Coinage (Measurement) Bill

Kerry McCarthy Excerpts

Friday 4th February 2011 Commons Chamber

[Kerry McCarthy (Bristol East) (Lab)]

I congratulate the hon. Member for Milton Keynes North (Mark Lancaster) on introducing this Bill. It is perhaps not the most exciting Bill for someone who has succeeded in the highly competitive private Member’s Bill ballot, but I appreciate that legislation is needed if we are to keep our promise to the International Olympic Committee and if the Royal Mint is to fulfil its agreement to mint an Olympic coin weighing 1 kg. If he will excuse the pun, the hon. Gentleman has done a sterling job of making the issue seem more exciting than perhaps it is, enthusing those Members who are present about the prospect of purchasing a 1 kg coin. I must confess that I am not entirely convinced that the coin needs to be quite so substantial and weighty. Perhaps he or the Minister could comment on online speculation that the coin will become known as the Boris, on the grounds that it will be overweight and not an awful lot of use. However, it is welcome that the design will be put out to British artists, to see whether we can come up with the best design. I hope that the design meets with rather more public approval than the 2012 Olympics logo did when it was first launched, but we shall see.

In a week in which I, along with many other MPs, have received hundreds of e-mails from constituents determined to save our forests from the Government’s sell-off—I have received more than 200, while my constituency neighbour, the hon. Member for Bristol West (Stephen Williams), has received more than 900 and one of my colleagues in the north-east has received more than 1,200—I would like to think that the complete absence of any e-mails from concerned constituents lobbying me about the Coinage (Measurement) Bill is not a sign of apathy or lack of interest, but a sign of the overwhelming consensus and the warm glow of approval that radiates across the nation when people consider the contents of the Bill and the prospect of being able to purchase a supersized coin, even if it will be beyond the means of most, if not all, of my constituents.

I can confirm that we are happy to support the Bill. I do not want to underplay its importance—I have made it quite clear how supportive I am—but the next Bill on the Order Paper deals with illegally logged timber. Bills dealing with that issue have been brought before the House on a number of occasions without proceeding through to their final stages. In the last Parliament, a similar Bill was introduced by my former hon. Friend the Member for Hendon, Andrew Dismore, one of the veterans of private Members’ Bills Fridays. In the interest of ensuring that the next Bill gets an airing today, I will draw my remarks to a close and look forward to hearing what the Minister has to say.