They Blog For You

Having come down from my Oldham constituency this morning, I joined the march in ‘Whitehall at at 1.15pm, about an hour and a half after the vanguard had begun the march to Hyde Park.   After hearing the speeches I returned along Piccadilly where people were still marching towards Hyde Park [...]

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 [...]

Total of British Soldiers killed in Afghanistan = 362   Today I've discovered a new heroine. I was chairing this morning's session of a Westminster Education Forum conference on scientific research. It was held in the swish location of Over-seas House in St James's Street London. The first of six speakers in my [...]

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 [...]

I last worked in the Foreign Office twenty years ago, as political adviser to Douglas Hurd. A few weeks after he took office (bringing me into the FCO with him) the Berlin came down and I still remember vividly the amazing events of the subsequent year – the “velvet revolutions” [...]

There is to be a Policy Unit in Downing Street run by civil servants. Politicians might deliver the speeches, but civil servants seem set to determine the policy.  What, you might wonder, is the point of having 650 elected MPs if a little circle of unelected courtiers decide things?  What is [...]

                 Parliament barred a few teeth yesterday. It passed its motion condemning the idea of votes for prisoners. There were many speeches against this proposal, and fewer in favour.               The government reminded Parliament that the UK is bound by its signature on the Human Rights Convention. This falls to be [...]

KEVIN Brennan MP has warned members of the House that the UK Government’s Education Bill will take away local democratic power from communities, teachers and parents, and put the power into the hands of Michael Gove.In a speech, during the second reading of the Education Bill, Mr Brennan urged members [...]

Spent much of today in the Commons chamber trying to make sure that the £3.2 Billion the government lends to Ireland is done sensibly. I'm not sure how a 5.9 percent interest rate on £3.2 Billion overdraft extension helps reduce the amount of money Ireland owes.  Surely it will [...]

               Yesterday’s debate on the EU was lively. The strong view from most on the Conservative benches was the same – we want effective  action to curb any more  powers going to Brussels, and get powers back. The Bill places a “referendum lock” on the transfer of new competences, but [...]

Last week I hosted a student from the Czech Republic, Tom Cejnar, for a week’s work experience at Westminster. Here are his impressions of Parliament: “First of all I would like to introduce myself. I am a student of the final year at The English College in Prague, which [...]

 Even a traffic-doubling tube strike failed to stop Welsh MPs making history this morning. Only one Tory turned up and one hack was frustrated by the strike, but otherwise it was a near 100% turn-out. The first meeting of the Welsh Parliamentary Party for 14 years was a unique occasion. [...]

  Simple question: stupid answer. Liam Fox’s contemptible answer to my question how many recruits (a) enlisted and (b) deserted from the Afghan Army and Police in the last 12 months had no figures for desertions. This is crucial stuff. The plan is to recruit more than 100,000 new mercenaries in the [...]

Yesterday I gave a speech to the Conservative Party Conference on my plans for a Schools Olympics as a lasting legacy for 2012. Not only was I was joined on stage by Olympic gold medal winner James Cracknell but also local Farnham resident and Paralympic gold [...]

I spent most of my weekend in or travelling to and from Bremen. The PM had asked me to represent the UK at the 20th anniversary celebrations of German unification. It was a duty I was happy to accept because I have vivid personal memories of that [...]

JUST finished watching Ed’s “maiden” speech as leader of the party, and genuinely thought it was an extremely accomplished performance. He’s clearly going to make it very difficult for the Tories to maintain their silly “Red Ed” attacks. I was relieved right from the start when I saw he was using [...]

TO THE politically uninitiated, it’s hard to explain exactly why party conference is such a great experience. I’ve been to Labour’s annual gathering in many guises – as a delegate, a member of staff, a visitor, an exhibitor, a candidate, an MP and as a Minister. For the record, the best [...]

Yesterday during debates on the Finance Bill in the Commons Labour wheeled out their old friends tax evasion and avoidance. They do not like either avoidance or evasion, but they were always with them during their years in charge. They are [...]

"Government funds itself by taking today, by borrowing against a promise to take a greater sum tomorrow and by debasing the currency.  We have reached the limits of all three. .... [...]

A LIMIT of seven minutes was imposed on speeches on Monday night, so the contribution I had prepared had to be cut down quite drastically. Unfortuately, having spent most of my allotted time talking about the LibDems, I didn’t leave myself much time to talk about important issues. So the stuff [...]