National Insurance currently raises £145 Billion annually The current cost of the state pension is £111 Billion annually There is a common misconception that pensioners earned their State Pension, in that, as with an occupational pension,…
Further to my article in last week’s Forest Journal regarding the pernicious danger of smartphones. I can express my satisfaction at the removal of another intrusion to deny children their childhood: the removal of aspects sex education…
Below is a column I wrote for last week’s edition of the Forest Journal I am thankful, that my childhood was ‘screen-free’ and ‘phone-free’ (though it was always worth trying every telephone box to press button B and see if tuppence was to…
The UK has some of the highest animal welfare standards in the world and it shares the highest ranking on the animal protection index and the highest in the G7. The Government takes the issue of low-welfare and illegal supply of animals…
On Monday we passed second reading of the Government’s Bill to quash all the convictions of the victims of the Post Office Horizon scandal.The purists, especially among legal minds, ‘tut tut’ about the constitutional enormity of Parliament…
Sir Graham Brady gave a candid talk at Durham University, which was swiftly leaked and filled several column inches in the Sunday papers. He expressed his view that he did not believe that wider party membership should have a role in the…
Holiday lets contribute to the economy, create jobs, and support tourism. The Government backs small businesses, including responsible short-term holiday letting, which brings significant investment to local communities. At the same time,…
On Monday, in response to a public petition, the Commons will debate ‘Assisted Dying’ once again.We won’t vote on it -which will frustrate those who have written to me demanding a vote-, but we’ll talk about it. Hopefully, we’ll think…
The UK’s rigorous regulatory system ensures that no animal testing or research takes place if a non-animal alternative exists that would achieve the scientific outcomes sought. The National Centre for the 3Rs (NC3Rs) is the UK’s leading…
Young people in Britain already have opportunities to live, work and study abroad through existing Youth Mobility Schemes. Agreements are in place with 13 countries including Australia, Canada, Japan and South Korea, and new schemes with…
The UK has some of the highest animal welfare standards in the world and it shares the highest ranking on the animal protection index and the highest in the G7. The Government takes the issue of low-welfare and illegal supply of animals…
The Government recognises the importance of climate action and the UK was the first G7 country to legislate to achieve net zero by 2050 and is decarbonising faster than any G20 country. Ministers are bolstering domestic renewable energy…
The Government is committed to upholding our world-leading animal welfare standards and to delivering a series of ambitious reforms, as outlined in the Action Plan for Animal Welfare. The Animal Welfare (Sentience) Act 2022 enshrines in…
This week’s spat about crumbling schools could not have been more exaggerated. We have been regaled with tales of children cowering under desks and pit props and that this is a metaphor for ‘broken Britain’ where nothing works. This, of…
One of the daily responsibilities of my Parliamentary Assistant is to trawl through the press and internet blogs to find interesting articles that I would otherwise miss. This week’s selection included I wanna be black: the perils of self…
Last week’s ‘write-in’ email campaign purports to have the support of 62,000 members of the public and demands, on account of pensioner poverty, that the basic state pension should not be taxed.I know that many pensioners are struggling…
I’ve received a host of ‘write-ins’ recently. These are identical emails, originally from a single source, where the sender is supposed to write in their own details and the name of their MP (although often enough the sender hasn’t…
I know I’ve written this stuff several times in this column, but it bears repetition after the events of the last few weeks in the Channel, the Mediterranean and indeed, off the coast of West Africa.I receive a large and often intemperate…
Last week in this column [ It’s Still Barking (desmondswaynemp.com) ]I drew attention to the therapies, short of surgery and drug regimes, that will be offered to children following the closure of the Tavistock clinic for those expressing…
With the Closure of the Tavistock Clinic after the damning review by Dr Hilary Cass, followed by the public reaction to very poor taste advertising by Costa Coffee and by Nike, I had hoped that we have passed the high-water mark of the sex…
In anticipation of the forthcoming Afghanistan Pledging Conference, I attended a seminar in which the desperate plight of the situation in Afghanistan was brought home to us: the economy has collapsed and people are starving. The obscenity…
A number of arm-chair experts have sent me their criticisms of the Homes for Ukraine scheme that the Government has launched. This scheme hasn’t just been plucked out of the air, rather it is modelled on a successful scheme that was…
A windfall tax on oil companies, demanded by the opposition parties, would deliver a short-term gain for the exchequer – which could be passed on to hard pressed tax-payers and consumers. It would however, be an irresponsible expedient at…
The welcome for the return of Nazanin Zaghari-Ratcliffe was universal. Nothing should dampen the joy of seeing her family reunited. I visited her husband Richard twice during his hunger vigils -once outside the Iranian Embassy and, more…
From the very start the UK has been out in front of the pack on Ukraine: We trained 22,000 of their troops over the last few years and armed them with anti-tank weapons: We made public the classified intelligence spelling out exactly what…
I’ve received a considerable correspondence characterised by bitterness and unpleasantness, Happily, it isn’t from my own constituents. Strangely, most of it appears to come from Scotland. I think stems from an account in the Glasgow…
Several correspondents have written to demand the imposition of a ‘no-fly zone’ over Ukraine as we did to prevent Saddam terrorizing the Kurds in Iraq.The difference is simple: Saddam did not have Putin’s capability to press the nuclear…
I have received quite a correspondence condemning the 2.7 % pay rise for MPs.My reply is simple: “Not me Guv”; For over a decade MP’s pay has been set by an independent body using a formula linking it to the level of pay in the public…
In my column of 12 June last year Making Beds (desmondswaynemp.com) I explained the rationale for agreeing the Northern Ireland Protocol in order to leave the EU with a trade agreement, despite knowing its faults. Basically, it was…
Russia is continually being warned by western powers that invading Ukraine is massive strategic error. That will depend however, on what his strategy actually is, and the extent to which we are successful in responding.It is worth…