The Daily Echo 3 January 2008

Written by Sandra Gidley MP on Thu 3rd Jan 2008

A New Year is always the time to take some time for reflection but, more importantly, to think about the future. On a personal level many of us resolve to become fitter, give up smoking, spend less, drink less or lose weight. On another level the airwaves are crammed with programmes reviewing last year and pundits filling time by predicting what might happen at a national and international level.

Of course, the personal and the political are in many ways becoming more intertwined. Perhaps we should take a look at those individual resolutions and consider the relationship between the personal and the political.

The Government has had some success with smoking. The smoking ban has been implemented and there has never been more help available to give up smoking. I still see far too many underage smokers and the next big challenge is to reduce the number of children who start smoking in the first place - it must become seriously "uncool".

So far so good but the picture is less happy when we consider alcohol or obesity. Abuse and misuse of alcohol comes at a price - both for the individual and for society. Government has kept taxation low and has changed the licensing laws so that many can drink at any hour of the day. No one appears to want to tackle alcohol abuse for fear of being branded a killjoy and most initiatives so far have done little to alleviate the problem. Yet the latest news is that the Prime Minister is now supposed to be dithering about whether to review the licensing laws.

The Government seems particularly powerless to deal with the burgeoning obesity crisis. A healthy diet and regular exercise can do much to reduce risk of a whole range of diseases but well meaning initiatives are not even scratching the ever growing surface of the problem.

A resolution to spend less will also help reduce the credit crisis - which is something that Lib Dem Treasury Spokesman, Vince Cable, has been raising for some time. People are only just starting to take notice.

It is unfair to blame Government for the entire problem because we all must bear some personal responsibility for our actions. The fact remains that the Government can improve education and use a range of measures to reduce some of the problems. I wish them luck - and I wish you the best of luck with your resolutions for 2008.

Published with kind permission of The Daily Echo