They Blog For You

Chloe Smith, Member of Parliament for Norwich North, will today be visiting Business Revolution Enterprise Ltd's new work hub. The aim of the work hub is to provide a flexible workspace in a new generation of working where jobs often involve working from home and 'hot-desking'. Business Revolution also offers users access [...]

I am told that there is a new welcome emphasis on the public’s views at Downing Street. They are taking polling more seriously. It was worries by the public about the Health reforms that lies behind the recent decision to consult again and if necessary to change the plans. I trust [...]

Greece, Ireland, now Portugal ....  Another bailout of the Euro dressed up as a rescue.  Another high interest loan pressed upon European taxpayers, as if that might solve the problem of excessive debt. Over the past year, we have been struggling to save a total of [...]

There have been discussions about whether there is a domestic precedent whereby the right to talk to MPs about issues of public interest is protected by parliament. This already happens in Australia.The following case from the parliamentary journals in 1699 is exactly that. John Kelly provided information about [...]

If unpaid internships are to be discouraged, I presume that the government will now put unpaid Parliamentary Private Secretaries onto the government payroll? Over the past year, an unprecedentedly number of MPs have been made PPSs under the Coalition.  Even quite junior ministers now make use of these unpaid ministerial aides. A internship, or work experience scheme, MPs [...]

  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 [...]

Gildas the Monk has done another post about the interrelationship between the courts and parliament. I don't entirely agree with it, but it is worth a read.He finishes:On a wider front, if the Judges themselves do not get a grip and stop the tide of draconian orders which threaten [...]

Sombre news from the forgotten war in Afghanistan. Ten years of vast sacrifices in blood and treasure have achieved nothing. A mob is so anti-Western that peacemakers have been lynched. The Afghan Police were impotent spectators. Perhaps this will expose the foolish optimism of Liam Fox. He still believes that an [...]

                  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 [...]

From today – 1 April – the NHS in Norfolk will enjoy an extra £54 million, to support key Government priorities such as the Cancer Drugs Fund, investment in talking therapies for those with mental health conditions, 4,200 extra health visitors, and support for carers' breaks. Spending on healthcare in our [...]

  One day in parliament Paul Flynn (Newport West) (Lab): To underline his claim that prisons are well run, will the right hon. and learned Gentleman remind the House of the precise number of prisons that are free of the use of illegal drugs? Mr Clarke: I would not like to guarantee that [...]

Commenting on the publication of the National Audit Office’s report into how the Ministry of Defence manages the delivery of equipment to military operations, South Norfolk MP Richard Bacon, a member of the Commons public accounts committee, said: “ The Ministry of Defence has had problems with the [...]

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... [...]

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 [...]

Chloe Smith, Member of Parliament for Norwich North, today reminds constituents who wish to make a posthumous claim for relatives who suffered from contaminated blood, to do so before 31st March, the deadline for the Skipton Fund. The Skipton Fund is the body that processes claims for those infected with hepatitis [...]

                     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 [...]

A demo with everything. Well done TUC.  500,000 people who walked 30 deep and took 4 hours to pass through Parliament Square. 24 news outlets broadcast ten hours of interviews with the sensible moderate young and old demonstrators. The pictures were strong and appealingThe speeches were restrained and persuasive.  The violent scenes [...]

               I stand accused of being unclear on public spending. Let me try again. The quicker the government can cotnrol the excess of spending over income, the quicker the economy will perform better.               I do not set out alternative spending targets or numbers to the Chacenllor, as experience has taught me [...]

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 [...]