Will we notice the difference?

Tuesday, April 21, 2009

Will we notice the difference?

MPs have awarded themselves a 12-week summer holiday, we are told by The Daily Telegraph today, amid "increasing concern that the Government is not introducing enough legislation to keep them occupied." 

That itself has to be regarded as a bizarre statement, as if making legislation was somehow a work creation scheme for MPs. But it also misses the point. It is not as if our governments (the one here and the one in Brussels) are not producing legislation any more. Simply, most law is now brought into effect via Statutory Instruments – of which there is no shortage - which do not require any direct input from most MPs.

Nevertheless, Matthew Elliott, chief executive of the Taxpayers' Alliance, falls into the trap, offering us the wisdom for which he has become famous by opining that: "Politicians should be spending more time in the House of Commons scrutinising legislation." 

However, David Winnick, a long-standing Labour backbench MP, has got a better handle on the situation, declaring: "The summer recess is far too long. We are not doing our main job - being in the Commons, asking questions, debating and holding the Government to account - for virtually three months and that's unfortunate."

It is the "asking questions, debating and holding the Government to account" that are also vital functions of MPs, but therein also lies a problem. Even when the House is in session, you would barely notice – as can be seen from yesterday's defence procurement debate.

Less the ministers and their shadow counterparts – who have to be there – there are 19 MPs in the chamber. And, for the quality of the contributions some of them made, most would have been more usefully employed busking on Victoria Station.

Barring all but a few, therefore, we might as well allow MPs a full 52 week holiday – as long as it is unpaid, of course.

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And the big news is?

The surreal disengagement of the MoD and our media continues with the latest round on non-reporting from Afghanistan. The event of the moment – from US sources – is a disturbing development, where the Taleban has fielded two heavy anti-aircraft weapons capable of taking out a Chinook or other British helicopter.

Both were Soviet-made ZPU-1s (pictured), loaded and ready for use, mounted on the back of pick-up trucks. They were located in the Nad Ali district, close to Lashkar Gah, where British troops are stationed.

Fortunately – in an encouraging testament to the ground work done by coalition forces - the villagers spotted the first gun and reported it to the authorities. Shortly thereafter, it was given the undivided attention of a brace of US Air Force A-10 Thunderbolt IIs. According to the dry, descriptive prose of the official bulletin, the aircraft "engaged" the enemy truck, using their 30mm Avenger cannons "to destroy the truck and the machine gun."

Less than 12 hours later, villagers reported that the Taleban in Nad Ali had obtained another ZPU-1, which they had been firing in the vicinity of the local bazaar. Coalition forces used a precision strike successfully to destroy this gun as well.

Although the ZPU-1 is 70s-era equipment and obsolete, with a 14.5mm calibre, it is a potent anti-aircraft weapon and could have made short work of any helicopter it hit. The rapid intervention of the US Air Force, said a coalition forces spokesman, "without a doubt saved the lives of Afghan and coalition forces".

Nor were these the only interventions. Yesterday saw a continuation of the high level of air activity with 76 missions flown, including in Lashkar Gah itself where a US Navy F/A-18C Hornet flew a show of force and expended flares to deter enemy suicide bombers after a source had warned coalition forces of enemy preparations.

However, such tedious, low-grade stuff cannot even begin to compare with the MoD's "take" on the top news story. From this source, we learn that a British soldier deployed to Afghanistan has become the talk of his local town after he started sending regular letters back to his local pub describing daily life on the "front line".

This, incidentally, is Colour Sergeant Michael Saunders, Platoon Quartermaster Sergeant for the Combat Infantry Signals Platoon, who spends most of his time in a signals cabin in Camp Tombstone. With the story happily retailed by the BBC, it really is good to know that the powers that be have such a good grasp of what is really important and are keeping us so well-informed.

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