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agenda commons gallery Sam Macrory reports on proceedings in the Commons chamber and committee corridor Asset sales Cable comes unstuck spending. The point was rather lost when Hammond accidentally accused the government of attempting to sell off the Tate an error seized on by excitable Labour MPs on the lookout for any sort of distraction. While there is unlikely to be much nationwide emotional attachment to the Dartford Tunnel, Katy Clark (L, Ayrshire N and Arran) spoke up for Old Labour when she declared: Its the market that has got us into this situation, and the market that can buy our assets on the cheap! There would not, Byrne insisted, be a fire sale, prompting Andrew Tyrie (Con, Chichester) to ask Byrne impishly to clarify his definition of a fire sale. David Winnick (L, Walsall N) went further, asking whether the Palace of Westminster might have to be sold off. There are some limits that even I must observe, laughed Byrne, giving the impression of a man thoroughly enjoying the occasion. For once, the same could not be said of Cable. Kick a man while hes down. Thats the brutal law of the House of Commons jungle. . V ince Cable is a man more used to administering the verbal kickings, but on Monday he found himself on the wrong end of a parliamentary put-down. The Lib Dem Treasury spokesman (above) had called an emergency question to find out the facts behind the prime ministers proposed sale of a number of high-profile government assets such as the Tote and the Dartford Tunnel to bring some relief to the perilous state of the nations finances. Much to the annoyance of both Lib Dem and Conservative benches, the government had sent Treasury chief secretary Liam Byrne, rather than the absent chancellor Alistair Darling, to face the question. Cable was first in with the soundbite, dismissing the governments proposals as a national car boot sale announced in the media. Cables mistake was to label the asset sale as an announcement written entirely by political concerns, an accusation which prompted Byrne to respond, with an almost apologetic giggle, that Cables question might not be entirely unrelated to his own problems over tuition fees and mansion taxes. The Lib Dem front bench, which had by now been joined by their leader Nick Clegg, disdainfully scythed the air with their arms like a particularly aggrieved dance troupe, with Cable looking both angered and embarrassed. The twinkle-toed Cable was on the back foot and coming as it did after the announcement of his controversial spending plans at the Lib Dem conference, it was an opportunity too good to miss for his political opponents. Philip Hammond, Byrnes Conservative opponent, came to Cables aid, accusing the government of trying to peddle an illusion that asset sales can somehow avoid the pain of fiscal adjustment, and declaring that the sale would cover just one week of government Personal statement Smith says sorry over expenses acqui Smith was forced to apologise to the House on Monday over her use of the parliamentary expense system. Home secretary just four months previously, Smiths mea culpa came from the back benches, where a coterie of female MPs sat supportively by her side. I want to apologise unreservedly to the House, as I have to my constituents, for wrongly claiming for the cost of films alongside my broadband and cable connection, said Smith, referring to the X-rated movies that had appeared on her broadband bill. It was a cringing moment, and with no current frontbencher near her, Smith looked dangerously isolated. This claim should never have been made and, as the Committee notes, I paid back the claim in full as soon as it was brought to my attention. However, it is the rather more serious issue of second home designation which will cause Smith more concern. While the standards and privileges committee accepted that she had spent more time in her London residence than her designated second home in her Redditch constituency, Smith agreed that she should have used my discretion to change my main home designation. I accept the committees conclusions and I therefore apologise to the House, she concluded. I want to say sorry, too, to my constituents... this investigation has overshadowed the work that I do for them. But it is her constituents who will decide whether Smiths apology is enough to lift the shadow that she still labours under. J . 16 The House Magazine 19 october 2009 The parliamentary weekly No 1318 Vol 34 October 19, 2009 Branching out Profile: Forest of dean MP Mark Harper my week Wales Office minister Wayne David policy focus Environment, food and rural affairs win tickets to David Hares new play Electronic Training Collars the welfare implications Defra is researching the welfare implications of e-collars and is due to report its findings in 2010 or 2011. This is what we found from a survey of collar owners: of those questioned said their pet was either happy with, or neutral about, the col No 1318 Vol 34 19 October 2009 The House Magazine offers an online political news and information service at ePolitix.com Publisher Gerry Murray Managing Editor Richard Hall Features Editor Sam Macrory Chief Sub-editor Andrew Schofield Head of Production Jearelle Wolhuter Special Projects Editor S people people commons diary 6 Commons Diary Wayne David Arriving at the House, I immediately sense the feeling of anticipation in the air 8 Lords Diary Lord Tyler I am sure that, had he remained leader of the Commons, Robin Cook would have achieved a real clean-up 10 Profile Mark Harper I think it i people commons diary Sunday 11 October In traditional, non-conformist Wales, this is supposed to be the day of rest. Not for government ministers. Much of the day is spent going through the ubiquitous red box, trying to work out which are the more important papers as I go along. In the afternoon, I people lords diary hail fellow not so well met Saturday 10 October My wife and I are trying to cut down on our carbon footprint, so we have chosen to travel by Eurostar and TGV in both directions: Perpignan to St Pancras via Lille in about 10 hours; rather more expensive than Ryanair, but so much mo Were the UKs biggest manufacturing sector You may be surprised to hear that the food and drink sector is the UKs biggest manufacturing industry, offering world class capabilities in areas of production, logistics, sales, marketing and innovation. Here some other facts you should know: We directly em people profile forest lodge for a fast learner My story Forest of Dean MP Mark Harper was quick to get front bench recognition in David Camerons Conservatives and now hopes to convert opposition expertise into ministerial action The Forest of Dean is an area which I absolutely love, and once I got people profile Being an MP is not a job or a career, and anybody who thinks that it is shouldnt really be doing it 19 12 october 2009 The House Magazine 11 people profile similarity on welfare reform policy. Labour has had 12 years and hasnt done very much, and there is a big opportunity for us, if were fortunate enough to come into government, to really do that job properly. Iain Duncan Smiths proposals on welfare are very interesting and detailed, an YOUR SUPER-FIT CAN Its no accident that metal cans are the sustainability force they are today. Over the past two decades, some 500 million has been invested in metals environmental credentials probably more than any other packaging material, and with stunning results. Todays can is 35 lighter, but agenda agenda pollwatch/bill briefing 14 Week in Westminster MPs expenses 15 Pollwatch The economy 15 Bill briefing Coroners and Justice Bill 16 Commons Gallery 18 Lords Gallery 20 Feature story Shadow cabinet with auditing MPs accounting skills, has infuriated many with his decision to impose a ret agenda pollwatch/bill briefing October 19-23, key events Monday: Work and pensions questions (Commons) Tuesday: Treasury select committee session on women in the City. Harriet Harman among the witnesses Wednesday: Human Fertilisation and Embryology (Statutory Storage Period for Embryos and Gametes agenda commons gallery Sam Macrory reports on proceedings in the Commons chamber and committee corridor Asset sales Cable comes unstuck spending. The point was rather lost when Hammond accidentally accused the government of attempting to sell off the Tate an error seized on by excitable Labour MPs agenda commons gallery PMQs No careless talk: theres a war on In brief Tobacco A Conservative attempt to block government plans to ban the display of tobacco products and advertising in shops across England was defeated by 288 votes to 180 last Tuesday. Shadow health minister Mike Penning said the agenda lords gallery Andrew Evans rounds-up the latest news from the upper chamber Lords ministers Gaps in the ministerial ranks Crossbenchers Judges and unionists quit cross benches T B aroness Kinnock of Holyhead (above, with Eddie Izzard and husband Lord Kinnock), who joined the government in Jun agenda lords gallery Investigation Lord Pauls expenses probe In brief Appointment Colonel Ted Lloyd-Jukes, formerly the Lords administration officer, is the new Yeoman Usher of the Black Rod, following the retirement of Brigadier Hedley Duncan. Ports Ministers were defeated on Wednesday when pee agenda conservatives camerons kremlinology Feature story The Conservative leadership is adamant that the election is not in the bag but preparations are being made for the first Cameron cabinet, reports Sam Macrory In Manchester, Cameron felt confident enough to anoint some of his team: William Hag agenda conservatives Clarke wants a role, and if the business brief is deemed too sprawling, then perhaps the role of lord chancellor might be more likely. Other shadow cabinet members failed to appear in the speech, with Caroline Spelman, Cheryl Gillan, Theresa Villiers, Andrew Mitchell and Jeremy policy currently food-secure our food supply is diverse, we produce a significant proportion of it here in the UK, and we have a strong distribution system. However, we live in an interconnected world, where the price of soya in Brazil affects the price of steak at our local supermarket. We need to policy defra Sustenance and sustainability commodities to feed livestock. The backdrop against which this demand must be met is one of rising global temperatures, dwindling water resources, and more severe and frequent weather events. While climate change could offer northern Europe more favourable policy defra food security begins at home question, that the UK was in a secure position in terms of food. Yet a subsequent question showed that only 60 per cent of all food consumed in the UK was domestically produced and, even when discounting products that are not indigenous, the figure was still policy defra no stability on an empty belly World Food Day Farming expertise is key to reducing hunger in sub-Saharan Africa and Britain has a role to play, say David Curry and Ronan Keating also being eroded by the global recession, as the declining incomes of the poorest cannot compete with escala NESTLÉ MAKES CHRISTMAS SELECTION BOXES MORE RECYCLABLE AND APPEALING T The boxes are available in three innovative, eye-catching and targeted formats; a Santa themed selectionandpolar bear themed selectionfor mums buying for younger children, and a larger box designed for a broader demographic. Each policy defra when cocooning isnt caring Wasted resources here in the UK are either left to fester in landfill sites, or burned in incinerators that pollute the air and produce damaging emissions. Neither of these solutions is remotely sustainable. Friends of the Earth recently published research whi policy defra more than a change of topsoil be there to take care of any domestic glitches in food supply. Responding to these events, the UN convened a World Food Security conference at which secretary-general Ban Ki-moon predicted food production would need to increase by 50 per cent by 2030 to mee SCOTTISH SALMON FARMING: A SUCCESS STORY 500 MILLION INJECTED INTO THE ECONOMY 84 MILLION OVER THE LAST IN CAPITAL PROJECTS DURING 2008 THREE YEARS 500 INCREASE LAST 20 YEARS IN EXPORTS IN THE 304 MILLION EXPENDITURE SERVICES IN 2008 ON SUPPLIERS AND Salmon farming is a vital contributor to the Sco meeting the food security challenge Protecting UK farming from exotic diseases Exotic animal diseases increasingly threaten UK livestock farming. In 2007 bluetongue reached East Anglia. Research by the Institute for Animal Health informed the Government response and mitigated the diseases impact. Sc policy defra Housing needs going west nowhere is this failure more obvious than in Cornwall. For decades, Cornish people have had to contend with the twin problems of some of the UKs lowest wages and high local house prices. It has one of the largest affordability problems in the country. This has c 104 elephants are killed every day. Help stop the ivory trade. 38,000 elephants are slaughtered every year to supply the worlds illegal ivory trade. After a steep decline in poaching following the 1989 ban on all ivory sales, poaching is skyrocketing again after a handful of southern African countri policy defra no amnesty for butchery the two defeated the authorities. Only a complete ban would do. And so it is with the trade in ivory. In July 2008 I wrote to Joan Ruddock, then the Defra minister with a seat at the relevant EU table, to seek an assurance that the British government would use it 2009 is the Year of Food Food and food security are right back on the political agenda. Dr Brian Iddon MP and Mr Mark Lancaster TD MP invite you to attend a reception to mark Along with energy, water, and climate change food Royal Society of Chemistrys the chemical sciences is how to create and the policy defra compassion at the checkout 2007 and also European legislation in place. The Treaty of Amsterdam contains a legally binding protocol recognising that animals are sentient beings, and requires that full regard be paid to their welfare when policies relating to agriculture are formulated o policy defra inundation action stations through the night to build a mile- long wall of sandbags to protect the 1,000 homes in the Leeman Road area of the city, where water threatened the flood defences. A 24-hour information helpline was set up, and two community centres were opened up to provide t comment 37 Waddington amendment Lord Dear 38 Medical research Lord McColl of Dulwich 39 Cobbetts Corner Chris Moncrieff Waddington amendment Removing free speech protection from a new incitement law will put the police in a virtual straitjacket, says Lord Dear T he government will soon decide whethe comment heal th Testing conditions T Medical research Human tissues are invaluable for medical research, and we should work to make them more available, says Lord McColl of Dulwich he pressing need for human tissues and organs for transplant has, quite rightly, received much attention. A related iss comment cobbetts corner Chris Moncrieff offers his take on the world of Westminster Never mind the meat, give us the ham The prime minister delivered a make or break speech at the Labour Party conference. And David Camerons speech was hailed, even before it was uttered at his conference, as a key fa adjournment 40 Westminster art Derek Wyatt 43 PPC interview Anas Sarwar 44 Book review Simon Burns 47 Competitions Speech Bubble and Guess the Year quiz art in a gladstone bag Westminster art Already a political hero of Derek Wyatt, William Ewart Gladstone was immortalised in many paintings and stat adjournment westminster art Exchequer. In fact it is made from Parian ware, an unglazed porcelain which was popular because of its resemblance to marble. The artist was Edward William Wyon (1811-1885) a celebrated sculptor whose other sculpted busts include Disraeli and the Duke of Wellington. The b Gender Identity Research and Education Society www.gires.org.uk GIRES supports all those whose gender identity and/or gender expression is not conventional. 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