I have spent the day at a very uplifting marine lobby of Parliament. It was great! The 250+ supporters of the RSPB, WWF, Wildlife Trusts and Marine Conservation Society were articulate, passionate and committed - no surprises there. The Minister, Huw Irranca-Davies was good enough to turn up twice during the day to encourage the lobbyists to make their views known to their MPs, and two MPs, Martin Salter from Reading West and John Randall from Uxbridge, enthusiastically encouraged the lobbyists.
Mr Irranca-Davies is a very likeable Minister, and a very enthusiastic one, and, I believe, a very genuine one. I think he persuaded the crowds that he would do his very best to deliver a really good Marine Bill through the Westminster process. However, he did fall into the trap that decision-makers often do - in pointing out, quite correctly, that the Bill as it is at the moment is not a bad Bill, and that it could be used to do a lot of good for the marine environment, he failed to convince the audience that it is actually yet a good Bill. After the Minister had left there were many good points from the audience saying that this was the time for greater clarity, less fudging, more 'musts' and fewer 'mays' in the Bill and that the legislation had to be clear enough to secure protection for the marine environment rather than give the ability to protect it if future ministers fancied doing it. No-one, I think, doubted the current Minister's commitment, but our supporters were looking to the future and they want this legislation to deliver the reality of protection for the marine environment - not the possibility of protection.
I found the day most interesting, and hope that the powers that be will take some notice of the strength of feeling on this matter. It is unfortunate that this very important subject has been upstaged by all the furore over MPs' expenses!
I had contacted my MP (Mrs Cheryl Gillan - Chesham and Amersham) in advance and she was already waiting for me when we arrived from the Methodist Central Hall, which was impressive. She could only spare a few minutes to talk, as she had to attend a meeting over her Private Member's Bill, but her assistant, Sam Gibbs, spent a good half hour talking to me and seemed well informed about our fears over the weaknesses in the Bill as it stands at present. I was favourably impressed that he had taken the trouble to consult his Defra colleagues about the Bill before coming to speak to me. He promised to brief Mrs Gillan about our conversation and the importance of strengthening the Bill.
Andrea Polden