There was a time when the term “Stay At Home Dad” (or “StAHD”) would elicit strange looks, derision or even pity. “A real man goes out to work and puts bread on the table” and “a woman’s place is in the home” are two stereotypes that are still prevalent within society today. Indeed, I used […]

Ask any Bathonian and they’ll tell you that their biggest complaint about the city generally falls under one category: transport! 50,000 cars enter the city every weekday meaning traffic jams, noise and pollution are all on the increase. In fact, according to the latest study, the number of cars on our roads is set to […]

Another Lib Dem win in last week’s budget was a huge boost to apprenticeships, with at least 100,000 new apprentices being created over the next two years. £85m has been allocated for both 2014-15 and 2015-16 to extend the Apprenticeship Grants for Employers scheme, giving businesses incentive payments to take on apprentices and £20m to support apprenticeships up […]

The Bath and NES Liberal Democrat administration has passed a listening budget that will invest in the future of our area and protect our most vulnerable. Key highlights are: – £2 million extra for road surfaces – Keeping all the children centres open – £1 million extra for renewing play areas – £89 million for […]

Last year myself and the Weston Lib Dems organised a public meeting around the issue of housing. It was extremely well attended, with around 150 people who came to Weston All Saints Primary School to hear local Liberal Democrat MP and Housing Minister, The Rt. Honourable Don Foster, Leader of B&NES (Bath and North East […]

On May 3rd 2012, in very many cities, towns and villages, there will be a number of elections up and down the land. Over the next few weeks, candidates representing themselves, different groups or political parties will either knock on your door or push a leaflet through asking you for your support (if they have […]

A few months ago I was chatting to an elderly resident in my ward who explained that she was supposed to go to our local hospital, Watford General (part of West Herts Hospital NHS Trust) a couple of times a week for treatment but had refused to go. When I enquired as to why not, […]

As of 11 December 2011, the new Metropolitan Line timetable has come in to effect. London Underground Limited (LUL) took it upon themselves to withdraw all off-peak fast services to and from Moor Park and as a result, all off-peak trains now stop at every stop in and out of London. This is not only an […]

This week the Government launched its consultation on a proposed second High Speed Rail line (HS2). The Government wants to provide a super fast train service (up to 300km/190m per hour) from London to Birmingham with the view to extend the line to cities in the north of England and Scotland. The trouble is that […]

When I stood for Ealing North in the General Election back in May, my Conservative opponent kept talking about “The Big Society” (henceforth called TBS), echoing his leader’s attempt to sound a rallying cry around a cause to unite the British people. Myself and Stephen Pound (the victor) both took great pleasure in rounding on […]