Prescott diplomat

Surprise Leader

Those daily readers of this blog (and there are some) may remember that I was very hostile to John Prescott becoming leader of the British Council of Europe (COE) delegation.

My main objection was that he would not do the exacting long hours of tedious work essential to do the job properly. Having been a minister for a decade, I thought that he was too dependent on civil servants. Another fear was that he would bring undesirable publicity to the important unrecognised work of the COE.

Happily and in a spirit of repentance I eat my words. There was an initial burst of attention from a couple of sleaze seeking tabloids. They have now lost interest. The publicity he attracted was for a thorough piece of peace-seeking and democracy-building in Armenia. He has earned the admiration of the COE’s ruling body for his mastery of this hideously complex problem.

He has also been a good ambassador for the delegation. During this week of parliamentary recess, when MPs are entitled to put their feet up, nearly 20 MPs have devoted six days to tackling Europe’s crises. John Prescott gave a rousing interview on the BBC World Service on the unique role of the COE.

It was COE, and only the COE, that exposed the excesses of ‘extraordinary rendition’. An ex-British Foreign Secretary told me that the COE member who persisted with this probe was ‘a lunatic.’ The Bush Government was furious. But Swiss MP Dick Marty has been proved to be correct. We now know that the UK and other western countries were complicit in illegal acts that breached all accepted international standards of human rights.

John Prescott has not played the Prima Donna. He has picked up the threads of his membership of the COE from 35 years ago. When he arrived in September he was handed a copy of a report he wrote in 1973. The subject was ‘globalisation.’ Not much has changed there.

Motor in taste
In my continuous struggle to shrink my carbon footprint I avoid flying wherever possible. At the last Strasbourg meeting I travelled here on three trains. This time, two of us were travelling together so the car was the kindest option for the environment

I am not enjoying much luck with cars at the moment. On the 600-mile drive from Newport to Strasbourg a nearly new Pirelli tyre developed an apple size bulge. It was on the side on the tyre and look very ominous. Rather than risk a major problem, I hailed a colleague who was also driving on the same route. He kindly changed the tyre at Verdun. The tyre is clearly faulty.

Two innovations on the motorway from Calais to Strasbourg could be emulated here.

The roadside emergency telephones are sun powered. They swivel round to face the direction of the sun even when it is hidden behind the clouds. They suck up enough energy to be functional even in the darkest days of winter.

A featureless stretch of motorway between Rheims and Verdun is enlivened with motorway art. Brightly painted primary shapes decorate the embankments. Care is taken to keep any fading colours fresh. They act as a welcome boost to the kilometres-jaundiced driver.

On the motorway from Calais to West France on the Northern routes, motorway bridges are decorated with large figures of athletes representing various sports. The motorway signs for tourist attractions are illustrated with inviting views.

All these ideas are worth copying here.

Comments

[Disgusted with labour]

Hope you realise that folk who work less than 30 hours a week are not even eligible for working tax credits and are being crucified by your abolishing the 10% rate.

[Dez]

Motorway Art is definately worth copying, having been through Phoenix AZ I think it can work well. Of course its easier to keep clean something in that kind of Climate so the art would have to be designed to withstand local british weather, pretty simple with the right materials.

As for solar panels I thought they had solar lights on a bridge in monmouth for a few years, as its historic they cant run a cable to it. Again worth doing if the maintenance costs are low.

[Paul Flynn]

Thanks Dez,

The French have other solar panels lighting some motorway signs in the central reservation. On this journey, I saw three large windfarms that were not there in September. in spite of their obsession with nuclear they are making progress with renewables.

[Paul Flynn]

Abolishing the 10p rate is wrong and I have consistently and repeatedly opposed it. Talk of 'cruxifixtion is tabloid speak.

[Disgusted with Labour]

speak but I am just so angry at seeing folk like my neighbour - a single care worker who earns around £7500pa, pays full council rent, council tax etc, now being hit with an extra income tax. Listening to MPs and Labour Party speakers I'm convinced taht a lot of them are totally unaware of the 30 hour rule which prevents people like my neighbour claiming working tax credits. No chance of extra shifts either.

[Disgusted with Labour]

That should have read Sorry about the tabloid speak

[Paul Flynn]

I can only repeat what I said that I have alswys opposed the 10p tax. I said so to Alistair darling in the Commons an hour agoa and I hope to raise with Gordon Brown at 6.00 o'clock tonight.

Your neighbour may be due for Council tax/Housing Benefit etc.

[Elaine Robinson]

Dear Paul
Re the 10p tax - would it be better to increase the tax allowance at the lower end eg make the allowance the current threshold plus £1500? Losses could be made up by increasing taxes for high earners? I understand the wish to simplify the system but it has to be weighed against being unfair to low earners (I do appreciate there have been some good anti-poverty measures prior to this low point. This makes this all the more disappointing. You mention that the abolition of the 10p rate may only affect many less than headlined - this also needs quantifying - I guess if this is true it may not be too difficult to identify the losers?.

Best wishes

Elaine

[paulflynn]

Dear Elains, That's a great suggestion. I believe that something on these lines will emerge this week.

The 40 of us who have signed the amendment will not be frightened off by whips scare stories about the Government falling. They used the same threat to try to persuade us to vote for the Iraq War. 139 Labour MPs voted against. If we had won that vote, nearly 200 British soldiers who have fallen would be alive today.

If the Government lose a vote, there will be a vote of confidence next day. None of the 40 will side with the Tories then. We must get across to the Government the deep sense of anger and betrayal felt by this foul-up.