August Column (2)

Written by Malcolm Bruce MP on Mon 11th Aug 2008

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Petty politics bane of the Olympics

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I suppose it is inevitable that in an era of global communication the Olympic Games will be treated as a political opportunity. The fuss over the passage of the Olympic torch enabled demonstrators to embarrass China over its treatment of Tibet and throughout the run-up and in the opening ceremony China was anxious to show its best face to the world.

Of course much has been achieved as China's rising economy has lifted hundreds of millions of people out of absolute poverty although millions more are still numbered among the world's poorest. China's success has come from manufacturing consumer goods for the developed world, making it the world's largest purchaser of commodities and fuel for energy - much of it from Africa in turn the poorest continent. Now rising consumer spending within China is maintaining its economic growth.

However, all this is being achieved at a price. China is experiencing massive environmental damage and pollution. Human rights and democracy are still a world apart. China offers no political freedom, is still run by the Communist party, reveres Mao in spite of his appalling record and executes more people than the rest of the world combined.

In these circumstances, any concern that people were told not to wave the flags other than of competing times - hence not the saltire or any other flags seems a little petty. British athletes are part of team GB, have trained together and most have a strong sense of team solidarity.

The ideal of the Olympic games is to take part as individuals or teams and even the medals table seems a bit of a breach of that.

Of course, we will all be rightly proud of the successes achieved by our own athletes - such as Hannah Miley getting to the final of the 400 metres individual medley in her first Olympics - but will admire the achievements of quality athletes wherever they come from - provided they are not sullying their sport by drug taking or other forms of cheating.

China can be congratulated for putting on an impressive spectacle - one that London will find it hard to follow.

It will not in any way distract attention from concerns over China's human rights record and its unwillingness to countenance pressure on Burma or Zimbabwe or its willingness to contract oil and raw materials from corrupt regimes with no questions asked at a time when most of the word recognises that the key to successful development is good governance.

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RBS losses threat to Scottish economy

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The massive half year loss of £681 million by Royal Bank of Scotland is a sombre warning of the scale of involvement by major British banks in dubious practices - i.e.buying debt from other banks without due diligence and taking over other banks at a high price and inopportune timing as to the scale and nature of the risk exposure. What makes it worse news for mainstream bank customers is that these losses are being clawed back from them.

It shows that Scotland's economy is closely linked with the international situation and inevitably the housing market here is likely to follow the same trends. It is galling to see the Bank of England rates come down as mortgage rates go up - at the same time as people are struggling with high fuel and rising food prices.

It may be prestigious for Scotland to be the headquarters of one of our biggest banks but it appears it may have over-reached itself. Scotland is a key financial centre - Edinburgh is second only to London but if this is a precursor of things to come things may get a little tough in the capital.

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BA cuts disappointingly inevitable but BMI are keeping up

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The reduction in the number of flights operated by British Airways out of Aberdeen comes as little surprise as the airline has been struggling to maintain reliable services and has already withdrawn its Gatwick service.

Nevertheless there is concern that BA does not seem to understand that Aberdeen's dependence on airlinks to other parts of the UK is essential and that we lack the same surface transport options as other parts of the UK. I have certainly heard from business people suffering from recent delays and cancellations that they may relocate their business to more convenient locations within the UK where the option of taking the train or driving makes doing business a little easier.

Quality of life in the North East and the critical mass of related businesses is in our favour but good communications are essential.

We are fortunate that BMI is maintaining its commitment to the North East matching BA in number of flights and far better in reliability. The fact that BA are offering 5000 BA miles for flights delayed more than 15 minutes may look like a demonstration of confidence in the improvement to timekeeping and reliability or may be a desperate attempt to stop desertion to BMI which maintains a better record of timekeeping and reliability.

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Russian aggression in Georgia a warning to EU and NATO

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The upsurge of fighting in the disputed South Ossetia province of Georgia appears to have been timed while most of the world's heads of Government including Russian Prime Minister former president Vladimir Putin were in Beijing for the start of the Olympic Games.

Russia has never accepted the full independence of Georgia following the collapse of the Soviet Union. Russia is also supporting the breakaway province of Abkhazia. Yet Georgia has a distinctive identity with its own church, language and culture and a pro-western Government that seeks membership of NATO, understandably in the light of the present aggression, and aspires to join the EU.

In a way this is what the Lisbon Treaty was all about. In a world where Russia is gaining in wealth thanks to high oil prices and nationalist aggression, when the USA has its own priorities and China and India are emerging as world powers the EU and aspirant members need to find ways of working more closely together.

Russia in particular sees the EU's weakness, firstly in its growing dependence on Russian oil and gas, and, secondly, in its limited ability to formulate common foreign and defence policies. It exploits the situation by picking on small countries one by one.

Georgia is about the same size as Scotland and clearly looks to the west for support and protection. They ere entitled to receive it but it will require greater unity than so far shown.

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Greenbelt Group must deliver for local residents

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I have had representations from a number of communities across Gordon over the past year about what they perceive as a lack of maintenance for common areas of their estates and rising charges for the service.

Most developers don't want to have ongoing responsibility for the common areas of housing developments they have completed. In the past they have tried to leave this responsibility with the local authorities but, squeezed as they are, they have been increasingly reluctant to have this continued burden either.

This has led to the creation of private maintenance companies often spun off local authorities such as the Green Belt Group with whom I have been in correspondence. MPs and MSPs from across Scotland have been drawn in and all party groups formed in both Parliaments to try and broker effective communication and action.

What residents are looking for is effective maintenance at a fair price. What they feel they are getting is rising prices and reducing service. I have once again been in contact with the company urging them to address local residents' issues.