Andrew Mitchell MP. Credits: Chatham House
Andrew Mitchell is infamously remembered for one scandal, however as politicians go he is rather more complex. The talk was part of a series of student led talks put on by the School of Social Policy.
Based on the audience members who had previously attended both the Labour and Liberal Democrat talk this was one of the better ones.
Mitchell stated at the beginning that he was going to try and persuade the audience to vote Conservative at the General Election in May. Which was followed with a mild laugh.
The focus of his speech was the economy and the non-partisan topic of the erosion of civil liberties.
The economy
Mitchell reflected his experience as a politician. Although he had accepted that this general election was most likely to see a coalition, potentially even a three way one he, quite simplistically, portrayed the economy as a two horse race, between Labour and Conservative.
One was a risk and the other had a plan, a phrase that is fast becoming a cliché among Conservative M.P.s.
He argued that Labour’s policy to reduce student fees to £6,000 was a fragile policy to garner populist votes in university seats. And one that was unnecessary, as it appears that the higher fees are not dissuading students from attending university.
He continued to attack Labour by then addressing the austerity measures that the Conservatives have had to make. He contemptibly states that Labour have not had to vote on the hard decisions.
Erosion of civil liberties
Mitchell fears for the future of British civil liberties. Here he diverged from an attempt to court the audience into a personal argument about the danger that civil liberties are in.
By this Mitchell meant privacy and equality in the law. He noted that he had opposed measures to introduce greater powers to authorities in response to technological advances and was extremely against any move for compulsory identification cards.
He furthered this by stating that they had enough powers, they had to use them. However, he was in favour of police wearing cameras on their lapels in order to increase the accountability police have and the opportunity for use as evidence in cases.
Q and A
The audience, despite clearly possessing a left wing tendency, was fairly mild mannered. The questions centred on the welfare cuts and Mitchell’s work with the NGO (Non-Governmental Organisation) One.
In response to welfare cuts Mitchell retreated to his constituency, where he drew on impressive figures. In relation to One the audience learnt much more about the character of a complex politician.
One is an NGO committed to ending extreme poverty and preventable diseases. Although One has an international scope, it focuses on Africa. Mitchell is quite involved with this NGO, and it is his flag ship when asked about overseas aid.
Indeed, Mitchell was a confident articulate speaker yet his speech demonstrated that there was much more to him than history would suggest.
He addressed the economy in the fashion that any Conservative vying for a seat in parliament that year would. Stating that the Conservatives were the only ones with the courage to take the hard choices and attacking Labour.
His assessment of the erosion of civil liberties revealed that he was much more than just a typical politician. Further still his involvement and support of One demonstrated again that he was a man of many talents.
