HOME | IMC UK | Editorial Guidelines | Mission Statement | About Us | Contact | Help | Support Us

Liverpool Indymedia

MP Accountability: Christine Russell - City of Chester

Pete | 20.03.2005 15:52 | Globalisation | Social Struggles | Liverpool

Below details the facts of Christine Russell's performance as my MP. Go to  http://powertothepeople.org.uk/index.htm research your MP and name & shame. With the General Election looming, publishing their actual (and most probably poor) record could have a real impact. Hold 'Em To Account!!

These are the facts about Christine Russell and how she has actually represented the City of Chester, (with some opinion).

CHRISTINE RUSSELL:


Parliamentary Votes:

Christine Russell's voting record is appalling, she pretty much has no positive aspect to her voting record at all.

She is perfectly at ease supporting the creeping privatisation of essential public services. She voted for Foundation Hospitals on 19/11/03 and Tuition Fees on 27/01/04.

Christine Russell voted to support the illegal invasion of Iraq on 26/02/03 and 18/03/03.

With regard to civil liberties she voted for 'Anti-Terrorism' legislation giving the government the right to detain foreigners without trial on 21/11/01. She voted for ID Cards on 20/12/04 and in favour of 'Control Orders' on 28/02/05.

She even voted against an all elected House of Lords and for a wholly appointed one on 04/02/03. Her only positive vote was for the ban on hunting with dogs on 30/06/03 but this is little consolation.

As a supposedly 'Labour' MP Christine Russell has simply not voted progressively. Chester might as well be run by one of Blair's unelected Thatcherite spin doctors, she couldn't be more Blairite if she tried. Christine Russell has followed the New Labour Whip 99.9% of the time, the word sycophant springs to mind. What can I say, it seems we have no elected representation in Chester.


Parliamentary Questions & Debate:

In addition to following the New Labour Whip without fail, looking at Christine Russell's Parliamentary questions it would seem she has done so unquestioningly. She has asked nothing in relation to any of the major issues of the day and attempted to hold nobody to account for the decisions made. Whether it be Iraq, Civil Liberties, the Privatisation of Public Services or the scandals within this Government, Christine Russell has nothing to say and simply does as she is told.

The only positive contribution she has made is in relation to Poor Countries and Debt Relief. She has at least partaken in some debate with regard to this, although she does seem to be Gordon Brown's place person and much of the rest is simply lavishing praise upon the Government:

To the Chancellor, "If he will make a statement on the progress towards multilateral debt cancellation for poor countries...May I thank my right hon. Friend for that encouraging reply...I have hundreds of constituents that very much welcome and acknowledge the commitment to debt relief that our Government have shown...when it (Britain) assumes the presidency of the G8 and the EU next year, will he encourage our colleagues to follow his lead and commit to debt relief" (16/12/2004)

To the Chancellor, "If he will press G7 Finance Ministers, at their meeting in February, to take further action on debt relief...Today, many of my constituents have traveled down from Chester to attend the 'Make Poverty History' rally to be addressed by Nelson Mandela. He is on record calling for the world's richer countries to make a bigger contribution to helping the poorer ones achieve their millennium goals. What more does my right hon Friend think that Britain can do to galvanize global action to eradicate poverty and debt throughout the world" (03/02/2005)

Although Christine Russell is not trying to hold the Government accountable in any way here, it is something positive and progressive to be involved and interested in, she is making a small contribution and I would say it is representative of her electorate. But it really does seem to be the only positive contribution she has made.


Early Day Motions Signed:

Surprisingly Christine Russell has actually signed a couple of good Early Day Motions which would reflect the views of her electorate.

For example (although once again it is very pro the Government):

EDM 272 Wind Energy - That this House congratulates the Government on the introduction of the Renewables Obligation and the setting of a target to generate 20% of the nations electricity from renewable sources by 2020

However, here are a couple of very good EDMs signed which wouldn't have had the blessing of her New Labour bosses:

EDM 308 ICJ's Ruling on Israel's Separation Barrier - That this House welcomes the Advisory Opinion of the International Court of Justice on Israel's separation barrier; notes that its conclusion that the barrier is illegal and that Israel has a legal obligation to dismantle the barrier where it is built on occupied land; welcomes the UN General Assembly resolution that demands Israel comply and calls upon the British Government to urge Israel to dismantle the barrier where built on occupied land and to ensure Israel's full compliance with the Geneva Convention in respect of the occupied territories.

EDM 243 Palestinian Prisoners in Israeli Jails - That this House is alarmed that since 1967 more than 600,000 Palestinians, including women and children, are believed to have been detained by Israeli military and security forces, with 7,000 currently being held in custody; notes that numerous human rights organisations continue to report inhuman and degrading treatment of detainees as well as the use of torture; calls upon the UK Government to take every measure possible to ensure that Israel complies with it's international legal obligations, particularly the Geneva Convention.

However, there are many progressive Early Day Motions which Christine Russell did not sign, use the EDM link above to explore as there are too many to mention. Credit where it is due though for signing these last two. Although it is a little hypocritical to criticise other countries regarding International Law when she supports her own Government in disregarding it.


To conclude, looking at the facts, i.e. Christine Russell's voting record, parliamentary questions and EDMs signed. I have no doubt that she is a Blairite sycophant whose representation of Chester, in my opinion, is extremely poor. Her unquestioning support for the New Labour Project and every New Labour policy is totally unrepresentative of Chester. Although there are quite a few Tories knocking about we did vote for a Labour MP, could anyone tell the difference? Christine Russell has simply failed to represent Chester and hold the present Government accountable in any way.

If Christine Russell is your MP contact her regarding issues which affect you and your community. Follow the links at;  http://powertothepeople.org.uk/content/gov/ChristineRussell-MPReview.htm and explore what she has done in your name. Also follow the link for her contact details with which to demand change as a constiuent.

Pete
- Homepage: http://www.powertothepeople.org.uk

Comments

Display the following comment

  1. Hold your MP to account — North Westerner

Kollektives

Birmingham
Cambridge
Liverpool
London
Oxford
Sheffield
South Coast
Wales
World

Other UK IMCs
Bristol/South West
London
Northern Indymedia
Scotland

Topics

Afghanistan
Analysis
Animal Liberation
Anti-Nuclear
Anti-militarism
Anti-racism
Bio-technology
Climate Chaos
Culture
Ecology
Education
Energy Crisis
Fracking
Free Spaces
Gender
Globalisation
Health
History
Indymedia
Iraq
Migration
Ocean Defence
Other Press
Palestine
Policing
Public sector cuts
Repression
Social Struggles
Technology
Terror War
Workers' Movements
Zapatista

[navigation.actions2016]

[navigation.actions2015]

[navigation.actions2014]

NATO 2014

Actions 2013

G8 2013

Actions 2012

Workfare

Actions 2011

2011 Census Resistance
August Riots
Dale Farm
J30 Strike
Occupy Everywhere

Actions 2010

Flotilla to Gaza
Mayday 2010
Tar Sands

Actions 2009

COP15 Climate Summit 2009
G20 London Summit
Guantánamo
Indymedia Server Seizure
University Occupations for Gaza

Actions 2008

2008 Days Of Action For Autonomous Spaces
Campaign against Carmel-Agrexco
Climate Camp 2008
G8 Japan 2008
SHAC
Smash EDO
Stop Sequani Animal Testing
Stop the BNP's Red White and Blue festival

Actions 2007

Climate Camp 2007
DSEi 2007
G8 Germany 2007
Mayday 2007
No Border Camp 2007

Actions 2006

April 2006 No Borders Days of Action
Art and Activism Caravan 2006
Climate Camp 2006
Faslane
French CPE uprising 2006
G8 Russia 2006
Lebanon War 2006
March 18 Anti War Protest
Mayday 2006
Oaxaca Uprising
Refugee Week 2006
Rossport Solidarity
SOCPA
Transnational Day of Action Against Migration Controls
WSF 2006

Actions 2005

DSEi 2005
G8 2005
WTO Hong Kong 2005

Actions 2004

European Social Forum
FBI Server Seizure
May Day 2004
Venezuela

Actions 2003

Bush 2003
DSEi 2003
Evian G8
May Day 2003
No War F15
Saloniki Prisoner Support
Thessaloniki EU
WSIS 2003

IMCs


www.indymedia.org

Projects
print
radio
satellite tv
video

Africa

Europe
antwerpen
armenia
athens
austria
barcelona
belarus
belgium
belgrade
brussels
bulgaria
calabria
croatia
cyprus
emilia-romagna
estrecho / madiaq
galiza
germany
grenoble
hungary
ireland
istanbul
italy
la plana
liege
liguria
lille
linksunten
lombardia
madrid
malta
marseille
nantes
napoli
netherlands
northern england
nottingham imc
paris/île-de-france
patras
piemonte
poland
portugal
roma
romania
russia
sardegna
scotland
sverige
switzerland
torun
toscana
ukraine
united kingdom
valencia

Latin America
argentina
bolivia
chiapas
chile
chile sur
cmi brasil
cmi sucre
colombia
ecuador
mexico
peru
puerto rico
qollasuyu
rosario
santiago
tijuana
uruguay
valparaiso
venezuela

Oceania
aotearoa
brisbane
burma
darwin
jakarta
manila
melbourne
perth
qc
sydney

South Asia
india


United States
arizona
arkansas
asheville
atlanta
Austin
binghamton
boston
buffalo
chicago
cleveland
colorado
columbus
dc
hawaii
houston
hudson mohawk
kansas city
la
madison
maine
miami
michigan
milwaukee
minneapolis/st. paul
new hampshire
new jersey
new mexico
new orleans
north carolina
north texas
nyc
oklahoma
philadelphia
pittsburgh
portland
richmond
rochester
rogue valley
saint louis
san diego
san francisco
san francisco bay area
santa barbara
santa cruz, ca
sarasota
seattle
tampa bay
united states
urbana-champaign
vermont
western mass
worcester

West Asia
Armenia
Beirut
Israel
Palestine

Topics
biotech

Process
fbi/legal updates
mailing lists
process & imc docs
tech

Publish Your News


Temporary Scroogle search

-->