Terrorism and Treaties

As Parliament moved towards its summer recess I participated in two debates of significance. The first was the debate on the statement of the Home Secretary, Jacqui Smith, on the attempted bomb attacks on London and Glasgow Airport on 29th and 30th June. I expressed appreciation to the Muslim community in Scotland and its representatives for their immediate and unequivocal condemnation of the terrorist attack on Glasgow Airport and welcomed the doubling of resources for counter-terrorism since 2001. I asked the Home Secretary what resources specifically have been allocated to Scotland, and have there been resources in addition to the block grant through the Barnett formula. I have been concerned for some time that Scotland is given sufficient resources to prepare against terrorist attacks and the incident at Glasgow Airport confirms that Scotland can indeed be a target for such attacks.

I also spoke in the debate on the Government’s White Paper on the European Union taking up the issue of the Reformed Treaty for the enlarged EU. I argued that the Government should be seeking to draw a line under constant institutional change once the reform treaty is agreed, given that some of our European partners are far more passionate about continual institutional change than the UK.

Cut the Carbon March
At the same time as Parliament agonised over the response to the terrible flooding in parts of England, the Cut the Carbon march organised by Christian Aid snaked its way from Bangor in Northern Ireland to London via Scotland. It began on 14 July, and is due to last 80 days, covering 1,000 miles. Marchers from rich countries and poor have joined to raise awareness all over the UK of the fact that climate change is not just a forecast. It is happening now and millions of poor people are suffering. I joined local Christian Aid supporters and activist to welcome the marchers to Ayrshire on Sunday July 15th.

Aspiring Women Politicians from Mongolia

My work on the Foreign Affairs Select Committee involves me in meeting with politicians from many different countries. Last week I had an interesting meeting in London with a group of aspiring women politicians from Mongolia.  Mongolia has a population about half the size of that of Scotland. While a third live in the capital, half the population still follow the traditional nomadic lifestyle herding livestock in the rural areas. The economy dipped badly after the fall of the Soviet Union. although Mongolia is rich in mineral deposits. Its neighbours Russia and China are still its main trading partners but it is building up contacts with the US, Europe and Japan. Opportunities for women have been limited but there is a growing movement to give women the equality which the constitution enshrines. Women make up half the workforce but only 8 out of the 76 MPs are women.

Surgeries over the Recess

The Parliamentary recess is a good opportunity for me to hold additional surgeries in the Carrick area. It also allows me more time to knock doors and speak to constituents at first hand. I have recently held surgeries in both Maybole and Girvan. I have more surgeries planned over the summer as follows:
Tuesday 14 August  
Barrhill Community Centre at 11am and Barr Community Centre at 2pm
Wednesday 15 August             
Dailly Community Centre at 12noon
Thursday 16 August
Straiton Community Centre at 11am and Crosshill Community Centre at 1pm (still to be confirmed)
Friday 17 August          
McCosh Hall, Kirkmichael at 11am
Monday 3 Sept             
Town Hall, Maybole at 11am
Tuesday 4 September
Kennedy Hall, Dunure at 11am
Wednesday 5 September
Richmond Hall, Kirkoswald at 11am
Saturday 8 September
McKechnie Institute, Girvan at 12noon

Digital TV Reception

I am continuing to monitor closely the plans for Digital Switchover in the Carrick area. I don’t want people in Carrick to suffer as the guinea pigs in this UK wide process. I would be interested to hear from any constituents who regularly experience poor quality digital signal on any group of TV channels at present so I can ask Digital UK how they are going to eradicate this before the changeover. Write to my office at 139 Main Street, Ayr KA8 8BX