Mark Garnier MP hosted the third Wyre Forest Inter-school debating competition on Friday 19th January 2018 in the Council Chamber at Wyre Forest House.2017. The debating competition was delayed to January 2018 due to winter weather conditions at the end of last year

Thousands of people will have been waking up this week worried about their jobs. Hundreds of thousands, if not more, will have been waking up worrying about their public services. The collapse of Carillion has repercussions across the whole of the country and our society.

The bigger news of the week from Westminster has been the government reshuffle. Before I became involved in politics, I could never quite get my head around just how an individual could move into a new job, heading up a government department, and be able to run it from day one.

Last week, in amongst the joy and happiness of the Christmas season, I spent a sad moment at the funeral of John Holden. John had been mayor of Stourport a few years ago and was afforded a Civic Funeral.

There is nothing more Christmassy at this time of year than to see it snowing. The sight of happy children building snowmen and tobogganing conjures up a picture of just how Christmas should be.

The latest round of EU negotiations demonstrates just how incredibly tricky the process of exiting the EU can be. Actually, the really tricky bit is the border between Northern Ireland and the Republic of Ireland.

Last week saw the first Autumn budget. Up until now, the main budget statement was made in March, whilst the Autumn Budget was more of an update.

The process of the EU Withdrawal Bill continues through its committee stage in the House of Commons. A technical piece of Commons machinations, several hundred amendments have been put forward by MPs of all views.

With three towns in Wyre Forest and many local churches, it was always going to be a challenge to know which Remembrance Sunday service to attend. Years ago I decided to rotate through each town on a three yearly cycle.

The Wyre Forest District Council local plan is, as many residents are aware, under public consultation. For many residents, they face the prospect of their views over what they thought was safe, greenbelt land being built on and I am hugely sympathetic to their concerns.