Most of us living in Plympton and Ivybridge receive primary health care by the Beacon medical group. There has been some local press comment about recent performance, reflected also in my postbag and on social media.

I still receive many more emails and letters about Brexit than any other subject. I am acutely conscious that of the 70,000 adults living in SW Devon, I am likely to be the only one who will get to vote on the final act in October. This is a good time to summarise my views.

Leadership is hard to define, but you know it when you see it.

Unusually Jan and I spent last weekend in London, in part to visit our son’s new home in Croydon. As part of this we caught a train from a packed Victoria Train station and back again. 

Some reflections.

I have long been a cricket fan, but never seen anything like the final of the World Cup. I had to go for a walk at one stage as the tension was too much for me, only to miss the way that Ben Stokes rescued us in the final over. I have watched it several times since.

MPs get lobbied a lot. Pretty much daily. Its part of the job and there is a growing industry set up to influence us to act in all kinds of ways and pass all kinds of laws. I can’t recall the last time a lobbying exercise persuaded me to change tack.

Sadly, the train I catch to London has experienced some difficulties in recent weeks and has been formed of 5 coaches rather than 10, resulting in severe over-crowding. This has meant me standing from Tiverton to Paddington on two occasions.

MPs urge Chancellor to increase education funding and make it fairer

More than 80 cross-party MPs have written to Chancellor Philip Hammond urging him to increase school and special needs funding before permanent damage is done to the education of children across England.

For those of us who love rugby and cricket, 2019 may well be remembered as the perfect year. Cricket: One day international world cup for men and women, both in the UK, followed by an Ashes test series against the old enemy.

Barring unforeseen circumstances, Boris Johnson is going to win the Conservative Party leadership contest and become Prime Minister of our great nation in the week commencing 22nd July, just before the Parliamentary summer recess.