Heading home

My week of leisure and business in London is now over. I am on the train heading back to the North East. It was quite an enjoyable week. I saw the new party HQ, walked past the "occupation" of St Paul's Cathedral (watch out for my forthcoming photos), got blockaded into a pub because of a passing demonstration and visited a significant number of hidden historic sites around the City.

Tomorrow I will be in Whickham for the Remembrance Day parade. And I'll have a week's correspondence waiting for me to sort.
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Photos of the student protesters

I came into central London yesterday to do a walking tour of little known historic sites in the City. We had planned to avoid the student protesters but found that the route of the protest went right past the pub where we where having lunch. The result was we were locked in and the protesters were locked out. Nevertheless, I was able to take some photos of the protesters going past through the window of the pub (the Viaduct Tavern). Be warned, the protesters were rather few in number. Here are some of the photos.

Photos from the Tim Farron dinner

Party President Tim Farron MP was the guest speaker at the Northern Durham Liberal Democrat dinner last Friday. I was there with camera so here are a few of the photos I took.

My first visit to the Lib Dems' new HQ

I had a meeting this morning with Hilary Stephenson and Shaun Roberts from the Lib Dems' campaigns department. It was held in HQ in Great George Street. It was my first visit to the new HQ. I worked for 7 years at Cowley St so I got used to its warren of rooms and corridors. The new HQ is completely different. It is all open plan and all on one floor. I was impressed. It may not have the historic character of Cowley Street (initially built as the HQ for the London and North Eastern Railway in the early 1900s) but it is a much more modern working environment. So that's a thumbs-up for the move from me.
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We are under siege!

Today is supposed to be a day off for me. We were aware the student "protests" would be taking part in London (I am down here for a few days) but wanted to do a tourist day out in capital. So we got our lists of historic sites and planned a route.

Alas, all great plans hit a brick wall, or in this instance, a cordoned off route along which an extremely large number of police were to direct a pathetically small number of protesters. Our plan was to visit 40 minor historic sites, take photos and have lunch at the Viaduct Tavern, London's original gin palace. We got to see the first 11 before we realised we had to negotiate with the police to cross the road to get to the Viaduct.

Having achieved that, we found that once inside the pub and tucking into lunch, the doors were locked. No one could come in. That included the tv crew filming us through the window and wanting to enter to interview under siege tourists. And as the "protesters" approached, suddenly the bar stopped serving (I used my best persuasive powers to be the last person to be served before the taps to the beer barrels were turned off.)

And then the "protesters" arrived. The first banner was totally confusing. It was in German and was from the "New German Youth". Then the bulk of the procession passed us. It was populated by a mixed bag of differing messages. There were those demanding an end to Trident, an end to tuition fees, an end to world poverty, an end to capitalism, an end to Nick Clegg and, one demanding, "Eat the rich." How this latter one went down with the Vegetarians-for-World-Peace is not yet clear. There was also a modest sprinkling of "Socialist Workers" demanding a general strike and lots of money for any spending project going, except bankers' bonuses which they are all against.

And within a very short space of time, the "protesters" were gone. Small in number, incoherent, mixed and contrary messages with no clear message but blessedly free of megaphones. Clearly the ones who love the sound of their own voices must have had better things to do.

The doors to the pub have now opened again, the bar is serving again, but we won't get through the other 30 locations to visit on our history tour. We'll finish it tomorrow.

And watch out shortly for the photos I took of the procession from the pub.

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Putting away my chef's hat

I had an interesting email from YouTube a couple of weeks ago. They wrote to me as an "expert chef" and YouTube partner, inviting me to apply for their Next Chef programme. For the 12 lucky people selected, there would be lots of new camera equipment and additional promotion of their YouTube channels. I rather liked the fact that I had been invited, thought it would be fun to apply, held out no expectation of getting anywhere and, once I had completed the form, completely forgot about it.

Alas, this morning I received an email telling me that I had not been successful. Time to put my chef's hat away. Still, it was nice to be invited and useful to know that my channel has been noticed by the people running YouTube.

If anyone wants to view any of my videos, go to www.youtube.com/jonathanwallace.

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2 million Youtube viewings

My YouTube activities seem to be going from strength to strength. I can now announce that I have passed another YouTube milestone. Over the weekend, I reached 2 million viewings of my videos.

The channel can be viewed at www.youtube.com/jonathanwallace.

The difference between local and national trade union leaders

The Gateshead Lib Dem Council group held a meeting last week with the local leaders of the GMB and Unison. It was at our invitation though we were not sure how they would react to us - and, indeed, how we would react to them. Nevertheless, we felt it was important to have a dialogue with them. I'm not at liberty to report what was said. Both sides agreed that in advance but by all counts, we found it a constructive and quite revealing meeting. I don't think I am breaking any confidences by saying the union leaders were pleased to be invited. Both sides had differences and these were aired but generally speaking, we found that discussing these differences, as well as the common ground, was a useful exercise.

A couple of days later, the Government made an offer to the unions over public sector pension reform. I was struck by the significant differences between Brendan Barber's posturing and the approach taken by the local trade union leaders we met. Barber was highly dismissive, and loving the limelight whilst parading around as the union boss to whom everyone had better listen, or else. Yet those union leaders who have to work at the chalk face seem to have a better grasp on reality than the barons based in London who probably think a reality check is something paid into the bank account of someone who appears on a so-called reality show.

And whilst I disagree with some of the views of the local trade union leaders, at least they don't seem to think they are the thrusting alternative leadership of the Labour "movement" filling the gap at the top which Ed Moribund is failing to occupy.
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Double deckers and fireworks

I came to London last night and was persuaded by a group of Labour friends to join them to watch the Crystal Palace fireworks from the Grape and Grain, the pub at the top of Anerley Hill. Apparently, it was going to cost £5 each to get into the park for a top notch view of the display. Why not watch it for free at the top of the hill, from the comfort of the pub courtyard? What a great idea! That was, until we realised that, being on a main bus route, next to a busy junction with too much traffic, double decker buses wreck any possibility of seeing any fireworks. A great money saving idea, not.

Having my cake and eating it

Sunniside Methodist Chapel are always happy to see me at their fairs and I always make it a personal requirement to go to them. They are a useful source for plants for the allotment and garden and for cakes. And so this morning, when I was there, I bought their entire stock of wild strawberries. At the cake stall, I mentioned I needed some cake to eat on the train to London this afternoon. This resulted in a series of very persuasive cake sellers encouraging me to buy a wide variety of homemade goodies. £13 later and David and I were stocked up with cake to keep us going for months. Back home I cut a large piece of walnut cake and put it into my bait box for the train journey. Alas, I ate the cake at Newcastle Station. I'm now reduced to eating the food I made myself. The train arrives in London in a couple of hours.
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Energy from waste - looking at the future for rubbish

On Monday I visited the Sita energy from waste plant on Teeside. We had a look at the line that deals with Northumberlands waste but in 2014, an almost identical plant will be opened next door which will be used to burn Gateshead's waste.

This is the video I shot inside the plant.

The boundaries of agreement

The Electoral Commission's recent proposals for new constituency boundaries are, with a few exceptions, a politician's rather than a people's issue. In my 24 years as a councillor I've never had anyone beating a track to my door to raise the issue of ward or parliamentary boundaries, even when changes are proposed. When my ward boundaries were last changed, I wrote to every constituent to tell them about the proposals and asked for comments. All I got back was a passing conversation from a constituent at the local methodist fair that she was disappointed that I would no longer be her councillor as her part of my ward was being moved to a different one. So, people generally (though I accept not in all circumstances) are not overly concerned about where ward and constituency boundaries go. Alas, if only we could say the same about us politicians!

Currently, Gateshead has two full constituencies - Blaydon and Gateshead - and a bit of Jarrow within the borough's boundaries. This was an improvement on 2005 when we had one full constituency and the bits of 3 others. Under the new proposals from the Commission, there will be a new Gateshead West constituency which will be the only one wholly within Gateshead. And in a back-to-the-future move, we go back to having bits of three other constituencies within the borough as well. Overall, the North East drops from 29 to 26 constituences, and to make the figures balance, it seems that Gateshead has been dismantled so that the spare bits can be grafted on to neighbouring areas.

For Labour in Gateshead, the Commission's proposals are a disaster. I hear on the grapevine of rumblings of Labour discontent for, if they are implemented, it will mean their two MPs, David Anderson and Ian Mearns, going head to head for the selection for Gateshead West. The loser will have to attempt to get selected for the Jarrow and Gsteshead East constituency, more of which is in South Tyneside and therefore, outside the current influence of Gateshead Labour. The talk in Labour is that Ian Mearns would win the Gateshead West nomination leaving DA to do a chicken run tour of Jarrow and anywhere else in North East Labour ready to give a hearing to his anti-capitalist rants. Personally, I think Ian would do a far better job of representing the area than David Anderson but such an endorsement from me may be the kiss of death for anyone in Labour so I therefore apologise to Ian!

Yesterday, a council advisory group was held to consider the Commission's proposals and various alternatives. Advisory groups are sometimes not well attended but this one was. I saw a whole string of councillors who work for MPs (especially David Anderson) as well as a number of councillors who are rather chummy with Mr Anderson. One office assistant for Mr Anderson turned up with laptop and maps.

The Council's favoured option was discussed. Officers put forward a proposal in which Gateshead consisted wholly of 2 constituencies. This would mean no Anderson-Mearns wrestling match as the two would be slotted in to the appropriate constituencies. But, as I pointed out, it is all very well for the Council to come up with a solution that solves all of Gateshead's boundary issues but the Electoral Commission has to look at the bigger picture. If all that happens is that Gateshead puts forward a proposal that simply exports the fragmentation elsewhere, the Commission will reject it.

Well, blow me dead! The advisory group appreciated the argument and accepted a back up. Whilst members accepted the Council's two-constituency solution as the favoured option, they also took a pragmatic view that a back up was needed. The one agreed still saw Gateshead with one whole and 3 part constituencies but saw a more sensible arrangement for the periphery. One of the part constituencies would be mainly in Gateshead though what South Tyneside will think of this is likely to be easy to judge. Jarrow Labour are likely to have something to say in opposition to such a move that would see their constituency as the junior partner of Gateshead East.

Gateshead Council's views will be reported to the Electoral Commission. And if they are rejected, start booking your places now at the local Labour club, fight-to-the-finish wrestling matches. (If you are squeamish and don't like blood, stay at home!)

The Kaiser as King - the what ifs of history

The welcome decision to end male primogeniture for the monarchy has presented historians like myself with an excuse to step outside the realm of history and speculate on what could have been. The current rule on primogeniture saw Prince Albert Edward become Edward VII in 1901 despite having an older sibling - a sister called Princess Victoria. Keeping up with the tradition of the age, Victoria, like her mother and grandfather, had married into German royalty. Germany at the time did not exist as a sovereign political entity though she was moving in that direction. Princess Victoria's husband was Prince Frederick of Prussia, nephew to the childless King Frederick Willian IV of Prussia, the most powerful of the myriad of German royal families.

So what could have happened if Princess Victoria, as the eldest child, inherited the throne on the death of her mother Queen Victoria in 1901 had the new rules on primogeniture been in place then? Firstly, Victoria II would have reigned for only a few months. She died in August 1901. Her son, by then the German Kaiser Wilhelm II, would have inherited the British Crown, and for good measure, would have become Emperor of India as well. Could we have ended up with a common monarchy for the British and German Empires? Could the history of the world have been different because or promogeniture?

Well, there has to be an assumption that the rulers of Britain in 1857, the year Victoria and Frederick were married, would have been prepared to accept the future union of the British and Prussian crowns. This was not without precedent. The Norman kings for example, had ruled England and realms on the Continent. The crown of the UK and Hanover had been united from 1714 until 1837. As Hanover operated Salic Law the crown went to the next male heir. Therefore in 1837 Ernest Augustus, the younger brother of Queen Victoria's father, rather than Victoria herself, inherited the Hanoverian throne. Ironically, the Prussians invaded Hanover in 1866 and annexed the kingdom, ending the separate Hanoverian monarchy.

It is one thing to have a joint crown with a minor state on the Continent. It is quite another for Britain to have the same head of state as a continental great power. Furthermore, the constitutional positions of the monarchy in the UK and Prussia were radically different. Balancing the two would have been at best very difficult. A study of the history of Britain from 1815 to 1914 shows that Britain steered clear of significant continental entanglements. I find it difficult to accept that the rulers of Britain in 1857 would have permitted a dynastic marriage that could have resulted in an entangling commitment.

But let's suppose they were prepared to accept the risk and allowed the marriage of Victoria and Frederick to go ahead. In August 1901, Kaiser Wilhelm would have become William V of Britain. This was a period in which Germany was emerging as the most powerful nation on the Continent yet the development of her navy was too early at this point to push her onto a collision course with Britain. Indeed, some such as Joseph Chamberlain in the 1890s were interested in pursuing friendship, even an alliance, with Germany.

So, could the union of the British and German crowns have led to Britain joining a different continental alliance? It is not too far fetched to believe that. After all, France and Russia were still regarded as traditional foes and France and Britain came close to blows over Fashoda in 1898. Britain and Germany had few colonial differences to cause them trouble. That was not the case with France. And Russia continued to be regarded as a threat to India.

Would this have meant no First World War? Possibly. But there again, imagine the impact of Britain and Germany coming closer together on France and Russia. They could end up feeling more threatened. Far from keeping peace on the Continent, arguably an alliance of Britain and Germany could have brought forward the date of a major war. It could have increased the Russian threat to India and it could have resulted in Britain and France coming to blows over colonial differences. Instead of the First World War starting in the Balkans, it could have started in North Africa.

This is, of course, speculation. It's not history. But it makes for some interesting alternative history theories.

Cars and casinos versus cars rather than casinos: the ghost of John Prescott

Secretary of State for Business Vince Cable had a good line in his speech at Liberal Democrat Conference last month: cars, not casinos. The point was that after 13 years of a Labour government sucking up to the financial services sector and letting manufacturing go to the wall, the Coalition has moved us in a new direction in which we support manufacturing. Build cars rather than back the casino activities of the risk-taking bankers (and remember they took risks with other people's money).

Though most Labour members with whom I have conversations seem to believe the 13 years of Labour rule under Blair and Brown never seemed to happen, or have somehow removed those years from their collective memory and conscience, occasional ghosts of their past come back to haunt them and remind them of what they don't want to recall: their 13 years in power. So, a blast from the past today arrived in the form of John Prescott, Labour's very own clowning Cabinet court jester.

British manufacturing may have fared badly under Labour but Prescott did his bit to boost the profile of Jaguar cars. Two Jags Prescott was his nickname. He was also the person responsible for the moves to boost British prosperity by regenerating derelict areas by turning each into a mini-Las Vegas, complete with deregulated casinos. Gambling was the big idea for regenerating Britain under Labour.

Back in 2004, a decision was taken to pack Prescott off to Australia to study how casinos work there. I'm not sure if this was an attempt simply to get rid of him for a while by sending him to the other side of the planet, or was a serious attempt to teach Prescott how to bet, gamble and waste money more effectively. Nevertheless, Junket John arrived Down Under and duely visited restaurants and casinos, complete with taxpayer funder credit card.

His private office managed to spend £456 at the Star City casino in Sydney, £490 at Doyle’s seafood restaurant in Watson’s Bay and £75 at an aquarium. All this has come to light because the Coalition government has decided to publish the details of what's been spent on government financed credit cards.

Labour's plans to turn Britain into Europe's off shore Las Vegas got nowhere, though Labour did a good job at turning us into a banker's casino paradise. Prescott, always something of a hero for many in the Labour party, is something of a Ghost of Labour Past. I wonder what more there is to come out from the publication of Labour's credit card spending.

Intent on being part time protesters

It appears that the anti-capitalist protesters see fit to rally to the cause only during daylight hours. A thermal imaging camera panning across the rows of tents in the grounds of St Pauls quickly spotted that during the night, the overwhelming majority of the cathedral's unwelcome guests disappear from the site. Presumably they head back to their comfortable, upper middle class homes where they can snipe at mummy and daddy for being stinking rich before heading off to their comfy feather beds for a good night's kip. Next day they return to their occupation of daytime protesters, calling in at Costa Coffee and other symbols of hated capitalism for breakfast.

I bet the church authorities are regretting their decision to let this mob of middle class muppets camp it up outside St Pauls. Personally, if I had to protest outside St Pauls, it wouldn't be capitalism I would be protesting against. Instead, it would be the appallingly expensive entrance fee that visitors have to pay to set foot in the Cathedral.

Rebellion or whinging?

The obsessive personality disorders of various rightwing Tory MPs are on display today. Europe is back at the heart of Tory troubles. And the right is making as much sound as possible on the vote due shortly in the Commons. Whether or not this will turn into a significant rebellion or a whimpering whine is yet to be seen. My experience of the last government was that there would be a great deal of noise from posturing backbenchers who would sign this or that early day motion opposing their own government. But most were too spineless to carry it through to voting against the government. The media had a field day with headlines about the government about to be defeated, but the story would be quickly forgotten after the vote revealed only a tiny rebellion by Labour MPs with the vast majority of whingers trooping their way through the government lobby.

Today hasn't been much different: backbenchers make a noise about rebelling and the media shouts loudly about a damaged PM. What we don't know at the moment is whether Tory MPs are as spineless as the moaning minnies that populated Labour's backbenchers whilst in government. There are some Tories who are so obsessed with Europe that they are very likely to rebel. After all they have been coralled into a corner by Cameron. They are completely powerless and have no future in government as ministers. Only a goggled-eyed alien from a distant planet would contemplate appointing the likes of John Redwood or Bill Cash to a governmental post. They have nothing to lose by rebelling.

But what about the younger members of the Tory ranks? Will they risk taking a stand on an issue that obsesses them but risk future ministerial careers? That is the unknown at the moment.

There are plenty on the Tory right who want to damage Cameron and make a stand against the Coalition that has locked them out of power but generally tethered them to voting for Coalition policies. The Tory right hates the Lib Dems. They hate the influence we have but they are powerless to do anything about it. A vote on Europe which the government will win comfortably seems an idea opportunity to kick Cameron without bringing down the government. The question is, how many of them are prepared to swing their booted feet in the direction of Cameron's political posterior?

Photos from Saturday's regional conference

Saturday saw the North East Lib Dem regional conference held in Gateshead Civic Centre and I was there with my camera to snap a few shots. On arrival I was greeted by Labour Councillor Peter Mole on the stairs leading to the civic suite. I was a bit surprised by his presence, thinking to myself, he couldn't possibly have defected to us as the Lib Dems are far too radical and progressive an organisation for people of the likes of Peter! And then I spotted a Labour gathering in a small room off one of the corridors. What relief we all felt!

Anyway, here are the photos.



My Gateshead Council colleague Frank Hindle retired as chairman of the region. He was thanked for his work by regional president, Suzanne Fletcher.



Panel discussion on community politics: Suzanne Fletcher (Stockton), Owen Temple (Durham North), Charles Jevon (Berwick), Ian Swales (Redcar), Penny Reid (Blyth) and Carol Woods (Durham City)



Gordon Birtwhistle MP who gave a good speech on the need to move away from the disaster of Labour's 13 years of sucking up to the financial services sector and get back to supporting manufacturing.



Parliamentary panel: Diana Maddock, Alan Beith, David Freeman (chairing), John Shipley and Gordon Birtwhistle.



Winner of the Alisdair Wardlaw award for local campaigning was Redcar. Ian Swales and his wife Pat collected the award.



Listening intently.

Whistling a memorable tune at regional conference

It was North East Regional Lib Dem Conference yesterday in Gateshead. The speakers were, as expected, our very own Alan Beith and Ian Swailes along with peers Diana Maddock and John Shipley. The speaker from outside the region was Gordon Birtwhistle, PPS to Danny Alexander. For me, he was an unknown quantity before this conference. I had not met him before and never heard him speak. So I didn't know what to expect.

He turned out to be a very entertaining and informative speaker. He talked about the need for Britain to revive the private sector and especially to build up the manufacturing sector which had fared so badly under Labour. Under the Labour government, the financial services sector was favoured and pampered over and above any other sector of the economy. The calamitous results of that are there for all to see - and suffer.

So, watch out for Gordon Birtwhistle in the future. I suspect he may be going places.

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Local Food Connection

I went to Bill Quay Community Farm in Gateshead this morning for the breakfast launch of Bill Quay Local Food Connection. As a food and social historian and allotment and cookery webcaster, this was clearly going to be of interest to me. The information we were sent explains the project:

Thanks to grant funding from the Big Lottery Local Food Programme, the Farm’s facilities now include a community kitchen, communal eating space and counter for a local food café and farm shop. This distribution and sales hub supports local producers and provides local & regional foods to the community. Along with a programme of inclusive events and activities to engage and educate users the Local Food Connection will offer training experiences and volunteering opportunities for vulnerable adults. Schools and families will be able to use the Connection for educational and recreational purposes.

The Bill Quay Local Food Connection is a new community resource which will make local food accessible, affordable and enjoyable for local people, providing facilities to enable them to taste, buy and cook with local & regional food.

In my opinion, the standardization and mass production of food has led not to a great range of food that a look in a supermarket would suggest is available. Instead, it has led to the loss of local varieties, extra pollution caused by the unnecessary shipping of some foods from thousands of miles away, and an increasing remoteness of food production from the people eating it.

We need to appreciate our food more. That appreciation would increase if we know it is locally produced, rather than churned out of a factory that could be thousands of kilometres away.

So Local Food Connection is getting my full support. I also have a passing interest in Bill Quay Community Farm. I am one of the volunteer beekeepers there. We took some frames of honey off one of the hives a couple of weeks ago. It is now on sale at the farm shop and the proceeds will help support the work of the farm.

Unfortunately we didn't get to try the pig cake, pictured above. I had to head off to theCivic Centre for a two hour meeting on local transport issues.

Durham Aged Miners' Homes

A couple of weeks ago we had the official unveiling of the coal tub planters in Marley Hill, a village in my ward in Gateshead. Marley Hill is a former pit village. The pit closed in 1983. It was the last in the North East to use pit ponies. Two coal tubs from the mine were placed outside the village school and used as part of a floral display after the mine closed.

The closure of the school in December meant that the 3 ward councillors - myself, John McClurey and Marilynn Ord - had to think about what to do with the coal tubs. We had funding available for the restoration of the tubs from our community fund. Tanfield Railway carried out the repairs and the Durham Aged Miners Homes Association also made a donation to the project and agreed to site the restored tubs outside the Marley Hill Aged Miners' Homes.

The above photo was taken earlier this month when the Mayor, Joe Mitchinson, came to Marley Hill to unveil the tubs in their new location.

For me, one of the interesting points was the history of the Durham Aged Miners' Homes Association. My great grandfather, Henry Wallace, was first chairman of Whickham Urban District Council and first County Councillor for Whickham, back in the late Victorian period. He was land agent to Lord Ravensworth, one of the great coal owning families of the Victorian North East. I was vaguely aware of his involvement in the creation of the Durham Aged Miners' Homes Association. I chatted about this to some of the officers from the Association who told me they had an official history written by a local historian George Atkinson and they would be happy to send it to me.

I was emailed a copy and had the opportunity to read through parts of it today. I was pleasantly surprised to find out just how closely my ancestor was involved in creating this Association as an organization dedicated to housing retired miners. And whilst Henry wasn't involved with the building of the homes in Marley Hill, (they were built many years after his death), his support for the creation of the Association was recognised when various new streets of homes built by them were named after him, including Wallace Village in Wrekenton in Gateshead.

Family histories can be very interesting!