2009 Archive
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3rd December
Roger sends Christmas Greetings to his constituents
“As we approach Christmas we should join with all Christians in celebrating the birth of Jesus. Christmas is a very important Christian event and like all the other great religions of the world we should join in with our Christian brethren in their celebrations. Of course Christmas is not just a religious event but it is also looked forward to by all young children who eagerly wait the visit of Santa Claus, who is based on the legendary figure of St. Nicholas of Myra, who will be bringing presents to children on Christmas Eve.”
27th November
St. Andrew’s Day Greetings
I offer warm congratulations to all my constituents of Scottish descent who will be celebrating St. Andrew’s Day on the 30th November. St. Andrew is the Patron Saint of Scotland and since 2006 St. Andrew’s Day has been a Bank Holiday in Scotland. St. Andrew’s Day is an occasion when Scottish people celebrate pride in their nation and I am pleased to join with them in their celebrations.
16th November
Roger condemns attempts to break up Pakistan
Speaking after the appalling attack by the Taliban on innocent men, women and children in Rawalpindi on Monday 2nd November 2009 Roger Godsiff said “this is a systematic attempt by the Taliban to destroy the country of Pakistan because the Pakistani Government were engaged in an on-going operation to rid the country of the Taliban killers. The attack in Rawalpindi on innocent men, women and children - many of whom were queuing at banks to collect their wages - demonstrates clearly that the Taliban has no respect whatsoever for human life and is prepared to carry out the most barbaric attack on civilians using suicide bombers and remote controlled bombs. This attack in Rawalpindi follows on from the atrocities in Peshawar and Islamabad when many other civilians had been killed over the last few weeks and our sympathy should go out to the relatives and friends of the victims. At the same time we should give our support to the Pakistani Government which is trying to hold the country together against a murderous group of fanatics who want to break up the country.”
22nd September
Application for re-development of Edgbaston
Councillor Mike Whitby,
Leader of the Council,
Birmingham City Council,
Council House,
Birmingham B1 1BB.
Dear Mike,
Application by Warwickshire CCC for redevelopment of Edgbaston Cricket Ground
Following on from the previous correspondence that I have had with you and your meeting on the 18th September with the Chief Executive of Warwickshire CCC and Councillors I would be grateful if you could clarify what the position of the Council is regarding insisting that only retractable floodlights are installed at Edgbaston rather than permanent floodlights.
I am aware, of course, that planning permission has been given for the whole package but the fact of the matter is that the City Council have enormous leverage over Warwickshire CCC because they are seeking the assistance of the City in obtaining a loan of £20 million on better terms than they would have to pay in the money market and this means that the Council are in a very strong position to impose the change to retractable floodlights on the Club.
My understanding of the situation is that the tender for the provision of lights at Edgbaston has gone to a number of companies, one of which has already installed the permanent lights at Trent Bridge and the retractable lights at Lords and The Oval. In very broad terms the economics are that standard permanent floodlights would cost around £1.5 million, the sculptured permanent floodlights for which planning permission has been given will cost around £2.3 million and retractable lights will cost around £2.8 million. These are industry figures. The difference, therefore, between the provision of permanent floodlights at Edgbaston and retractable floodlights is around £0.5 million which equates to an annual interest repayment of around £30,000-£40,000.
The provision of permanent floodlights at Edgbaston will totally change the skyline of that part the City and I don’t think either residents or people living further a field appreciate just how dominating the five permanent sculptured floodlights will be and how much they will change the landscape.
Bearing in mind that the Club is seeking the support of the City Council in its £20 million loan I think that the additional cost of £30,000-£40,000 a year in interest payments is minute in comparison with the lasting damage that will be done to the scenic appeal of the area and I very much hope that you have made it clear to the Club that a pre-condition of any loan is that retractable floodlights have to be installed as they are at Lords and The Oval.
Yours sincerely,
Roger Godsiff.
4th September
Roger Godsiff opposes release of Lockerbie bomber
Speaking at a meeting with residents in his constituency today Roger Godsiff made clear that he was totally opposed to the decision by the Scottish Government to release the Lockerbie bomber, Megrahi.
Said Roger “The blowing up of the aircraft over Lockerbie was an appalling outrage which resulted in over 200 men, women and children being massacred through no fault of their own. Investigations into the outrage identified a number of suspects and after prolonged negotiations and representations to the Libyan Government Mr. Megrahi was put before the Courts and sentenced as being an accomplice in blowing up the aircraft.
I am certain that Mr. Megrahi did not act alone but he is the only person who has been put before the Courts and Court Records show that the evidence against him was extremely compelling. He was sentenced to life imprisonment for his part in the murder of all these people and I can see no justification whatsoever for him being released even on compassionate grounds.
The feelings of all of the relatives and friends of the innocent victims of the outrage have to take precedent and they are strongly opposed to the release of Mr. Megrahi by the Scottish Government. I agree with them and do not believe that he should have been released.”
19th June
Roger calls for jobs to be kept in Birmingham if LDV is resurrected
Speaking at a meeting in his constituency today Roger Godsiff called upon the PricewaterhouseCoopers, the accountants appointed to find a buyer for LDVs assets, to choose a firm which is committed to keeping jobs in Birmingham.
Said Roger “some 800 workers have already been made redundant and another 4000 who work for suppliers in the West Midlands are under threat if LDV is not resurrected. The accountants claim that more than ’30 expressions of interest’ have already been lodged with them but it would be a betrayal of the workers who built the company up if the accountants sold the assets to a firm which ‘asset-stripped’ the company’s tooling and brand and then moved production overseas.
LDV has been badly hit by the economic downturn in the world and sales of commercial vehicles have fallen by nearly 50% but the current recession will, eventually, come to an end and it would be tragedy if a demise of LDV turned out to be yet another nail in Birmingham’s manufacturing coffin.”
15th June
Local MP demands City Council stop loan to Warwickshire County Cricket Club
Roger Godsiff, the local Member of Parliament, has written to Mike Whitby, the Leader of Birmingham City Council, urging him and his Cabinet colleagues not to make any loan or grant available to Warwickshire County Cricket Club towards the redevelopment of the ground until the issue of ‘floodlights’ has been properly addressed.
The Planning Committee of Birmingham City Council approved the application by Warwickshire CCC for a major redevelopment of the ground including the erection of five 150 foot high floodlight pylons on the 14th May and the Government Office for the West Midlands have subsequently declined to become involved on the grounds that this is a ‘local matter’ which should be determined by the City Council.
Says Roger “I disagree with argument put forward by the Government Office for the West Midlands that this is a local issue because Edgbaston is a major national sporting venue. In June 2000 a Government Inspector decisively rejected the application by Warwickshire CCC for the erection of five permanent floodlight pylons and the new application is even more substantial.
The ball is now firmly in the court of Birmingham City Council. They have it in their power to stop the erection of these five 150 foot high permanent floodlight pylons. Edgbaston would fully meet the criteria for Test grounds by having permanent floodlight ‘bases’ and retractable floodlights like those at Lords. If the home of cricket can have retractable floodlights in order to preserve the attractiveness of the people living in St. Johns Wood then why can’t the same consideration be given to the people of Balsall Heath and Moseley.
The whole issue of permanent or retractable floodlights is about money and in view of the fact that Birmingham City Council are rumoured to be preparing to make available £20-£30 million of public money to assist with the redevelopment of Edgbaston I have called upon the Leader of the City and the Con/Lib.Dem Cabinet to support the people of Balsall Heath and Moseley by not making any finance available to the cricket club unless they are prepared, at the very minimum, to install retractable floodlights at Edgbaston.”
11th June
Roger calls for public funded salaries to be published
Roger is hoping to turn the tables on BBC journalists who have hounded politicians over their expenses, by demanding to know how much they are paid.
Roger Godsiff (Lab Sparkbrook and Small Heath) said the pay and conditions of high-earners working for any publiclyfunded body should be published.
This would include top council officials, headteachers of large schools and hospital managers.
But he admitted the call for greater transparency was prompted by concern about the salaries the BBC paid to its staff. BBC News 24 presenter Carrie Gracie surprised many MPs when she revealed live on air that she was paid £92,000 a year, during a bad-tempered interview over expenses.
The presenter was speaking to Labour peer Lord Foulkes, who pointed out that she was paid from public funds just like MPs, and challenged her to reveal how much she earned - which she did.
But her response raised questions about the BBC's use of licence-payers' money, as Ms Gracie is not a household name.
MPs asked how much senior presenters such as John Humphrys or Jeremy Paxman were paid - but the BBC refused to say.
The BBC has always refused to disclose the salaries of its presenters, insisting that the information is commercially sensitive whenever freedom of information requests are submitted.
Mr Godsiff has sponsored a House of Commons motion calling for the publication of "all salaries and remuneration packages paid to individuals" when their pay comes from public funds, if they earn more than three times the national average wage.
The average salary is currently £25,123, which means anyone earning £75,369 or more would be included.
He said: "When that BBC presenter said she earned £92,000, it certainly did raise eyebrows.
"A lot of people thought that was a lot of money for someone who is a fairly junior BBC presenter.
"We are moving into an era of total transparency, and there's no reason that shouldn't apply to everyone.
"If you work for a private business then the details are between you and them.
But if it is public money then the public has a right to know." He said he was confident the prospect of revealing their salary would not stop people accepting top jobs in the public sector.
Roger Godsiff joined with international human rights activists in condemning the flogging of a 17 year old women by Taliban militants in the Swat Valley.
The flogging took place as a punishment, ordered by a Taliban Court, for the woman having, allegedly, had a sexual relationship with another man which was deemed illegal by the Taliban. The beating was filmed by the Taliban and released to television channels.
Said Roger “This barbaric assault, ordered by the Taliban, shows exactly what the Taliban is all about. They pose as so called ‘freedom fighters’ but in reality they are a bunch of self-appointed fanatics who are intent on imposing their own will on areas they control through a combination of fear and a perverted interpretation of what is written in the Koran. When they ruled Afghanistan they subjugated women to a second-class status; forced them to cover their bodies from head to toe and denied them the right to even basic education. The barbaric flogging of a 17 year old woman for an alleged ‘sexual crime’ confirms their contempt for the rights of women.
All civilised people should condemn this barbaric outrage and it should send a chilling message to those individuals, who act as apologists for the actions of the Taliban, of exactly what the Taliban stands for and what they would like to impose on anybody who is unfortunate enough to fall under their control.”
25th April
Roger meets with Hamas Leadership
During a Parliamentary visit to Syria from 12th to 19th April Roger Godsiff led a delegation of MPs to meet with Khalid Meshaal, who is the Chief of the Political Bureau of Hamas.
Said Roger “At the meeting, where I was accompanied by MPs from both the Labour and Conservative Party, we had the opportunity of listening to the official views of Hamas on both the current situation in Gaza and the West Bank and their ideas about how the way forward in the region was, in their opinion, likely to evolve. All Parliamentarians who attended also took the opportunity to question Khalid Meshaal about Hamas policy and the recent events surrounding the invasion of Gaza by the Israeli army.
We have to deal with the reality of the world as it is, including the Middle East, and this means that there needs to be engagement and dialogue with Hamas even if we disagree with them on any, or all, of their policies or actions. Hamas was elected as the majority party in Gaza and international observers confirmed that these elections were properly conducted. Elections have recently taken place in Israel and the democratic process in that country has delivered a Government consisting of certain parties and individuals who many people in other parts of the world may not like or agree with. The only alternative to engagement and dialogue is to accept that conflict will continue and the main sufferers will be ordinary Palestinians and Israelis most of whom want to see a just and fair settlement in the region which will meet the legitimate demands of the Palestinian people and will also give lasting security to the people in Israel.
5th March
Greetings to the Irish community on St. Patrick’s Day
The 17th March is commemorated as St. Patrick’s Day in memory of Patrick the son of Calpurnius, a Roman-British army officer, who was born in the 4th century AD. Having originally being sold into slavery by pirates he escaped and went to Ireland where he spent 20 years travelling throughout the country establishing Monasteries and setting up schools and Churches and winning converts for Christianity.
Although originally a Catholic Holy Day St. Patrick’s Day has evolved into a secular holiday which is celebrated by Irish people of all religious faiths as a celebration of the Irish culture and I extend greetings to all my constituents of Irish descent on this happy occasion.
Roger Godsiff MP
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