Author Archives: David Heath MP

David Heath MP writes… Freedom of Information and the NHS risk register – we should publish as much as possible

By David Heath MP | 8th May 2012 - 6:55 pm

It was 12 years ago that I sat on my very first House of Commons bill committee, and a pretty important bill it was too. We were considering what was to become the Freedom of Information Act 2000, and I was helping Bob McLennan try to stiffen up what was in danger of becoming, in the hands of the last government, an increasingly flaccid piece of legislation.

After decades of campaigning, the 2000 Act was certainly a longtime in coming for Liberal Democrats. It was Clement Freud who first introduced a Private Members Bill in 1978 that attracted considerable support, …

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Posted in Op-eds | Tagged , , and | 40 Comments

David Heath MP writes… Action at last on a lobbyists’ register

By David Heath MP | 20th January 2012 - 2:43 pm

It’s strange how this selective amnesia thing works. The official Opposition has been agitating over recent weeks about when the government will publish the promised consultation on a Statutory Register of Lobbyists. You’d think they had always been in favour of such a thing. Er, no, not exactly. Because there were calls for its introduction under the last government. Liberal Democrats, for instance, asked repeatedly why the then Labour government wasn’t responding to clear recommendations from select committees to do just that. Labour ministers didn’t want to know. We even proposed amendments to at least require companies to report on …

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Posted in Op-eds | Tagged | 2 Comments

What should be done after the Derek Conway affair?

By David Heath MP | 5th February 2008 - 2:20 pm

About twenty years ago, when I was Leader of Somerset County Council, I remember a councillor colleague of mine telling a story about a conversation he had in his local pub. He asked people in the bar how much they thought he was paid as a councillor. Their answers varied, but the consensus drifted to “about £30,000″. The real answer was barely a tenth of that figure.

The great British public is all too ready to believe the worst about their elected politicians, at any level. That’s why episodes like the Derek Conway affair are so damaging. Egged on by an …

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Posted in Op-eds | 4 Comments

Recent Comments

  • User AvatarAlex Sabine 17th May - 3:11am
    If the reports are to be believed, IDS has already dismissed this apparently back-of-the-envelope costing by Steve Hilton. That is hardly surprising since he has...
  • User AvatarElliot Bidgood 17th May - 1:42am
    Thanks for the information about the govt consultation, Carol, hadn't heard about that. Just filled it out.
  • User Avataralistair 17th May - 12:37am
    Where does Cameron get his advisors from, Coulson, Hilton? It's like some parallel valueless universe.
  • User AvatarRichard Dean 16th May - 11:49pm
    I wonder if we might all appreciate a bit of light entertainment at this stage of the debate? Here are the lyrics of “Visions of...
  • User AvatarNicola Prigg 16th May - 11:21pm
    Was his first speech to conference as leader recorded and put online anywhere?