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Huw Irranca-Davies: Indeed. The alley to the flat was strewn with rubbish and debris, and when the mother came to the door, her face said it all. It bore an expression of misery and despair. How could things get this bad? How could any decent society fail her and her child in that way? There were numerous reasons, but the council had also decided that enough was enough.
Unable to fund the repairs, renovations and demolitions necessary to renew its housing stock, the council advocated a new way forward—an ideologically challenging way forward for a Labour authority—stock transfer, passing the ownership and management into the hands of the people themselves. It happened. It worked. That mother, whom I subsequently met, and all the residents of that estate and many other estates throughout the borough are now living in smart, high-quality brick-built terraces with their own front and back gardens, and most importantly of all, with a sense of pride in their home and community.
My message is that in many ways, in many lives, politics makes a difference for the better. The lifting of children, pensioners and low-paid working families out of poverty shows that politics makes a difference. The statements and policies that make neighbourhoods safer places to live in, with better amenities and a better quality of life, are evidence that politics makes a difference. The teaching of civics in schools, the recognition of the role and the rewarding of the voluntary sector, and the direction of lottery funds towards poorer communities, are more evidence that politics makes a difference time and again. The 84-year-old who walks into his MP's office for the first time in his life and asks for help is further proof that politics and politicians can make a difference.
No hon. Member should ever apologise for the job that he or she does or the importance of politics. Politics is what makes the world go round. It is the grease that oils the engine and it is the engine itself. As such, it is sometimes messy, sometimes dirty, sometimes noisy and confusing.
Hon. Members may disagree about the direction in which we should travel, but without politics and politicians, there would be no power to drive in that direction. Policy sets the direction, but let us never deride politics because it is the power that can change society for better or worse. Politics is the engine room of our society—let us disagree on direction, but let us agree on the worth of our work.
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2.50 pm
Mr. David Amess (Southend, West) (Con): I congratulate the hon. Member for Ogmore (Huw Irranca-Davies) on his cameo speech, which moved me so much that I shall use it as a defence against attacks from people who do not like politicians—the whole House enjoyed it.
I want to raise a number of points before the House adjourns for the Whitsun recess. More than 18 months ago, Jackie Cox and other members of The Obesity Awareness and Solutions Trust came to my surgery to discuss obesity. I raised the matter in the Health Committee, where I was delighted to find that I was pushing at an open door. Members of the Committee agreed to an inquiry, the report of which has been published today. The three-volume report on obesity is magnificent, and all 11 members of the Committee are proud of it. We do not intend to allow it to gather dust; we intend to campaign for action. Sadly, a leak occurred during the deliberations on the report—that matter is being dealt with—but I was delighted by the huge media interest at this morning's press conference.
As far as I am concerned, the bottom line was the Committee's visit to America. In America food is very cheap, and it is practically given away with no regard to fat or sugar content, and with the option to "size up" portions for 30p. We were all shocked by food suppliers' irresponsibility, and that is the problem. As a Conservative, I favour voluntary agreements, but I hope that hon. Members keep raising the issue until food suppliers behave more responsibly and limit temptation.
TOAST inspired the Health Committee to conduct its inquiry, but its funding has been withdrawn under section 64 of the Health Services and Public Health Act 1968. It had tremendous plans to build a centre of excellence, the TOAST house, to run a mobile drop-in centre and to produce the "TOASTbites" journal to help people—mainly ladies—who, despite dieting and other measures, simply cannot lose weight and need help badly. I hope that hon. Members on both sides of the House will do what they can to persuade Ministers to examine TOAST's funding.
In the Easter Adjournment debate, I raised the subject of crime and praised the Yellow Advertiser for supporting the "more feet on the beat" campaign—in particular I praised the editor, Graeme Allen, and the journalist concerned, Luke Walsh. The newspaper invited readers to submit coupons calling on the Home Secretary to provide sufficient funding for 10 extra police officers to patrol the streets in the Southend police division, and nearly 2,000 coupons have been returned.
I used to represent another constituency, where I was first elected in 1983 and which had one police station at that time. When I left that constituency it had three police stations, but I seem to have had the reverse effect on my current constituency, Southend, West. When I was elected three police stations were in operation, but one has been closed, another is hardly open and the third is open on a part-time basis.
The general public pay for the police and they are not happy with the availability of local police stations. For instance, Leigh police station is open on Monday to Saturday mornings and is completely shut on Sundays. Westcliff police station has closed, and Eastwood police station is hardly open. Local residents feel strongly
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about that campaign and intend to continue campaigning. I hope that the Deputy Leader of the House of Commons will pass on my comments on police strength in Southend.
Many hon. Members have raised the issue of mobile phone masts, on which the House appears to be agreed. One week ago, my Telecommunications Masts (Need and Safety Test) Bill achieved an unopposed First Reading. Although little time is left in the Session, it seems to me that the measure can go through on the nod, because everyone agrees that the spread of mobile phone masts is dangerous.
I praise my local newspaper, the Leigh & Westcliff Times, which, led by Mr. Michael Guy, has campaigned on the issue from an early stage. My Bill places the onus entirely on operators. In future, operators would have to prove the need for a mobile phone mast to local authorities, thus saving local authorities the huge expense of dealing with the matter. The Bill also places the onus on operators to prove to the council committee that there are no health risks.
I tried to organise a public meeting under the auspices of the Mobile Operators Association. We all know how such organisations enjoy public meetings—they are delighted for MPs to deal with the issues, but they place certain restrictions on the nature of the meeting. I followed all the requirements of the Mobile Operators Association, which eventually wrote to me two days before the meeting, stating that, given the circumstances, it could not attend. Of the five operators that make up that organisation, only two, O2 and Orange, which have 26 million users between them, attended the meeting, where they listened to the general public's concern, with which the House is only too familiar.
The House legislated to make it unlawful to drive a car and use a mobile phone—like Sir William Stewart, who compiled the Stewart report, I believe that, depending on the thickness of the skull, the excessive use of mobile phones is worrying. Does any hon. Member think that that law is being enforced? It is a complete sham. We have cheered ourselves up with the thought that we have dealt with the matter, but laws do not work unless they are fair and there is good will. It is nonsense to suggest that an army of people are stopping cars because the general public are using their mobile phones. Government figures make it clear that accidents and fatalities have increased as a result of people driving and using mobile phones.
The hon. Members for Hammersmith and Fulham (Mr. Coleman) and for North Cornwall (Mr. Tyler) mentioned post offices. Here we go again—every hon. Member, regardless of their party, is upset about post office closures. Mr. Deputy Speaker, you and I were in the House when it voted on Sunday trading, to which I was totally opposed. I knew that, as a consequence of Sunday trading, supermarkets would grow, which has had an impact on our local communities and local stores, and similar arguments relate to post office closures.
I represent a tiny urban area. The Post Office is marvellous at sending out letters telling us that we will be consulted.
The Post Office told me that it wanted to consult me and my constituents about the possibility of closing five post offices. We all protested, and the five post offices
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closed. Last week, by recorded delivery, I got another letter from the Post Office, telling me that it wants to consult me and my constituents about another five post office closures—this in a tiny area where there is a huge number of senior citizens. Out of all 659 constituencies, Southend, West is No. 1 in terms of people aged between 100 and 112. For many of my local residents, post offices and all that they offer are extremely important. I hope that the Government will reflect on that.
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