Sorry, the publication can not be displayed.

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 factor in a Tory victory (or otherwise) at the next general election. But there are seven months or so to go before that election. Do people seriously think that these speeches will, when the time comes, have the slightest effect on the result? I have to admit and it is a shameful thing to have to admit that I can barely recall a word of Gordon Browns speech on that occasion, even though it was only a couple of weeks ago. Quite frankly, I can recall more of Sarah Browns my hero introductory speech than I can of the prime ministers words. And Mr Camerons speech the following week was so lacking in drama and impact that he even failed to rouse the normally volatile Conservative Party conference audience. Academics claim and I am sure they are right that it is the governments actions over the previous four or five years which ultimately determine the result of a general election. But I take the view that speeches delivered in the final few days of a general election campaign can also have a decisive effect on the outcome. I doubt whether many people went home after the three major party conferences fired up with anything at all. At the Labour conference, the delegates clapped about every other sentence of Mr Browns speech, but it was dutiful, unemotional applause, almost meaningless. There was, if anything, less of even that kind of tepid applause offered to Mr Cameron in Manchester. The Tories are normally in a frenzy of excitement at their leaders conference speech. Not this year. You didnt once hear the rafters ringing out. But there was a little light relief: at Labour Lord Mandelson attempted a kind of self- deprecatory Vaudeville act which was at least a slight improvement on the dreariness which was the hallmark of most of the rest of the conference. And at least his speech created some reaction. It caused Mr Cameron subsequently to describe Lord Mandelson as having become a cross between Rasputin and Widow Twankey. That, I am sure, would have flattered the old spinmeister. And the tedium at Manchester was relieved, as ever, by Boris Johnson, the Mayor of London. Why cant more politicians bring wit and laughter to politics? Probably because they are scared they will upset their leaders. Boris, of course, has no such inhibitions. His first remark that he was delighted to be in Manchester one of the few places I have not insulted brought the house down. Then he went on to cheerfully ignore the Tory instructions from on high, that Europe should be down-played at the conference. Boris set the conference on fire, but once he had finished, the flames were quickly doused and the proceedings pursued in their routine tedious way. I hear that when Boris set off for home he was handed a rude message from Tory grandees complaining about his performance. I trust he treated it with derision. Mr Cameron looked on, pretending to be amused as Boris spoke, but I suspect that inwardly he was raging. Here was a man blatantly and willfully breaking the rules, and also a man who has more power than any other Tory in the land, bringing the conference to its feet. I also suspect that Mr Cameron treats Boris just as Tony Blair treated John Prescott. Whenever, which was regularly, Prescott strayed from the party straight and narrow, Blair would laugh it off, saying: Oh, its John just being John. Mr Cameron will almost certainly handle Johnson in much the same way. Party leaders do not like being upstaged by those they regard as their inferiors. Acting can work wonders for an aspiring politician: far more useful and effective than mixing with policy wonks Talking of Prescott, I am reminded of a speech that he delivered which did have immediate impact and was instrumental in changing the Labour Party rules. It was at the party conference when the late leader John Smith was battling to introduce a one-member, one-vote system into Labour affairs. Up rose Prescott. He spoke for some 20 minutes and it was unintelligible gobbledegook from start to finish. In other words, a typical trademark Prescott speech. But he delivered his mangled words and disorderly sentences with such passion and ferocity that his audience knew instinctively and precisely what he was saying. And it succeeded in delivering for Mr Smith a substantial majority. So it is not so much what you say but the way you say it that counts. That is precisely why, I believe, David Davis failed to win the Conservative leadership election a few years ago. He delivered a speech that was full of meat and policies, yet he delivered it in such a lackluster, laid-back, even lazy manner, that he virtually put the conference audience to sleep. Yet Camerons speech, which was full of high- sounding rhetoric but pretty well devoid of content, easily won the day. And that was because although Cameron appeared to have very little to say, he said it brilliantly and with passion. One Tory representative at that conference has told me since that he listened in awe to Camerons flamboyant oratory, and that afterwards he had obtained a copy of the text. He read the text not just once but twice, and then again, but still could not find anything solid in it. That is why, no doubt, it has been cheekily said that a course at the Laurence Olivier School of Declamatory Acting can work wonders for an aspiring politician: far more useful and effective than mixing with policy wonks. You only have to watch the great Thespian playing Henry V, and his take on Once more unto the breach, dear friends... and you are tailor-made for Westminster. I trust that our party leaders have taken note and that we can, therefore, look forward to some serious soapbox histrionics in the final days of the general election campaign. . Chris Moncrieff was political editor of the Press Association, 1980-1994 19 october 2009 The House Magazine 39 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. We welcome people, whether trans or not, whatever their sexual orientation; we welcome people of all races and of all beliefs - or none; we wel adjournment meet the candidate more dentistry than dynasty PPC interview NHS dentist Anas Sarwar is determined to succeed his father as MP for Glasgow Central on his own merits every child throughout the UK to have exactly the opportunities I had in my life, if not more. I think thats a key challeng adjournment review Last roar of the lion Book review Edward Kennedys memoir is a story of a man who redeemed his flaws by bringing about lasting change for millions of poor Americans, writes Simon Burns the lighter, but much more readable volumes that take a broad-brush approach and give a greater i directory banking 25 Gresham Street London EC2V 7HN www.lloydsbankinggroup. Jo Lewis Head of Public Policy & Regulation Tel: 020 7356 1021 jo.lewislloydstsb.co.u ENVIRONMENT mineral resources Rio Tinto is a world leader in fi nding, mining and processing the earths mineral resources. The Groups worl PROPERTY AND RECRUITMENT To advertise here Superb 2 Large Double Bedroom Flat for Rent in a modern private gated development Only 5mins walk to Parliament! Available now 450/wk neg Please call Zara 07908-672121 electus_ad_final_120mm x 180mm_europhone.pdf please call Rob Ellis on 020 7091 7609 Wri adjournment competitions guess the year Win a pair of tickets to see The Power of Yes by David Hare A dramatist seeks to understand the financial crisis. On 15 September 2008, capitalism came to a grinding halt, and sub-prime mortgages and toxic securities continued to dominate the headlines. This s