News

One in five new homes is being built on land that was previously a garden, according to new Government figures. The statistics show soaring levels of ‘garden grabbing’ - the practice where property developers snap up family houses with gardens, knock them down and replace them with dense apartment blocks on the same plot. The number of homes being built on land that was previously a garden has risen by a third since 1997.

Sir –

I was disappointed to learn that our local Labour MP Mike O’Brien voted recently to save Health Secretary Patricia Hewitt from the sack. It is particularly hypocritical given that he has actively campaigned against the threat of cuts that her policies have resulted in at the George Eliot Hospital in Nuneaton.

We successfully reached the Magnetic North Pole on 2 May 2007, after 24 days on the ice! We survived a near catastrophic tent fire, the worst ice conditions for years, and were almost stranded at the Pole when the plane broke a ski on landing. Apologies for the delay in updating the website, but the last week has been manic. Please see the Journal section of my personal website for an update, and the Photos section for some pictures from the expedition. There is also a short summary of the expedition on Conservative Home.

Sir

On Wednesday we saw Gordon Brown's last budget, and once again his stealth taxes will hammer ordinary people. In what was portrayed as a tax-cutting budget, Brown has hit those who can least afford it the hardest - low earners and small businesses.