As you are aware, on 27 July the Prime Minister announced a £3.6 billion Towns Fund, which continues the Government’s work in levelling up our regions. This was followed on 6 September with my invitation to 100 places to develop proposals for Town Deals.
A busy day. Nigel Farage announces at 1100 that he intends to put candidates in all Seats unless we ditch the Deal. He claimed that we would not leave the EU under it. That is simply not true and we can and will leave the EU by Dec 2020 if a deal has not been struck.
PMQs was always going to be a rumbustious performance and so it proved. The last one before an election, both the PM and Corbyn were in campaign mode. No surprises there. A few MPs took the opportunity to thank the Speaker for his time in the Chair. He goes tomorrow.
As we prepare for our trading future, my department is launching a series of tools to help businesses take up these opportunities and to have their say on shaping the future trading arrangements of our country.
Well, well, we now have the election that the PM has been consistently calling for. The Government put down a simple Bill which if enacted would knock out the dreadful Fixed Term Parliament Act. It was another gamble by Mr Johnson, but this time it paid off.
Are cracks appearing in Opposition Parties' rhetoric? Both the LDs and SNP are hinting they might back at December election. So, I headed back to the Commons in great anticipation of something happening this week.
Another fast and furious day. It began with a run, followed by a well-deserved croissant and coffee! Routine matters in the morning kept me busy until I dropped into the Chamber for the UQ on Northern Ireland (NI) and the on-going row about a border in the Irish Sea.