I'm taking my mother to the Cotswolds for a few days. She has  seen very little of England's glorious countryside outside East Anglia and I'm hoping she will enjoy its unspoilt, picturesque villages. It's her birthday treat from my sister and I. I last visited...

"“How wonderful it is that no one has to wait, but can start right now to gradually change the world!” Those were the optimistic words of Anne Frank on 26 March, 1944. I was reminded of them yesterday when I joined this year's winners of the Anne Frank Awards 2008...

Newsnight will ask its panel tonight: " What kind of life can a chicken have had when it ends up sold at Tesco for £2?" The answer is obviously none. It then continues to ask if anyone can afford to care when food prices are tripling and it costs nearly £75 to fill...

I know two women whose lives have been shattered by ME, and I can tell you their suffering was very real, and not "all in their minds", as some might believe. Myalgic Encephalomyelitis, or chronic fatigue syndrome, affects an estimated 250,000 people in the UK. I'm...

Iain Dale has taken political blogging to a new dimension by launching Total Politics, an essential internet resource for political animals like myself. Total Politics is Iain's brainchild and is also available as a printed edition which Iain hopes "will do for...

I spent one afternoon this week sitting in an out-patients clinic run by a neurosurgeon at Addenbrooke's Hospital, Cambridge for his brain injured patients in my role as a Headway trustee. It was truly harrowing listening to so many personal stories of tragedy, how...

My MEP Robert Sturdy was among Conservative spokesmen who led the vote against allowing US imports of chlorinated chicken in the EU - a practice banned in Europe. Yet the British government was the only country which turned a blind eye to this. Robert is the...