Blog
MPs’ expenses and family life
I’ll be watching the dramatisation tonight on BBC 4, On Expenses. I’m glad this story is being told as I felt journalist Heather Brooke, who spent five years trying to get information about MPs’ expenses, lost her moment of glory when the Daily Telegraph...
Who is Gordon Brown?
Working for a bully is a terrifying experience and totally demoralising. It makes going to work each day a nerve wracking ordeal and such allegations should fully investigated. These allegations today point a finger at our Prime Minister. BBC’s Nick Robinson gives a...
The joys of Shakespeare
One of my greatest pleasures in life is to see Shakespeare at The Globe Theatre where I imagine myself back in those daring theatrical days of Elizabethan England. I sit there totally enthralled by the whole experience. My son David used to be my Shakespeare buddy –...
Potholes, potholes and more potholes
It seems that every road I drive on at the moment has potholes, potholes and more potholes. There were literally dozens of them around every corner I turned today, some quite enormous ones. I spent a couple of hours swerving all over the road to avoid sinking...
My doorstep twitchers in pursuit of the waxwing
The Cambridgeshire street I live in has become a mecca for excited twitchers who have spotted a couple of waxwings making a rare appearance to the UK this winter. The enthusiasts were virtually on my doorstep early this morning with their long lenses aimed at a rowan...
Modern Thatcherism
Congratulations to Therese Coffey who was given “a prolonged standing ovation†after becoming the Conservative parliamentary candidate in Suffolk Coastal to replace John Gummer. Her victory was outstanding. Jonathan Isaby, co-editor of ConservativeHome who chaired...
My latest walk
Meldreth circular walk Map your trip with EveryTrail Many thanks to Geoff Jones for sending me this fabulous EveryTrail link for a walk we did yesterday with Sally and the Cambridge Rambling Club. I did try to make my excuses the day before – too many jobs to catch...
My Headway update
We have recruited four excellent new trustees at Headway Cambridgeshire and I look forward to working with them to strengthen the board and take forward our exciting new plans in the pipeline, including opening centres in Peterborough and Fenland. I am strongly...
Eric Pickles and the Contaminated Blood Bill
I was standing yesterday in the central lobby of Westminster under its magnificent gold chandelier, flanked by a statue of former prime minister William Gladstone, and with the heroic St George looking down on me, one of the stunning paintings which grace this unique...