I see that the local Conservatives are getting themselves in a flap over the news that it is the Tory councils in Berkshire that are forcing up Council Tax bills by the highest amounts.

There has been a lot of nonsense written in some of the angling press suggesting that the Royal Society for the Protection of Birds (RSPB) is intrinsically anti-angling.

The last few weeks have seen some important wins in a number of local campaigns with which I have been involved.

Back in May 2002, not long after the then Sports Minister Richard Caborn appointed me as Labour’s Parliamentary Spokesman for Angling, I spoke up about the need to get angling onto the curriculum in schools to attract young newcomers in sport.

I couldn’t resist a wry smile at the hypocrisy of our local Tories over the issue of alternate weekly bin collections when I read last week that Conservative controlled West Berkshire Council were planning to move to fortnightly collections of domestic waste in an attempt to increase their lamentable recycling rates which are the lowest in the county.

Although I had a couple of engagements myself between Christmas and New Year it was nice to be able to close both my constituency and Westminster offices and give the staff a well-earned break.

As a result of his decision to go back on the commitment made by his predecessor to increase, in the interests of conservation, the minimum landing size of bass, I am not here to praise the Minister but to challenge him.