Robert Buckland Weblog

It has been an eventful week in British politics and I have been busy promoting the Conservative approach to the economic crisis in the media.    I was a guest on BBC Radio Swindon’s morning programme at 8am last Monday, when I was able to preview the Pre-Budget Statement and to highlight the concerns felt [...]

I am still smarting with anger about what happened to Shadow Immigration Minister Damian Green MP this week, so I have imported a list of questions framed by the Shadow Home Secretary, Dominic Grieve MP, that sum up my deep concerns about the conduct of the Government, the police and the Speaker of the House [...]

A terrible day for the traditional High Street as Woolworths goes into administration.  Part of the problem with this venerable institution is that too many of its premises are situated in places that have been left behind by out of town shopping developments and gleaming new shopping centres.  My home town of Llanelli had a [...]

Any debate about the Government’s plan to allocate 35,000 extra homes in the Swindon area by 2026 is dominated by the question of infrastructure.  Transport is a key issue for Swindon residents, who face near gridlock already at certain peak times of the day.  Infrastructure is not just about roads, however.  What about schools and [...]

I am taking part in another “Hot Topics” programme on Swindon 105.5 on Tuesday night.  The topic will be Credit Unions, which is a particularly relevant topic given our current financial woes.  I will be joined by Patrick Chaney, who runs the Steam Ahead Credit Union based in Cavendish Square, and Cllr Peter Mallinson, who [...]

Another November, another defeat of Wales by New Zealand, followed by a Pre-Budget Statement from the Chancellor.  The difference in 2008 is that tomorrow’s statement will be of greater importance than any other financial announcement made by this Government since they took office in 1997.  It will set the financial and political agenda for the next several years.  [...]

I have always resisted turning this blog into a diary of events that merely tracks my increasingly frenetic pace, but a recent event saw an issue close to my heart being raised.   I was delighted to be the host of a dinner in support of Swindon Conservatives that was held at the Carlton Club on 7th November.   [...]

I have been very pleased with the amount of media coverage of the 90th Anniversary of the 1918 Armistice.  With only four British veterans from the Great War now left, perhaps we are all realising that the War is about to slip firmly out of living memory and into the pages of history.  For most [...]

The results are almost all in, and the electoral map of the US has changed dramatically.  Barack Obama’s organisation and funding, inspired by his brilliant oratory and message of change, have ensured a victory of historic proportions.  To see states like Virginia voting for a black Democratic candidate is pretty remarkable.  Indiana, that bastion of [...]

Its 2150 GMT (1650 EST), so not much to report in the US Presidential Election as of now.  I see that the Zogby Electoral College Map has only three states that are too close to call: Florida, North Carolina and the bellweather state of Missouri.  In their view, however, none of these states will be [...]