If the Government was hoping that the deep concern over its plans for inheritance tax on farmland would go away in the New Year, it was reminded last week that farmers remain as incensed as ever about the changes. About 100 tractors blockaded Oxford city centre when the Environment Secretary was giving a speech at the Oxford Farming Conference.

Shockingly, not a single river in England is in good overall health, according to the Rivers Trust, and only 15 percent are in good ecological health. That is a terrible indictment on the water companies who continue to dump raw sewage into rivers and on to beaches as an increasing rate. Sewage dumping doubled in 2023 compared to the previous year.

It all begins with an idea.

In my constituency surgeries, I meet people who are often at the end of their tether and have reached out to me because they don’t know where else to turn. Many of their stories are heart-rending and some of the most powerful, and most frequent, are the ones from parents who have children with special educational needs or disabilities (SEND). When they turn to the “system” for help, they often find they’re on their own.