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"It transpires that the firework industry, all those importers who used to be manufacturers and who now import 100% of their industry, had a big conference in Burton on Trent. Fearing that they had gone too far, and there would be a ban on retail sales because of the firework catastrophe in 2001, 1362 hospital injuries and the fatality of a young boy. They agreed they would go cap in hand to the Minister for Consumer Affairs, Melanie Johnson and offer a carrot."
Hi everybody. Some of you have been asking where my column has been for a time. Well we have been busy here getting everything ready for the firework campaign season and now we are back on track.
As you will know, we published our excellent Surveys, one dealing with 361 fireworks sold on the Internet, the other dealing with the firework problems most people had to deal with in every area of the country from January to December 2001. These were the first to be done ever. Certainly the Government UK could never have produced such detailed Surveys with all their staff and resources.
These Surveys were completed in March and sent immediately to Tony Blair, Downing Street, and separately to the DTI in Victoria Street SWI. Replies from either source have never been received. We did not go public in March because we wanted to give the DTI plenty of time to respond. The BBC realising in September as we did, that the Government were not going to respond, asked to see the Surveys, and the 6 o'clock TV news did a very special item mentioning them and our response to the huge firework problems of 2001 including the 40% increase in firework injuries, on 24 September.
Good on the BBC. Why has there been so little official coverage to the firework problem, in 2001 and 2002. The answer is that the Government put it around the media that everything was hunky dorey, problem solved. One firework was to be banned, and that would deal with the entire problem of fireworks out there in the public domain. The Minister said that there was to be a ban on airbombs but not till next year. We investigated.
It transpires that the firework industry, all those importers who used to be manufacturers and who now import 100% of their industry, had a big conference in Burton on Trent. Fearing that they had gone too far, and there would be a ban on retail sales because of the firework catastrophe in 2001, 1362 hospital injuries and the fatality of a young boy. They agreed they would go cap in hand to the Minister for Consumer Affairs, Melanie Johnson and offer a carrot. They would get rid of one of the most dangerous fireworks, airbombs, but they couldn't possibly do it this year, it would be in 2003. The Brigadier Charles Smith wrote to Melanie Johnson saying in effect that the industry had decided at Burton on Trent that this was all they would do and this had been agreed by Ms Johnson. If she wanted anything else they would back to Burton on Trent and decide whether to give it to her.
Later a member of the firework industry who is still on speaking terms with me, after John Woodhead slinked away following a 10 year friendship, "friendship?" l hear you say. I'll tell you about that another time. My true friend emailed me, and followed it up with a phone call, to say that the airbomb ban would never happen, because it was only for those members of the industry who were part of the BPA or EIG. He reminded me of that famous firework industry conference 3 years ago, when I was invited and I had asked why most members present had not even joined their own organisations. So, so much for a voluntary ban on air bombs.
To continue, Melanie Johnson made a great hoo ha of the voluntary ban as though it had already happened, and this was taken as Gospel by the media, believing that the problem had been completely solved. Melanie did make a cryptic reference to future legislation. We eagerly await this. After all her colleague in Northern Ireland has already introduced a ban on retail sales there.
Last October, the great Jane Kennedy, a Minister there, said that she had had enough. Fireworks had caused problems in every constituency in NI after only 4 years back on retail sales. Ms Kennedy said she was going to get rid of retail sales, because they already had licensed firework displays there, something NCFS have been fighting for in the past 33 years. She did it within a 4 month period, in February '02, with the backing of every NI MP. She had shown us all up, in the rest of the UK, where decade after decade passes and untold noise nuisance and firework injuries and we still cannot deal with the problem.
Meanwhile the problems continue to roll in with e mails and postbag. Did you know that 338 MPs had their postbags filled with letters complaining about firework problems last year? That is well over half the House. They took it up with the DTI. Many more took it up with us at 118 Long Acre, Covent Garden, LONDON WC2E 9PA.
Did you also know that we have a Forum discussion site on the Internet.?
In every Opinion Poll for the past two decades the majority have asked for a ban on retail sales and licensed firework displays The last two, one was Teletext 99%, and the Manchester Evening News 100%. This is not surprising. In the 1980s the majority was climbing from the high 80%. Incidentally, we add to a ban on sales, a national training scheme for everyone putting on a firework displays should be trained, and members of the industry, still talking to us, tell us that the firework display skills are lacking in the industry and need upping.
During the next week, week commencing 4 November 2002, we will be going to Downing Street to hand in a petition and letter to the Prime Minister. We hope that all our friends and supporters join us there.
There is another group who have just started up who are planning a similar event. and do not have the good sense to come under the national campaign and our 33 years campaigning experience. Mr Barry Gardiner MP and many other MPs supported us and agreed with us at the House some months. They urged other groups to join us.
So now we come to the crunch. Are the Government going to continue to back down or are they going to take the bull by the horns metaphorically speaking, and go for the sort of realistic legislation other countries took many years ago.
Best Wishes,
NOEL
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