Albert Owen’s 18 years in Parliament

Approaching his final week in Parliament, a north Wales MP remains confident that a multi billion pound nuclear plant will go ahead despite question marks over its future.
First elected in 2001 – one of only two gains made by Labour that night, Albert Owen has represented Ynys Môn since that surprise win 18 years ago.
But having spent his early career riding on a crest of Tony Blair’s electoral wave, the former merchant seaman has spent the past nine years as a permanent fixture on the opposition back benches.
Speaking in his home town of Holyhead on Friday, the father of two looked back on his parliamentary career with mostly fondness, but also concern over the direction of modern day politics.
“Politics has always been about people, one of the greatest thrills is still getting a letter from Mrs Jones for helping her in some way,” he told the Local Democracy Reporting Service.
“While you have to fight modern campaigns these days, there’s still a place for community politics which is why I wanted to become an MP.”
But with nationwide frustration over the ongoing Brexit debate seeing those in public office face unprecedented abuse, Mr Owen expressed regret that he is standing down at such a tumultuous period, describing it as the “Americanisation of British politics.”
Despite the island narrowly backing a leave vote, he has been a consistent voice in favour of another referendum, arguing that a no-deal outcome would be ‘disastrous.’
“I’ve never seen politics so polarised, yes there have always been some huge disagreements and that’s healthy, but never so simplistic as yes/no or in/out,” he added.
“Brexit opened pandora’s box, and its been very hard to bring people together.
“I’ve tried to find a compromise and think there could have been one along the lines of a customs union, which would have resolved the Northern Ireland problem while still leaving the EU, but no-one was looking for a solution as they wanted to entrench their own views.
“I believe that people voted for Brexit with good intentions, thinking there was a better life out there by turning on the establishment.
“People, suffering because of austerity, decided to give it a go –  including the farming community which shocked me – but it was a protest against the establishment.
“My view, however, is they took a pop at the wrong subject and that a confirmatory vote is the only way forward.
“Having been a trade union man all my life, you hold a ballot to strike then negotiate and then go back to the members, and I believe we need to deal with Brexit in the same way.”
Admitting he has “mixed feelings” on leaving Westminster, Mr Owen says that while he would have stayed on until the next scheduled poll in 2022, he could not commit to a full five year term.
“I’m 60 now, it’s the right decision for me and I’d like to think I’m leaving the seat in a good position with a 5,000 majority,” he added.
“Many years ago as a trade union activist I was offered safe seats elsewhere but always wanted to serve my community, that was important to me.”
Citing career highlights as meeting Barack Obama and a “friendly” relationship with Tony Blair, he also looks back fondly at his time as chair of the Welsh group of Labour MP’s and time spent on the Welsh Affairs, Energy and International Development select committees.
However, he also acknowledged regrets, including supporting UN-backed military action in Libya, which later led to destabilisation and civil war.
“I was torn on that and while I didn’t support the Iraq war as there was no UN commitment, I did so for Libya,” he said.
“But I was wrong because we didn’t have an afterplan on how to rebuild countries.
“I have no regrets on not taking a junior ministerial post as I wanted to serve my communities, really my regrets are few and far between.
“For whichever party has been elected here (Anglesey), the majority of voters have also worked for other parties (in other elections) so you have to work across the community and serve 100% of your constituency.
“I’ve always got on with people from other parties, particularly periphery area MP’s like myself, because at the end of the day we all come into politics to try and change things for the better and its easier to do so when you can find some common ground.
“But now I will have time to spend more time with my wife (Angela) and watch Football, Rugby meet family, go fishing, travel and maybe some volunteering, but nothing as demanding as being an MP!”
With several members stepping down before the December poll – often blamed on an increase in both verbal and online abuse, he said that not a single member has managed to avoid the “hostile environment” now prevalent at Westminster.
“Its been quite vile and horrible, it is predominantly for ethnic minority and female MP’s and thanks to the lid that has been lifted by Brexit and social media.
“When I first got elected there was a mutual respect but maybe its a society thing.
“This office (in Holyhead) has been a physical target, not myself individually, but I have a responsibility for staff and the public.
“I never thought I’d have to worry about the security of my staff and family and it is an extra burden and I won’t hide away from that.
“This building has been attacked and I’ve always offered people who are hostile with me a face to face meeting to try and distinguish their thoughts, but there is a line and many of the threats are anonymous.
“It is very very sad and it needs to stop. But I always think there are more decent people in society, these are a minority and cowardly keyboard warriors.
“To be labelled a traitor and other things is sad, but it has no bearing on my decision to leave.”
One project that has dominated his time in Parliament is the prospect of a second nuclear power station on the island, which has been in the pipeline for several decades.
In January, however, Hitachi pulled the plug on the project citing a dispute with the UK government over Wylfa Newydd’s funding.
Acknowledging that Brexit had “sucked the oxygen out of the room” in terms of Government support for the scheme, expected to create 800 well-paid jobs,  he remains confident that it will become a reality despite the past ten years being dominated by spending cuts and austerity.
“We have so much potential here and I’ve been hugely disappointed that big projects haven’t been able to move forward yet, such as offshore wind,” he concluded.
“If we’re serious about tackling climate change then we really need to look at these.
“Personally I have no doubt that one of the reasons that Wylfa Newydd hasn’t moved forward is because of the UK Government’s focus (on Brexit.)
“There are issues with finance but they could be resolving those, we’ve been saying for over a decade that large scale energy projects such as wind, tidal or nuclear, need up-front help and support.
“Britain needs to invest in its future or else we’ll end up importing energy or exporting our talent abroad.
“But at the end of the day, I think that Wylfa Newydd will happen and that Trawsfynydd will be a pioneer of small modular reactors.
“North Wales can be a low carbon hub, and I hope that my successors will take that mantle forward.”

By Gareth Williams – Local Democracy Reporter