Campaigns

Rural Areas Need Broadband
Broadband internet access allows high download speeds and provides internet access and phone calls on the same line at the same time. Rural areas have a variety of technical problems that have prevented many people who want broadband from being able to access it. I am campaigning for broadband of speeds of 512 kbits/s to be made available in all areas.

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MPs Should Declare Membership of Closed Societies
Closed membership societies are groups that are not open to members simply by paying a membership fee; for example, groups where new members can only join after receiving an invitation from existing members. These groups include religious associations such as Opus Dei and the Catenians, as well as the Freemasons, gentleman’s clubs, and some sports clubs like the Marylebone Cricket Club. I am campaigning to add membership of a closed organisation to the register of Members’ interests, so that MPs will have to make public whether or not they belong to one of these organisations, because I believe that it is important that the public can judge MPs’ behaviour based on all the facts. Welsh Assembly Members have to declare membership of these organisations, and I think that Members of the UK Parliament in Westminster ought to be held accountable to the same standards as Members of the devolved administrations.

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Save Our Phone Boxes
The red phone box is something of a national institution. However, the rise of mobile technology is now threatening this vital public service in towns and cities across the UK.

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Ban aspartame
Aspartame is an artificial sweetener 200 times sweeter than sugar. It has been licensed for more than 25 years and has become a cheap alternative to sugar, now being used in 6000 food, drink or pharmaceutical products. It has widely penetrated the British market and every day, it is consumed on average by one in fifteen people worldwide, the majority of whom are children. For the last year I have been looking into the safety of aspartame. As a man of science I have no doubt that there is strong scientific evidence that aspartame represents a serious health problem. On the basis of the precautionary principle, I have called on the Government to ban the use and sale of this food additive which has been proved to be carcinogenic in animals, a highly predictive indication of its effects on humans according to the World Health Organisation.

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Are we safe from bird flu?
Avian flu is normally a common disease of low strength which does not cause any significant problems to poultry or human health. However, from time to time, higher pathogenic strains emerge that can kill large numbers of birds and pose a threat to people working closely with poultry. At present, the highly pathogenic H5N1 strain of avian flu has the potential to cause widespread damage to the poultry industry and I am pressing the Government to ensure that plans are in place to deal with this disease, if or when it reaches our shores.

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Stop Illegal Meat Trade
Since becoming an MP, I have campaigned vigorously for the introduction of tougher measures in controlling the smuggling of illegal meat into the country as well as heavier penalties for those who commit the crime. The trade in illegal meat is every bit as serious as the illegal drug and arms trade, with perhaps more widespread and lethal consequences when contaminated meat infects mainstream food products. Around 12 thousand tons of illegal meat makes it into the country each year and experts estimate that the trade accounts for over £1bn, making it the third most lucrative crime in the UK.

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