Rob Wilson's Westminster Diary

Rob Wilson MP • Published 29 Oct 2008 08:00 0 Comments

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Leader: Here's to getting through the recession

AS a backbencher you can speak in the House and to the media about, more or less, anything you like.

Once you're a frontbencher suddenly you notice there are a number of constraints imposed by the practice of 'collective responsibility'.

For example, you can no longer sign any Early Day Motions (EDM) you like - it has to be approved, you can't go on to the media without knowing the Party-line and giving it a decent airing, and you can't cut across a colleague's brief.

The exception to this is when it involves your constituency or constituents; this is when all the freedoms of a backbencher return to a frontbencher.

It is fair to say that some find these constraints very difficult indeed. Even within your own departmental brief sometimes it is hard not to say what you really think.

Last week, Immigration Minister Phil Woolas had great difficulty trying to represent the Government line on immigration because he believes it has been a failure.

And of course it has, but his boss, Jacqui Smith, doesn't want him saying that publicly because it confirms what the public has known for a long time.

The Government is also keen for ministers not to mention the dreaded word, recession. Unfortunately, it became impossible because last week the country tipped into, what will be, a lengthy and deep recession.

The country had been told time after time by the Prime Minister that 'Boom and Bust' was over and people ran up debts alongside a Government that couldn't stop spending.

Now unemployment is rising fast, the housing market has all but collapsed and small businesses are in a perilous position. One Government response is, apparently, to bring forward big capital projects.

With this in mind, last week I checked out the position of a number of capital projects in Reading with the people who are responsible for them. Network Rail is overseeing the half a billion pound upgrade of Reading Station and it said: "Progress on the Reading project has already started and cannot be shortened any further."

What Network Rail is saying is what they are doing is enormously complex, moving signalling and taking on major engineering works that need to be scheduled sensibly and completed properly. Doing a half-baked job just to help the Chancellor out of a tight political spot would not be a clever thing to do and it could create problems and dangers.

I raised this in the context of unemployment with the Work and Pensions Minister, because trying to move massive capital projects forward is, generally speaking, unlikely to make any difference to short or medium term levels of unemployment. The reaction from political opponents locally was hysterical, that I was calling for the investment to be scrapped! Of course it was completely untrue, but it doesn't appear to matter in today's politics.

There may be some capital projects that may help keep some people from unemployment, but far more effective would be a package of measures for small business such as reducing national insurance, a VAT holiday, lowering corporation tax and ensuring the public sector organisations pay up on time! T

his will take some of the cash flow stresses off small businesses and that's what they need right now. Full and frank information for planning is also important for small businesses and I raised this with the Minister during his statement about support for small business last week.

Recently I was among a small number of MPs nominated for an award as the 'Champion of Small Business' in Parliament. Small businesses in my constituency are going through a very difficult time and I intend to do what I can to help them through it. By helping small business we will keep many more people to stay in employment.

This blog appeared in Reading Chronicle 30 Oct 08

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