I'm of the opinion that one of the perks of being in Parliament is not having to do the school run.
Sometimes 'sin' taxes are useful not because of their perceived health benefits but because they are effectively a form of voluntary taxation which tends to arouse less irritation than other taxes.
I think, with a negotiation, you have to go in knowing what you want, knowing what your bottom line is, and knowing what you might accept if you're absolutely pushed.
If we say to the E.U. our backstop position is that we will be the vassal state, why should the E.U. make any effort to make any arrangement other than us to be a vassal state?
Governments want to control information. To do this, they have elaborate systems for promoting themselves via propaganda departments and for ensuring confidentiality with official-secrets laws. There are good reasons for these: people need information, and national security deserves secrecy.
A power of recall that depended solely on the electorate and was not subject to unnecessary hurdles of Parliamentary procedures would show trust in the good sense and fairness of the British people. In return, they might trust Parliamentarians a little more.
We must be out of the protectionist common external tariff, which mainly protects inefficient E.U. industries at the cost to British consumers.
The requirement upon the sovereign to 'advise, encourage, and warn' means that the Queen must be well informed. The weekly audience with the Prime Minister is not to discuss the weather but to talk about the most pressing problems facing the nation. An ill-informed monarch cannot do that and would fail in a key constitutional task.
I very much like potatoes.
Perhaps one day the world will end, giving the last group to predict it the satisfaction of being right - but as many have been wrong so far, it does not seem wise to make public policy on the back of these fears.
Marriage is a sacrament, and the decision of what is a sacrament lies with the Church, not with Parliament.
Constitutionally, a revising chamber is useful and important. The first occasion I know of in history when the Lords fulfilled this role was in 1539 when Henry VIII's act of proclamations was neutered by their lordships so effectively that the Act was repealed in 1547.
Zero-hours contracts offer an entry point for people who are either new to the workforce or have commitments that make it hard to work full-time.
I believe that politicians should implement the promises that they've given in manifestos.
In an age of considerable bureaucratic burdens, a business knowing immediately that someone who has the relevant training is eligible to work in the United Kingdom is an important convenience and helps keep costs down.
Although nannies who cover more than one generation are rare, those like Veronica Crook - who looked after me and now looks after my four children - are pearls of great price. They provide a continuity and stability for a family that is of inestimable value for the child and, indeed, the man.
Supermarkets have contributed as much to increasing the standard of living in the United Kingdom as almost any government policy. They bring a level of convenience and quality that was unknown to previous generations at a highly competitive price because of their buying power.
Fundamental protections, the assumption of innocence, trial by jury, and the right to appear before a court have all been sacrificed on the altar of the E.U. superstate.
I'm not a moderniser. I accept that things like escalators do need an upgrade every now and then, but I think the fundamental principles of Conservatism have a long thread running through them that does not need to be modernised.
A decision by the government to arm the rebels in Syria ought to be taken as carefully as one to commit British troops. It is akin to war, albeit by proxy, and must be treated with equal seriousness and meet the tests for a just war.
