They Blog For You

                      I wish to examine the curious case of the possible resignation of Mr Norman  Lamb. Many people will not have known until the last couple of days the importance of Mr Lamb. He is a trusted adviser to the Deputy Prime Minister. He is a Lib Dem NHS expert, [...]

According to the Sunday Times, Republican front-runners for the next presidential election include Mitt Romney, Donald Trump, Mike Huckabee, Newt Gingrich and Sarah Palin.  If so, then perhaps that's Obama safely back in the White House for a second term.   Fortunately, in America they allow millions of ordinary folk, not just [...]

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 [...]

This interesting article appears on Conservative Home today and highlights the fact that David Cameron is to take responsibility for selling health reform. http://conservativehome.blogs.com/thetorydiary/2011/04/the-principles-of-the-governments-nh... [...]

                    This week-end has seen numerous briefings against the Health Secretary. I have found him to be one of  the best informed, and  most accessible of Cabinet Ministers. He knows his brief well, is aware of the problems of piloting through change to the NHS, and has already secured the [...]

The political elite in SW1 are out of touch with the public on law and order, according to the Sunday Telegraph.  In a poll commissioned by Lord Ashcroft, 47 percent of voters think that no party has the right approach. [...]

                  Based on doorstep conversations recently, and visits to speak to Conservative Associations, I encounter the following attitudes. Many Conservatives now see the Coaliti0n government as heavily Lib Dem influenced. They tell me they want changes in policy, to reflect the poor financial condition of the country and the preponderance [...]

Conservative Home have very kindly surveyed their readers to see how many support our amendment.. http://conservativehome.blogs.com/parliament/2011/03/79-of-tory-members-back-nadine-dorries-right-to-know-campaign-on-abortion.html We couldn't be mo... [...]

It’s difficult to get excited about the AV referendum.   It will probably be won not because of the merits of the AV system, not even because most people necessarily understand what it means, but because by 5 May the Tories, who are campaigning hard for a ‘no’ vote, will be very unpopular.   However, [...]

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 [...]

  No party ever prepares for opposition. Even predictable defeats are a shock and a trigger for prolonged misery. Nigel Fisher’s book ‘How to be in opposition’ is a tale of years of arid futility occasionally enlivened by minor triumphs. Heroes of past oppositions are described for our admiration and encouragement. Neil [...]

I couldn't let the Budget debates pass without putting in a word for small businesses. I want the Government to look at ways to improve bank lending - it is the only real way that small businesses can achieve any sort of decent growth and transform into larger businesses. The [...]

                     I am against the waste of money on the census. The government tells me they do not like it either, but it was too late to cancel it. They are  still going ahead spending more on sending it out and collecting it in. A picture of dumping the forms [...]

  Once the darling of the middle-of-the-road voters Nick Clegg has had a hideous 48 hours. Anyone can forget a microphone in the pocket,but his comment will return to haunt him. If he is to recover a separate identity for the LibDems his confession  of no differences between the two parties will [...]

Mr John Redwood (Wokingham) (Con): I remind the House that I offer industrial business advice to a Swedish, quoted international industrial group and investment advice to a British investment company. Some Opposition Members have expressed displeasure that Government Members should have mentioned the circumstances in Greece and Portugal. The Opposition rightly [...]

Information regarding the second amendment Frank Field and I will be laying down to the Health and Social Care Bill was today posted  on Conservative Home. http://bit.ly/i3k8Tt Things are certainly gathering steam and today our press launch was co... [...]

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 [...]

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 [...]

14 March 2011   £2billion bank bonus tax to create 110,000 new jobs   Labour is today setting out the key tests for George Osborne’s Budget next week and calling for immediate action to boost jobs and growth in the economy and to help hard-pressed families with the rising cost of living.    In a joint [...]

Westminster politicians sometimes make the mistake of thinking that they’ve tackled a subject because they’ve talked about it. But clever phrases are not the same thing as a policy. Immigration is a major issue and my constituents raise it with me more than ever. Dealing with immigration requires more [...]