Westminster Diary - 29th December 2005

Thursday, 29th December 2005

The Roman god Janus, who gave his name to the month of January, had one face which looked forward to the coming year and another which looked back to the year which had just ended. Although I recognise the danger of a politician associating himself with a character having two faces, this seems to me to be a moment to remember 2005 as well as to anticipate 2006. I hope you will forgive me if I do this from a personal perspective, because 2005 was a remarkable year for me.

By the end of 2005, I had got 2 new jobs – as a Member of Parliament and as a father. The former involves changing laws and the latter involves changing nappies. So far I have changed more nappies than laws, but that does not mean that my first six months as Member of Parliament for Rugby and Kenilworth have been uneventful. At Westminster, the most significant moments have been the London bombings on 7th July and the debate on the government’s proposed anti-terrorist legislation which followed them, along with the election of a new Leader of the Conservative Party. Locally, a number of issues have occupied my time. Town centre policing, Coventry Airport, the Western Relief Road and the town’s cement plant have all generated plenty of interest.

These are in addition to the hundreds of individual problems and personal concerns which my new job is all about. It is never dull and often very rewarding and I am very grateful and extremely proud to be doing it on behalf of the people of Rugby and Kenilworth. I look forward to new challenges in 2006.

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Updated on Thursday, 29th December 2005