with women's issues (no wonder so little progress was made!), former Chilean president Michelle Bachelet is tipped to be its first head. This comes none too soon as we desperately need to make progress on tackling crucial women's issues such as maternal mortality (the subject of one of the Millenium Development Goals, but one a long way from achievement), mass rape and violence, education and sexual health, and gender equality across the board.

Sri Lanka and human rights

The United Nations is set to investigate alleged human rights abuses committed by both the Sri Lankan government and the Tamil Tigers towards the end of the long civil war. But in a disgraceful move, extreme nationalist Sri Lankan protesters led by a government minister besieged the UN representation in Colombo, prompting the UN to quit the country. This came just after the EU decided to temporarily suspend its preferential trade agreement with Sri Lanka, called GSP+, where the EU lowers or removes import tariffs for the country's goods as a way of getting the country to improve and come clean on its human rights record. There can be no long-term peace in Sri Lanka while there is impunity for possible war crimes and other abuses.

The EU and human rights

As I have mentioned in previous bulletins, the EU, thanks to a new power in the Lisbon treaty, is able to become a party in its own right to the European Convention on Human Rights (which is a pan-European instrument of the Council of Europe, not the EU). Negotiations are now beginning and when finalised will mean that the EU institutions can be sued in Strasbourg by EU citizens and businesses for alleged breach of human rights.

But there is also an issue about how to ensure that EU member states respect human rights in matters outside EU competence. The EU Commission and Council are very nervous (Commission) or dismissive (Council) about monitoring this, since in the strict sense it would breach 'subsidiarity'. But how can you have an EU which pledges to observe human rights and promotes them in the world but does nothing to check up on its member states' observance? It also makes a nonsense of the power in Article 7 of the EU treaty for the EU to impose sanctions on member states which breach EU 'values'. How do you know if you do not monitor and chivvy?

So I joined recently in pressing the European Commission about whether it now had any plans to introduce EU mechanisms for monitoring the implementation of ECHR rulings by EU Member States. But there was a completely empty response from Commissioner Semeta, who just said there was no legal basis for the EU to enforce ECHR judgements - true - but failed to explore the contradictions or promise reflection on what might be done to raise respect all round for fundamental rights.

Burka ban

The French National Assembly has voted to ban burkas, or full face veils that cover everything except a woman's eyes, so that it would become an offence punishable by fine for either a woman to wear one or a man - with a more severe penalty - to insist that his wife or daughter wears one. This is under the guise of liberation of women (whether they want to be or not) but really it is about fear.

I am quite uncomfortable about the physical isolation and gender segregation that burkas signal, but my feelings are besides the point. Of course there is a practical justification to say that a face covering has to be removed for identification, such as passport checks or adults picking up children from nursery. But as a liberal I think it is wrong to ban people wearing what they like in the street on the grounds that it offends sensibilities when it does not cause actual harm to others. It will also further isolate the very women who need to be included and integrated. The ban will very likely fall foul of human rights courts on the grounds that is does not pursue a legitimate aim and is disproportionate. But I fear bans in other European countries are nonetheless coming down the track. As if we did not have bigger priorities…

Anniversaries: the Battle of Britain and the Srebenica massacre

This week marked the anniversary of the Battle of Britain, which began on July 10, 1940. I completely agree with Michael Bywater of the Independent that "the Battle of Britain must surely be remembered forever, not because of jingoism nor triumphalism but because it was one of those battles which shaped geopolitical destiny far beyond the boundaries of the territory and the time in which it was fought". Three thousand young fighter pilots prevented Britain from being invaded and occupied by the Nazis, and the rest, the triumph of freedom and democracy, the creation of the EU and the fact that today I am an MEP, is history. It makes me very emotional and very, very, grateful.

But this week is also another important, more recent anniversary, in fact of the worst atrocity to occur in Europe since WWII: and which that war was meant to obviate: Srebenica. Fifteen years ago Bosnian Serb forces overran the town of Srebenica and almost 8,000 muslim Bosniak men and boys were murdered, in what was genocide. The Serbian president this week attended a ceremony in Potocari and pay homage to those who were killed, though politicians in Bosnia's Republica Srpska find this more difficult, even today. I hope they too can one day overcome historic tensions and recognise Srebenica for the genocide it was.

Trident

Some good news for the Lib Dems on this issue - one of the (fairly few) areas where the coalition agreement compromise is not great for us! General Sir David Richards, the newly appointed chief of defence staff and therefore Britain's most senior military figure, is apparently known to be sceptical about plans for a Trident replacement. Also the FT reports that the Treasury is insisting that the Ministry of Defence would have to carry the cost of Trident replacement in its core budget, which the MoD was not reckoning on. Progress is always possible!

Release of Cuban prisoners

Cuba recently announced that it is going to release about 50 political prisoners over the next few months, and the first dozen or so have already arrived in Spain where many have chosen to settle and try and build a new life, difficult though that may be after years of imprisonment. The European Parliament - always seeking to be a loudspeaker for human rights abuses, wherever they occur - last week passed a resolution calling on all political prisoners and prisoners of conscience in Cuba to be released immediately.

GMOs

The European Commission decided this week to give national governments the final say on the planting of genetically modified crops. Although some (including Guy Verhofstadt, my group leader) see this as undermining the internal market and common solutions to cross-border issues, I welcome it as I see it as the Commission finally giving up on forcing all EU countries to grow GMOs!

Use your vote to get fairer votes!

We now know that on 5 May 2011 we will have a referendum on the Alternative Vote - a fairer system of voting to that which we are currently lumbered with. The Liberal Democrat campaign has already started www.fairervotes.org.uk and I urge you to get involved in every way you can, whether it be donating, or convincing your friends and family to vote for AV on May 5th next year. This referendum will decide whether voters are to get a fairer deal in representation and I am sure I will be writing more on this subject in the months to come!

Attendance in the European Parliament

Votewatch.eu is a useful website for checking up on what MEPs are up to - UKIP's records always seem to be rather sparse! I am pleased to tell you that I have got 'full marks' in my Votewatch.eu 'report', which has calculated that I have a 98% attendance record for votes in the European Parliament.

That seems a good note on which to say that this bulletin will take a summer break and return in early September as we are now in recess. Not that I am actually on holiday all that time, but there will not be so much to report!

Best regards,

Sarah Ludford