Our representatives must lead by example

It appears as though another argument has flared up in this area, already rich with bitter fighting and violence. But for once it has not been started by a local youngster, barely able to stand due to alcohol and bored on a Friday night because “dere ain’t nuffink to do ere innit!”

This is an argument between someone who cares about the environment and commutes to work in London on the train, and someone who has just claimed £4,460 in expenses for driving to work in London. They are both politicians, and are both trying to encourage businesses to emphasise the importance of tackling climate change.

Paul Clark, Labour MP for Gillingham, was slammed in a local paper on Monday by Rehman Chishti, Medway Conservative Councillor for Gillingham North, because his MP’s travel expenses (which totalled £4,460 for the 2005/06 Parliamentary session) were claimed entirely on car journeys.

Cllr Chishti said in the Medway News: “I was very disappointed that the MP for Gillingham has shown a complete and blatant disregard for the environment, which he has said in the past he has championed.”

Indeed it should be the case that all MPs (and MEPs and Councillors) should practice what they preach. The level of trust for our representatives is sliding by the hour, and unnecessary, blatant hypocrisy as displayed by MPs like Paul Clark does nothing to ease the pressure that they have on themselves to increase their public standing.

In November 2006, Paul Clark wrote an article in the Medway News about Climate Change. In his concluding paragraph, he said: “I hope that Medway residents will renew their support for parliament and help us deliver real progress on tackling this urgent threat. Urgent action now gives us an opportunity to prevent catastrophe.”

In Monday’s Medway News, he admitted that he doesn’t take the train because he sees it as somehow being impractical, but has said: “I have taken steps to ensure my household waste is recycled and that the thermostat is turned down as much as possible.”

The point that Mr. Clark is missing is that one man cannot change the world on his own. It takes two to tango. You cannot expect your Constituents to go all the way, and then stop just half way yourself.

We all have our part to play in saving the environment, and disgraceful double standards do not fit into anyone’s roles. We must encourage businesses to play their part to the fullest extent, which is why I support, and am helping, Cllr Chishti’s campaign to reduce the 6.3% hike in train fares for 2007 (twice the rate of inflation).

And Mr. Clark? “He will not support my campaign to cut train fares which I launched a few months ago,” according to Cllr Chishti.

In 1997, Mr. Clark said that “the cost of failing to reach agreement on the global climatic agenda will be to fail our country and our children.”

From where I stand, it seems like it is a cost that Mr. Clark is willing to pay.