Parliamentarian of the Year

IWA Press Release

Issue Date:  2 April 2008

IWA Announces Parliamentarian Of The Year

The Inland Waterways Association (IWA) has awarded its inaugural award for ‘Parliamentarian of the Year’ to Charlotte Atkins, MP for Staffordshire Moorlands.

The award was made at an exclusive awards dinner at the House of Commons  yesterday evening (1 April) held on behalf of The Inland Waterways Association, which was hosted by Bob Laxton MP and attended by many leading waterway figures including the Waterways Minister, Jonathan Shaw MP; twenty other MPs, of all the major parties; the Speaker of the House of Commons, and around 20 other distinguished guests of IWA..

All the MPs present had made significant contributions to the well-being of the waterways during the past year, and were contenders for the prestigious award.

In announcing the winner of the ‘Parliamentarian of the Year Award’, IWA wished to recognise that Charlotte has been at the forefront of both the IWA campaign to seek funding for the waterways and in support of the waterways movement in general.

Charlotte had attended every session of the Select Committee, in addition to winning two adjournment debates of her own. She also took part in all the other waterways adjournment debates, had tabled many questions on behalf of the inland waterways movement, had frequently met with the minister, spoken at numerous IWA meetings and had been a tireless campaigner for the Caldon Canal in her own constituency, including walking a horse drawn boat in the rain, and getting soaked for the cause.

Accepting her award from Dave Fletcher, Charlotte Atkins emphasised that the promotion and preservation of the waterways was a cross party issue and explained that one of the overriding aims of the MPs that had supported the waterways during the year was that they were determined to ensure that the waterways would be defended and not be seen to be  a ‘soft touch by Government’.

Speaking to the Minister and assembled guests before making the award, Dave Fletcher, IWA Vice President, highlighted the need for the continued involvement from both British Waterways and the Environment Agency in promoting waterways restoration around the country, not just in terms of financial commitments, but also by providing expertise and leadership which were essential catalysts to building and maintaining the confidence of other co-partners. He also explained the importance of maintaining scheduled maintenance and the perils of postponement, which inevitably brings about increased costs and increased danger to the public.

The Minister also paid recognition to IWA for its campaigning role and involvement in the waterways as a whole and wished it well.

The Minister responded to David Fletcher’s address by stating that he was and remained personally committed to the waterways, and that despite recent events the Government remained committed to restoration and maintenance of the system. The demonstrable progress on the Liverpool Link and the Fenland Waterways Link remained as proof of this. He continued by emphasising that as a result of considerable funding over the last ten years the network was in fact in a better state than at any time over the last 60 years. The Minister also said that in terms of commitment to the waterways, although budgets were incredibly tight, flat cash funding for the waterways had been secured, when many other deserving Defra funded agencies were cut back.

Continuing, the Minister said that he was chairing an inter-departmental working group of government departments to facilitate wider appreciation and support for the waterways and would use this to seek wider recognition of the value and public benefits waterways deliver.

ENDS

For further information please contact Jo Gilbertson  01923 711 114 x 31

Jo.Gilbertson@waterways.org.uk

Notes for Editors

Photo Shows Charlotte Atkins MP (centre),  with waterways minister Jonathan Shaw MP (right), and Dave Fletcher IWA vice president (left).

Photo Credit Broderick Ross

The Inland Waterways Association

The Inland Waterways Association (IWA) is a registered charity, founded in 1946, which advocates the conservation, use, maintenance, restoration and development of the inland waterways for public benefit.

IWA has about 18,000 members whose interests include boating, towing path walking, industrial archaeology, nature conservation and many other activities associated with the inland waterways.  Information provided by 188 corporate members with their own membership structures has revealed that they, in themselves, have a combined membership of at least 59,500 in support of IWA's voice.

IWA works closely with navigation authorities, other waterway bodies, a wide range of national and local authorities, voluntary, private and public sector organisations to raise funds, lobby for support and encourage public participation in the inland waterways.

More than 500 miles of canals and navigable rivers have been re-opened to public use since the Association was founded in 1946.  Currently another 500 miles of derelict inland waterways are the subject of restoration plans.