They Blog For You

When 250,000 people march in Central London to complain about cuts the government should listen, and should engage with their leaders in a sensible dialogue. There are many things I felt I wanted to say had I been invited to talk to them as Mr Miliband was able to do. I would [...]

This Budget does nothing to help families in North Wales who currently face real challenges and...

This Budget does nothing to help families in North Wales who currently face real challenges and from April will find a real cut in their incomes, nor does it help our businesses to grow.   Before yesterday’s Budget Labour called for a re-think to George reckless plan to cut our public [...]

I have been in the Commons Chamber listening to the Prime Minister’s statement on Libya and the UN Security Council resolution.  A full text of what he said can be found here. [...]

Public spending is still going up by 6% a year, though there are plenty  of discussions about cuts. One of the reasons is the surge in interest payments we now have to make, as so much has been borrowed in the last couple of years. It makes controlling the deficit all [...]

The problem with Coalition governments is you can end up with policies that neither party wanted and few electors voted for. The Alternative Vote is one such idea. I fought the Wokingham election against changing the electoral system. The Lib Dems fought it in favour of a proportional system. We [...]

During the General Election I explained  that the government had been borrowing far too much. I was clear that we needed to curb the rate of increase in borrowing and public spending, and warned that would mean cuts in some areas, and a tight set of budgets. I promised to [...]

Last week we started work on the Localism Bill. This legislation underwrites the government approach. More matters should be settled locally, by the Borough Council or by groups of people concerned about local matters. National government and MPs will interfere less with all the local services, from education and social [...]

The Ministry of Defence has announced an investigation of the terms under which they dish out contacts where only one supplier is invited to tender.  In other words, has the taxpayer been systematically ripped off by a cosy relationship between the buyer and the seller - all under the guise of "national security"?      About [...]

In the twelve months up to last October just 137 new homes were commenced by builders in my constituency. (NHBC statistics). This puts into context the big arguments underway  about how much new building the Council  should allow. Wokingham Borough is of course bigger than my constituency, but current build [...]

The Guardian informs us that the Downing Street policy team will be beefed up in the coming year with the appointment of more civil servants. Phew!  What a relief. For a moment there might have been a danger of involving those we elect to the [...]

Earlier this year, in separate hearings, Fisho editor Jim Harnwell and I gave evidence to the New South Wales Parliamentary Inquiry into Recreational Fishing on the controversial issue of angling bans in Marine Parks. Many of us also pressed for a stronger and better system of representation for local anglers [...]

WITH three million anglers in a population of 20 million, it is surprising that recreational fishing hasn't been given greater political attention.

WITH three million anglers in a population of 20 million, it is surprising that recreational fishing hasn’t been given greater political attention. The fact that people in Australia and NSW even feel the need to form and vote for specific pro-fishing parties is, in my view, an admission of failure [...]

             The last couple of weeks have been taken up with the Euro crisis. The Greek bail out on May 2nd did not stop the problem spreading. As you have seen it is now Ireland’s turn to take the Euro misery of higher taxes, cuts in spending, and wage cuts.              [...]

This article appeared in The Diss Express on 22 October 2010 Three Diss High School students came to see me recently about their Citizenship GCSE course work on the thorny subject of prison sentencing. Amber Stevenson, James Briddon and Greg Fisher, who are all in Year 11, had [...]

Conference platforms and Parliament have been alive with attacks on bankers. Treated as a caste apart, they have been the butt end of jokes, the subject of barbed comments, and the object of policies designed to tax them and curb them. I would like to be a [...]

"We've got a lot of aeroplanes that are ready to do dog fights with the Soviet Union Air Force.  That's not right" says David Cameron. Indeed.  It's time to ensure that our defence budget is spent in the interests of our armed forces and Britain's strategic needs.  Too often, the money [...]

This article appeared in The Diss Express on 24 September 2010 I thoroughly enjoyed walking a section of the Waveney Springs Art Trail 2010 recently. The Trail involves over 30 local artists displaying their work in windows belonging to Diss shops and businesses. Anything which draws prospective customers to Diss [...]

This year the Conference season has come to disrupt a new September session of Parliament. Taking three weeks off so all three main parties can have their conference seems an old fashioned indulgence. It has been made more vexatious by the changing nature of party conferences. The Conservative party [...]

I attended an interesting meeting a few days ago with local resident groups and Councillors to discuss the future housing numbers for Wokingham. The government is abolishing top down targets, regional plans and Whitehall inspired requirements. Wokingham can make its own decisions about how many homes to put into [...]

I am fed up with all the talk about cuts of 25% or 40% in public spending. It is alarming people who depend on public money needlessly. The budget figures are clear and are not going to change. Public spending on current services will rise by £90 billion over [...]