Letter from Parliament – Paul Rowen MP

Paul Rowen MP

This week the House of Commons has elected a new Speaker to succeed Michael Martin. Michael Martin was in my view much maligned by the media and the Westminster set.

We should be celebrating the fact that someone who left school at 15 and worked as a sheet metal worker can rise to the position of Speaker.

For the first time ever the election was by secret ballot. How ironic that the electorate has had the secret ballot since 1870 and only now is Parliament using the secret ballot.

That result alone ensured that the two “establishment” candidates were not selected despite pressure from the Whips. I voted for Alan Beith MP in the first round of voting but switched to John Bercow in the second and third rounds.

His comparative youth and the fact that he looks and sounds like Modern Britain is an important factor. He has a big job to do if Parliament and MPs are to reconnect with people.

Last week I returned to Rochdale on Thursday to attend the North West Teaching Awards at The Lowry in Salford Keys. I’d been asked to present the awards for the Governor of the Year. Gordon Burns from BBC’s North West Tonight was the presenter and it was a very enjoyable occasion.

I was delighted that two Rochdale schools - St James in Wardle and St Edward’s, Castleton were down for the Sustainability Award.

I had lunch and chatted with pupils from St James who were very excited. Well done to Lynne Coxell and Catherine Aden, the Headteacher of St James for representing Rochdale so well. St Edwards now goes forward to the National Awards representing the North West in London in October.

This was followed later in the evening by the Annual Childer Awards at the Town Hall with my good friend Lord David Alton as the guest speaker. Over the years Maureen Cooper and her team have done an excellent job organising the evening.

I was pleased too that every school got a voucher to buy books for the school library from the money raised at Sir Cyril Smith’s 80th birthday last year.

On Friday I travelled back down to London to meet Alison Whittaker and a party of students from Oulder Hill. The group had a guided tour of Parliament and we had a very lively discussion on national and local issues.

One of the staff told me that she had got up that day at 3.00am and would not get home until after twelve midnight. We owe our teachers so much as the North West Teachers Awards demonstrated.

On Saturday after a busy surgery at Deeplish Community Centre, I visited their Saturday Club for children aged 8 to 13. Centre Chair Taj Mohammed and Organiser Sohail Ahmed were there as was my very good friend and volunteer Manzurer.

This week I’ve taken part in debates on the Child support Agency and raised the issue of funding for the rebuilding of Hopwood Hall College which has not been approved.

I also hosted the Annual Light Rail All Party Group meeting in Parliament at which Transport Minister Sadiq Khan MP was guest speaker.

Parliament also discussed the Iraq War Inquiry which since he announced it a couple of weeks ago; the Prime Minister has (rightly in my view) been forced to agree it meets in public with the committee itself able to decide its terms of reference.

Finally, I am pleased that my Liberal Democrat Colleague – Councillor Keith Whitmore has taken over as the Chair of the Greater Manchester Integrated Transport Authority.
Keith is one of my oldest political friends and I am delighted that at such a crucial time for transport in Rochdale, we have such a key contact.

With our new bus station on the way, Metrolink on the way and huge improvements courtesy of the £1.5 Billion injected throughout Greater Manchester, these are exciting times for transport and I wish Keith well.