It’s an enterprising start to the year
Cobblers V Crewe Alexandra. Aidy Boothroyd.
I do like good news and even more so when it impacts positively on Northampton. So I welcomed the report from the Centre for Cities that revealed Northampton to be among the top performing towns for employment rates and growth in private sector jobs.
This is a tribute to the hard work of the local business community, and the dedication of their staff. And once again, this report confirms that Northampton is in a strong place, with town centre regeneration starting to taking shape and with our town chosen as a Government Enterprise Zone, with all that entails, not least the prospect of thousands of local jobs.
Mix it all together and hopefully it puts our town in a strong position to emerge from the recession strongly and, hopefully, quickly.
Indeed, news of that encouraging report from the Centre for Cities is an upbeat way to round off January.
I don’t know about you, but for me the first month of the new year has flown by.
The Christmas and New Year break clearly gave people time to think and reflect: my in-box has been overloaded with correspondence on a multitude of issues, but one that regularly exercises local people is Human Rights, or more to the point, some of the bizarre rulings made by the European Court of Human Rights (ECHR).
David Cameron went over to Strasbourg on Wednesday to call for the Court to be reformed, and I was delighted to have the opportunity of speaking in a debate on the issue in Strasbourg myself.
The European Court of Human Rights only has itself to blame that it has become the subject of much ridicule, prompted by some ludicrous rulings that make it look totally out of touch with the real world.
Why, for instance, have foreign criminals evaded deportation at the end of a prison sentence because it might interfere with their right to family life. I don’t understand that, and nor do my constituents.
It is crazy and many people in this town, and in this country, have long since arrived at the conclusion that too often bad takes precedent over good.
With that in mind, the Court is in danger of losing its legitimacy and, given that these rights are the very bedrock of a civilised society, this is not a healthy position to be in.
Two thirds of people in Britain believe that ultimate authority on Human Rights affecting this country should rest with the Supreme Court in London.
I believe that the ECHR should stop trying to usurp democracy, limit its ambitions and start looking after the Human Rights of law-abiding citizens; failing that its very legitimacy will be brought into question and it will only have itself to blame.
Another issue that has been exercising local people is the railways and in particular, the cost of using them. It is another issue that frequently appears in my inbox.
Earlier this month, rail fares increased yet again and I do wonder if this form of travel will eventually become only accessible to a privileged few . . . perish the thought that this was ever the case.
To that end, one of the first things I did on my return back to Parliament after the Christmas and New Year recess was write to Transport Secretary Justine Greening, expressing my concern about the rises in fares.
I use the train regularly and obviously chat to commuters, many of whom are thoroughly brassed off that a season ticket to London from Northampton costs an astonishing £5,628.
What rubs salt into this wound, is that commuters across the country, let alone our county, are being forced to pay the price for the industry’s failure to get a grip of its own cost base.
My point to the minister was that customers should not bare the brunt of the railway industry’s failure to manage its own cost base.
The Government must keep up the pressure to ensure rail companies manage their cost base, and that passengers are not punished because they fail to do so.
I will be keeping a close watch on this issue!
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Saturday 26 May 2012
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