Girvan Gateway Disappointment
I am sure the whole community in Girvan and beyond are as bitterly disappointed as I am that the Big Lottery Grant for the Girvan Gateway project was turned down. It would make such a difference to the harbour area and would bring many more visitors to the area. All is not lost however. We must make sure all the hard work that has been done so far is not wasted is used to attract other sources of funding. I met with the Big Lottery Fund in London prior to the decision being made and was given assurances that each project would be considered on its merits and that genuine community projects such as our local one would not be disadvantaged. On the contrary it should have stood it in good stead, as community involvement is a key strength according to the Living Landmarks own criteria.

Meeting with UN Secretary General
This month I met Ban Ki Moon the new Secretary General of the United Nations. As well as discussing matters such as Iraq and Iran we also covered the situations in Darfur and Burma. Who can forget the blood soaked images of Burma? Thousands of monks filled the streets of Rangoon in peaceful, protest opposing a regime where child soldiers, torture and detention without trial are all commonplace. The reaction from the Burmese Government was brutal. The police and military charged in with baton and gunfire and admitted to killing 10 and arresting 2000. Independent groups such as Amnesty International suggest both figures are far higher. But why should we care here in the UK?
The reality is that we in Britain take the right to peaceful protest for granted. Most of us have at some point voiced dissent over one issue or another. In Burma people have been arrested and imprisoned simply for laughing at an anti- government joke.
On 24th October the United Nations celebrated UN Day and on the same day, Aung San Suu Kyi, the leader of the National League of Democracy in Burma, completed her 12th year under house arrest.
To mark the milestone Amnesty have named the day in her honour and have called on the UN to implement an arms embargo on Burma. If the UN really wants to be proud of itself, then it has to deliver.
I will be urging the Prime Minister as part of the All Party Group on Burma to maintain as much pressure as he can on to the Security Council to ensure that the embargo becomes a reality. That means keeping up the pressure on other key global players such as China.
But it is not all about high politics; we can all make a difference. Aung San Suu Kyi is not the only prisoner of conscience in Burma. At the end of 2006, Amnesty International was aware of 1,185 – and that was before the current crackdown. The Amnesty website has addresses of key Burmese officials you can write to and call for the release of all prisoners of conscience. It may sound like a small gesture, but a sackload of mail or a flood of e-mails can make a difference. It says to the Burmese authorities that the eyes of the world are watching.

The Gould Report
The Gould Report on the Scottish Elections on 3rd May this year was the subject of fierce debate in Parliament but the truth is that the only people who came out of it looking good were the voters. Mr Gould stated that they had been treated as an after thought by all concerned. I am pleased that this was acknowledged by then Secretary of State for Scotland Douglas Alexander who issued an apology and I would hope for an equally robust response from others. The report made a number of very constructive recommendations including holding the Scottish Parliament and Local Government elections on different days and ensuring that candidates are registered according to their official party designation. This would put an end to sloganising on ballot papers, which is wholly inappropriate. I told the present Secretary of State that many of my constituents feel short-changed by the whole process back in May and we must make sure it never happens again.

EU Amending Treaty
The Prime Minister made a statement to Parliament on the EU amending treaty. He said that he had been able to ensure that detailed safeguards for the British national interest are written into the text of the treaty at the two-day summit in Lisbon two weeks ago. The Prime Minister explained that the amending treaty will not be fully implemented until 2014 at the earliest. He said that the protections he has negotiated defend British national interests. The UK will retain sole control in areas relating to UK law, security, foreign and social policy and the Government will oppose any further proposals for institutional change in the EU this Parliament and next.
The UK will lead the debate in Europe to move to a new agenda that focuses on the economic and social needs of our citizens.
There will now be a full debate in Parliament prior to ratification.
I consider myself to be a pragmatic pro European who believes that the UK national interests are better served by our membership of the EU. That said, I argue that serving that UK national interest requires firm leadership at the top of Government and a Parliamentary process that holds its executive to account.
I am not opposed to referenda per se but I have found that in all things European Union, those who argue for government by referendum are almost exclusively anti EU. Many of those who are calling for a referendum on the amending treaty voted against a referendum on previous treaties such as Maastricht, which had far more in depth implications for EU integration than the current treaty. It is disingenuous of the EU sceptics to argue that the proposed amendments to the existing treaties are anything other than amendments necessary to accommodate the last two enlargements of the EU from 15 to 27 Member States.