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Sunday, 12 July 2015

Westminster this coming week - the budget, Greece and Harper Lee dominate

The budget still dominates with 2 days further debate on the summer budget provisions. Labour seem to be accepting that welfare and child tax credits need to be capped but we will know more when the actual vote on the budget takes place on Tuesday night. Wednesday sees debates on English votes for English issues and hunting - the latter of which is a free vote, and which I will blog more on later on in the week.
Monday I am meeting again with Alistair Harper of the Green Alliance, and trying to attend the briefing on the minutiae of English votes for English issues. Tuesday is foreign office questions and also there is a dementia friendly event I am trying to get along to. I also have the chance to meet representatives of the DFE, and have a series of sessions on the bench as a whip in the commons.
Thursday I am heading north, at a time to be decided for a weekend up north. We are without any constituency interns in the office in Westminster this week, and more importantly short one member of staff so bear with me. I worked most of Saturday to make up for this but we will be stretched this week.
Otherwise ...The most important event of the week is not the ongoing Greek tragedy involving their rejection of a euro deal in a referendum two Sunday's ago and then the acceptance this weekend. You could not make it up. We should not speak ill of other foreign leaders but the Greeks are lions led by donkeys. No the most important event is Harper Lee's sequel to To kill a Mockingbird, one of the reasons I became a lawyer. It is one of the century's greatest books in so many Levels. The follow up is due out Tuesday. All of us hope that Go set a Watchman is good. I will be buying a copy for sure.