Redwood in Shock Tax Hike Plea
In a shocking move, John Redwood has today called for an increase in taxes paid by the rich. You can read the article here.
Read MoreThe Arrest of Ratko Mladic
I have written a piece on the arrest of General Mladic for the Sunday Times, based on my time at the FCO working on war crimes - you can access the article here.
Read MoreDeveloping Local Schools
Today, I visited Walton Oak School, in Walton, which has just had funding approved for a new Breakfast and After School Club and Nurture room, which will provide a range of opportunities for local pupils and parents. I toured the school with the headteacher and governors, and had a look at the site for the […]
Read MoreFoxes and Hedgehogs
In her column today, The Guardian’s Allegra Stratton borrows from Isaiah Berlin’s brilliant book ‘The Hedgehog and the Fox’, to compare pragmatists and ideologues in the coalition Cabinet. According to Berlin, the hedgehog believes in one big thing, whereas the fox pursues many - sometimes competing - ends. Berlin used the paradigm as a warning. […]
Read MoreThe Guardian plugs Esher Neighbourhood Fund
The Guardian carry a thoughtful piece today on the Big Society, Community Foundations and the work of Dr Helen Bowcock in Surrey. The article, available here, highlights the long ignored local diversity of incomes and need in areas with high ‘average’ wealth (like Surrey) and points to the Esher Neighbourhood Fund as an example of […]
Read MoreTalent Spotting
Today, I visited Saville Consulting, another great example of an innovative business on our doorstep. Set up by Professor Peter Saville, the business is based in Claygate and pioneers innovative ways to recruit staff - including devising pyschometric and competence based tests. His techniques are used to recruit talent, from commercial leaders to specialist roles, […]
Read MoreStandards in Schools
On Thursday, we had a debate on educational performance in Parliament. I raised a number of local issues - pressure on school places, the funding formula - with Schools Minister, Nick Gibb. We also had an interesting wider debate about teaching standards and core learning. I argued that ‘ the recipe for success is not […]
Read MoreElection Results
The Conservatives had a good result at the local elections. Bearing in mind the tough economic climate and the difficult spending decisions that have been made, we gained two seats - including Geoff Herbert’s nail-biting victoty in Claygate, with a majority of 3 votes (it was just 1 after the first count)! Congratulations to all […]
Read MoreTelegraph and Boris back Strike Law Reform
In today’s editorial, the Daily Telegraph have backed my proposal to reform strike laws to prevent militant union bosses like Bob Crow holding the country to ransom, as did London Mayor Boris Johnson. I wrote a piece for Con Home on the tube strikes facing London here. UPDATE: The Telegraph reports that the government is […]
Read MoreElection Week
This week, we have local elections and the referendum on AV. On Sunday, I debated local elections on the Politics Show with Tom Brake MP (Lib Dem) and Kelvin Hopkins MP (Lab). You can watch the show here (from around 30mins). One of the interesting points often overlooked in the South East is the comparison […]
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