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The government wants to do more to promote social mobility. It wants more children to enter higher paid employment from home backgrounds that brought them up on benefits or low incomes. There are many ways for young people to aspire to much higher incomes than their parents. They all entail lots [...]

  Paul Maynard the new Tory MP for Blackpool was on the next table to mine in the Terrace Cafeteria at lunchtime today. I noticed that he was shuffling some papers with intriguing pictures of power stations. He told me that he was speaking in today's final adjournment debate in which [...]

Interesting article by Nick Clegg and Iain Duncan Smith on the need for greater social mobility in today's Telegraph.  They are absolutely right to point to the problem.  What bothers me are their proposed solutions, which all seem to be about government doing more. The coalition duo begin their article by accepting that Labour's big [...]

                    I visited a public library recently. It was not in my constituency. It was housed in a great new building, in a large and well appointed room. I was told it was not about to close. It was run by friendly Council staff. Money had been found to set [...]

Tory tax rise means thousands more families to lose their child benefit Up to an extra 750,000...

Tory tax rise means thousands more families to lose their child benefit   Up to an extra 750,000 people will become higher rate taxpayers tomorrow (Wednesday), meaning that thousands more families will lose their child benefit in 2013 Labour will warn today.   Following changes announced in last June’s Budget by George Osborne [...]

Gove has established quite a reputation for turning all he touches, not to gold, but to dust.   His Big Idea of course is to raise standards by spreading Academies all over the country and providing incentives for parents to set up Swedish-style so-called ‘free schools’.   It’s true that UK educational [...]

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 [...]

Pupils from Claires Court Schools have interviewed Theresa as part of the BBC’s School Report challenge. The School Report takes place every year and gives children aged 11 to 14 the chance to make their own news reports on issues of concern to them. Theresa was interviewed by Year 9 [...]

Isn't that convenient?  Facemasks might mean arrests in future, In particular at the royal wedding - apart from bridal veils.. Any other attempt to disguises features will prove guilt and offenders will be thrown into the slammer. Soft cop on Saturday will be hard cop for the nuptials. The reactions of the [...]

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 [...]

Delyn MP David Hanson walked for water at Westminster today as part of a global campaign to raise...

Delyn MP David Hanson walked for water at Westminster today as part of a global campaign to raise awareness for the world water and sanitation crisis.   Marking the United Nations World Water Day, David Hanson joined hundreds of thousands of people across the globe who walked in solidarity with the almost [...]

Delyn MP David Hanson is backing a campaign launched by the shopworkers union Usdaw to shine a...

Delyn MP David Hanson is backing a campaign launched by the shopworkers union Usdaw to shine a light on the Tory-led Coalition’s hidden cuts to family budgets.   With all eyes on this week’s Budget announcement, David joined Usdaw members and their families at an event in Parliament to highlight the tax [...]

Delyn MP David Hanson has expressed is real concern at the latest rise in unemployment across the...

Delyn MP David Hanson has expressed is real concern at the latest rise in unemployment across the UK. UK unemployment rose by 27,000 in the three months to the end of January to 2.53 million, the highest since 1994. The Office for National Statistics (ONS) said the jobless rate was now [...]

CARDIFF West MP, Kevin Brennan, has welcomed a major bank's decision to give grants to four local third sector organisations in the constituency.Pedal Power, Pen yr Enfys, Re-Create and the Cardiff and Vale Parents Federation will all receive grants of over £10,000 to help with their community work.The money will [...]

17 March 2011 Alan Johnson voted in favour of the below Opposition Motion tabled by the Shadow Chief Secretary to the Treasury last night to reverse the Government’s VAT rise on petrol and diesel. The motion was defeated. “That this House recognises that rising world oil, food and commodity prices are increasing [...]

Alan Johnson gave his second major speech on the economy on 11 November 2010 at the Royal Society of Arts. You can read the full speech below: “The American writer, Tom Woolfe, once said “a Liberal is a Conservative who’s been arrested.” I suppose a modern inversion would be that a Conservative [...]

On 18 October 2010 Alan Johnson gave his first major speech as Shadow Chacellor at KPMG in central London ahead of the Comprehensive Spending Review. The full text of the speech is below.    Check Against Delivery Alistair Darling took this country through the most devastating global economic crisis since the Great Depression. [...]

Thanks to all those who came to my residents meeting in Ward End last night – especially colleagues from West Midlands Police. We’ll post a full write up later but the three key local issues raised were; 1. Speeding and dangerous parking – especially folks dropping off children at school. We [...]

Sometimes it's hard to be an MP. Don't worry, I'm not going to start moaning and begging for your sympathy; I know we all have tough moments in our jobs. I think though, what gets to me the most is when you desperately want to help people but [...]

I'm not a woman and lots has already been written on the Internet and elsewhere today to mark the 100th anniversary of International Women's Day, but I did want to add my support for the initiative. So much has improved in terms of women's equality in the UK over the [...]