Robert Buckland Weblog

The mood of the House of Commons can alter in moments.   The sombre and reflective atmosphere when the names of fallen service personnel are read out by the Prime Minister and Leader of the Opposition can very quickly give way to noisy and lively exchanges between speakers and those who are in a sedentary position.  [...]

As I have slowly found my way around Westminster, I have been given lots of advice by older MPs, much of it conflicting.  The best piece of advice I have received is that I should try and push all the buttons and pull all the levers to see how Parliament works.  So I have decided to do this trying oral [...]

After only a few days working in Westminster, I can see clearly why and how people can all too easily fall under its spell.   The sheer grandeur of the place is wonderful, but the unsuspecting new MP could almost without realising it find themselves slipping into habits and attitudes that they would not dare display [...]

It is done! At about 4.20am on Friday morning, the result of the South Swindon Constituency came through, with the help of  live coverage on the BBC.   We won!  I secured 19,687 votes, which at 41.78% of the vote was an increase of nearly 4000 votes since 2005.   Labour’s vote went down on an increased [...]

At last!  A few moments of peace and quiet during which I can write a post.  Nearly a month has gone by, and as promised, I have been out campaigning daily in South Swindon.  Thousands of leaflets are being delivered by volunteers, and dozens of us have been busy knocking doors across the constituency.  The fact that [...]

As I go canvassing every day in South Swindon,  I continue to pick up the thoughts and concerns of residents.  The role of the police is often a subject of conversation on the doorstep, whether it be Eldene, Walcot or Wroughton. The continuing saga about conflicting crime figures has resulted in a no score draw [...]

The recent announcement by the Conservative Party that in future,  much of the detail of local Government expenditure such as salaries for senior officers will be put firmly into the public domain, is an excellent example of the Party’s commitment to openness and accountability.   This comes on top of our proposal to publish any expenditure [...]

The death of Michael Foot at the ripe old age of 96 this week has undoubtedly robbed the political world of one of its giant Parliamentarians.  I enjoyed being reminded of his rhetorical triumphs this week, such as his strong defence of the doomed Labour Government in March 1979, his demolition of Sir Keith Joseph’s [...]

The pre-election season is generating predictable heat in the media, but all too little light.  Taiwanese TV news’s decision to stage a  cartoon re-construction of the Prime Minister’s alleged behaviour towards his staff was the final straw for me.  This election will not be won or lost on issues such as this.   A plain-spoken and [...]

The title of the Minstry of Justice  report about Juries may have been an unintentional reminder of the agenda of at least some in Government.  “Are Juries Fair?” was a question that I did not think needed asking, but in attempting to answer the question, the report has thrown a large dose of cold water [...]