Katie Lam

Live in the Weald of Kent? I post my local work on Facebook, Instagram (KatieforKent) & my monthly newsletter (sign up below 👇). From visiting wonderful Hunton Primary School to supporting local produce to Parliamentary speeches, I champion the Weald at home & in Westminster.

More than 600,000 households across the country are now getting paid more in benefits than the average family earns from work. And it's the working people who are being taxed to cover the cost. We can't keep squeezing hard-working people to pay for those who don’t work.

Lord Hermer is Keir Starmer's most senior legal adviser. He worked with a convicted fraudster to drag British soldiers through the courts over false claims. Now, he wants to let activist lawyers do the same to veterans who served in Northern Ireland.

The Government wants to make it harder for good schools to expand - and could even force them to shrink. This will mean more children trapped in underperforming schools. It's totally wrong to rob the nation's children of opportunity in the name of ideology.

The Liberal Democrats believe Britain’s diversity is its strength. And yet, one of their candidates was hounded out for being a Christian, against all the laws they claim to love. They fought the claims for four years before conceding they were true. Will Ed Davey apologise?

If you do a bad job, you should face the consequences. In any normal job, you would. Yet the CEO of South East Water wouldn't explain why he left 30,000 homes without water this winter. If you disrupt the lives of hard-working people, you should be punished for it. He must go.

Lord Hermer, Starmer's closest legal adviser, worked with a convicted fraudster to drag British troops through the courts. As I wrote for @ConHome, he wants to subject Northern Ireland veterans to the same treatment. This is a disgraceful way to treat those who keep us safe 👇

The Government claim they wish to fight terrorism in Northern Ireland. Yet they want to change the law, so veterans who have done just that, are exposed to decades of legal harassment. It’s hardly a surprise that many in the special forces are simply choosing to resign.

The CEO of South East Water gets paid £400,000 a year, plus a bonus. This winter, thanks to him, 30,000 homes were left without water. If you do a bad job, you should face the consequences. People have been getting ripped off for a terrible service for far too long. He must go.

If people come to this country illegally, they should never be able to seek asylum. Instead, they must be removed - either to their home country, or to a safe third country. The Government clearly don't agree. As ever, they'd rather tweak a broken system than build a new one.

Lord Hermer, Starmer's closest legal adviser, worked with a convicted fraudster to smear British soldiers who fought in Iraq. And now, he wants to open up Northern Ireland veterans to the same treatment. Under his plans, those who kept us safe will be dragged through the courts. Since the ratification of the Belfast Agreement in 1998, dozens of veterans who served in the British military, and in the police, have faced legal challenges for their actions in Northern Ireland. Typically, these challenges are brought by people linked to the Irish Republican movement, not in response to new evidence or information, but because of the retrospective application of human rights laws that were never designed to govern counter-terrorist combat. Often, these claims are deliberately designed to aid the Irish Republican narrative that British security forces behaved unlawfully in Northern Ireland during the Troubles. Nearly three decades since the end of the Troubles, judges with no specialist knowledge of military operations are being asked to rule on whether those soldiers behaved in accordance with human rights law, which was not designed to deal with the realities of conflict. Under the terms of the Belfast Agreement, IRA terrorists were given immunity from prosecution. Many were released from prison before their sentences had been served, despite carrying out terrorist attacks which killed civilians. For the British Government, and many in Northern Ireland, this was a price worth paying to secure peace. We were willing to accept the necessity of forgiveness. The same grace has not been extended to those who served in our military, or in the police. Throughout the Troubles, they worked to keep the peace, and to neutralise terrorists. They operated according to strict guidelines and rules of engagement; their enemies in the IRA and other paramilitary groups did not. They followed instructions, and conducted operations which were signed off by the most senior political figures in the British Government. In countless fast-moving and dangerous situations, they put their lives at risk, and made split-second decisions to save innocent people. It is because of their bravery, and their sacrifice, that we have peace in Northern Ireland. Yet many of these veterans have been dragged through the courts for decades, and forced to testify at countless inquests and inquiries. The previous Government legislated to put a stop to these prosecutions. This Government, with Lord Hermer leading the charge, plans to repeal those protections, and throw open the doors for a whole new wave of lawfare. They insist that this is necessary, because the protections put in place by the last Government are not compliant with the Human Rights Act, or our obligations to the ECHR. But if protecting our veterans from vexatious prosecution really isn’t compatible with ECHR membership, this only strengthens the case for leaving the ECHR altogether. The action taken by our security forces in Northern Ireland was necessary, in order to keep us safe. The same is true of the action taken by those who are currently serving, across the world. Their ability to take that action relies on the knowledge that, if they have acted according to instructions given to them by the British Government, then the British Government will give them full support in future. It is, in other words, a relationship which relies on trust. The Government’s plan to repeal the Legacy And Reconciliation Act totally undermines that trust. So it is not a surprise that, as a result, many currently-serving SAS soldiers are resigning. Who can blame them? When they can’t even rely on the support of their own Government, and may face decades of legal harassment in future, why would they take the kind of risks that they’re being asked to take? This is a disgraceful way to treat those who take such enormous risks to keep us safe. Service personnel, both historic and currently serving, put their lives on the line so that we can live ours in freedom and peace. It’s a minor miracle that anybody is willing to do this, and we should be incredibly grateful to those who are. The very least that we can do is allow them to be sure that, when their duty is done, they will not be left hanging out to dry by their own Government.

The Falkland Islands (which I’ve been lucky enough to visit) are British and will remain so, whatever Trump says. 🇬🇧 🇫🇰 But is it any wonder other countries think our territory is up for grabs, when Starmer has spent the last two years desperate to give away the Chagos Islands?

The ECHR is not just a problem for controlling our border. And two tier treatment is not just an issue in crime and policing. Both are making our planning system totally unfair, and enabling illegal Traveller sites. We will bring in, and enforce, one set of rules for everyone.

The Home Office wants to scrap in-person English tests for migrants who are applying to come to our country. It's going to mean more fraud, and more people coming to Britain who can't speak English. Blake is absolutely right. We must stop this madness.

Oh to be in England Now that April's there, And whoever wakes in England Sees, some morning, unaware, That the lowest boughs and the brushwood sheaf Round the elm-tree bole are in tiny leaf, While the chaffinch sings on the orchard bough In England—now! Happy St. George's Day 🏴󠁧󠁢󠁥󠁮󠁧󠁿

"Making sure the big story is out there whilst giving us some wriggle room if the killings did not in fact happen". That's Lord Hermer, the Attorney-General, talking about innocent British veterans that was helping to prosecute. This man is Starmer's most senior legal adviser.

Sean worked at Morrisons for 29 years. He was fired for having the courage to confront an aggressive shoplifter. We cannot continue to be a country where criminals can get away with breaking the law, while people who do the right thing get punished. It's just not fair.

When the Government says it’s moving asylum seekers out of hotels, it means it’s moving them into homes like this. We have seen again and again how dangerous this is for women and children. People who come here illegally must be detained on arrival and rapidly deported.

Keir Starmer appointed Peter Mandelson to our most sensitive diplomatic post, despite the fact that Mandelson failed security vetting. He says that nobody told him. If that's true, then he's lost control of his Government. If it isn't, then he's lying. It's as simple as that.

Peter Mandelson was director of a company that funds the Russian arms industry. This was noted in the official advice to Keir Starmer on whether he should appoint Mandelson to be US Ambassador. Yet Starmer appointed him anyway, to arguably our most sensitive diplomatic role.

Keir Starmer chose to appoint Peter Mandelson as US Ambassador. He ignored guidance in order to do it, and pressured civil servants to make sure that it happened. Yet he's still trying to blame everybody else. If he were really sorry, he'd take responsibility for this farce.