They Blog For You

The British public debate is schizophrenic when it comes to excellence, and its ally, selection. Most socialists want the most stringent tests and selection to ensure the leading football and athletics teams in the country only contain the best sports people. They encourage vigorous selection, promotion on merit, tough training [...]

Can you spot me in the picture on the left - another suit muscling in at the back?!I was up at Green Lanes to "help" with the cutting of the ribbon at the opening of the new Turkish Community Football Federation offices at the weekend.Federation Chair, Turgut Esendagli - who [...]

This week I have been very involved in looking into the Government’s welfare reforms, which ensure that people are always better off in work than on benefits – a vigorous work programme to provide people with the help they need to get into work, and adequate training where [...]

Today the Secretary of State for Transport, Philip Hammond MP, launched the public consultation on HS2.  I have included below some important pieces of information which will help you to respond to it. The consultation documents can be found on the dedicated HS2 consultation web-site here. On the consultation web-site there is [...]

  Private Eye’s Gavel Basher’ is invited to attend all future meeting of the Public Administration Committee to add her/his entertaining interpretation to our deliberations. Last week I reproduced a verbatim account of my exchanges with him. These extracts are far more entertaining. I had forgotten the peal of laughter that [...]

  Yesterday there was one cloud over the Parliament. It was uncannily reminiscent of a map of Wales. Yesterday was a day of pride for Welsh Parliamentarians. Former Welsh MPs led the creative filibuster in the Lords. It was an extremely rare event for the sleepy Lords to challenge Government [...]

It was just a year ago that Parliament was bereaved by news of the untimely death of  one of its best-loved members. More than 100 MPs stood in the snow outside the village church of Heather to hear heartfelt tributes to David Taylor. The tiny church was full an hour [...]

                       If I had sent a sales force with a good new product to sell in 21 countries of the world I would have been very disappointed if they came  back with just one success. I would have been  even more worried, if the target was to sell to 12.                        The recent [...]

So it is all over now. And fans at home as well as everyone in the 2018 bid team are understandably gutted. I don't regret for one moment all the effort we put in. I have not felt as proud of [...]

  Tiger Woods is ensconced in my constituency tonight in the Celtic Manor. So are all the other members of European and American Ryder Cup teams. It’s thrilling to have Newport as the Golf Capital of the world for this week. The preparations have been lavish and brilliantly carried. Local billionaire is [...]

CARDIFF West's Kevin Brennan MP, Rhodri Morgan AM and Mark Drakeford today visited Pedal Power to mark National Healthy Living Week 2010.This year's event is all about encouraging people to take those first steps to leading healthier lifestyle by trying activities like cycling.Pedal Power in Pontcanna has been encouraging people [...]

Wilsteasd is a great community and there is nothing like a love of football to bring a community together. Wilstead now boasts brand spanking new, state of the art changing rooms and a club facility officially known as the ‘Jubilee Playing Fields P... [...]

Chloe Smith today joined with Gary and Danielle Lineker at the Houses of Parliament to show support for the 1 GOAL campaign. Gary Lineker is an Ambassador for 1GOAL, an initiative which aims to mobilise support for education for all through the power of football. During the World Cup Danielle Lineker [...]

Let me say something unpopular. The UK should drop the anti banker rhetoric. The sport of banker bashing may have come in handy for unpopular politicians facing their own crisis of probity, but time has moved on. Banking is a most important [...]

On my first day back behind my desk I have just sat through the most extraordinarily compelling set of presentations on the England 2018 bid. The FIFA inspection team are in town to do their report on the technical aspects of the bid and I was part of the team [...]

Loathe as I am to criticised broadcasters for not giving attention to my pet topics,, I was roused to anger last year. I sent off a sulphuric epistle to BBC Wales  complaining of their thin coverage of the sporting miracles of Newport County soccer team last season.   This year all [...]

I am having a fascinating time in India where David Cameron is managing to woo everyone, not least because of his age. There seems to be widespread surprise at such "young" politicians - once my host even failed to put out his hand to greet me because he was expecting [...]

The wild-eye, edgy, slightly weird looking Tory Culture supremo Jeremy Hunt is setting BBC nerves jangling. He giggles a lot. He voiced a threat of vengeance  by licence fee cut against what the Tories   call the  Bolshevik Broadcasting Corporation. New Tory MP Robert Halfon  considers that each licence-fee payer could be given [...]

CARDIFF West MP, Kevin Brennan, has praised the impact the Cardiff City Stadium is having on the first anniversary of its official opening.The stadium officially opened on July 22, 2009 with a pre-season friendly match between Cardiff City and Celtic and has since gone on to host everything from an [...]

Delyn MP David Hanson has presented Rhydymwyn Football Club with the Championship trophy after...

Delyn MP David Hanson has presented Rhydymwyn Football Club with the Championship trophy after winning the Welsh Alliance League title. They are now busy preparing for life in the in the Cymru Alliance next season.   David Hanson said: “Congratulations to Rhydymwyn FC who have worked so hard to clinch the title and [...]