http://juliemorgan.blogdrive.com/ Julie Morgan MP Thu, 05 Jan 2006 16:00:33 PST http://www.blogdrive.com Copyright 2006. Politics (new) http://juliemorgan.blogdrive.com/archive/73.html Thu, 05 Jan 2006 16:00:03 GMT New year, new blog: I'm moving over to Typepad. Come join me! http://juliemorgan.blogdrive.com/comments?id=73 http://juliemorgan.blogdrive.com/archive/72.html Fri, 23 Dec 2005 14:53:56 GMT The constituency office is closing for the Christmas holiday from 3pm today until 9am on January 3. Messages will be checked over the week so if you have an emergency do leave your name and number and a message and the staff will be in touch with you. 2005 seems to have flown by. It's certainly been an interesting year — not least for the fact that in May, I could no longer have held the privileged position I still have — and I'm hoping that 2006 will prove to be just as challenging. Of course, we'll be gearing up all year for the Welsh Assembly elections which are coming in 2007. Labour's... (more) http://juliemorgan.blogdrive.com/comments?id=72 http://juliemorgan.blogdrive.com/archive/71.html Thu, 22 Dec 2005 14:52:28 GMT This column appears in the Cardiff Post today. It's been a good year for Wales. We began the year with the magnificent Grand Slam in the Six Nations championship and we are ending with news of a new EU budget that will bring substantial funding to us. It will mean that, from 2007-2013, west Wales and the Valleys will continue to qualify for the maximum amount of European aid. The funding will probably be around the current level of £1.3 billion over the next seven years. This is great news. If Tony Blair had not been able to negotiate this budget before the end of this calendar year, the... (more) http://juliemorgan.blogdrive.com/comments?id=71 http://juliemorgan.blogdrive.com/archive/70.html Thu, 08 Dec 2005 12:57:14 GMT This column appears in the Cardiff Post today. On Friday night, I went to the sleep-out to benefit the Cardiff Action for the Single Homeless. This is an annual fundraising event and I've been going to it for years. I usually stay for a couple of hours and I'm pleased to be able to show support for both the homeless and for the many committed people who work with and for them. With the coldest winter for 40 years being predicted, the plight of homeless people is very much on my mind, as is the plight of those who have homes, but who cannot afford to heat them adequately in the... (more) http://juliemorgan.blogdrive.com/comments?id=70 http://juliemorgan.blogdrive.com/archive/69.html Wed, 07 Dec 2005 16:26:28 GMT As no-one with any interest in politics could have missed, today was new Conservative leader David Cameron's first day at the Dispatch Box. Cameron's rise to the top job on the Opposition benches has been meteoric — he was only elected as MP for Witney in 2001 — and from all the media hype anyone might think something huge was going to happen at Prime Minister's Questions. In the end, the event was a bit anti-climactic. Instead of going for Europe (the rebate being one of the hot topics before Cameron's coronation) or this week's Pre-Budget Report, Cameron went with the education White... (more) http://juliemorgan.blogdrive.com/comments?id=69 http://juliemorgan.blogdrive.com/archive/68.html Wed, 30 Nov 2005 11:31:00 GMT Seemingly endless amounts of speeches are the order of the day this week. This morning I gave a long speech to a conference organised by The House Magazine on public sector reform, having been ably assisted by two of my staff; and last night I contributed to the debate on the Health Bill, which will, among other things, give the Welsh Assembly the power to ban smoking in public places. Here's the transcript of my speech: Julie Morgan (Cardiff, North) (Lab): Thank you very much, Madam Deputy Speaker, for calling me to speak in the debate on the Second Reading of this very important... (more) http://juliemorgan.blogdrive.com/comments?id=68 http://juliemorgan.blogdrive.com/archive/67.html Mon, 21 Nov 2005 16:21:16 GMT After all the travails of the previous couple of weeks, the coming fortnight promises to be very positive. The Labour Government is proposing some excellent legislation, starting today with the Second Reading of the Equality Bill, which will set up the Commission for Equality and Human Rights, taking in the Equal Opportunities Commission, the Disability Rights Commission and the Commission for Racial Equality. Part of the Bill includes moves to outlaw discrimination based on sexuality in the provision of goods and services, which was not originally in the Bill but which the Government has... (more) http://juliemorgan.blogdrive.com/comments?id=67 http://juliemorgan.blogdrive.com/archive/66.html Thu, 10 Nov 2005 17:01:28 GMT My next two surgeries will be happening tomorrow: from 1-2pm at Asda Coryton in Longwood Drive, and from 6-7pm at my constituency office in Whitchurch. As always, all are welcome and there's no need to book an appointment — just turn up. This has been another extraordinary week. First came the bitter news of the job losses in the Vale of Glamorgan at DARA, which will greatly affect many in Cardiff North (and which I was able to question the Minister on): Julie Morgan (Cardiff, North) (Lab): May I too express deep disappointment and concern about the proposals for DARA St.... (more) http://juliemorgan.blogdrive.com/comments?id=66 http://juliemorgan.blogdrive.com/archive/65.html Thu, 03 Nov 2005 13:19:54 GMT A very difficult day yesterday, with the resignation of David Blunkett and some extraordinarily close votes on the Terrorism Bill. It was one of those occasions where we realise that every vote really does count, and which puts the lie to the idea that all Labour MPs are ready simply to agree to whatever the Government puts before them, which is something which I regularly read and hear. The majority of just one on Robert Marshall-Andrews' amendment was quite unexpected. I have to say that I am not as exercised by the issue of the glorification of terrorism as I am by the proposal to detain a... (more) http://juliemorgan.blogdrive.com/comments?id=65 http://juliemorgan.blogdrive.com/archive/64.html Wed, 26 Oct 2005 11:17:01 GMT My next constituency surgery will be this coming Saturday, 29 October, from 9.30am to 10.30am at the constituency office — 17 Plasnewydd, Whitchurch. All welcome, no appointment necessary. http://juliemorgan.blogdrive.com/comments?id=64