Despite Labour’s delays, I welcome today’s U-turn on a social media ban for under-16s. Conservatives forced this issue onto the agenda. Reform would scrap these protections and repeal the Online Safety Act. Only Conservatives have the team and plan to put children’s safety first.

Great to be out with Michael Winstanley this morning on Makerfield. Lots of awareness on the doorsteps of his local work over many years as a councillor, as well as many saying that he was the best of the candidates on Question Time. Strong support too for @KemiBadenoch 💙

They are no longer the Labour Party, they are the Welfare Party. It doesn’t matter who is in charge of these people, the party for Benefits Street will tax us all into poverty to pay for more welfare. Pat McFadden has said in private what he and the Prime Minister deny in public. As I’ve said repeatedly, Labour MPs don’t understand where money comes from. They think our taxes are their money to spend, rather than the result of the hard work of the people in our country who deserve so much better. The Conservative party is the only party holding Labour to account, as Reform, Lib Dems the SNP and others join Labour in demanding the state pay more and more benefits.

As I said on BBC Politics North West at the weekend, there’s no motivation from the public to support Labour. Councillors in Bolton should reflect on that next week when deciding who to elect as Leader of Bolton Council.

Sssh! I’m going to let you in on a little secret… 🤫

Wishing everyone a Happy St George’s Day, from Dunscar War Memorial, which is receiving some exciting changes soon! 🏴󠁧󠁢󠁥󠁮󠁧󠁿

“The Prime Minister lied. It’s now in the national interest he goes.” Keir Starmer’s words…not ours. We’re only holding him to the standards he set himself.

I’m continuing to report some of the worst roads in our area with Charlotte Cadden. But extra funding from the Labour council has dried up, making it make difficult to get them fixed. I’ll continue to fight for funding, so keep letting me know where you think needs doing too.

Having a break from the campaign trail with Charlotte Cadden at Railway Bolton with a nicely chilled cider! What’s your go to sunshine drink? 🍹

Wishing everyone a joyous Easter Sunday! 🐣

Charlotte Cadden is exactly who Bromley Cross & Egerton needs to replace Cllr Amy Cowen. Residents I’ve spoken to agree. These May elections are about BX, not Westminster. With 30 years as a police officer, Charlotte will help us protect our Green Belt and tackle crime locally.

Petrol prices are already surging at their fastest rate since 2022 – and Labour want to pile on even more. A family with two cars will pay an extra £156 in fuel duty between 2026 and 2029. For 14 consecutive years, the Conservatives found the resources to freeze Fuel Duty.

TFW Ed Miliband is running the government.

The Prime Minister is telling porkies🐷 The reason Keir Starmer didn’t answer the question is because it would have proved he didn’t tell the truth.

Those living in Bolton deserve to feel safe in our community. Under Labour, police numbers have fallen, knife crime remains at alarming levels, and too many people are witnessing anti-social behaviour on our streets. Enough is enough. theboltonnews.co.uk/news/259…

I hope all councillors support our request for the Leader to apologise this evening for wasting nearly £1,000,000 of your money on a project that council officers knew would fail.

During PMQs today, Starmer built an exceptionally weak straw-man regarding the "mother of all U-turns". Why? Because the Conservative position on Britain's involvement in the conflict has been consistent from the start, stated clearly and repeatedly by the party leader @KemiBadenoch, the Shadow Defence Secretary @jcartlidgemp, and the Shadow Foreign Secretary @pritipatel. And it's easy to check - all we need to do is look back at the statements from Kemi and the Conservative shadow cabinet, follow the timeline, and verify what was actually said. So here goes - a list of direct quotes, listed by speaker and theme. (Spoiler alert - nobody ever suggested the UK should be flying missions to bomb IRGC bases, nuclear bunkers, military buildings, etc - which is what "joining the war" in this context means) Kemi Badenoch On base access: "We have made America wait to use our air bases while Iran was hurling drones at our allies." Conservative Spring Conference, Harrogate, March 2026 On striking launch sites: "What else are our jets doing, just hanging around there? They need to be able to see who is attacking us and stop them from firing at British soldiers or even British people in hotels." BBC Breakfast interview, March 2026 (reported by LBC) "They're not doing enough. What they're doing is catching arrows. It's not working. We need to actually make sure our bases aren't being hit." LBC interview, March 2026 "RAF jets striking Iranian missile launch sites would be the right thing to do. Otherwise, we are allowing our service personnel to be put in danger." LBC interview, March 2026 "If this was a nuclear attack, God forbid, it would be too late. You can't always wait for people to attack you. Sometimes you have to make sure that you get there first to stop their ability to hurt your citizens." LBC interview, March 2026 On not joining the war: "I said that we support their actions. I never said we should join. I did say that where British bases are being attacked, we should do more than catch the arrows." BBC interview, March 2026 (reported by inkl/Guardian - this is what Starmer referred to as a U-turn) "Everyone remembers the mistakes of the Iraq War. Nobody sensible is suggesting that we should drop bombs without a second thought." Conservative Spring Conference, Harrogate, March 2026 On stating whose side Britain is on: "Canada and Australia had the moral clarity to do so immediately and unequivocally. And even now, our Prime Minister is sitting on the fence." Conservative Spring Conference, Harrogate, March 2026 "We are in this war whether Keir Starmer likes it or not." Conservative Spring Conference, Harrogate, March 2026 On deterrence: "If we put ourselves out there as a country that won't do anything to take out missile launchers when we're attacked, we are sending a signal to places like Russia and elsewhere that we won't do anything until it's too late." The Yorkshire Post, March 2026 James Cartlidge On base access: "We should have provided the use of American bases as part of the mission to attack Iran from the outset, not least because the nuclear programme in Iran is a threat to us. That is still the most important point in the debate about the current action." Hansard / East Anglian Daily Times, March 2026 When asked whether the Conservative Party backs the American-led strikes: "Yes." GB News interview, March 2026 On the government's fence-sitting: "This is extraordinary to hear the same thing again - unable to say where they stand, sitting very awkwardly on the fence." GB News interview, March 2026 "The Prime Minister is now effectively U-turning to grant permission in slightly different circumstances." GB News interview, March 2026 Priti Patel On the US strikes: "The US attacks on Natanz, Fordow and Isfahan were absolutely essential. Iran coming to the negotiating table was not happening in any constructive way." Sky News, Sunday Morning with Trevor Phillips, March 2026 (reported by The Jewish Chronicle) On deploying British military assets: "Do I think we should be deploying British military assets? I personally think we do, on the basis that it'll be protecting our allies and it'll be protecting British nationals in the region." LBC, Sunday with Lewis Goodall, March 2026 On supporting allied action: "She absolutely supported the actions of President Trump, saying Iran is a threat to us as a country and a threat to our allies." LBC, Sunday with Lewis Goodall, March 2026 (reported by LBC) "If the government judges that such action is necessary to avoid that then we would absolutely support the government if it deemed it necessary to ensure that we can defend our country, our citizens and effectively a lot of our strategic equities in the Middle East region." Good Morning Britain interview, March 2026 On the government's failure to act: "I'm afraid when our country is under threat from Iran, we just can't continue to sit this out anymore. Keir Starmer constantly chooses to opt out from taking any action, which I think is just unbelievable and a dereliction of his duty." GB News interview, March 2026 On closing the Ayatollah's London office: "It should be shut down. And the representatives there should be expelled from our country." GB News interview, March 2026 (reported by GB News)

A credible plan for a credible defence. Despite Labour being bounced into higher defence spending targets by Kemi and Trump, they have no plan. Only the Conservatives have a costed way to bring down benefits and fund our troops. This is the priority for our national renewal.

I met with Shadow Transport Secretary @RicHolden about the poor service we’ve been seeing at Bromley Cross station from Northern. He agreed a train operator run by the Department for Transport should do better and will raise it with the minister, pushing for improvements sooner.

As significant today as it was then. From the fields of England, across the seas, to the Commonwealth, we’re bound by a simple principle. Liberty and law is equal to all.