Window on Westminster : February 2009
Window on Westminster : February 2009
Good news and bad on the employment front
Lastmonth I attended the official opening by Prince Charles of the AilsaBay Distillery in Girvan which produced its first spirit on 24thSeptember 2007 and is now Scotland's most significant Lowland MaltDistillery as well as an important addition to William Grant's otherMalt Distilling operations.
Unfortunately this good news story isoffset by FMC BioPolymer's announcement of the result of their review.FMC will invest in the Girvan site to make it a centre of excellence inalginate blending with a workforce of 60-70. However the extractionpart of production will be transferred to Norway resulting in the lossof 145 jobs. This will not happen till December 2009. This week Iarranged to visit the site to meet with Unions and Management todiscuss whether any action can be taken to mitigate the levels ofredundancy.
As your MP I have always taken the view that if I get tobe involved in the good news stories it is equally my job to beavailable when there is bad news to be faced.
Girvan Pool
Thecrowd who packed Girvan South Parish Church for the protest meeting onthe closure of the Pool must have been one of the biggest publicmeetings in years. The Rev Ian McLachlan handled the occasion withgreat skill, tact and some humour. He was right to continually pointout the need to look at where we go from here and how we get a poolopen again in Girvan.
The Council's decision to close the pool wastaken with no consultation whatsoever. It was a bit like turning up fora swim, diving into the pool and hitting your head on the bottombecause someone had drained the water. Community Council Chair AlecClark spoke for everyone when he said that ‘South Ayrshire Council havetreated the people of Girvan with contempt' No wonder Councillor Oatesand Fitzpatrick looked shamefaced at the decision of their SNP/Toryadministration to close the pool. They now need to get off the fenceand join Labour Councillor John McDowall in fighting to get a pool openagain as soon as possible.
I am a member of a Coastal SeasideTowns Group at Westminster and we look at issues common to all ourseaside towns including Girvan. We have allowed our seaside towns tofall behind over the years by starving them of the necessary investmentand development. This is at least part of the problem with Girvan Pool.However, we have a Council at the moment lurching from one crisis toanother – closing a care home and blaming the Care Commission; closingthe only theatre in the area, closing Girvan Pool and blaming healthand safety with no proper explanation to the public.
I don't want tosound cynical but is it a coincidence that all this is happening justas the Tory/SNP administration are trying to balance the budget fornext year. Councillors should stop hiding behind officials and face thepeople to explain the political decisions they are taking.
Gaza
Turningfrom Girvan to Gaza, I supported a Commons Motion during the Israelibombardment expressing ‘outrage at Israel's overwhelminglydisproportionate use of force in Gaza inflicting massive civiliancasualties, particularly amongst children and which involved strikes onaid convoys, United Nations schools and medical personnel' It alsocalled for ‘an immediate ceasefire including the end of Israel'sattacks on Gaza, the withdrawal of its troops and the cessation ofrocket attacks from Gaza into Israel'.
The international communitymust redouble its efforts to achieve the lasting settlement of a secureand independent state of Palestine alongside a secure and independentIsrael. I hope to visit Gaza during February to see for myself thesituation at first hand and meet with those involved in dealing theeffects of the Israeli siege and with the destruction and devastationleft behind after the Israeli attacks.
Holocaust Memorial Day
Lastmonth I took the opportunity to show my commitment to HolocaustMemorial Day by signing a Book of Commitment in the House of Commons tohonour those who perished in the Holocaust. As in previous years, theHolocaust Educational Trust placed the Book of Commitment in the Houseof Commons to give MPs the opportunity to pledge that they will upholdthe memory of the Holocaust and oppose hatred today.
January27th marks the anniversary of the liberation in 1945 ofAuschwitz-Birkenau, the infamous concentration and extermination camp.Thousands of events were held across the country to commemorate allthose who suffered at the hands of the Nazis during the Holocaust andin more recent genocides. Ultimately the aim of the day is to motivatepeople – individually and collectively, to ensure that the horrendouscrimes, racism and victimisation committed during the Holocaust andsubsequent genocides are neither forgotten nor repeated again.
Sandra Osborne MP
Ayr, Carrick & Cumnock
