Parts of an MP’s job are a real privilege and so may I say a big ‘thank you’ to all the organisers and helpers at both the St Margaret’s Hospice Summer Fete and the Haselbury Plucknett Summer Fair for involving me in their brilliant events at the weekend.

Last week saw Local Elections in some parts of the Country and I’d like to say thank you to those involved; campaigners from all across the political spectrum who given up their time to make our democracy a more vibrant one.

Parliament returned in dramatic style at the start of the week after the Easter recess. The Speaker, John Bercow, can divide opinion but he is a passionate supporter of the voice of backbenchers and the House of Commons as a whole and its duty to scrutinise the Government and hold it to account.

Changes to Data Protection laws are coming in May, and in my view this is not a moment too soon. It’s become an urgent issue as personal information is often shared and if treated the wrong way could potentially be misused by the unscrupulous.

On Monday I travelled with other members of the European Scrutiny Committee to Brussels for a day of meetings with Michel Barnier, the EU’s chief Brexit negotiator and also officials from EFTA, the European Free Trade Association. Firstly I should say that although M.

‘Fake News’ was the phrase of 2017. As with many things, Donald Trump has taken credit for it but whatever the origins it is everywhere and has come to mean different things to different people.

Parliament returns this week with the welcome news that the Government is launching a comprehensive review into higher education funding. This will focus on, but not be limited to, the whole system of loans and tuition fees which have become something of a political football in recent months.

BBC Question Time is in Yeovil this week and I hope that everyone going enjoys the live television experience and a sense of the national stage.

Parliament yesterday (Wednesday 7 February 2018) approved the funding settlement for English local authorities that will see a real terms increase in available resources over the next two years and give them access to over £200 billion from 2015 to 2020 to deliver the high-quality services their

This week I am overseas, in Canada and America, on a factfinding and relationship building trip with the International Trade Select Committee.