Wednesday 20 October 2021 Last Friday, like so many other people, I was stunned to hear the news of the murder of my parliamentary colleague Sir David Amess. On Monday this week I attended the memorial service for members of the House of Commons and House of Lords at St Margaret’s church in Westminster, to […]
Wednesday 13 October 2021 Last week I attended the Conservative Party Conference in Manchester and was pleased to hear the Home Secretary, Priti Patel, address an issue that is very much close to home: the illegal migrant crossings in the English Channel. These crossings are both highly dangerous to those attempting them and concerning to […]
Wednesday 29 September 2021 This week the Department for Transport took decisive action to take over control of the South Eastern Railway franchise. This decision is no reflection on the professionalism or dedication of the front-line staff at South Eastern, who have worked hard to continue to serve their customer’s needs during the pandemic. Also, […]
Wednesday 22 September 2021 Last Friday I visited Lydd Airport to meet with David Hainsworth, the managing director, and members of his operations team. The airport has been a feature of life on Romney Marsh for over sixty years and is still an important part of the local economy. I was pleased to hear that […]
Wednesday 15 September 2021 This week the Health Secretary, Sajid Javid, set out the Government’s coronavirus strategy for the winter. Before looking at the specifics of those plans, it’s worth reviewing where we are now. Despite the spread of the delta variant of COVID-19, the most infectious strain we have seen so far in the […]
Wednesday 8 September 2021 This week Boris Johnson has set out a series of measures to provide the resources our NHS needs to catch up with the demands for treatment following the coronavirus pandemic, and also to provide a long-term funding plan for social care. A new health and social care levy commencing in April […]
Wednesday 1 September 2021 Last week the government announced its intention to continue to use Napier Barracks for temporary accommodation for asylum seekers for a further five years. An agreement has been reached between the Home Office, the Ministry of Defence and the house builder Taylor Wimpey who have acquired the site, that means it […]
Wednesday 24 August 2021 On Thursday last week I visited the Gurkha hunger strike close to the Ministry of Defence in Whitehall, that was being conducted by retired servicemen Dhan Gurung and Gyanraj Rai, and Pushpa Rana Ghale, a Gurkha widow who had travelled from Nepal. This was the thirteenth day of their strike, and […]
Wednesday 18 August 2021 Over the last two weeks we have watched with increasing dismay, the rapid collapse of the government of Afghanistan and the return of the Taliban to power. For many of our current and former service personnel, this will have been a heavy blow. I think in particular of the Royal Gurkha […]
Wednesday 11 August 2021 Just before the start of the parliamentary summer recess I was elected to chair a special Joint Select Committee composed of members of the House of Commons and House of Lords, to scrutinise the Government’s proposed Online Safety Bill. The committee will hold hearings in the autumn and present its findings […]