Both candidates for the leadership of the Conservative Party have expressed their intention to introduce free ports on a larger scale. The Lichfield Lib Dems have a few questions regarding the candidates' policies (expressed in full below), which have been forwarded in my name to our MP, Michael Fabricant, asking him to obtain answers from the candidates. His attention, as someone who enjoys walking in the countryside, has been drawn to the maps of the proposed free port areas, which include National Parks and Areas of Outstanding Natural Beauty.

The first duty of a government is the safety of its people. But few things are more important to safety than health.

Currently it's dentistry in the news. The BBC found that nine in 10 NHS dental practices across the UK are not accepting new adult patients for treatment under the health service.

But surely health care ought to be in the news every day with the challenges it faces. Long waits to be seen in primary care, all ambulance trusts recently on the highest alert level, over 6 million people are waiting for treatment and emergency department 4 hour waits six times higher than the standard.

We need bold and urgent action to help families pay their bills and heat their homes this winter. There is no other choice.

Families and pensioners across the country are in the grip of a cost-of-living crisis. We have already seen energy bills rise by £700 this year. They simply cannot afford another, even bigger rise of £1,400 in October.