The Rt Hon Malcolm Bruce MP

November Column (II)

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Saving Aberdeen Met Office vindicated

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My recent visit to the Met Office in the Aberdeen part of my constituency really vindicated the cross party campaign I led to keep the operation here when the Met Office were planning to move most of it to Exeter.

In fact the operation is now larger than it was four years ago when the cuts were mooted and the Met Office has clearly acknowledged the value of having Aberdeen as a major outreach operation, which it is supporting and expanding.

The local knowledge cuts both ways. We are likely to receive better and earlier weather warnings and the Met Office will get useful information from the North of Scotland.

The Aberdeen Office has now built up significant commercial business and confirms that the recent flooding is connected with climate change which gives us more frequent sustained heavy rain than we are used to.

It also appears that Scotland's steady rise above sea level is set to reverse meaning that coastal flooding may become more widespread in the future..

So, clearly, we will need to consider this information when planning new flood defences.

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Parliament needs reform not headlines

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The Queen's Speech is more than usually an empty exercise this year with only 70 Parliamentary sitting days available before there must be a General Election.

I have often fantasised that the Queen one year would arrive at Parliament and announce "This year my Government will introduce no new bills and will repeal 50 existing Acts of Parliament".

So much of what we do in Parliament is debating laws proposed by Government to placate the tabloids and give the impression of doing something.

In reality, Parliament would serve the national interest better if it passed fewer laws and considered them more carefully. In terms of determining and controlling the budget the UK Parliament is one of the weakest in the world and MPs could certainly improve the process - and probably reduce waste - if they had more say in determining spending priorities.

More and more people are turning away from the main parties. Less than a quarter of the electorate voted for the Labour Government at the last election. All the signs are that more people will vote for parties other than Labour or Conservative at the next election and fewer will bother to vote at all.

So we would be better reforming not just the pay and expenses of MPs but the number, system of election, accountability of the executive and passing of power down to citizens and communities.

It won't happen and Labour and Conservative will enter the unholy conspiracy of the two party system - blatantly revealed by Ken Clarke last week when he said that it would be better to have another Labour Government if the Tories could not win an outright victory. In other words let's keep the Buggins turn winner takes all system.

It won't wash. The system is under intolerable strain and will reach breaking point in the next few years if it is not reformed. For Labour to be credible any attachment to reform comes too late and the Tories have no real interest in anything that doesn't give them the possibility of untrammelled power.

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Aberdeen/Heathrow slots must be kept

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Reports that BMI may consider selling some of their Heathrow slots to help pay off their losses do not bode well for the North East.

While it may appear that BA faces competition on the route, BMI operate much smaller planes which means that flexibility is reduced and the number of cheaper seats is also fewer - hitting people paying their own fares to keep in touch with family and friends in the south.

Heathrow slots are valuable property - the more so if they are used for international flights with a large payload. Yet they are invaluable to the people and businesses of the North East and neither BAA or Heathrow operators should, I have argued, be allowed to sell to the highest bidder.

The fact that BMI, now owned by Lufthansa, has not given any assurance regarding the future of the Aberdeen slots only adds to the concern.

At the same time as these slots are under review the Government has heaped uncertainty onto the East Coast Mainline. Currently in public ownership it is being allowed to increase fares, has no incentive to invest and within a short time scale will be franchised back to a private operator.

A better option would be to keep it as a public franchise for five years with a clear strategy to win passengers from road and air. As it is, it seems likely for people booking their journey a month or more ahead it will be cheaper to fly - if the landing slots are still available, of course.

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Scorn on Brown undeserved - but we need a clearer message

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Gordon Brown did not deserve the rough handling he got over the letter he wrote to Jacqui Janes and the subsequent phone call - covered exploitatively and shamefully by the Sun

With only one eye it is well known that he finds it hard to write clearly but the fact that he writes personally to the next of kin of every soldier killed in action is not a cynical ploy and there is no doubt that every death of a British soldier he has to read out in the House of Commons affects him personally.

The truth is we are more deeply mired in Afghanistan precisely because we invaded Iraq arousing suspicions among Muslims everywhere as to the motives.

According to polls conducted in Afghanistan the majority of the Afghan people want the NATO forces to stay and help give them security. Most of them, and especially the women and girls, do not want the Taliban back.

In spite of the casualties there are signs of success in training a competent Afghan army capable of dealing with the Taliban.

What Gordon Brown does not explain well is that Afghanistan is much more than a military operation but one where international aid, including the UK's, is making a difference across Afghanistan delivering schools, health and some livelihood opportunities.

Nevertheless, this is undermined by the corruption that surrounds Kharzai. Aid and development may have to find other ways of reaching the people than through the corrupt parts of Kharzai's government. This may explain why Afghanistan is one of five countries through which the re-branding of British development assistance will be channelled - in the shape of "UK Aid" which could help more of the Afghan people understand the support Britain is giving them cross the country.

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Glasgow has no by-election heather to fire

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The Glasgow North East by-election was never likely to set the non-existent heather on fire in that poorest part of Glasgow. Nevertheless, the fact that, on a low turnout, there was a swing to Labour was a little surprising and a certain damper on the SNP which has seen its support decline sharply in the past year - in Parliamentary and council by-elections and recent opinion polls.

The Liberal Democrats have not been active in this area, especially as we respect the convention of not contesting the Speaker.

However, the nature of our support is that is it is spread unevenly so that we have a record of not performing well in by elections where we have a weak base but still winning parliamentary seats at the following election.

The SNP now have to recognise that it is harder to live on hype when you have a record to defend - and always blaming someone else wears thin as an excuse.

So Labour's win is not sensational but a return to form which makes the next election harder to call than ever.

ENDS