Thursday

Nowadays it’s rare for there to be much in the way of whipped business on a Thursday and so I was able to accept with relative confidence a mid-week speaking engagement in Reading with the local Council for Racial Equality. It was a debate on extremism and in what circumstances limits can be reasonably placed on free speech. I was supposed to be opposite a representative of the Muslim Council of Britain who apparently pulled out at the last minute for rather unconvincing reasons. I hear that some of our local radicals were unhappy that this debate was being organised by a secular organisation. Shame, because it was a good event and I do think that this tricky issue deserves a full and vigorous debate. Personally, I have never supported giving a platform to those who would use our British tradition of tolerance and freedom to limit the freedoms of others.

It was also nice to have an opportunity to return to Little Heath School in my patch to help sponsor Helen Coles, a student who is raising money for a visit to Morocco as part of an “Education for All” project to promote schooling for girls from rural areas. I spend a lot of time encouraging young people to travel as widely as possible so I suppose when one taps me up for a few quid it is difficult to say no!

Friday

I had deliberately kept Friday morning clear in the diary to try and deal with the horrendous backlog that was threatening to overwhelm my desk in the constituency office. Four hours later and I could start to see bits of wood but it will be a good few days before I am back on top of everything. In the afternoon I returned to the Civic Centre for my bi-monthly liaison meeting with my colleagues on Reading Borough Council. Despite this brave new world of digital communication, I still find it useful to meet people face to face to sort out some of my more intractable casework issues and to hear where there is a need for me to lobby Ministers in the interests of Reading.

Every other Friday evening at 6pm I hold a drop-in advice surgery and it is rarely over inside a couple of hours. This week we were in Whitley, an area which always throws up a few challenges and problems and we didn’t get away until nearly 9pm.

Saturday

The Saturday morning surgeries are appointment only, and therefore more manageable, and always take place in my Oxford Road constituency office. I was done by 11am and went out knocking doors with the young, energetic and ever so keen Naz Sarkar who hopes to replace me when I stand down at the general election.

I finished bothering the voters in time to pick up my mate John and get down to the Madejski Stadium to watch the always mighty, but now fast improving Reading Royals dispense of the hapless Sheffield Wednesday by a healthy five goal margin. Why is it that northern teams always seem to contain amongst their more vociferous supporters a drunk fat person who insists, however cold it is, in watching the game topless whilst screaming abuse at southern people in sensible coats?

Sunday

I recently agreed to be one of the online political contributors for the Daily Telegraph - not the MPs’ favourite paper I know and spent a happy couple of hours researching material for my next couple of articles which will inevitably focus on the trouble and turmoil at the heart of the Conservative election campaign and of course the role of Lord Ashcroft.

I’m beginning to realise what a huge job it will be to wind up both my Westminster and constituency offices. All recent correspondents have been sent a standard letter asking what they want me to do with their case files. With over 22,000 individual files in the constituency office alone, we are going to be keeping the shredding  company in work for some time to come. I’ve also just rented a storage unit to archive that which is either cherished, not collected, or unshredded so spent the afternoon humping boxes around. Reminded me of my days as a cargo handler at Heathrow.

Monday

Complete balls up - just as well I’m not standing again. I was supposed to be speaking at the assembly at one school, but instead I went to another where I was greeted warmly and promptly shown into a school hall where someone else was, in fact, the guest speaker. The penny didn’t drop until all the students filed out for their lessons that not only was I in the wrong hall, but probably in the wrong school!

It wouldn’t have been so bad but I delayed meeting the Prime Minister on his visit to Reading in order to “not let down” my constituents. Never mind, the school was ever so understanding, and a new date has been put in the diary.

Gordon’s visit, to talk about crime and policing, went very well. The fast vanishing Conservative poll lead has clearly put a spring in the PM’s step and the walk back from the Town Hall to Reading station was punctuated by smiling well-wishers pressing through the security cordon in order to pump Gordon’s hand. Clearly my constituents haven’t been put off by the “Bullygate” non-scandal.

Spent a very enjoyable hour at the AGM of Reading Borough Council’s UNISON branch talking about my 25 years as a councillor and MP and thanking them for their support and encouragement. I even got presented with a rubber stress-banana which my staff later had me modelling in a variety of strange poses, presumably hoping I would emulate the David Miliband gaffe.

Tuesday

Early train from Reading in order to make a meeting with the fisheries people from the Environment Agency and a key member of the All Party Angling Group. Basically, the plan was to explain just how pissed off Britain’s three million anglers would be if the next government decides to cut funding for improving our rivers and lakes. Meant I missed Home Affairs Committee but hey, my job as Labour’s Parliamentary spokesman for Angling is a rare opportunity to combine business with pleasure.

Off to the MoD in the afternoon to meet with Gurkha welfare charities ahead of a hearing next week at Home Affairs Committee on how the new Gurkha settlement policy is working. Worrying evidence of exploitation by dodgy “legal advisors”.

The evening began with a useful reception by the Wildlife Trust on why the Severn Barrage would be an environmental disaster and was followed by a lovely and enjoyable dinner with my guest, local headteacher.

Wednesday

Okay, so I was only two days late holding this week’s Monday morning team meeting in my constituency office before charging up to London in time for the Ashcroft-dominated PMQs spat between William Hague and Harriet Harman. Attended the Westminster Hall debate on the winding up of the Communications Allowance which, inevitably, spilled into yet more Ashcroft-related posturing. Shame, because some of us tried to make some serious points.

Spent the rest of the afternoon preparing for the following day’s debate and votes on the Wright Committee’s proposals for reforming the House of Commons and giving more power to backbenchers. Both front benches claim to be in favour of reform, but we are leaving nothing to chance and organising appropriate amendments to ensure that as many of the reforms as possible are implemented.