Hilary Benn's day on the fringe.

JDC Blog Monday 25th – Labour Conference



Today was mainly footslog leafleting delegates about fringe events and two panels both featuring Hilary Benn. To be up-front, debt didn’t actually feature at either event whilst I was there.

Tearfund held an interesting fringe event on water with both Hilary Benn and a speaker from Thames Water. It covered all the usual ground emphasising how critical water is to achieving any of the Millennium Development Goals. Great to learn more. What stood out for me was that Thames had withdrawn from direct involvement (and many other privatised concessions), but was working with others including Halcrow (famed within WDM as water privatisation consultants) to create a group to target populations that were being bypassed. They’re called Water and Sanitation for the Urban Poor, web site www.wsup.com and I look forward to reading more about their work. Hilary Benn attacked the sterility of the public/private contest with passion. Even so it came up in questions, along with the competition for water between use by people rather than industry or agriculture.



I could only stay for the first 40 mins of International Questiontime. He (Hilary) defended EPAs (European Partnership Agreements being negotiated on trade between Europe and developing regions) on the assertion that if they didn’t like them all they had to do was not agree. This almost insults us. Under current WTO agreements, developing countries enjoying trade preferences could be challenged. They have to negotiate an alternative. And they negotiate under immense pressure in many areas. Elsewhere I though his defence of the use of consultants was credible (but he didn’t address why they were ‘western’ consultants), his response on arms control less convincing. He also had to defend Peter Mandelson, quite a challenge with the trade negotiations stalled.



I can’t imagine these events influenced policy at all. But fair play to Hilary Benn, he was prepared to go out and defend his position with pride and indeed confidence. And whisper it quietly, he as good as admitted that funding adverts for water privatisation wasn’t DfIDs finest hour!

Bit shorter?

(Photos: Chris Worrall)