Parliamentary Responsibilities

As well as being the MP for Loughborough in the Commons I have also undertaken other formal positions in government over the last few years. Until July 2007 I was a PPS (Parliamentary Private Secretary) in the Treasury team - working to the Paymaster General, Dawn Primaralo. I returned to being a PPS after the 2005 General Election as I felt I could make a contribution in the Treasury team at this interesting time in the political future of the country ie before Gordon Brown took over as Prime Minister.

I was the PPS (Parliamentary Private Secretary) to Margaret Beckett MP, the Secretary of State for the Department of Environment, Food and Rural Affairs (DEFRA) from 2001 until I resigned the post in March 2003 to allow me to speak freely about my opposition to the war in Iraq.

Prior to the 2001 election I was a PPS to the Culture, Media and Sport ministerial team, working with Chris Smith MP, Kate Hoey MP, Alan Howarth MP and Janet Anderson MP - but particulalry with Kate Hoey as Sports Minister.

You can see the responsibilities of The Treasury, the Department for Culture, Media and Sport & Defra via their websites.

I was also Chair of the influential East Mildands Group of MPs in the House of Commons, (between 2001-2005) as well as being active in a large number of All Party Groups.

I am involved in many All Party Groups - again you can find an up to date list on the Parliament web site - which will also list the groups where I am an officer. For example I am an officer with the following - Debt Aid & Trade (Sec) Rugby Union Group (V -Chair) Bermuda Group (Sec) Uganda Group (Sec) Sports Group (Sec). I also Chair the Backbench Sports Caucus (this is listed in my Members Interests as we get some Administrative help). I Am currently Vice Chair of the Parliamentary Christian Fellowship - now Christians in Parliament.

I have taken part in hundreds of debates in the Commons which can all be found on the Parliament web site. For example I introduced a Bill into the Commons about Tax relief for Community and Amateur Sports Clubs. The Bill was adopted by the government and is now law. I have also sponsored a number of other Bills which again can be found via the parliament web site.

All Party Parliamentary Groups

There are literally hundreds of All Party Groups covering every subject imaginable. These are the ones I formally belong to, but I do support others at times:

(In alphabetical order): Adult Education Group, Athletics, Bermuda, BBC, Charities and Voluntary Sector, Civil Liberties, Cricket, Cycling, Food and Health Forum, Football, German, Indo-British Group, Internet Group, Heavily Indebted Poor Countries Group (of which I am secretary), Parliamentary Christian Fellowship (of which I am Vice-Chair), Parliamentary Manufacturing and Industry Group, Pharmaceutical Group, Retail Group, Rugby Union Group (for which I am Hon Treasurer), Rugby League, Rural Group, Building Societies, Sports (I am Secretary), Tennis, Town Centre Management, University Group and Youth Affairs.

I am now Vice-Chair of the Parliamentary Christian Fellowship, having served for 2 years as Chair. This has its own website where you can find out about our plans and current activities. I meet with other Christian MPs from other political parties. There is a group of six MPs - affectionately known as the G6 - who meet on a Wednesday morning at 8.30am in Westminster. We also meet together with our families in each others constituencies.

In 2001 I also Chaired the National Prayer Breakfast. For the first time in its history the Breakfast was held in Westminster Hall inside Parliament on Wednesday 28th November.

In May 2000 I spent a brief time in Northern Ireland during a crucial period in the peace process.

The Alternative View of Parliament

It is impossible to take up every interest as an MP. There are not enough hours in the day. Amongst some of the many groups I have tried to promote the work of in the House of Commons are: , Friends of the Earth, Greenpeace, Oxfam the Prince’s Trust, and Jubilee 2000, Make Poverty History, Tearfund, Amnesty International, the Campaign Against the Arms Trade, Tearfund, Oxfam, Christian Aid to name a few. This is only a small snapshot of the work I undertake, but will give you some idea of the activities that I support.

There is a charity side to Parliament too. I have played in many sports teams in the House raising £000s for various charities.

I have played football at Wembley (three times at the old Wembley and 3 times at the new!),Old Trafford, Upton Park twice (scored a goal), QPR, Sunderlands' Stadium of Light and Blackpool FC amongst others. I have also played at Sparta Prague and in Berlin as well as Serbia. I have played at Stamford Bridge (3 times Running for Ella Charity and Cystic Fibrosis Trust) and against the Iraqi National Team (ranked 42nd in the world at the time)

I regularly play fly half (and latterly scrum half) for the Lords and Commons Rugby team - and will retire happy knowing I have scored 3 tries in 6 appearances at Twickenham. We took part in a parliamentary rugby world cup in 1999 - with New Zealand running out the victors at Cardiff. We also undertook a tour to Japan and Australia to coincide with the Lions tour of Australia. We took part in the Parliamentary RWC in Paris in 2007 (where we came 4th) and followed the Lions to South Africa in June 2009.

In my spare time I play tennis, hockey, cricket and captained the winning House of Commons swimming team in a swimming gala of Lords v Commons in 2000, 2002 and 2004, 2006 and 2009. Most of these activities are for charity and in the course of the last few years I have played in games which have generated tens of thousands of pounds for good causes.

As you can see from the image below I try to keep fit in the House of Commons gym as often as possible. (This is a normal gym that charges normal prices for its use before you ask!)

Finally, as part of my attempt to be an open and accountable MP in the House of Commons I have published an account here on this site of all of my non-registerable interests. These are items which are well below the figure required by the House of Commons to be declared, but which I think my constituents should know about.

I also publish accounts and details of expenditure on this site and have done so for years - long before the Freedom of Information Act came into force.