Why I Want to Be an MEP

Today ballot papers started arriving at the homes of Liberal Democrat members in London so they can choose the order of the list of candidates for the European elections in 2014. There are nine candidates for eight places (a tenth, Elaine Bagshawe, has withdrawn). The Liberal Democrats are a democratic party, so everyone who has been a member for longer than a year gets the chance to take part by single transferable vote (STV). In 2004 and 2009 I was Number 2 on the list, and as such just missed actually getting elected to the European Parliament by a whisker, so no-one can be surprised that I’m going for Number 1 this time. Being an MEP is something I have always wanted, more than any other form of political office, though I did serve as a borough councillor for a while. I used to cover the European Parliament and other European institutions when I was based in Brussels, originally with Reuters but later freelance. In the early days it was something of a talking shop, whose members were appointed by their national parliaments and had almost no power. But in 1979 there were direct elections for the first time, giving the institution more democratic legitimacy. In Britain these were on a first-past-the post system in large constituencies, in London’s case usually comprising three boroughs (I fought London South East, which was made up of Bexley, Bromley and Greenwich). But in 1999, the Labour government rightly bowed to pressure from our continental partners to adopt a fairer, more proportional system.

I have often attended events at the parliament in Brussels and Strasbourg (yes, of course I am in favour of the abolition of the wasteful shuttle between the two!) and for many years I have been an elected member of the governing Council of the ELDR — the European Liberal Democrat and Reformist party, which groups like-minded parties from across Europe, including a number of states not currently members of the EU. In fact, this time next week I’ll be in Dublin at the 2012 Congress of ELDR. This moves round Europe, partly to give a boost to the host party; the last ELDR event I attended was in Yerevan, Armenia, in May. The Parliament itself now has much stronger powers than it did in the past, with many major decisions now being subject to ‘co-decision’ between the Parliament and the Council of Ministers (which is made up of Ministers from the governments of the 27 member states). MEPs usually sit on a couple of major committees; my choice ideally would be in EU external policy/foreign affairs and overseas development, but of course London concerns would figure large among my priorities, including the use of European structural funds to help create jobs and foster regenration in deprived areas of the capital, including my own home borough, Tower Hamlets. Because of my professional background, obviously culture, media and related issues are also of great interest. In fact, I write regularly for the culture website of the European Commission’s London representation. And I agree with EU founding father John Monnet that one thing maybe the European project should have stressed earlier and more strongly at the beginning is the crucial value of culture, identity and diversity.

Bojo for PM?

The euphoria over TeamGB’s triumphs at the London Olympics over the past few days, as well as the boost to national morale that the Games have been giving, has caused a flurry of speculation about whether London Mayor Boris Johnson could become the next leader of the Conservative Party and therefore possibly Prime Minister. He always denies that this is his ambition but I doubt whether he would turn down the opportunity if it came along. Of course, he would have to get back into the House of Commons to do so, but that would not be difficult if a safe Conservative seat comes up at a by-election – definitely not Louise Mensch’s Corby, incidentally! Boris’s great advantage is that he appeals to many non-Tory voters — indeed to many people who don’t normally vote at all, including youngsters. Thus he was able to defy national opinion polls and retain the London mayoralty in May (though Labour made a big mistake in choosing tired and tarnished Ken Livingstone as their candidate again). There is a mixture of brilliance and buffoonery in Boris that is sometimes irritating but often endearing. Who else could have been left dangling from a wire during a slightly misfired stunt near the London Eye at the weekend and keep their reputation intact? And he has a way with words, like a boy’s own cartoon figure. I first came across him in Brussels when he was a boy, as I knew his parents Stanley (a writer then working at the European Commission) and Charlotte (an extraordinary artist). Boris returned to Brussels later for an ill-fated stint as a reporter covering the EU, when he lost his job for not letting facts get in the way of a good story. But his wit and verve and sheer cheek eventually won through, making him now one of the most highly paid newspaper columnists in the country. One thing is certain: in comparison with Boris, David Cameron looks insipid. But does that mean Boris would make a better Prime Minister, despite Cameron’s mistakes in government? That I doubt. One can clown about as Mayor of London; in fact it gives the job some panache. But that’s not an act that would transfer well to 10 Downing Street.

Patrick Keiller’s London

It was a smart move of the Stratford Picture House to screen an avant-garde full-length feature film on London just a javelin’s throw away from the Olympic Stadium, though I was surprised and saddened to find only half a dozen or so other people in the audience. The film was Patrick Keiller’s ‘London’, made in 1994 and set two years earlier. It is the first of three ‘Robinson’ films that he has authored. Robinson is the companion and sometime lover of an unseen narrator, voiced by actor Paul Scofield; together they trudge round London’s gloomier parts, bemoaning how inferior it is to continental Paris, with the latter;s good food and proper outdoor life. The pair certainly find desolate and inhuman vistas aplenty in London, redolent of urban blight and the legacy of industrialisation. They make a pilgrimage to various sites connected with Rimbaud and Verlaine, though the transgressive poets’ main abode in London was apparently knocked down to make way for the Post Office Tower (cheekily shown as a phallic innuendo is intoned). But to describe the film in this way is not to do it justice, as it is at heart a series of static images, rather as if an alienated but literate observer is stood still, just staring ahead. Trains (and one cruise liner) provide the greatest movement throughout. The narrator at one stage declares that Robinson (equally unseen) ‘believed that, if he looked hard enough, he could cause the surface of the city to reveal to him the molecular basis of historical events, and in this way he hoped to see into the future.’ There  is one scene where the flaneurs chance upon a hallucinatory street at the side of St Paul’s cathedral, still frozen in the 19th century. But essentially the viewer is being challenged, the over-riding sense of melancholy punctuated at times with bursts of sardonic humour. It’s not an attractive portrayal of our capital, which was indeed rather dull in 1992, though even worse in 1972 and infintely worse in 1952. One could hardly call it dull now. But I wonder if Patrick Keiller — who currently has an exhibition on at Tate Britain, called ‘The Robinson Institute’ — did foresee what things would be like now?

Multiculturalism Is the Only Answer

Sectarian conflict has been a depressing sideshow to many of the uprisings in the Arab Awakening this year, the latest being the bloody crackdown on Copts demonstrating in Cairo last night. But whether it is Egypt, Syria, Iraq or indeed Great Britain, a mature policy of multiculturalism is the only answer. This doesn’t mean one size fits all; each country or situation has its own specificities. However, in the 21st Century and inh an increasingly globalised world, we all have to recognise that we live in mixed societies and that this is a healthy, enriching thing if handled properly. In London, of course, this is stating the obvious, as one third of the population of the great metropolis weren’t even born in the UK, let alone in London. But even when there is a clear ethnic or religious majority in a society, there needs to be an inclusive approach that embraces everyone, in an atmosphere of respect and tolerance. This is something Israel could do well to learn. Turkey, interestingly, is making small steps in the right direction, after nearly a century of imposed monoculturalism, though much still remains to be achieved. The European Union is of course by definition multicultural and officially celebrates its diversity. But in Europe as elsewhere, these fine words have to be put into practical action.

 

Is There Any Global Narrative to Protests?

This evening I took part in a TV curent affairs show in which the Occupy Wall Street demonstrations were the main focus of attention. I was interested by the argument of two other participants in the discussion — far to the left of me — who declared that what was happening in New York and a growing number of cities across the US is all part of the global awakening and realisation of the wickedness of banks and the capitalist economy that has spread across North Africa, the Middle East, Europe and now North America. I remain unconvinced. I can see that there are links between the protests of people who are unemployed or worried about cuts or their pension prospects, whether they are taking place in Athens, Madrid or San Francisco. But that trend is not the same as the cry for freedom and democracy that has gone up from Tunisia to Syria. Besides, the call from some of the American marchers — and my fellow pundits who are so sympathetic towards them — was to bring down the banks. Ruin them. I am as unhappy as the next person about the obscene riches some of the top bankers have earned and the way casino banking jeopardised the world economy. But bringing down the banks is the last thing we need just at present. It would send us straight back into an even deeper recession.

 

Regenerating London’s Neighbourhoods

It has long been said that London is a city of many villages, but in recent years the ‘village feel’ about many areas has disappeared. This is partly because of insensitive redevelopment, but a more serious cause is the change in people’s lifestyles. Many Londoners today simply don’t know their neighbours, don’t patronize their local shops (apart from quick dashes to the nearest convenience store when the milk runs out) and they plan their social life city-wide. That’s all very well up to a point, but only up to a point. Neighbourhoods should be communities, diverse yet united and concerned with maintaining or improving the local quality of life. Of course, this concept was at the heart of ‘Community Politics’, launched by the old Liberal Party back in the 1970s. But it needs to be dusted down and re-invigorated, especially in our capital city. Paradoxically, the violence, destruction and looting of the past week has indirectly given a healthy impetus to the process of regeneration. People have come out of their little cocoons or dormitory-apartments and declared a stake in their neighbourhood. Political parties, faith groups and community organisations should seize the moment and regenerate the character and spirit of their neighbourhoods before people slip back into their isolation and their inertia.

Pipped at the Post

It was galling to just miss out on getting elected to the European Parliament for the second time last night, by an even smaller margin than in 2004. Even though the number of London Euro-seats went down from nine to eight (in response to EU enlargement), I would still have been elected had the Liberal Democrats polled just 110 more votes per Westminster parliamentary constituency. Instead, the Conservatives held their third seat (last time, it was Labour). Turnout was only about a third of the electorate, but at least the BNP came nowhere near getting a seat in London. London region LibDems fought a far better campaign than ever before, especially in our held and target parliamentary seats, and I had a great team of young volunteers working for me. I am as disappointed for them as I am for myself.

My enthusiasm for the European project is not dimmed, however, nor is my commitment to the LibDem cause. So as far as I am concerned, my preparations for 2014 begin next week!

London’s European Villages

       As the most cosmopolitan city on earth, London is a patchwork of different ethnic communities from the Indians in Southall to the West Africans in Southwark, the Turks in Stoke Newington and the Bengalis in my own patch, Tower Hamlets. Less visible, but just as diverse, are the communities from different EU member states, whether the Irish in Kilbun or the French in South Kensington, the Poles in Hammersmith and the Greek Cypriots in Enfield. This evening, I was in ‘Little Portugal’, as the guest speaker at a Vauxhall LibDem Pizza and Politics (spaghetti with lobster, in my case) at Estrela in South Lambeth Road. With exactly three months to go until polling day for the European elections, we are actively motivating not just party members, but voters from other EU member states, students and other groups who have reason to be sympathetic to a pro-European, internationalist message.

Moreover, the London LibDems’ regional conference will be held at the Polish Centre in Hammersmith, on the evening of 18 March, with an pre-event that afternoon particularly focussing on the capital’s Polish community.

Link: http://libdems4london.org.uk

Does London Give Value for Money?

Like many people who have chosen to live in London, rather than being born here, I love this city. For the past few years, in particular, it really has been the most stimulating place on the planet to be. But I really worry that London is pricing itself out of the market. That’s certainly one reason why tens of thousands of people are moving out of London each year. And I fear the high cost of almost everything will start to turn off visitors and short-term reisdents, too, which would be a disaster in the run-up to the 2012 Olympics.

This situation really hit me when I came back last night after a month working in Brazil. My flight from Fortaleza was delayed, which meant I missed my connection in Lisbon. Always pleased to spend even a few hours in that most charming of European capitals, I nipped into the city centre. The return fare on the comfortable airport bus was 3 euros. I had a great expresso in the main square — 1 euro — and a snack lunch, with a glass of wine — under 5 euros. Now I know Portugal is cheap in comparison with many other EU member states. But London is at the opposite extreme.

From the moment someone arrives at Heathrow, they are clobbered. The Heathrow Express is probably the most expensive train ride (distance per fare) anywhere in the world. My monthly Oyster card now costs over £170 — for which I could rent a flat in Istanbul. Even modest restaurants are absurdly priced, and hotels are outrageous. Theatre seats have become prohibitive. And many small shops are being driven out of business because they cannot afford soaring rents. Not to mention the crippling cost of renting or buying residential accommodation…

So does London give value for money? I fear things have reached a stage where the answer has to be ‘no’. If it becomes a place only enjoyable for the rich, then it will surely die. So I hope all the candidates in the upcoming London Mayoral elections will bear this in mind.

 

How About a London Day?

Sunday was Fortaleza Day: the annual holiday for celebrating the city’s birth, 282 years ago. Fortaleza is a mere child, compared with many of Brazil’s colonial centres, of course, but that didn’t diminish the enthusiasm of the crowds for the day’s celebration, nor the expense forked out by the city authorities. The fact that the Mayor, Luizianne Lins, is seeking re-election is, of course, entirely coincidental. Anyway, the local population got a free pop concert on the beach near where I am staying, featuring Brazil’s answer to Cliff Richard, Roberto Carlos.

Opposition activists were handing out flyers, suggesting that the money spent bringing Roberto Carlos to Fortaleza would have been better used combatting the current outbreak of dengue fever (was this the local Focus Team at work?). But despite such gripes, the atmosphere was suitably festive. And it made me think: if Fortaleza each year can celebrate its existence, why not London, which is so much biggerand older? There is the Lord Mayor’s Show, of course, but that is all about the City of London, the financial district, not wider London. Mayor Ken has encouraged individual community events — Irish, Russian, gay etc. But why not have a London Day, some nice summer holiday when all Londoners, of every age, ethnicity or whatever could celebrate living in the most dynamic and cosmopolitan place on earth?