Robert Buckland Weblog

In “The West Wing”, deputy Chief of Staff Josh Lyman let it be known that no-one was to use the word “recession” in the White House.  It was referred to in one episode as “the bagel”.  Today’s news confirms that Britain is the midst of a serious bagel.
Many in the media are wondering whether this [...]

We British do pageantary better than anyone, but yesterday’s Inaugaration Day in Washington DC was a very good attempt to scale the heights.  The Capitol building is a splendid backdrop to a simple ceremony.   the freezing weather revealed vastly different ways of keeping warm.  There is no doubt in my mind that the Obamas had thermal [...]

THe news from Honda that the lay-off will now be extended through April and May, with employees on half pay, is very serious indeed.  Any suggestions by Ministers about “green shoots” couldn’t be more inappropriate.  I was delighted that George Osborne visited the HQ of Nationwide, which is in Pipers Way, and met with the [...]

The death of Sir John Mortimer QC has robbed us of a great and rare talent.  I don’t think anyone got closer to a portrayal of what life was really like in Chambers than he did with Rumpole.  The sadness is that the world of Rumpole is rapidly vanishing, what with the ever-increasing use of [...]

Mr. Brown has been to town, and the Swindon Advertiser asked the question that I wanted put to the Prime Minister about the car industry in Swindon.  It is clear that Honda continue to plan carefully how to manage the recession, by managing a reduction of jobs in stages rather than making sudden and unannounced [...]

As the first full working week of the New Year comes to a close,  it is clear that jobs are being shed as fast as New Year resolutions.  Today’s news about the loss of 1200 jobs at Nissan in Sunderland will be sending a shudder throughout the entire UK motor industry.  Before Christmas, there was [...]

As our break in Cornwall comes to a close, I thought that I would make some recommendations about good places to visit.  If you like bracing beach walks, there can be no better a place to go than Perranporth Beach.  Beloved by surfers, the Atlantic rollers are a sight to behold.  One of the major [...]

A trawl through the informative and useful Conservativehome website produced a very interesting article by Tim Montgomerie.  He has attempted to list the key components of Conservative philosophy in a “statement” that is based upon a similar document generated about forty years ago in the US.
Some of the wording is a little “worthy” for my [...]

Its been some time now since New Year’s Day meant a massive clear-up at home and a fight with a hangover.  In recent years, improving walks have been the order of the day, but this year’s walk revealed a hidden treasure only a mile or so away from the farm where we are staying.  St. [...]