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