By Matthew BarrettFollow Matthew on Twitter I recently profiled the 2020 and Free Enterprise groups of Tory MPs. Those two groups are formed by ideology: MPs are attracted to the groups because, in the case of the Free Enterprise Group, members wish to open up markets and make Britain business-friendly enough to compete with other world class economies. The 2020's […]
Richard Harrington is the Member of Parliament for Watford and Mark Garnier is the Member of Parliament for Wyre Forest. Our Westminster Hall Debate on Self-Employment arose from a discussion on how few of our contemporaries had gone into business following graduation, and in speaking to schools in our constituencies that little has changed. The economy, local […]
Richard Harrington is MP for Watford. Last Thursday I attended the Backbench Business Debate on Manufacturing. During the lengthy debate many members of both sides lamented Governments both past and present on the way they allowed British Manufacturing to fail. Whilst these points were well intended they ignored what I believe to be one of […]
Richard Harrington is MP for Watford. His article is the third in a seven part series of articles by Conservative MPs, each discussing the Coalition's policies to get more people into good homes. The incoming Coalition Government faced many pressing problems, the most important of which was the stagnating economy. Obviously some of the factors causing this were […]
By Matthew BarrettFollow Matthew on Twitter. This evening's backbench debate and vote on the possibility of a referendum on the European Union has dominated today's political news. Conservative MPs, from both sides of the referendum argument, have been appearing in the media, and their words provide an insight into the possible themes of this evening's […]
Richard Harrington, Tory MP for Watford, says the EU vote equals a folly for Conservative Eurosceptics and an unnecessary diversion for Government. The talk of the tea room has been whether members are voting for or against the referendum motion now to be debated on Monday. I believe the motion is naive and over simplistic. […]
Richard Harrington is MP for Watford. There has been some hysterical and highly misleading material in the press about the Government's new National Planning Policy Framework (NPPF). The scaremongers suggest it is set to create a free-for-all for developers, and paint a lurid picture of uncontrolled urban sprawl. Those who write this material are seizing […]
Richard Harrington is MP for Watford and a member of the International Development Select Committee. I have just returned from visiting three of the world’s most fragile states, Rwanda, which is recovering from the well publicised genocide in the 1990s, when nearly a million people died; the DRC, known generally as the Congo, geographically bigger […]
by Paul Goodman I've found the following methods in yesterday's first day's debate on the budget – having earlier covered the speeches of Andrew Tyrie, John Redwood and Stewart Jackson. 1) Draw attention to the dire state of the public finances bequeathed by the last Government to this one. This was the route taken by […]
By Jonathan Isaby At yesterday's Defence questions, the Tory MP for Watford, Richard Harrington, sought Liam Fox's assessment of Iran's potential nuclear capability. The Defence Secretary replied: "Iran does not yet have nuclear weapons as assessed. However, it continues to pursue uranium enrichment and the construction of a heavy water research reactor, both of which […]
Richard Harrington is MP for Watford. For those people who are scrambling to get on the first rung of the property ladder, the dream of home ownership has never seemed so elusive. The national rise in house prices is well documented; something the Government is looking to rectify with initiatives included in the Localism Bill. […]
Richard Harrington has been MP for Watford since the general election. Whilst Britain’s great number of talented actors, directors and movie blockbusters are always popular topics of conversation, there has been precious little discussion of late on our approach to investing in the future of the UK film industry. The British film trade has defied […]
Here is the latest in our series of Twenty Questions with members of the Class of 2010… Richard Harrington was elected MP for Watford with a majority of 1,425. 1. What is your earliest political memory? At the 1974 school mock election, I was the Communist candidate – typical 16-year-old behaviour! I joined the Conservative […]
Richard Harrington is MP for Watford and a Member of the DFID Select Committee. It's rarely easy to be a defender of British aid – particularly to India and the last fortnight has proved especially hard. But neither the negative headlines and stories over our aid relations with India, nor even debating them with Rod […]