Thursday 21 January 2010

whaa?

herewith the exchange at Prime Minister's Questions yesterday, let's have the substance not the spin:

Martin Salter (Reading, West) (Lab): On Friday, MPs and councillors of all parties and local military historians will gather to take forward plans to provide a
20 Jan 2010 : Column 301permanent memorial to Trooper Potts, Reading's only recipient of the Victoria cross, which he won at Gallipoli in 1915 in an act of outstanding courage. Will the Prime Minister, to whom I have written on this subject, offer a message of support for our endeavours to mark forever the gallantry of this truly local hero?
The Prime Minister: I agree with my hon. Friend that a permanent memorial would be a great way of expressing not only our debt to the people whom he has mentioned, but our continuing debt to all those who have served our country, including those who have been honoured for doing so with bravery and having demonstrated the greatest of courage. I hope that his proposal can move forward; we will do everything that we can to help it.

if there had been no permanent memorial to Trooper Potts in existence in Reading West then this might have been a good campaign for a constituency MP. But there is. At Brock Barracks. where his regiment was based. Which the Prime Minister was not told. What Mr Salter wants is for this meeting (at the Civic Offices, headquarters of his precious council, in Reading East) to agree to create a new, expensive memorial, in Reading East. Stalker pathology. Nothing is real unless it is in Reading East.

No comments: