Regular readers of my blog will know that democracy for BBC Licence Fee payers is a subject I have raised in the past. Yesterday, David Milliband, took on a variant of my idea and argued that the BBC should become a co-operative.

In response, I wrote the below article for The Spectator magazine 'Coffee House' Website and thought you might like to see it below:

What is that quote at the end of King Lear? I think it is something like “the wheel has come full circle”. I felt a sense of that wheel with the announcement by Mr Miliband yesterday that the BBC should be democratised and become some sort of mutual co-operative.

I have been campaigning for democratisation of the BBC licence fee for a while now, first writing about it on ConservativeHome in 2008 and most recently tabling an Early Day Motion, only a couple of weeks ago.

Inevitably a few brickbats were thrown. My idea was loftily dismissed when I suggested it to BBC staff and Danny Finkelstein called it the "worst idea he had ever heard", after I had dared to propose that licence fee payers should have had the chance to vote on whether Nick Griffin should appear on Question Time.

I am not saying get rid of the licence fee. In fact I am not ashamed to admit that I like much of what the BBC produces, and even think her innate left-wing bias is healthy for Conservatives, as it means that ‘the right’ have to be that much better and sharper when presenting their case on BBC programmes.

But, my central point has always been this: why is it that those who go to such lengths to defend the licence fee, are so opposed to some form of democracy? Why are the BBC hierarchy so against to having some form of genuine input from licence fee payers? Everyone knows that current so-called consultations are a sham, with most decisions having been decided well in advance.

Mr Miliband says – in a variant of my idea – that the BBC should become some sort of co-operative. I have no objections to this in principle, except that it still might result in the ‘great and the good’ making all the decisions. The best way to ensure real democratic control of the BBC is to allow licence fee payers, at individual level to make the key decisions. This means that they would elect the board and Chairman of the BBC, agree the annual Report and have some say over programme making and payment of salaries. It would be similar to shareholders having the ability to hire and fire their board – with one main difference: every licence fee payer would hold just one share, and one vote. Licence fee payers would vote via the Internet with a special PIN number, keeping administration costs low.

The BBC cannot continue in the way of a 1970s kleptocracy. Auntie pays out huge salaries to executives and celebrities alike. Her bureaucracy grows exponentially. Her undemocratic licence fee has become an anachronism in the days of multi-channel satellite television. If the BBC really does depend on the licence fee for its survival, then there must be some real checks and balances. What better way than giving licence fee payers a vote?

Paul Waugh of the London Evening Standard, also wrote about this HERE.

by Robert Halfon - www.roberthalfon.blogspot.com

I was very proud today as MP for Harlow to have opened the new refurbishment of Harlow Town Station and cut the ribbon for the new car park. The Station was celebrating its fifty years with a brand new facelift.

It was a great celebration. The many guests were welcomed by the incredible Harlow Steel Band which played just outside the Station Entrance. As we all assembled upstairs, there were a number of speeches, from National Express, Essex Council and Harlow Renaissance.

When I spoke, I made the point that in Harlow, we always use the term 'Gateway' to describe various regeneration proposals. Yet, there could never be more obvious a 'Gateway' than our main railway station. For years, this has been an iconic building, yet quite grim inside.

No longer. It now has a beautiful wooden ceiling, two new excellent lifts and state of the art floors and benches. At last people arriving in Harlow will feel that the Town really is the place to be. I only hope that Network Express will repair the damaged roof and restore the platform, as well as National Express have taken care of their part of the station.

The Station plays an important part in the regeneration of Harlow : changing what is necessary in order to conserve what is best about Harlow's traditions.

I enjoyed too, meeting many of the station staff, who put so much work in making the new station a reality. The new station car-park, is a similar success story, completed two months earlier than planned. Hopefully the Station parking problems will now be over.

P.S. It was great to see the exhibition prepared by Harlow Museum Historian David Devine. All the history of the station is contained in a huge frame which hangs proudly on the station wall.

by Robert Halfon - www.roberthalfon.blogspot.com

There has been quite a bit mentioned about The Big Society recently.
In essence this means power transported away from Government right
down to community level.

It is about liberating social capital to unleash community spirit -
empowering local charities and voluntary groups to do what they do
best - without government or bureacracy getting in the way.

On Thursday, I mentioned that charities Minister Nick Hurd was coming
to town to see Harlow's Big Society alive and well.

It was a very successful visit, as the Minister met with local
councillors, and a range of community bodies including Rainbow
Services, Michael Roberts Charitable Trust, Harlow Multi-faith forum
and members of the Harlow Youth Council (including a visit to the
Youth Cafe).

The purpose of his visit was not just to see the strength of the Big
Society in our town, but to also urge the Minister to consider Harlow
in the next wave of support from the national Big Society project.
This would involve support for extra community organisers and some
funding to strengthen some community projects.

It was a successful visit, which included the launch of Harlow Council
Big Society Team and new Harlow Big Society Website.

This website is well worth looking at closely, as it sets out Harlow
Council's commitment to the Big Society and support for vibrant
community organisations.

As the website states, the role of the Harlow Big Society is as follows:

"Harlow Council has launched its own Big Society Team and is working
together with Rainbow Services to take forward a range of services and
initiatives that reflect Government aims to build strong, involved
communities where people have a say in local decision making; where
public services are opened up to new providers like charities and
social enterprises and where social action and volunteering
opportunities are encouraged and supported".


by Robert Halfon - www.roberthalfon.blogspot.com

This morning, I asked the Government to set up a new volunteer force of Special Rail Guards to improve rail safety.

There have been many tragic fatalities on the railways near Harlow, and more must be done to combat the loss of life.

I believe that a new volunteer force of Special Rail Guards could be similar to the Special Constables in the Police Force: genuinely local people who help their community, by volunteering a few hours a month.


by Robert Halfon - www.roberthalfon.blogspot.com

Useful iPhone/iPad apps

I found a really useful app for the iphone last week.Have you ever had to send a very long message or long complicated URL by text?With 'MyPhoneDesktop' it makes it much easier.You set up the software on your computer and iphone then you type your message on your computer and it will be sent across to your iphone.The message is placed in iPhones clipboard.So press new sms message on iPhone, tap the insertion point and tap paste.The data you've sent from your 'MyPhoneDesktop' will be inserted here.Some might find it slightly inconvenient to do it this way but Apple does not support 3^rd party applications so SMS messages cannot be sent directly.

I also found it great for pasting journey info from my desktop to my notes on my iphone.

I had to go to London on Friday for work and got to use 'the tube planner' app which was really great for telling me how long my tube journey was going to take and where to change.

I also downloaded 'thetrainline.com' app which I found very useful as it told me the times of 5 trains leaving Harlow Mill around the time i wanted to leave, Time the journey would take and the same for the return journey.

Zinio is a great app if you want to be able to read magazines on your iphone or ipad.I downloaded it on both and so far I have a free sample of 3 different magazines on my iPad and 2 different ones again on my iPhone. It certainly saves on space to read them online – I've always got too many magazines hanging around the house.

mSecure is an app that I have had on my iphone for quite a while as it is really useful to keep all your passwords and usernames together.Only thing is you need a password to access the information so make sure that you use one that you will definitely remember.

I also downloaded the new ios4 software update to my iPhone 3GS last week which has some really good features.If you haven't done it yet and you have a 3G or a 3GS then it is definitely worth doing.

The multitasking is only available to the iPhone 4 and iPhone 3GS

I particularly like the fact that I can organise apps into folders which makes them quicker and easier to find.The 5x digital zoom makes the camera worth using now. Tap to focus video is very clever and it's much easier now that I can see messages from all my accounts in a unified inbox.

Issues with the iPhone 4

As some of you may know I love my iPhone and iPad so when the iPhone 4 was launched last week I considered selling my iPhone 3GS which still has 6 months of its contract to run to put towards purchasing the new iPhone 4.But since the launch of the iPhone 4, there have been many issues reported so I've decided to wait a while until they are all resolved.I've listed some of the issues that I've heard of below:

The main problem seems to be with its reception issues when you touch its antenna band.If you hold the iPhone 4 in a way that the bottom left side of the antenna band is covered, the reception takes a sudden dip as evident from fewer signal bars.The iPhone 3GS suffers from this too especially after the iOS upgrade.The problem seems to lie in the OS which doesn't report the signal strength correctly.A fix to solve this is expected to be released Monday.

Display discolouration – some iPhone 4 displays have yellow tints, bands and spots on the screen.

Some can't get the camera to work because the shutter is staying closed in some instances.

The glass shatters if the iPhone falls from an average height.

Proximity sensor issues which are causing calls to hang up.

Swopped Sound Buttons.The volume 'up' and volume 'down' buttons are the wrong way round.

One of the best things about being MP is having the chance to support Harlow's community so I just thought I would update you with what I have been doing for the past few days.

Thursday evening saw me at an important SEYSHA (Harlow Youth and Sports Club)meeting with Essex Cllrs John Jowers and Guy Mitchinson. We were all at SEYSHA, to look at ways this great youth club can raise funds in order to complete the building of new sports facilities. Cllr. Jowers also presented SEYSHA with a £33,000 cheques from the Essex Council Community Chest Fund.

Friday morning saw a visit to Harlow College to hand out journalism awards to some star journalist students - many of whom had received distinctions in their exams. I then rushed to the unveiling of two new sculptures at Newhall, which add to our proud status as a sculpture town - and added to the beauty of the Newhall development.

It is time for the FA Board to resign en masse. Sven Goran Eriksson, Steve McClaren and Fabio Capello have all produced nothing but failure. All have been given hugely expensive contracts with little result. Amazingly, Capello's contract was renewed just a few weeks ago, meaning that the FA will have to shell out even more cash if - as expected - he is sacked. There is no reason for England to fail in this way.

In the House of Commons yesterday (Thursday, June 17), Harlow MP Robert Halfon highlighted Harlow's "gridlocked" roads and called for funding to give the town the road infrastructure it urgently needs. The town's transport issues have been high on Mr Halfon's agenda throughout his time as prospective MP, and now he is intensifying his campaign on the issue in a bid to bring much-needed road improvements to Harlow. Mr Halfon highlighted the fact that Harlow has just one entrance to a motorway, whereas similar towns, such as Welwyn Garden City and Basildon, have three or four. Speaking in the debate, Mr Halfon said traffic in Harlow is "gridlocked" with constituents "crying out for an extra junction on the M11". He asked: "With the road review under way, and when finances allow, will he (Transport Secretary Philip Hammond) give strong consideration to providing the road infrastructure that Harlow so desperately needs?" Mr Hammond replied that Mr Halfon was noted for working hard and campaigning on this issue however the Government's first priority must be tackling the country’s unsustainable level of debt. But there was a glimmer of hope, when Mr Hammond added that the Department "will be happy to consider proposals from local authorities and the Highways Agency for improvements, once the deficit has been eliminated".

I have just done (Monday) a short interview on BBC 24 TV News, about
the tragic events in the Middle East today. As always with such
events, there has been somewhat of a one-sided view that has emanated
from sections of the media.

Like any human being, I mourn the tragic loss of life and the injuries
sustained by those on the ship - including the Israeli Navy. I also
believe that the Israeli authorities should ensure that the UK Foreign
Office has full access to any British citizens caught up in the
affair. An impartial independent inquiry will help to understand
exactly what really occurred.

However, it is important to set out some important facts:

    * The Israeli Navy offered the Flotilla the chance to unload in
Ashdod, which was refused;
    * When the Israeli navy boarded the ship, they were attacked by
individuals with a range of weapons;
    * The Flotilla was organised by the Islamist group IHH - a body
that has close ties to extreme Islamists and is part of the global
Jihad movement;
    * A million tonnes of humanitarian supplies have entered Gaza from
Israel from January 2009 to May 2010;
    * Over the past two years Hamas have taken part in countless
attacks on aid shipments into Gaza, including the hijacking of aid
convoys for the use of Hamas fighters rather than Gaza citizens.
    * Gaza's border includes Egypt as well as Israel. Egypt mounts a
full blockade against Gaza not allowing any aid trucks through at all.
Yet no one complains about this.

My final point is this: If a ship had entered British waters, insisted
on docking anywhere, and had refused to stop, the British Navy would
have boarded it in moments. This wasn't in Britain, but on the waters
outside Gaza, which is governed by the Hamas Terrorist organisation.
For years, Hamas have smuggled millions of dollars of weaponry (from
Iran) into the Gaza strip to be used in attacks against Israel. Over
6,ooo missiles have been fired from Gaza onto Israeli towns, since the
unilateral Israeli withdrawal in 2004.


by Robert Halfon - www.roberthalfon.blogspot.com

My Constituency Day as MP for Harlow, started with meeting John
Tennison, Manager of Smiths Industries in the Pinnacles, and ended
with my first surgery as MP, in the Berecroft Estate.

I was visiting Smiths, as I wanted to talk to John about Apprentices.
He started off as an Apprentice over 30 years ago, and ended up
becoming Managing Director of the company. I was able to seek John's
advice as how we can help apprentice schemes in Harlow.

After, I met with South Anglia, regarding the Berecroft Fire and also
had a meeting with Malcolm Morley, Chief Executive of Harlow Council.

The evening surgery at Berecroft was also attended by local Councillor
Lee Dangerfield, Fire Officers and the Chairman of the Residents
Association. I hope to have regular surgeries across Harlow and the
villages, in order to make it easier for constituents to be assisted
with their problems.

by Robert Halfon - www.roberthalfon.blogspot.com