As Secretary of the All-Party Steel Group, I met DECC Minister Greg Barker on 26th April as part of a determined fight against crazy government plans for a carbon floor price which is like a supertax on our manufacturing...
President Abraham Lincoln talked about “Government of the people, by the people, for the people.” Stating the obvious? Not if you are in Westminster listening to the Tory-led Government telling us how they are going to cut our public...
I recently visited Swansea Coastguard station at Mumbles together with Swansea MPs. Martin Caton, Sian James and Geraint Davies. We had requested the visit and a meeting with a senior officer, because we are very concerned at plans to...
Yes, I know, there are people who always read their daily papers from the back page. I am not one of those, but I enjoy knowing what is going on in the sporting world. Last week I read an...
The many different magazines in our newsagents cater for every possible interest. One title especially makes me laugh. This is the magazine called The Oldie. There is nothing like telling it as it is, I suppose. The Oldie seems...
People often ask me what it’s like to be in opposition. Of course it is not where you want to be. You cannot implement your programme and, even worse, you see the government not only scrapping your projects, but...
Last week in Parliament I spoke up for Labour’s frontbench in full support of a backbench initiative to persuade the Government to clampdown on excessive interest rates and fees charged by doorstep lenders and home credit companies. These are...
That was an interesting exhibition I attended in Tumble last week. On display were plans for a large installation of solar panels on wasteland near Tumble, the site known to the mining community as part of the former Cynheidre...
Tomorrow is Holocaust Memorial Day. What chills me is that 69 years ago this week, in the smart Berlin suburb of Wannsee, Germany’s top brass met for a buffet lunch. The food was excellent, the wine and brandy were...
There are a certain number of days in the parliamentary calendar when the Opposition chooses the topic for debate, and so this week we used one of these slots to challenge the government and vote against their disgraceful plans...