The way in which a national mood spreads across the whole of the UK is fascinating to observe. In 1995 a wave of revulsion against harsh Thatcherite policies and Tory sleaze swept the country. The Conservatives were first thrown out of thousands of Council seats around 1995 and then out of national office in 1997.
Commenting on Pensions Bill debate in the House of Commons, Paul Holmes, Liberal Democrat MP for Chesterfield, said:
Paul Holmes MP is supporting radical new proposals that would make local homes more environmentally-friendly and cut fuel bills.
A few weeks ago Parliament voted to privatise key parts of the probation service and Labour MP's sitting opposite me cheered because they had narrowly forced this controversial measure through. More recently still Conservative and New Labour MP's - including all but Dennis Skinner here in Derbyshire - combined to ensure that Britain took a premature decision to renew the UK's nuclear deterrent for another 40 years.
Commenting on the British Dental Association report on the state of NHS Dentistry published today, Paul Holmes, Liberal Democrat MP for Chesterfield said:
I have now sat through six Gordon Brown Budgets and the pattern is the same every time. Gordon mumbles through a complex list of technical detail - burying the bad news in boredom. Then he pulls a 'rabbit' or two out of the hat, the press say what a wonderful budget it is and then a week or two later when the details have been analysed they start - too late - to point out the various stealth taxes.
