The big event this week has been the passing of the first stage of the Great Repeal Bill – the bill that’s starts the technical process of exiting the EU and passing into law the vast array of EU laws, regulations and court judgements that means our laws are fully compliant with EU laws on the fi

I was once told by an American state governor that in politics, if you stray too far from the middle of the road, you end up in the gutter of politics.

Those of us old enough will recall what it is like to live in a world threatened by nuclear war. Until the collapse of the Berlin Wall in 1989, there were periods of heightened concern that we would all be blown to smithereens, or die a horrible death in a nuclear winter.

I have been very conscious that as an MP, I am the only national level politician available to residents of Wyre Forest. This is important because despite having the biggest vote share, many people do not subscribe to my party’s views.

Gender pay equality is something that is rarely far below the public consciousness. For centuries, women have suffered inequalities: lower wages are one such problem, but others include not having the vote until 1918, but only over the age of 30.

The term “nimby”, or “nimby-ism”, is one that is frequently used to refer to people who obstinately refuse to allow progress in their community; to refuse change – ‘not in my back yard’. But I see Nimby-ism as something that helps communities keep what is good.

There are many things that can be said about the recent general election, but the last election is remarkable because of the amount of abuse handed out to candidates of all parties.

The hot political topic of the moment is public sector pay scales. After years of public sector pay restraint – capped at no more than 1% increase since 2010 – there is an understandable weariness about this whole issue.

There are two significant local issues that are occupying most of my time. Two issues that have been well reported, but are important to our district and our community: redundancies at both Brinton Carpets and Victoria Carpets; the issue of local health provision.

The latest announcement of cuts at Victoria Carpets brings yet more uncertainty to staff locally. Victoria’s announcement follows closely on the heels of Brinton’s similar announcement a couple of weeks ago.