Ellee Seymour

I did have some belief that Miliband’s heart was in the right place as Environment Secretary, trying to undo some of the considerable wrongs created by his predecessor, the inept Margaret Beckett. She certainly deserved to get the push.

Although Miliband’s blog came in for much criticism for being nothing other than a ministerial post, which it largely was, he did keep working at it and tried to engage more, he did not give up - unlike the Welfare Reform blog launched by Minister for Work and Pensions Jim Murphy, which seems to have died a death. And, sadly, nobody noticed. 

Miliband’s new appointment as Foreign Secretary means he can no longer write his environmental blog, where I sat among his blogroll. It has been suspended. I wonder if he will start writing a new one as Foreign Secretary as he he speaks so positively about the need for political blogging.

“The last 15 months have been hugely challenging and hugely enjoyable - and I hope we have made a difference. The new mechanisms for political engagement and dialogue represented by this blog are needed more than ever.

“Thank you for reading, commenting and arguing over the last 15 months. It may take some time for new service to be resumed, but please watch this space.”

I doubt very much that his successor Hilary Benn will write a blog on environmental issues, he was the  only candidate who didn’t do so during the deputy Labour leadership contest.

If Miliband means what he slays about “blogs being needed more than ever” for political engagement, the chances are that he will start writing a new one, with postings from Washington and Iraq, Darfur and Israel. I hope he writes more from the heart.

If he gives up for good, then how can other Labour ministers and MPs be persuaded to follow suit?

Update: Iain highlights this quote about Miliband and Beckett:

Aged just 41, Mr Miliband is a more substantial figure on his first day in
office than his predecessor, Margaret Beckett, was throughout her tenure.

I agree.

I heard a tragic story today about a young woman of 26 called Grace who visited her parents in Cambridge recently. For some reason she was pushing a car when she fell and landed flat on her chest. She later contracted pneumonia and died afterwards of septicaemia - all this happened within the space of two-and-a-half weeks.

I find it incredible that a fit and healthy young woman can die in this way in this day and age.

Although Prime Minister’s Question Time may have come to an end for Tony Blair, the police have also put more questions to him, possibly in the last week, in the cash-for-honours scandal. Could there be more to come? Could he be called as a key witness if/when charges are made?

It will be interesting to see what changes Gordon Brown introduces for party funding and honours.

MEP Robert Sturdy has asked the European Commission to explain how it can justify enforcing the use of energy saving light bulbs which contain mercury, while at the same time banning barometers for this very same reason, an inconsistency which was highlighted by bloggers in their comments about this.

Robert has fired off some questions to Commissioners Stavros Dimas (Environment) and Markos Kyprianou (Health and Consumer Protection) about the EU’s double standards about the use of mercury, requesting information about their mercury content and the risks which they could pose to human health and the environment. He states:

“In typical EU tradition, at the very same time that barometers are being banned because of the dangerous mercury which they contain, energy saving light bulbs are being championed as the answer to climate change despite them also containing mercury.   It is true that at first glance energy saving light bulbs seem more environmentally friendly than incandescent bulbs.  However, these light bulbs are being thrown away everyday and end up in landfill sites already bursting at the seams.   How is this less of an environmental risk than a barometer when every household in the EU will be throwing away these light bulbs every year?

“There could also be serious health implications regarding the energy saving light bulbs. Recent reports have stated that they pose a risk to people with epilepsy causing symptoms similar to the onset of a seizure.  

“I am in favour of doing all that we can to protect the environment and tackle the problem of climate change.  However, we must go about this in a rational and sensible manner.  People should be given the choice whether to use energy saving light bulbs or not and all of the necessary information should be available for consumers.  People need to know that the regulations imposed on them by the EU are justified, reasonable and consistent.”

Glendene Grant has asked me to publicise the case of her missing daughter, Jessica Foster, who was last seen in March 2006 in North Las Vegas when she was 21.

She said:

“We need to have everyone know who Jessie Foster is. We need to find her and bring her home. We need to make people aware of Jessie and that she is missing, and that her case is being investigated as a kidnapping/human trafficking case by the ATLAS Task Force (an intelligence committee of investigators). And we need to let people know that we have a reward we keep building, and we need to raise money to do a lot of this.”

Jessie was last known to be with her boyfriend in their North Las Vegas home when she was talking to her older sister on the telephone on the 28th of March, regarding them going to their step-sister’s wedding reception in Calgary, Alberta on the 29th of April.

Jessie’s disappearance has been highlighted extensively by the American media, and comparisons made with disappearances of other young women. Her parents hired an investigator and discovered that the straight-A student travelled from Calgary to the USA with a man she met at a reggae party who promised to pay for her trip. Jessie ended up working as a prostitute.

Her heartbroken mother is determined to continue with her search until she discovers the truth about what happened to Jessie. She hopes and believes she is still alive, forced into the frightening life of human trafficking.

In memory of those who are still missing.