http://www.tewkesburyld.co.uk/articlearchive.php Recent Press Articles from Tewkesbury Liberal Democrats en-GB Tewkesbury Liberal Democrats http://www.tewkesburyld.co.uk/ Prater Raines Ltd http://www.praterraines.co.uk/ (c) 2010 Tewkesbury Liberal Democrats 2010-07-30T03:47+01:00 United Kingdom http://www.tewkesburyld.co.uk/articles/000007/grahams_blog_friday_17_october_2008.html There has been so much 'summitry' in recent days it is hard to keep abreast of it all. The meeting of heads of state and government last weekend in Washington DC and in Paris succeeded in preventing a further crash in stock markets; for a week, at least. They also led to a lot of hubris; Gordon Brown as 'saviour of the free world' (tabloid press), Monday as 'the best day for Europe since the launch of the Euro' (a former merchant banker and MEP). They demonstrated conclusively, however the deep degree of today's inter dependence between hitherto sovereign states and the overwhelming case for a common response to common challenges. 2008-10-17T17:00+01:00 http://www.tewkesburyld.co.uk/articles/000006/grahams_blog_friday_10_october_2008.html I had the pleasure this week of spending Monday in my constituency, showing the EU's Energy Commissioner (Andris Piebalgs, a Latvian LibDem) the opportunities for renewable energy generation on the Severn estuary. We were briefed first by Regen South West, then by the Regional Development Agency, on current renewable energy generation in the region and potential future development: then we took the Commissioner to the top of the hill above Uphill (Weston-super-Mare) to see where one of the possible barrage schemes might make landfall. We took him therafter to Bristol Port to discuss the impact a barrage or tidal fence might have on shipping and to see the Port's plans for more wind turbine capacity. My view remains that a series of tidal lagoons would probably be our best option; they could generate more energy than a barrage and be on-stream up to five years earlier. But a political decision is needed at cabinet level in Whitehall (due next Spring) and a proper enquiry thereafter to examine all the options. 2008-10-10T08:00+01:00 http://www.tewkesburyld.co.uk/articles/000005/grahams_blog_friday_3_october_2008.html My week again started on a Sunday, when I left home for Baku, the capital city of Azerbaijan. This week the European Parliament has been in recess and I often use these occasions to take a delegation of LibDem MEPs somewhere interesting. In view of the recent conflict in Georgia I felt it would be useful to repeat a visit I made 30 months ago to three Southern Caucasus countries: Azerbaijan, Georgia and Armenia. 2008-10-03T12:30+01:00 http://www.tewkesburyld.co.uk/articles/000004/grahams_blog_friday_26_september_2008.html The European Parliament met in full sitting this week for our formal debates and votes. Again we were in Brussels instead of Strasbourg, though our Strasbourg chamber has been repaired and we'll be back there next month (despite the best efforts of many Liberal Democrats to keep us permanently in Brussels from now on). We gave a first reading to Bills on telecommunications (reinforcement of consumers' rights, better co-ordination of radio frequencies, co-ordination at EU level of the work of national regulatory bodies); and a second reading approval to a package of maritime measures (a draft directive on flag states and another on ship owners' liability in the case of accident) which will now go to conciliation with the Council and then a third reading. (For readers unfamiliar with how we pass legislation, 'conciliation' is the process of hammering out agreement between 27 government ministers and 27 MEPs on a final text which then has to be approved by Parliament and the Council of Ministers.) 2008-09-26T09:30+01:00 http://www.tewkesburyld.co.uk/articles/000003/grahams_blog_friday_19_september_2008.html This week saw the launch of Europarl TV, a new webTV channel designed to give people balanced and fair coverage of goings-on in the European Parliament. Hitherto we have broadcast live coverage of the sittings of the House, but often these make tedious viewing for all but the the MEPs themselves or the professional EP-watchers. Europarl TV should offer viewers a wide choice of material to watch at the time and place of their choosing and will offer four channels: Your Parliament, for those with a particular interest in EU politics: Your Voice, aimed at the general public; Young Europe, designed for school children and Parliament Live, a continuous live broadcast of debates and events in Parliament. Anybody with internet access can watch Europarl TV on the website, www.europarltv.europa.eu. 2008-09-19T12:00+01:00 http://www.tewkesburyld.co.uk/articles/000001/grahams_blog_12_september_2008.html The BBC Trust, set up recently to oversee output (after the BBC's row with HM the Queen), visited Brussels on Monday. 2008-09-12T10:27+01:00 http://www.tewkesburyld.co.uk/articles/000002/why_our_schools_should_look_east.html Last autumn South West MEP Graham Watson piloted a scheme to bring chinese teaching assistants from Taiwan to five secondary schools in the region. As schools across the South West break up for summer and the Olympic Games take place in Beijing, Graham Watson talks about the expansion of his scheme this autumn and argues why learning chinese should be given top priority in our schools. 2008-08-01T09:00+01:00