With a wealth of top institutions and companies based in my seat, many of the people I speak to through my constituency work are leading professionals in their fields with unparalleled industry knowledge. Their insights as to the practical application of policy are invaluable to me. One of the most striking things to come out of my meetings in recent months is the sense of demoralisation amongst those involved in vocational work. The unease is so deep that I am convinced...
On the morrow of her 1987 election triumph, Margaret Thatcher pledged that the Conservatives would devote themselves to transforming Britain’s inner cities. The urgent regeneration task for an incoming Conservative administration this year will involve transforming our increasingly shabby suburbs at a time of dire constraints on the public finances. The regeneration of the centres of cities like Glasgow, Manchester, Liverpool and Manchester – to name but a few – has been one of the triumphs of the past twenty-five years...
Mark was asked by the House Magazine to examine the ambition of some politicians to end the dependence of the British economy on the City of London. "Since time immemorial, the City of London has enjoyed an international reputation as a bastion of commercial certainty and reliability. It has promoted financial innovation, provided an international market to global merchants and in commercial affairs has rightly been seen as a watchword for justice, neutrality and fairness. As a result London has emerged as the global financial centre.
Mark spoke last night at a dinner hosted by the Sigma Partnership on corporate governance. Sigma is one of the premier business advisory and compliance accounting firms in London. He made the following speech:
'The relentlessly breathless press coverage of the financial crisis over the past two years may have persuaded the electorate that we have already been through the worst of the recession...
Over recent months, global financial markets have been enveloped by an eerie stillness. The fear remains that this calm is unlikely to last – our fundamental economic imbalances have not been solved, merely parked. The recent indication from the Chinese government that it is to put a firm break on bank lending to ameliorate the effect of speculation is just one sign that points towards the likely return of market...
Remembering a Friend - How Safeguards for Assisted Dying are Illusory
Inevitably an MP’s direct personal experience has a strong bearing on his or her views on ethical and moral issues, which are rightly subject generally to a free vote in parliament. My own father’s terminal cancer and death almost twenty years ago, for example, played a fundamental role in formulating my own views on pain relief in the latter stages of life. As his next of kin, I played a role in working with our
Mark wrote about his passion for urban walking in this month's Total Politics: My selection in the final month of the last millennium for the Cities of London and Westminster seat commenced a ten year (and counting) love affair with the political, cultural and financial heart of the world’s most exciting city. It also sparked in me a passion for historical reading and urban walking.
This week Mark Field introduced a Pedicabs Bill in parliament in a bid to deal with rickshaws operating in Central London. The numbers of pedicabs have exploded over the past few years and, aside from the regular aggravation they cause local residents and other road users, there is increasing concern that these unlicensed, unregulated vehicles may cause a serious accident.
 Last week I led a delegation of British politicians to Dhaka and Sylhet in my capacity as Vice Chairman of the All Party Parliamentary Group on Bangladesh. The highlight of the first leg of our trip in the Capital, Dhaka, was a meeting with Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina. Frankly, I was astonished that our motley delegation was able to get such high level access. Indeed, the PM asked me pertinent...
In the face of dark economic times domestically, I fear a hitherto united front in favour of the government’s international development programmes is beginning to crack. As we look to cutting our vast budget deficit, people are beginning to ask why we are reducing significantly assistance to British citizens when we continue to channel taxpayers’ money into international development.
The relentlessly breathless press coverage of the financial crisis over the past two years may have persuaded the electorate that we have already been through the worst of the recession. The truth is that such optimism is dangerously unwarranted. The economic reckoning for the general public has yet to begin.
The relentlessly breathless press coverage of the financial crisis over the past two years may have persuaded the electorate that we have already been through the worst of the recession. The truth is that such optimism is dangerously unwarranted. The economic reckoning for the general public has yet to begin.
Collectively our nation was lulled into a false sense of security by the clement economic conditions that prevailed for a decade from the mid-1990s, alongside a delusional sense that the good times would be here forever.
We live in a fractured society. Amongst other developments the rise of the internet, multiple media outlets and global travel, on a scale unimaginable a couple of decades ago, have wrenched apart the traditional guises of community and common experience. The rise of anti-social behaviour, sickening media reports of child abuse, the increase in violent crime and the trappings of a woefully inadequate benefit system all reflect utter social transformation in many of our communities. This sense that society is, in some part at least, broken has attracted many newspaper headlines and, in response, some tough-sounding policies from central government
The first batch of trees pledged by the local residential and business community has now been planted in Great Portland Street. This coincided with the launch of the UK's 35th National Tree WeeK and a celebratory tree planting in the street by Mark, Hilary Benn MP, Julian Maslinski of the Westminster Tree Trust, Alisdair Douglas of the Tree Council and Tim Rollinson, Director of the Forestry Commission.
Make no mistake – this year's parliamentary allowances and expenses scandal will have a lasting impact on British democracy. The Daily Telegraph's handling of this story will provide a seminal case history to media watchers for decades to come. This parliament is now paralysed by inaction and lacks credibility or public confidence to govern effectively.
Such colossal sums of global taxpayers' money have been spent and immense government guarantees continue to underpin the financial system that it is remarkable how little agreement exists to what constitutes the point at which the banking industry can be said to be fixed.Less still is there any emerging consensus as to the ideal future landscape of the financial services world.This is no mere academic issue. The imperative to start repaying borrowing at the earliest opportunity cannot be overstated...
Listening to some of the early responses to the Kelly Report fills me only with a mixture of disbelief and deep foreboding. The campaign from certain quarters of the House of Commons to dilute its headline proposals betrays a continued failure to appreciate the scale of public anger at the perceptio...
Open competition is an absolute necessity as the ultimate consumer safeguard. Last month I concluded that government should give serious thought to adapting the role of the Serious Fraud Office and implementing a new, radically improved US-style system for the investigation and prosecution of financ...
With a wealth of top institutions and companies based in my seat, many of the people I speak to through my constituency work are leading professionals in their fields with unparalleled industry knowledge. Their insights as to the practical application of policy are invaluable to me. One of the most striking things to come out of my meetings in recent months is the sense of demoralisation amongst those involved in vocational work. The unease is so deep that I am convinced...
On the morrow of her 1987 election triumph, Margaret Thatcher pledged that the Conservatives would devote themselves to transforming Britain’s inner cities. The urgent regeneration task for an incoming Conservative administration this year will involve transforming our increasingly shabby suburbs at a time of dire constraints on the public finances. The regeneration of the centres of cities like Glasgow, Manchester, Liverpool and Manchester – to name but a few – has been one of the triumphs of the past twenty-five years...
Mark was asked by the House Magazine to examine the ambition of some politicians to end the dependence of the British economy on the City of London. "Since time immemorial, the City of London has enjoyed an international reputation as a bastion of commercial certainty and reliability. It has promoted financial innovation, provided an international market to global merchants and in commercial affairs has rightly been seen as a watchword for justice, neutrality and fairness. As a result London has emerged as the global financial centre.
Mark spoke last night at a dinner hosted by the Sigma Partnership on corporate governance. Sigma is one of the premier business advisory and compliance accounting firms in London. He made the following speech: 
Over recent months, global financial markets have been enveloped by an eerie stillness. The fear remains that this calm is unlikely to last – our fundamental economic imbalances have not been solved, merely parked. The recent indication from the Chinese government that it is to put a firm break on bank lending to ameliorate the effect of speculation is just one sign that points towards the likely return of market...
Inevitably an MP’s direct personal experience has a strong bearing on his or her views on ethical and moral issues, which are rightly subject generally to a free vote in parliament. My own father’s terminal cancer and death almost twenty years ago, for example, played a fundamental role in formulating my own views on pain relief in the latter stages of life. As his next of kin, I played a role in working with our
Mark wrote about his passion for urban walking in this month's Total Politics: My selection in the final month of the last millennium for the Cities of London and Westminster seat commenced a ten year (and counting) love affair with the political, cultural and financial heart of the world’s most exciting city. It also sparked in me a passion for historical reading and urban walking.
This week Mark Field introduced a Pedicabs Bill in parliament in a bid to deal with rickshaws operating in Central London. The numbers of pedicabs have exploded over the past few years and, aside from the regular aggravation they cause local residents and other road users, there is increasing concern that these unlicensed, unregulated vehicles may cause a serious accident.
 Last week I led a delegation of British politicians to Dhaka and Sylhet in my capacity as Vice Chairman of the All Party Parliamentary Group on Bangladesh. The highlight of the first leg of our trip in the Capital, Dhaka, was a meeting with Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina. Frankly, I was astonished that our motley delegation was able to get such high level access. Indeed, the PM asked me pertinent...
In the face of dark economic times domestically, I fear a hitherto united front in favour of the government’s international development programmes is beginning to crack. As we look to cutting our vast budget deficit, people are beginning to ask why we are reducing significantly assistance to British citizens when we continue to channel taxpayers’ money into international development.
Collectively our nation was lulled into a false sense of security by the clement economic conditions that prevailed for a decade from the mid-1990s, alongside a delusional sense that the good times would be here forever.
We live in a fractured society. Amongst other developments the rise of the internet, multiple media outlets and global travel, on a scale unimaginable a couple of decades ago, have wrenched apart the traditional guises of community and common experience. The rise of anti-social behaviour, sickening media reports of child abuse, the increase in violent crime and the trappings of a woefully inadequate benefit system all reflect utter social transformation in many of our communities. This sense that society is, in some part at least, broken has attracted many newspaper headlines and, in response, some tough-sounding policies from central government
The first batch of trees pledged by the local residential and business community has now been planted in Great Portland Street. This coincided with the launch of the UK's 35th National Tree WeeK and a celebratory tree planting in the street by Mark, Hilary Benn MP, Julian Maslinski of the Westminster Tree Trust, Alisdair Douglas of the Tree Council and Tim Rollinson, Director of the Forestry Commission.
Make no mistake – this year's parliamentary allowances and expenses scandal will have a lasting impact on British democracy. The Daily Telegraph's handling of this story will provide a seminal case history to media watchers for decades to come. This parliament is now paralysed by inaction and lacks credibility or public confidence to govern effectively.
