In her address to the NfCG Annual General Meeting, President Baroness Wilcox of Plymouth explained her perception of NfCG Members as "local people getting to grips with local problems and getting them put right." She had listened carefully to the discussion at Conference about the Government's Consumer White Paper "modern markets: confident consumers", and thought the concerns had been well expressed.
One of the attractions of being a member of the House of Lords was the ability to express views obtained through her association with NfCG and have people take note.
One of her concerns, which had also been expressed by others earlier in the Conference, was the way in which decision making was being taken from the Houses of
Parliament and transferred to other, less answerable, bodies. The House of Commons was almost empty some of the time, MPs were told when to come in and vote, and the democratic system was threatened.
Lobbying MPs was becoming of less use because MPs had less say in decision making, which took place behind closed doors. The decisions were put into operation by means of secondary legislation which was not discussed in The House.
She urged Members and Groups to make themselves known to their MPs and to make them realise how important we are. Our present situation has made us take a very independent view and our views are important to politicians, as are our votes! In particular she urged that NfCG, Groups and Individual members demand to know the outcome of consultations.
This year the NfCG Conference was preceded by a very pleasant dinner at Derwent College. Professor Patrick Nuttgens proved to be a most entertaining and informative after-dinner speaker. He told us about the building of the University, in which he found himself, with a tiny team of two, having to commission the design and construction from scratch on a waterlogged green field site. The beautiful lake that runs through the University grounds is one of the more inspired results of their efforts; and it overcame the groundwater problem. His entertaining address was interspersed with amusing anecdotes like the special ducks brought in from Slimbridge that flew straight out! The whole event was supported by the Life Insurance Association. (the dinner not the ducks!)
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