I have recently had a number of people emailing asking me my position on the fox hunting ban.   When the ban was introduced I was sceptical of the motives (Labour metropolitan class versus rural areas) and its effectiveness, and I was very conscious of the very strong opposition to the ban by many I knew who lived and worked in rural communities across the country.  But I think on balance it has succeeded in curbing unnecessary cruelty without completely ruining the rural way of life as was predicted by its opponents. If it was brought to a vote again I would be inclined to suport its continuation.

One of the best pieces of evidence of people’s attitudes to this now was an e-poll conducted by one of our MP’s, Tom Brake, who represents Carshalton and Wallington - here is his summary: Read the rest of this entry.

I think the answer the first question is much easier than the second.  We are currently in a nightmare situation militarily and diplomatically and there are few signs of it getting any easier. Read the rest of this entry. Read the rest of this entry.

It is pitiful that both Labour and Tory politicians seem to be falling over each other to quote dear old Maggie Thatcher’s “advisors advise, ministers decide” dictum when what they are really saying is “we know best, never mind the evidence”. Thank God for Chris Huhne and Evan Harris who have shown that not all MPs are so patrician in their outlook.  We must champion evidence based policy making and support informed debate.