Nick Herbert is Shadow Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs. Straight after David Cameron’s speech to the Party Conference in Manchester, I travelled to India, where I spoke at two events and met their Environment Minister, Jairam Ramesh. Climate change in India is already having a damaging effect on food production and […]
Nick Herbert is Shadow Secretary of State for the Environment, Food and Rural Affairs. I don’t usually go to the pub at 10am in the morning, but Monday was an exception. We were gathered at an event for the Honest Food campaign at the Coach and Horses, a terrific gastropub in Clerkenwell, London. While guests […]
Nick Herbert MP is Shadow Secretary of State for the Environment, Food and Rural Affairs. Rural England has suffered a decade of disrespect by Labour. Quiet communities have become angered by a Government which won’t even listen, still less give them a say. Local services have been withdrawn, rural communities have been denied a voice, […]
Shadow DEFRA Secretary Nick Herbert has accused the Government of failing to stand up for British farmers in Europe. He had an exchange with the Secretary of State, Hilary Benn, in the House of Commons during oral questions yesterday: "What confidence can we have in the Government’s ability to fight Britain’s corner on CAP reform? […]
With Congleton MP Ann Winterton in the chair, Westminster Hall hosted a debate entitled "Investigating the Oceans" yesterday. The now defunct Science and Technology Committee published a report with the same name back in 2007. Eighteen months later, MPs were back for a progress report from ministers! Shadow DEFRA Secretary Nick Herbert spoke for the Conservatives: […]
At DEFRA questions yesterday Macclesfield’s Sir Nicholas Winterton was rightly troubled about the infrequent collection of rubbish: "I am concerned about the service that local authorities give to residents. Increasingly, under councils of every political colour, there is anger and criticism about how local authorities are operating refuse collection, not least regarding the move from […]
The end of half-term brings with it a new edition of Hansard and written answers. Herewith some that grabbed my attention. The answer that leapt out at me was to Shadow Home Affairs Minister David Ruffley. Staggeringly, the Government doesn’t seem to know by how many police officers the country is short: "Mr. Ruffley: To […]
Yesterday saw the second day of debate on the Gracious Speech. The Home Secretary was in action again straight after fielding questions about Damian Green. Unfortunately, very few MPs were present for much of what went on. Shadow Home Secretary Dominic Grieve, who is on fire at the moment, spoke very persuasively. "On the substance […]
In the third part of ConservativeHome’s ‘A Government Worth Having’ series, Nick Herbert MP, Shadow Secretary of State for Justice, outlines his prisons reform agenda. The BBC’s ‘Criminal Justice’ drama depicts bullying and violence in prisons. Channel 5’s ‘Banged Up’ sees David Blunkett in a mock jail, lamenting his failure to invest in turning around […]
Nick Herbert, MP for Arundel & South Downs and Shadow Secretary of State for Justice, sets out the Conservative position on knife crime. Four weeks ago, after canvassing for Boris in South East London, I joined locals for a drink at the Metro bar in Sidcup. So it was especially shocking to discover that this […]
This morning Nick Herbert MP, Shadow Secretary of State for Justice, made a point of order about the Government’s suspicious delay in publishing its figures for early-release prisoners: "On the last morning of every month the Ministry of Justice publishes details of how many prisoners have been released early the previous month. This morning the […]
Nick Herbert MP, Shadow Secretary of State for Justice, authors this extended Platform article on the Conservative approach to the role of the judiciary in today’s Britain. > The independence of the judiciary is under threat from Government attempts to fetter judges and judges being drawn into political decisions Alexander Hamilton described the judiciary as […]
"At present 17,000 prisoners are doubling up in cells—twice as many as when the Government came to power. Will the Government’s proposals reduce that overcrowding, and will the Secretary of State reject Carter’s recommendation that there is scope for increasing levels of overcrowding? The Secretary of State says that he is actively looking at securing […]
Nick Herbert: Most people will be astonished by the front of Labour Ministers, such as the Government Chief Whip, who call for controls on party donations but want to exempt unions from those controls. We have called for a comprehensive cap on all donations so that individuals, companies and trade unions are treated equally. Is […]
Nick Herbert is the Shadow Secretary of State for the Environment, Food and Rural Affairs. Here he writes exclusively for ConservativeHome to share his observations after a day in Cumbria witnessing the clean-up operation after the floods. I’ve been in Cumbria today to see the areas affected by the floods. I arrived early in Keswick […]