A happy New Year to everyone across Bolton. 

At the beginning of the year, it has now become customary to hope that it is not as bad as the one that went before, or the one before that…

We have been going through a turbulent time where the problems of the Covid-19 lockdowns were compounded with the outbreak of war in Europe.  The huge Ever Given container ship blocking up the Suez Canal for a week seemed to symbolise how well things were going.

When we thought that we were due a calmer time a new conflict broke out in the Middle East.  One of the surprising aspects of these international problems is the cross-party unity on our national response.  There has been very little difference between Sir Keir Starmer, Boris Johnson and Rishi Sunak in the approach to Covid-19, Ukraine and Israel/Gaza.

A worrying sign for the New Year is the Iranian backed Houthi rebels attacking shipping traversing the Gulf of Aden and the Red Sea.  They are firing rockets and using drones to attack ships that they claim have a connection with Israel but it is causing some logistics companies to avoid the region and send their freight ships around the Cape of Good Hope.

This disruption is already having an impact on oil prices and will soon have a damaging effect on inflation, interest rates and the wider economy. 

Whilst all the trouble in the world can seem to bare down on us in England and, in one way or another and appear in my casework, there are some rather more uplifting aspects about the role of a Member of Parliament though they offer their own challenges.

Judging my annual Christmas card competition is one of the more fun but difficult tasks.  This year, I had over twelve hundred entries from children right across the constituency depicting themes from the Holy Family to Santa Claus and snowmen.

On visiting the schools to announce the winner, the children were told that a special guest would pop into class.  They were so disappointed when it was me not Santa…