Mark Reckless MP: At Last, Democracy Is Coming To Policing

Originally posted on ConservativeHome Today and tomorrow the House of Commons will put its finishing touches to the Police Reform and Social Responsibility Bill. It is a long title for one key reform, putting a directly elected individual “in charge” – as the Home Secretary put it on Monday – of each police force. That reform will have huge ramifications as power in policing shifts from the Chief Constable to the elected Commissioner. Unsurprisingly, the Chief Constables don’t much like that. However, unlike police authorities, which have spent public money fighting their own abolition, most Chief Constables, if not necessarily their Association of Chief Police Officers (ACPO), accept very professionally that it is for elected politicians to set policy under which they operate. Police authorities are generally considered to have been the weakest of the ‘tripartite’ pillars of police governance, the others being the Home Office and the Chief Constable. Our plan to deal with that, which I passed to Douglas Carswell to develop further when he replaced me at the Conservative Policy Unit in 2004, was to transfer the police authority powers to people who are elected, so as to reinforce those powers with a democratic mandate. David Cameron wrote that plan into our manifesto in 2005 and has evangelised it ever since, so much so that he appointed the hugely impressive Nick Herbert as Police Minister, having seen him make the case for democratic control of policing when leading the thknk-tank Reform. The Prime Minister then promised in July 2006 that “We will enshrine operational independence in legislation”. It is unfortunate that some concessions have since been made to ACPO, but any apparent increase in Chief Constables’ powers will surely prove illusory once they face Commissioners empowered with a democratic mandate. If this bill fails to give the elected Commissioners the power they need to deliver what the public wants, then they will come back and demand that power, and Parliament will give them the power, as we have for the Scottish Parliament and the Welsh Assembly. I will nonetheless make the case today and tomorrow for us to get it right first time, to give the elected commissioners the powers they need now, and to give a clear steer to the courts that, in the Home Secretary’s words, the elected commissioners must be “in charge”. Chief Constables must of course make operational decisions regarding investigations and arrests independently of politicians, but it is for the elected commissioners to determine policy and set priorities. Moreover, if panels of elected councillors are to scrutinise elected commissioners and potentially second-guess their budgets, then we shouldn’t need the Secretary of State to third-guess that process. It may make sense to give the Secretary of State a reserve power to require a referendum if a local council wants a really excessive council tax increase. For policing, that power would surely better be exercised in extremis by the Panel which will scrutinise the police budget and represent the local councils and electorate which would pay for a referendum. David Cameron, Theresa May and Nick Herbert are truly driving home the Direct Democracy agenda with the police. They deserve our support.

Mark Reckless MP: At Last, Democracy Is Coming To Policing

A Question To The Prime Minister

Today is the Parliamentary debate on Libya. MPs' response to Friday's statement by the Prime Minister suggests that there will be strong support for the military action. Our Armed Forces will know that they have the backing of the whole country.

It is also important that MPs exercise oversight of how our Armed Forces are kitted out. To do this we need appropriate information from the government, so we can seek to ensure that the right procurement choices are made.

On Friday I asked the Prime Minister about the decision to decommission our current aircraft carrier capability, and whether this should now be reconsidered:



Simon Hoggart wrote up the exchange as follows in his Parliamentary sketch:

Then the laudatory slathering. Labour's Mike Gapes offered congratulations. So did the Tory Richard Ottaway, "as one of the doubting Thomases", now praising a "remarkable diplomatic success".

It was left to Mark Reckless, another Tory, to point out that the Ark Royal filled with Harriers would be the perfect weapon, except that they are being decommissioned. Mr Cameron had little response to that, except to say that other countries weren't using aircraft carriers.

I was surprised to read in yesterday's Sunday Times both that:

France, which had 20 aircraft in the air last night, will send its only aircraft carrier, the Charles de Gaulle, into acton today.

...and that...

At RAF high command in High Wycombe, Buckinghamshire, senior officers concluded that the most flexible rapid response force would be aircraft stationed on a carrier off the Libyan coast. But there was no carrier nor any planes to fly off one since the Ark Royal's Harrier GR9 jump jets had been retired in December. So the planners considered another possibility.

They wondered whether they could bring some of the Harriers back into service and deploy them on a former container ship, the Royal Fleet Auxiliary Argus, making vertical take off and landings.

A Question To The Prime Minister

Discussing Immigration Controls For Foreign Students

Discussing the Home Affairs Select Committee report on immigration controls for foreign students on Radio 4's PM programme:

Discussing Immigration Controls For Foreign Students

Mark Reckless MP Slams Peninsula Airport Plans

Mark Reckless has hit out after an unjustified and irresponsible article stated that the Mayor of London is considering plans to build an airport on the Hoo Peninsula.

In an open letter to the Sunday Times Mark states;

Dear Sir,

Your article on 24 October referring to “new plans for a £14 billion replacement airport alongside the Thames estuary” has caused unnecessary upset to the twenty thousand or so of my constituents who live on what you describe as “the largely uninhabited Hoo peninsula”.

Rather than being “new” or “the brainchild of John Olsen” as suggested, the plan for an airport on the Hoo Peninsula is, as you recognise elsewhere in your article, essentially the same as the Labour government’s 2002-3 Cliffe Airport proposal. You noted that “the site was rejected because of the high risk of bird strike” but that was only one of many reasons.

In rejecting the proposal the previous government cited a lack of support from airlines and concerns that high up-front construction costs could make it financially unviable. Its white paper concluded that “the net benefits of Cliffe were lower than for any of the combinations of additional capacity at existing airports”.

The Prime Minister and the Coalition Government have repeatedly ruled out the building of a new airport in or around the Thames Estuary. Even the Mayor of London, who in any event has neither the power nor the money to build such an airport, has said he is no longer pushing the idea. It will not happen.

Yours sincerely,

Mark Reckless MP

Mark Reckless MP Slams Peninsula Airport Plans

Working Together In The National Interest

Working Together In The National Interest

Ending The Free Ride For Those Who Fail To Take Responsibility

A Conservative government will tear up the old ways of dealing with worklessness, which has got worse under Labour.

David Cameron will pledge to introduce a new welfare contract by the end of 2010 - a single comprehensive Work Programme offering unprecedented support for those looking for work, combined with new sanctions for anyone who refuses to work.

Welcoming the announcement, Mark Reckless said:

"Again and again on the doorstep I hear complaints from those who work hard and are just above the level at which they might get welfare payments. They complain that neighbours who could work are just allowed to carry on indefinitely living on benefits. I know those who work hard to support, not just their families, but neighbours who could work yet live on benefits, will support David Cameron taking the lead to change our welfare system."

The new welfare contract will draw on the principles of the Big Society, backing people who do the right thing but ending the free ride for those who fail to take responsibility. The new sanctions will be introduced within six months of a Conservative Government taking office.

Speaking this afternoon, David Cameron will say "the old way" of big government has failed. "It's time to tackle welfare dependency a new way - the Big Society way."

"We're going to change the whole way welfare is done in this country so everyone takes responsibility and plays their part. This is our new welfare contract: do the right thing and we will back you all the way. But fail to take responsibility - and the free ride is over."

As part of our Work Programme, we will offer unprecedented support to all those who are looking for work. We will:

- make sure you get help as soon as you need it - straight away for those really struggling to find work, and after six months if you’re less than 25 years old;
- help you start your own business by giving you access to a business mentor and start-up loans;
- create a range of business-led training places to get you started on the road to employment, with 50,000 places in the hospitality and leisure industry to begin with;
- give you somewhere to go during the day - Work Clubs - so you can learn skills, find opportunities, make useful contacts and provide other people with support;
- if you're under the age of 25, provide a huge range of extra training opportunities - 400,000 apprenticeship, training and college places over two years;
- and, pay back-to-work providers in full only if they get you into work for a year or more.

If you can't work and need to be paid Incapacity Benefit (IB) then we will give you the financial support to which you are entitled. And if you can work, and you actively look for work, we will give you unprecedented help to find a good job.

But you must keep to your side of the bargain. We will make sure that you are claiming the right benefits and, within six months of taking office, we will introduce new sanctions for anyone who refuses to look for work. We will:

- cut the benefits of anyone on Jobseeker's Allowance (JSA) who refuses to join the Work Programme;
- cut the benefits of anyone who refuses to take up reasonable job offers: the first time for one month; the second time for three months; and, the third time for up to three years;
- cut benefits for up to three years for anyone caught repeatedly committing benefit fraud.
- reassess all current claimants of IB - if you are fit for work then you will be transferred onto JSA and your benefits will be reduced; and,
- require long-term benefit claimants who fail to find work to 'work for the dole' on community work programmes.

You can download a copy of the Welfare Contract in full here.

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Ending The Free Ride For Those Who Fail To Take Responsibility

What It Takes To Change A Country

What It Takes To Change A Country

Invitation To Join The Government Of Great Britain

A country is at its best when the bonds between people are strong and when the sense of national purpose is clear. Today the challenges facing Britain are immense. Our economy is overwhelmed by debt, our social fabric is frayed and our political system has betrayed the people. But these problems can be overcome if we pull together and work together. If we remember that we are all in this together.

Some politicians say: 'give us your vote and we will sort out all your problems'. We say: real change comes not from government alone. Real change comes when the people are inspired and mobilised, when millions of us are fired up to play a part in the nation's future.

Yes this is ambitious. Yes it is optimistic. But in the end all the Acts of Parliament, all the new measures, all the new policy initiatives, are just politicians' words without you and your involvement.

How will we deal with the debt crisis unless we understand that we are all in this together? How will we raise responsible children unless every adult plays their part? How will we revitalise communities unless people stop asking 'who will fix this?' and start asking 'what can I do?' Britain will change for the better when we all elect to take part, to take responsibility - if we all come together. Collective strength will overpower our problems.

Only together can we can get rid of this government and, eventually, its debt. Only together can we get the economy moving. Only together can we protect the NHS. Improve our schools. Mend our broken society. Together we can even make politics and politicians work better. And if we can do that, we can do anything. Yes, together we can do anything.

So my invitation today is this: join us, to form a new kind of government for Britain.

Download the Conservative Party Manifesto 2010 - Click Here

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Invitation To Join The Government Of Great Britain

David Cameron's Pledge To Pensioners

David Cameron and George Osborne will today outline the Conservatives’ pensioner pledge for the General Election campaign.

The pledge includes a personal promise to protect the Winter Fuel Payment, free bus passes and TV licences, and the pension credit.

David Cameron’s Pledge To Pensioners

The Government I lead will make sure that older and retired people are treated with dignity and given the quality of life they deserve. This is my pledge to support pensioners.

My Government will:

- Increase the value of the basic state pension for all pensioners and help to stop the spread of the means test by linking pensions to earnings. You won’t get a repeat of Labour’s mean 75p rise with us.
- Freeze council tax for the next two years, in partnership with your council.
- Make it worthwhile to save for a personal pension and get rid of the rules that force people to get a compulsory annuity.
- Help people protect their home rather than have to sell it to pay for care.
- Take all family homes worth less than £1 million out of inheritance tax.
- Increase spending on the NHS every year, which is our number one priority.
- Cut paperwork so we get more police out on the beat fighting crime.

Our opponents are trying to scare older people by telling deliberate lies about our plans. So here is a personal promise, from me, about the things we will protect.

- I will protect your Winter Fuel Payment.
- I will protect your free bus pass and your free TV licence.
- I will protect the pension credit.

These vital benefits will not be cut under the Conservatives. You have my word on it.

If he wins the election, Gordon Brown wants to introduce a number of measures which will hit pensioners. A Conservative Government will not penalise pensioners, as Labour are planning to do:

- We will NOT introduce a ‘death tax’ of up to £50,000.
- We will NOT cut attendance allowance and disability allowance for the over 65s.

We can afford to make these pledges because we have found the money from other areas, like cutting government waste and bringing forward the date at which the state pension age will rise to 66.

Read David’s speech in full

David Cameron's Pledge To Pensioners

A Do Nothing Budget

I covered budgets as an economist until 1997 but count myself lucky not to have had to examine the entrails of Labour's 15 budgets professionally.

However, there can be no doubt that this budget does less than any budget in living memory. We have a 'do nothing' budget at a time when there has never been a greater need for action to restore confidence in our country.

David Cameron, who was on very strong form, could not have put it better in his response, saying:

"The risk is not in dealing with the deficit now but in not dealing with the deficit now - what we need is a credible plan to deal with the government's debts starting now".

It is bad enough that the government says it will borrow £167bn this year and then boasts that it is only 11.8% of GDP, although I suspect that they are erring on the side of caution and the plan is to announce an undershoot on the 22nd April and present an 11½% deficit as a triumph of Labour economic management!

What is truly shocking is that the government still insouciantly plans to borrow £163bn next year, over 11% of GDP for the second year running.

No wonder the pound is down a cent and a half and gilts are down over a point. The key point everyone needs to understand though is that the market reaction would have been far, far worse, except that they are betting that they will soon have a Conservative government to clean up Labour's mess.

A lot is riding on us and, as a candidate, I will be doing everything I can do over the next six weeks to help put David Cameron in Downing Street, so we can make a start on putting our country back on track.

A Do Nothing Budget

Our Country Needs A Change Of Course

Our Country Needs A Change Of Course

We Are A Modern And Radical Conservative Party

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We Are A Modern And Radical Conservative Party

Restoring The Reputation Of Politics

The Conservatives have launched "Ethics and Accountability", the first part of our draft manifesto for Fixing Broken Politics.

It is vital that we act decisively to restore the reputation of politics. Too many unacceptable practices have gone unchecked for too long, from excessive expenses and subsidies to secret donations.

We need nothing less than a deep clean of the political system in Westminster to root out sleaze and dispel suspicion.

You can read the document in full using the reader below or alternatively click here to download a copy.

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Restoring The Reputation Of Politics

David Cameron reacts to latest MPs' expenses stories

David Cameron reacts to latest MPs' expenses stories

David Cameron In Medway

On Friday I was amongst a group of local councillors and community leaders invited to attend David Cameron's speech on social justice which he gave at the Sunlight Centre in Gillingham.

This was the second visit to Medway for David Cameron, the man who will, I hope, be our next Prime Minister, in as many years. For me the most noticeable thing about David Cameron's visit this time, setting aside the speech for one second, was the manner in which David was able to communicate the Conservative message to those present.

It certainly seems that the 50+ Cameron Direct meetings David has undertaken up and down the country over the past couple of years have certainly put him in good stead for the forthcoming live television debates between the party leaders. I certainly can't see Gordon Brown being able to communicate so effectively, let alone give a straight answer.

Following David's poignant speech on social recession in which he cited the absolutely shocking case in Doncaster, members of the audience were invited to take part in a Q&A session.

One of the most frequent complaints I hear through my work as a councillor in the Rochester West ward is the level of anti-social behaviour and rowdiness on Rochester High Street caused by alcohol. As a High Street resident myself I am only too well aware of the misery this causes to local residents on, mainly, Friday and Saturday nights. Despite the best efforts of our local Police to ensure people are able to enjoy the many and varied pubs and bars in Rochester in a friendly and sensible manner, and the sterling effort of all the volunteers who man the SOS Bus, there is still, unfortunately, a small element who seem hell-bent on inflicting misery on the decent, law-abiding majority.

So I was glad to hear David Cameron confirm, in response to my question, that, if the Conservatives are elected to power, we will take the necessary action to amend the licensing law, giving the Police more power to intervene, more power to local authorities to clamp down on irresponsible pubs, and, if necessary, to tackle the problem of shops selling alcohol at less than cost price.

This last point should also help the many pubs in Rochester and Strood who simply can't compete with the large supermarkets on their doorstep selling alcohol at hugely discounted prices.

Of course, no-one should be under the illusion that merely changing the licensing law will somehow miraculously repair the damage caused through Labour's sustained assault on the moral fabric of our society. Unfortunately there is no silver bullet. It will take a lot of hard work and sweat to undo 13 years of rampant social engineering, but, as with all things, we have to start somewhere. I am confident that, thanks to the great work that has been done behind the scenes by the likes of former Conservative leader Ian Duncan-Smith, we are the only party ready to tackle head-on the problems that are blighting our society, and the future hopes of all our children.

With the general election now looming on the horizon, the choice for residents of Rochester and Strood is becoming increasingly stark. Vote for more of the same, or vote for the real change our constituency needs. As David Cameron said in his own words, "The Government won’t do it but we will."

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David Cameron In Medway

David Cameron's New Year Message

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David Cameron's New Year Message

David Cameron Reacts To The Queen's Speech

Cameron says the Prime Minister is more pre-occupied with self-survival than legislating on the measures the country needs.

Pointing out that it was the shortest Queen's Speech since 1997, Cameron said Labour have "run out of money, run out of time, run out of ideas".

Cameron said that the background to this Speech was a country facing "the most difficult circumstances for a generation", notably an economic crisis "with the longest recession since the war and the worst public finances in living memory".

But, instead of the real Queen's Speech the country needed he said what we got was "a Queen's Speech which is just a Labour press release on Palace parchment".

Cameron said that there should be an election "instead of wasting the country's time and inflicting further damage". "What is the point of this Government?", he asked.

Read the full speech here

Get Change For A Fiver - Make A Donation Here

David Cameron Reacts To The Queen's Speech

Petition To Protect The NHS From Spending Cuts

David Cameron has launched a petition on NHS spending and announced the five Conservative priorities for a Department of Public Health.

The petition urges the Government to increase spending on the NHS every year, and to stop precious NHS money being wasted on targets and bureaucracy.

The five priorities are as follows:

1. We will create a patient-led NHS where patients are able to choose between a wide range of public and independent sector providers where and when they receive treatment, and where patients are able take control of their own health records.

2. We want to take day-to-day political interference out of the NHS and put healthcare professionals in charge of delivering patient care, according to the demands of patients and in competition with other providers.

3. We will devolve decision-making to doctors and nurses but they will be more accountable than ever for the results they achieve, but to patients not politicians, because we will measure health outcomes, publish extensive data about what providers achieve and pay those providers by results.

4. Having set the framework for these reforms to the NHS, we will be able to focus government action on improving public health.

5. That action will include reforming long-term care to enable people to stay in their own homes and communities.

David Cameron launched the petition and priorities in a keynote speech at the Royal College of Pathologists. In his speech he set out his vision for the NHS and tackled some misunderstandings of Conservative policy.

"Labour wasted their first term in power by failing to reform. And now, after they had finally assumed the mantle of change in the NHS, they have lost their nerve and failed to go far and fast enough. With the publication of our priorities for the Department of Health today, we are ensuring we do not make the same mistakes", he said.

Mark Reckless welcomed the announcement and added, "I particularly welcome the serious and consistent focus which our Shadow Health Spokesman, Andrew Lansley, has put on public health, an issue which I have raised with Professor Ian Gilmore, President of the Royal College of Physicians, and on which I know many doctors welcome our approach."

Read the full speech here and download the petition here

Petition To Protect The NHS From Spending Cuts

Purnell Resignation Means We Need A General Election Now

A Message from David Cameron

David Cameron warned the Labour Government is "falling apart in front of our eyes" after James Purnell, the Work and Pensions Secretary, resigned from the Cabinet.

David said, "In a deep recession and political crisis we need a strong Government. Instead we have a Government falling apart in front of our eyes. Britain deserves better than this."

And he stressed, "With this resignation the argument for a general election has gone from being strong and powerful to completely unanswerable. For the sake of the country Gordon Brown must take the one final act of authority left open to him, go to the palace and call the General Election we have been demanding."

Sign our petition for a General Election now

Purnell Resignation Means We Need A General Election Now

Britain Needs A General Election

A message from David Cameron

I've been up in Lancashire today launching our campaign for the European elections. These elections matter and only by voting Conservative will we get the changes we all want to see in Europe.

Our candidates are the kind of people Brussels needs more of. And they've all signed our pledge to stand up for the kind of things Brussels needs more of: delivering more for less, cleaning up the political system and, of course, giving us the referendum that we were promised.

So I hope you will give them your full support. But the big election, the election we really need, is still to come - and it can't come soon enough.

I've wanted a General Election for some time but now the sheer scale of the problems facing Britain today - the recession, the debt crisis, and now the political crisis - has changed everything.

They've made having an election not just a "nice to have", but an absolute "must have". Some MPs are calling for a new Speaker, but that alone doesn't get to the heart of the matter.

This political crisis has been caused by the politicians, so I don't think the politicians alone can solve it. The public have got to be involved. They have to be given a chance to voice their anger and approve of a new way forward.

That's why I'm announcing today that we are turning the campaign we had planned for these elections into the campaign Britain now needs: a campaign for a General Election to be held as soon as possible.

Conservative candidates and activists right across the country will be collecting signatures for a petition demanding that Gordon Brown calls a General Election.

You can help kick-start this campaign right now - just click here to sign the petition online, and then send the link to your friends and colleagues.

If we all Sign for Change we can send a message that the government can't ignore.

Britain Needs A General Election