View From The House - 28th June 2003

Reprinted From The Lichfield Mercury

LOVE IT OR LOATH IT, the new Lichfield Garrick certainly is not bland. Its unique cooling system - which will soon be put to the test as we enter, what some forecasters say, a hot summer - has resulted in an unusual profile. Personally, I have no objection to modern architecture provided it is attractive. Of course, beauty is in the eye of the beholder. I believe one of the most interesting modern buildings in the region is the Police Mutual building in Queen Street in Lichfield. Its modern extension is elegant and blends in well with its surroundings. But other parts of Lichfield are not so well blessed. Do readers agree with me that some of the development round the Stowe Pool hardly does justice to this beautiful and historic area? And who agreed to the demolition of historic houses in Stowe Street some years back? Labour, Conservative, and Liberal-Democrat Councils all have had very odd views up until recently regarding the preservation and refurbishment of historic buildings. But we must remain vigilant even today. For while some modern buildings in Lichfield and Burntwood are attractive, others are not. Architect friends of mine tell me that a little imagination and creativity isn’t expensive and some of that should be employed with some of the housing developments currently under construction. I wonder what Mercury readers think.

THE 1992 TO 1997 PARLIAMENT was not a happy time. Arguments over further European integration combined with a Government running out of steam after 18 years in power. Perhaps after 18 years ministers could be excused for being worn out. But some problems were of their own making. With hindsight, I and many of my Conservative colleagues believe that if we had had a national referendum on the subject, much of the row over the Maastricht Treaty could have been avoided.

Now, after just 6 years in power, this New Labour Government seems worn out and fractious too. It is refusing a national vote on the Convention on the Future of Europe which has proposed a European Army, a European Foreign Policy, a European Police Force, and a common European Tax Policy to replace our own armed forces, Foreign Office, police, and Treasury. If that goes through, or if Tony Blair allows just one of them to be accepted here as a compromise, Britain will no longer be a fully independent state. Some might say ‘Does that really matter?’ It does. Apart from the principle of it all, the UK economy is performing better than those in continental European countries because our economy is much more in line with the U.S. (No wonder Gordon Brown doesn’t want us to enter the Euro - it would lead us to much higher levels of unemployment). Do we want to integrate further with a continental European economy which is facing recession?

Public squabbles between ministers over taxation, Iraq, and the whole direction of our nation shows a Government beginning to unwind seriously. But there is another area of disagreement between Labour MPs which I find both surprising and rather heartening. Last week, there was a debate on Europe in which I took part. Yet again, I asked that the Government work out how much our membership of the European Union is really costing us. An American Government analysis said it is equivalent to almost doubling the state pension overnight. Labour refuses to conduct its own analysis on behalf of the people and yet it is claimed that we benefit from the E.U. But we just don’t know. For those on the internet, the whole debate can be found at: http://www.publications.parliament.uk/pa/cm200203/cmhansrd/cm030618/debtext/30618-14.htm#30618-14_head0 or if you just want to read my speech you can find it at: http://www.michael.fabricant.mp.co.uk/ith-0062.ihtml Those reading the whole debate will see that apart from the Foreign Secretary, the Minister for Europe, and one Labour back-bencher, all of the other Labour back-benchers expressed their deep concern and misgivings about the Government’s policy of deeper integration in the European Union. These Labour Euro-rebels are vociferous, but with Labour currently enjoying a massive majority in Parliament, their voice is still muted.