The Online Safety Bill was back in Parliament this week seeking to ensure that there is greater accountability placed on larger tech companies to protect young people online. The bill also ensures that any protections placed upon adults strike the right balance with protections for free speech.
The Finance Bill implementing the provisions set out in the Autumn Statement was the main business in the House this week, but there was plenty of news and debate as regards the union.
This year I took part in services of remembrance in Kingsteignton and Dawlish. In the morning I marched with the Royal British Legion, community groups and many residents to St Michael’s church, and then on to lay a wreath at the memorial to the fallen.
COP27 reaffirmed the UK’s commitments to deliver on the climate promises that were established at COP26 in Glasgow last year. And as the Prime Minister told the House last week, climate security and energy security go hand in hand.
Sunday’s petrol bomb attack on a Home Office premises in Dover was truly appalling. Fortunately, there were no serious injuries, and my thoughts are with all those affected.
Much has happened since I last wrote this column. But I am hopeful a new leader of the Conservative Party and therefore a new Prime Minister following Liz Truss’s resignation, will bring back the stability and certainty we all want to see.
It has been a tumultuous few days, both politically and in the financial markets. As I write we have a new chancellor and a very different version of the mini budget.
Last week saw the Conservative Party Conference taking place in Birmingham. The growth agenda that this Government is putting forward is the only way out of the financial challenges we face. We can’t do more with the same – or less.
I welcome the recent statement from the Secretary of State for Health, Thérèse Coffey MP, outlining the Government’s ‘plan for patients’ and what it intends to do to tackle ongoing pressures facing the National Health Service, especially as we head towards the winter.
