Westminster Diary – 16th November 2009
Parliament is stuffed full of All-Party Groups. You can join novel ones on Jazz or Folk Arts or you can join really useful ones such as Motor Neurone Disease or...
Read this entry »Articles written by Richard Benyon (Con)
Westminster Diary 25th January 2010
The nation winced as it read the story of the horrendous torture and near murder of two boys in Doncaster. Most of us cannot really comprehend...
Read this entry » Westminster Diary 18th January 2010
As the election draws near all politicians are looking for ways to reduce the complexity of modern politics down to short pithy phrases. The...
Read this entry » Westminster Diary – 11th January 2010
Nearly everyone is coping superbly in these difficult conditions. Good news stories are everywhere. They range from exceptional acts of good...
Read this entry » Westminster Diary 14th December 2009
Oh dear. Not a great week for the perception of Parliament in the eyes of the electorate. More expenses details in the public domain and the...
Read this entry » Westminster Diary 7th December 2009
In the run up to the Climate Change Conference in Copenhagen there are rumblings in some quarters about the whole question of man being a cause...
Read this entry » Westminster Diary – 30th November 2009
“No generation has a freehold on this earth. All we have is a life tenancy — with full repairing leaseâ€. So said Margaret Thatcher...
Read this entry » Westminster Diary 23rd November 2009
In a fanfare of pageantry the Queen opened Parliament last week. As always, the ceremonial guard and all the courtiers looked imacculate . Despite...
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Westminster Diary 9th November 2009
At the beginning of last week we had a debate in Parliament on the reform of the Common Fisheries Policy. As my Shadow Front Bench role includes fisheries I was...
Read this entry »Westminster Diary – 2nd November 2009
I can now have my life back. Last week we completed the Parliamentary process of a huge piece of legislation called the Marine and Coastal Access Bill. As I was...
Read this entry »Westminster Diary – 26th October 2009
I didn't vote for John Bercow to be Speaker but I have to say he is doing some good things. Changes he has made allow me to feel that little bit more able to...
Read this entry »Westminster Diary – 19th October 2009
Parliament had a sulphurous atmosphere as MPs opened their letters from Sir Thomas Legg. The Tea Room is usually a haven of easy-going banter and gossip but was...
Read this entry »Conference roundup
Not so long ago I used to feel I significantly lowered the average age of the Conservative Party Conference by just turning up. Now I feel old. Compared with tired...
Read this entry »Who are the heroes?
Today's Sun is worth a read. The lead story on page 1, 4 and 5 is a stirring piece about the conditions “our boys†are enduring. A description of...
Read this entry »Lord Sugar
Lord Sugar of Clapton has not made a very good start as a parliamentarian. He can, perhaps, be forgiven his ignorance of the whipping system and for not grasping...
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