Jon Walker, news comment - Birmingham Mail

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All is forgiven

THE former Conservative candidate who once called the party "a lost cause" has been selected to fight a Black Country seat at the next election. Read

Blooming election's ruined the garden!

ALTHOUGH the House of Commons reconvened this week after the Easter holidays, many MPs will be busy in their constituencies campaigning for the local elections. Read

Struggling to get the message out there

COUNCIL candidates are finding it harder to get their message out to the voters this year because of the ban on sticking posters on lampposts in Birmingham. Read

Rules hit the wrong note for Peter

KYLIE Minogue's career has been worrying Peter Luff. Read

It's all in the game for Deirdre

TORY hopeful Deirdre Alden publishes a website aimed at telling voters what she's up to in Edgbaston, where she will be a candidate in the next general election. Read

Richard's whipping up parliamentary interest

RICHARD Wilson, star of One Foot in the Grave, has been entertaining audiences at a hit West End show called Whipping It Up, in which he plays a government whip. Read

Battle to bring down the Iron Lady

MAGGIE Thatcher may have retired, but she still rouses strong feelings. Read

A question of sexuality

THERE was a storm of controversy when the government decided that the 2001 census should include a question on religion. Read

Building a healthy appetite

CELEBRITY gardener Monty Don has been bending the ear of Birmingham MP Gisela Stuart over the need to encourage healthy eating. Read

No sex please, we're British...

SEXIST language is to be banned in the House of Commons after Jack Straw, the Leader of the House, published plans for the word "chairman" to be banished. Read

A different way to ease rail congestion

FORMER Birmingham MP Robin Corbett has a novel idea for reducing overcrowding on trains - make it harder to get on them in the first places. Read

MP fuels environmental discussion

AS Gordon Brown and David Cameron battle over who can offer the best "green" policies, Midland MP Daniel Kawczynski is fighting his own campaign to save the environment. Read

Drinking is a Commons problem

THE government is concerned about binge-drinking, but the Commons has seen more than its fair share of drunkenness. Read

Hemming strikes up the one-man band again

ONE of the highlights of the year for Yardley MP John Hemming is Birmingham's annual St Patrick's Day parade, in which he plays the guitar. Read

Gordon gets covering fire from his cronies

FORMER Cabinet Ministers Charles Clarke and Alan Milburn ruffled a few feathers with the launch of a website designed to promote discussion about the future of the Labour Party. Read

Call for an English debate

THE sweet scent of daffodils wafted through Commons corridors last week as Welsh MPs enjoyed St David's Day. Read

No front-runner emerges to foot 2012 bill

AS THE cost of the 2012 Olympics shoots up from the original estimate of £2.375 billion to a staggering £10 billion, there is some confusion about who will pay the bill. Read