Last week Rugby, and the country, remembered our fallen heroes. Men and women who have fought and died to protect the freedoms we all cherish so dearly. This year was particularly poignant as it marks 100 years since the start of WW1, from which the remembrance tradition was born. It was humbling to attend the Remembrance Service in Rugby and to reflect on the sacrifices made to protect our way of life.
It was a typically busy week in Westminster and a poignant time for the Government to announce that widows, widowers and surviving civil partners of all members of the Armed Forces Pension Scheme will now retain their pensions for life. This has been a long-running issue and I am glad it has now been resolved.
There were also encouraging employment figures released last week. There are now 694,000 more people in work than at this time last year and unemployment in Rugby is down once again with encouraging falls in the number of unemployed young people and those over 50 years of age. The employment rate is now back to pre-recession levels and there are a record 30.8m people in work.
More positive news came as the Financial Conduct Authority confirmed that payday loan rates will be capped protecting people from spiralling payday debts. The cap comes into force in January and are part of wider reforms to ensure that some of the outrageous fees and unacceptable practices are dealt with further.
Back in Rugby I attended a Question Time event at Rugby High School and sat on a panel with representatives from all of the major political parties. The event was a great idea and allowed many young people who are going to be voting for the first time next May to engage with local politicians and learn more about their candidates. The questions were wide ranging as we discussed our relationship with Europe, benefit reforms and, of course, questions on education. One question asked was whether Oxbridge should be forced be made to set a quota for state school entries. There certainly was not a great deal of support for this idea. The audience of young women were far more in favour of meritocracy and rejected the idea of quotas and notions such as all-women short lists for positions. It was a good debate and I am thankful to the school for inviting me along.