AN HOUR ON THE WIRELESS

Do you ever think back to how the wireless has changed over the years? It has gone from that polished wood piece of furniture with valves that glowed and took an age to warm up after you had turned it on, to compact little transistors and digital boxes in my lifetime.

When I think back to my childhood in Lupin Street, Birmingham, remembering grandma Wilkes leaning against the sideboard with an ear against the old valve wireless, listening intently to the Archers, I never imaged that fifty or so years later the Archers would still be broadcasting or that I would be an occasional guest on a local politics show on the radio.

Every now and then a young man named Matthew Revell invites me along to take part in studio debates on his ‘Politics Show’ on Wolverhampton Community Radio. Over the last couple of years I have taken part in some interesting and enjoyable debates with other politicians from the Wolverhampton area, and last night (Friday 26th June 2009) I was back again for, what Matthew and I thought, was to be a debate with an activist from the Wolverhampton Communist Party. That promised to be interesting and I was looking forward to it – but the comrade failed to show leaving Matthew and I with an hour of air-time all to ourselves.

After the other shows with political banter going back and forth and, naturally, political point scoring, as is the way of these things, this one seemed really strange with just Matthew and I in the studio, especially as we tend to agree on a number of issues.

The topics we went through were: should MPs and Ministers have other jobs outside Parliament? Plans for road pricing, a chat about the decision by Sandwell Council to have a Gypsy awareness and history month in all its schools (Labour controlled council of course!) and should we be shocked by the expenses being claimed by BBC executives? Added to that, I was asked to bring some recent news items I thought of interest. Well, that gave us a bit to have a go at between the two of us.

Naturally the press clippings I took all related to the EU and its influence upon us, I also had the chance to explain the way MEPs debate then vote, sometime later, and that when they do vote it is so rushed they plough through and implement masses of legislation in a very short period. I related UKIP MEP, Mike Nattrass’s comment that they were recently congratulated by the President of the EU Parliament for breaking the record and getting through 900 votes in one hour. Even this shook Matthew who is no political slouch.

Regarding the MPs having other jobs, in my opinion I think it should be compulsory just to make sure they learn about life outside the Westminster bubble. Nor should the jobs be company directorships or some sort of political consultancy, but they should be made to take up a trade. Just imagine having your MP fixing your boiler? He would soon learn a thing or two about earning a living and life away from Parliament.

The topic that amazed me was the one on the Sandwell schools ‘Gypsy Month’, which apparently all the schools in the Sandwell area (this used to be mostly West Bromwich until Ted Heath and his Euro regions turned up) are compelled to hold.

Matthew had picked this up from the Taxpayers Alliance which is an excellent organisation. As their article states: “Forget the Tudors or the Italian Renaissance, Sandwell Council’s lightening-hot Equality and Diversity Scrutiny Panel are recommending that every school in the borough celebrates a “gipsy and traveller history month” – I had to agree with the TPA and said so.

Sadly, Matthew, who does the politics show as a hobby rather tan full time, will not be doing any more shows for some time due to the imminent arrival of his second child. I hope it is not too long before he returns to the airwaves of Wolverhampton, he and his ‘Politics Show’ will be missed by many local political activists of all political colours and leanings, all of whom have a high regard for Matthew who should be in broadcasting full time.