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<title><![CDATA[Blog]]></title>
<link><![CDATA[http://www.marktodd.org.uk/4b915729-53a5-8634-f5e3-24bd6b4cb3f1]]></link>
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                           <title><![CDATA[Politicians and people management]]></title>
                           <description><![CDATA[Some of you may have followed the stories concerning Gordon Brown's behaviour toward both Tony Blair and his staff. I have no personal knowledge! However the broad picture was already known. Few doubted that Brown and Blair had a poor relationship much of the time and that Brown wanted Blair's...]]></description>
                           <link><![CDATA[http://www.marktodd.org.uk/4b915729-53a5-8634-f5e3-24bd6b4cb3f1?Entry=7c5ee2f9-47f9-7cb4-599d-855f9e439313]]></link>
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                           <pubDate>Thu, 01 Jan 1970 01:00:00</pubDate>
                           
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                           <title><![CDATA[Financial Services Bill]]></title>
                           <description><![CDATA[One of the perils of speaking in a debate on a bill in the House of Commons is that you risk being placed on a standing committee to consider it line by line. I spoke at some length about aspects of the Financial Services Bill so must say goodbye to...]]></description>
                           <link><![CDATA[http://www.marktodd.org.uk/4b915729-53a5-8634-f5e3-24bd6b4cb3f1?Entry=81a7a4c9-6983-8364-f99d-aac98f884a12]]></link>
                           <guid isPermaLink="false"><![CDATA[http://www.marktodd.org.uk/4b915729-53a5-8634-f5e3-24bd6b4cb3f1?Entry=81a7a4c9-6983-8364-f99d-aac98f884a12]]></guid>
                           <pubDate>Thu, 01 Jan 1970 01:00:00</pubDate>
                           
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                           <title><![CDATA[Thoughts on the Legg report]]></title>
                           <description><![CDATA[You will have seen that we have another cycle of the focus on MP's expenses. First, my own position: the Legg inquiry has scrutinised all my claims for 2004 to 2009 and I have not been asked to make any repayment. I have been asked for a copy of a...]]></description>
                           <link><![CDATA[http://www.marktodd.org.uk/4b915729-53a5-8634-f5e3-24bd6b4cb3f1?Entry=a80d0ff0-f291-f5b4-fd12-85a97ddf7071]]></link>
                           <guid isPermaLink="false"><![CDATA[http://www.marktodd.org.uk/4b915729-53a5-8634-f5e3-24bd6b4cb3f1?Entry=a80d0ff0-f291-f5b4-fd12-85a97ddf7071]]></guid>
                           <pubDate>Thu, 01 Jan 1970 01:00:00</pubDate>
                           
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                           <title><![CDATA[Recess 2009]]></title>
                           <description><![CDATA[My last year in office has hardly been a quiet time for our political system. MPs have been scrutinised and in some cases exposed. I have written about expenses before and won't dwell on that now. But next Monday, the Channel 4 Dispatches programme will investigate how MPs have spent...]]></description>
                           <link><![CDATA[http://www.marktodd.org.uk/4b915729-53a5-8634-f5e3-24bd6b4cb3f1?Entry=09e0e68d-85fb-f704-cddd-5b94c5bdcfe1]]></link>
                           <guid isPermaLink="false"><![CDATA[http://www.marktodd.org.uk/4b915729-53a5-8634-f5e3-24bd6b4cb3f1?Entry=09e0e68d-85fb-f704-cddd-5b94c5bdcfe1]]></guid>
                           <pubDate>Thu, 01 Jan 1970 01:00:00</pubDate>
                           
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                           <title><![CDATA[The Green Paper on care]]></title>
                           <description><![CDATA[The paper, which was published earlier this summer, discusses the creation of a new social care system in England. As one in three people over the age of 65 will need residential or nursing care at some point, the issue of how this care will be funded is increasingly important,...]]></description>
                           <link><![CDATA[http://www.marktodd.org.uk/4b915729-53a5-8634-f5e3-24bd6b4cb3f1?Entry=8f06e7be-a059-5504-95a6-dd7580eeaaee]]></link>
                           <guid isPermaLink="false"><![CDATA[http://www.marktodd.org.uk/4b915729-53a5-8634-f5e3-24bd6b4cb3f1?Entry=8f06e7be-a059-5504-95a6-dd7580eeaaee]]></guid>
                           <pubDate>Thu, 01 Jan 1970 01:00:00</pubDate>
                           
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                           <title><![CDATA[Is the UK economy recovering?]]></title>
                           <description><![CDATA[The Office of National Statistics (ONS) has marginally revised down its figures for the fall in UK output in the earlier part of this year. In light of this, I want to cover two things &ndash; what is happening in the UK economy, and how hard it is to work...]]></description>
                           <link><![CDATA[http://www.marktodd.org.uk/4b915729-53a5-8634-f5e3-24bd6b4cb3f1?Entry=d8f2ac96-e9d7-6454-1973-852d65571501]]></link>
                           <guid isPermaLink="false"><![CDATA[http://www.marktodd.org.uk/4b915729-53a5-8634-f5e3-24bd6b4cb3f1?Entry=d8f2ac96-e9d7-6454-1973-852d65571501]]></guid>
                           <pubDate>Thu, 01 Jan 1970 01:00:00</pubDate>
                           
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                           <title><![CDATA[MPs' expenses revelations]]></title>
                           <description><![CDATA[MPs' expenses have dominated the news. I would be rather evasive not to comment. First, a personal perspective: I live in Derbyshire. I have to work several days in most weeks in London. I should have somewhere to sleep. Any arrangement will cost public funds. There are various alternatives: paying...]]></description>
                           <link><![CDATA[http://www.marktodd.org.uk/4b915729-53a5-8634-f5e3-24bd6b4cb3f1?Entry=7f87c28d-a3dd-9854-8dc1-3514c2b729ea]]></link>
                           <guid isPermaLink="false"><![CDATA[http://www.marktodd.org.uk/4b915729-53a5-8634-f5e3-24bd6b4cb3f1?Entry=7f87c28d-a3dd-9854-8dc1-3514c2b729ea]]></guid>
                           <pubDate>Thu, 01 Jan 1970 01:00:00</pubDate>
                           
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                           <title><![CDATA[The Treasury Select Committe and the Budget]]></title>
                           <description><![CDATA[In my last blog, I mentioned that as a member of the Treasury Select Committee, I would have a chance to question the Chancellor on the details of last week's Budget. Last week, I got that chance. I chose two issues with a local resonance: the Scrappage scheme and taxes...]]></description>
                           <link><![CDATA[http://www.marktodd.org.uk/4b915729-53a5-8634-f5e3-24bd6b4cb3f1?Entry=b79c0f65-9313-1234-d5fa-b8ee98cf9bad]]></link>
                           <guid isPermaLink="false"><![CDATA[http://www.marktodd.org.uk/4b915729-53a5-8634-f5e3-24bd6b4cb3f1?Entry=b79c0f65-9313-1234-d5fa-b8ee98cf9bad]]></guid>
                           <pubDate>Thu, 01 Jan 1970 01:00:00</pubDate>
                           
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                           <title><![CDATA[The Budget 2009]]></title>
                           <description><![CDATA[Many measures are commonsense such as extending Stamp Duty exemption for properties under &pound;175,000 for another year. As many estate agents would say, this affects a limited number of people but reimposing it would be a drag on a market that seems to be starting to revive. It also makes...]]></description>
                           <link><![CDATA[http://www.marktodd.org.uk/4b915729-53a5-8634-f5e3-24bd6b4cb3f1?Entry=8c9917d3-ecb3-9904-01e5-71569b37b1eb]]></link>
                           <guid isPermaLink="false"><![CDATA[http://www.marktodd.org.uk/4b915729-53a5-8634-f5e3-24bd6b4cb3f1?Entry=8c9917d3-ecb3-9904-01e5-71569b37b1eb]]></guid>
                           <pubDate>Thu, 01 Jan 1970 01:00:00</pubDate>
                           
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                           <title><![CDATA[Busy week]]></title>
                           <description><![CDATA[It's been a busy week in the run-up to the Easter recess.
 As well as leading a debate on a treatment for motor neurone disease (see news), I participated in a debate on the economy. And on Friday, there was news about the former Willington Power Station site.
 In the...]]></description>
                           <link><![CDATA[http://www.marktodd.org.uk/4b915729-53a5-8634-f5e3-24bd6b4cb3f1?Entry=09cd0a56-233f-6e04-8557-beb962d84db4]]></link>
                           <guid isPermaLink="false"><![CDATA[http://www.marktodd.org.uk/4b915729-53a5-8634-f5e3-24bd6b4cb3f1?Entry=09cd0a56-233f-6e04-8557-beb962d84db4]]></guid>
                           <pubDate>Thu, 01 Jan 1970 01:00:00</pubDate>
                           
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                           <title><![CDATA[Treasury Select Committee]]></title>
                           <description><![CDATA[I am a member of the Treasury Select Committee and this week we spent six hours questioning two groups of bankers on their role in the current crisis. The first group had lost their posts already, at RBS and HBOS, as part of the government's rescue package. The second group...]]></description>
                           <link><![CDATA[http://www.marktodd.org.uk/4b915729-53a5-8634-f5e3-24bd6b4cb3f1?Entry=a0c29c24-dd99-de74-1d48-7e743699838f]]></link>
                           <guid isPermaLink="false"><![CDATA[http://www.marktodd.org.uk/4b915729-53a5-8634-f5e3-24bd6b4cb3f1?Entry=a0c29c24-dd99-de74-1d48-7e743699838f]]></guid>
                           <pubDate>Thu, 01 Jan 1970 01:00:00</pubDate>
                           
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                           <title><![CDATA[Digital Britain report]]></title>
                           <description><![CDATA[Many argue that the next "utility" - something we regard as essential to modern life like electricity, water and a telephone - is internet access. Around 99% of UK households can obtain at least some limited access (enough to exchange emails). A few of the 1% live in our area....]]></description>
                           <link><![CDATA[http://www.marktodd.org.uk/4b915729-53a5-8634-f5e3-24bd6b4cb3f1?Entry=0c1ccc8f-16bf-3314-51b7-c9698e6b5b4a]]></link>
                           <guid isPermaLink="false"><![CDATA[http://www.marktodd.org.uk/4b915729-53a5-8634-f5e3-24bd6b4cb3f1?Entry=0c1ccc8f-16bf-3314-51b7-c9698e6b5b4a]]></guid>
                           <pubDate>Thu, 01 Jan 1970 01:00:00</pubDate>
                           
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                           <title><![CDATA[The Economic Boost]]></title>
                           <description><![CDATA[If, as I have argued, some form of government-led economic boost was desirable to soften the recession, save businesses and retain skills at the margins, was the boost delivered properly designed? First, some have argued that there should instead have been direct tax cuts particularly at the lower end of...]]></description>
                           <link><![CDATA[http://www.marktodd.org.uk/4b915729-53a5-8634-f5e3-24bd6b4cb3f1?Entry=27dd173e-9b49-2bd4-e908-c791776dc998]]></link>
                           <guid isPermaLink="false"><![CDATA[http://www.marktodd.org.uk/4b915729-53a5-8634-f5e3-24bd6b4cb3f1?Entry=27dd173e-9b49-2bd4-e908-c791776dc998]]></guid>
                           <pubDate>Thu, 01 Jan 1970 01:00:00</pubDate>
                           
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                           <title><![CDATA[Outlook for 2009]]></title>
                           <description><![CDATA[As we await President-elect Obama's economic package (and reflect again on the disadvantages of the US system of electing a President but not allowing him to succeed for three months) I though it would be helpful to run through where we are.
 First, anyone who claims either to be able...]]></description>
                           <link><![CDATA[http://www.marktodd.org.uk/4b915729-53a5-8634-f5e3-24bd6b4cb3f1?Entry=d3768620-f8db-5e64-f1e6-9b2061a873f3]]></link>
                           <guid isPermaLink="false"><![CDATA[http://www.marktodd.org.uk/4b915729-53a5-8634-f5e3-24bd6b4cb3f1?Entry=d3768620-f8db-5e64-f1e6-9b2061a873f3]]></guid>
                           <pubDate>Thu, 01 Jan 1970 01:00:00</pubDate>
                           
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                           <title><![CDATA[ID cards]]></title>
                           <description><![CDATA[Keen followers of my parliamentary activities will know that I have been sceptical about the proposed introduction of ID cards (I failed to support the ID cards bill on third reading for example). That isn't because I see them as a threat to our liberties. We carry, quite voluntarily, far...]]></description>
                           <link><![CDATA[http://www.marktodd.org.uk/4b915729-53a5-8634-f5e3-24bd6b4cb3f1?Entry=48b25a61-b2b9-a884-d514-e1795171f5d3]]></link>
                           <guid isPermaLink="false"><![CDATA[http://www.marktodd.org.uk/4b915729-53a5-8634-f5e3-24bd6b4cb3f1?Entry=48b25a61-b2b9-a884-d514-e1795171f5d3]]></guid>
                           <pubDate>Thu, 01 Jan 1970 01:00:00</pubDate>
                           
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                           <title><![CDATA[The Queen's Speech]]></title>
                           <description><![CDATA[This week we had the traditional occasion of the Queen's Speech ceremony which sets out the Government's legislative plans for the next 12 months. It's a reasonably short list. This isn't necessarily a bad thing - we tend to pass vast swathes of legislation, not all of which is well-considered...]]></description>
                           <link><![CDATA[http://www.marktodd.org.uk/4b915729-53a5-8634-f5e3-24bd6b4cb3f1?Entry=0d3f2170-216d-e604-c198-1045c2c221f8]]></link>
                           <guid isPermaLink="false"><![CDATA[http://www.marktodd.org.uk/4b915729-53a5-8634-f5e3-24bd6b4cb3f1?Entry=0d3f2170-216d-e604-c198-1045c2c221f8]]></guid>
                           <pubDate>Thu, 01 Jan 1970 01:00:00</pubDate>
                           
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                           <title><![CDATA[Care farming]]></title>
                           <description><![CDATA[On Monday, I led an adjournment debate on a really worthy subject. I find these debates a useful tool to set out constituency issues and get a more detailed answer from a minister than I can in correspondence Roger and Beryl Hosking have been helping young people with social and...]]></description>
                           <link><![CDATA[http://www.marktodd.org.uk/4b915729-53a5-8634-f5e3-24bd6b4cb3f1?Entry=7ca23b64-a998-fbe4-9529-d166f6de0724]]></link>
                           <guid isPermaLink="false"><![CDATA[http://www.marktodd.org.uk/4b915729-53a5-8634-f5e3-24bd6b4cb3f1?Entry=7ca23b64-a998-fbe4-9529-d166f6de0724]]></guid>
                           <pubDate>Thu, 01 Jan 1970 01:00:00</pubDate>
                           
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                           <title><![CDATA[Pre-budget report]]></title>
                           <description><![CDATA[Today's "pre-budget report" is effectively a second budget, reflecting both the scale of the challenges facing the UK economy and the urgency with which they need to be tackled. There's no doubt that we are in uncharted waters here. Provided that other economies respond with similar measures – as they...]]></description>
                           <link><![CDATA[http://www.marktodd.org.uk/4b915729-53a5-8634-f5e3-24bd6b4cb3f1?Entry=c8a57d6c-a173-00b4-69d8-573774228daf]]></link>
                           <guid isPermaLink="false"><![CDATA[http://www.marktodd.org.uk/4b915729-53a5-8634-f5e3-24bd6b4cb3f1?Entry=c8a57d6c-a173-00b4-69d8-573774228daf]]></guid>
                           <pubDate>Thu, 01 Jan 1970 01:00:00</pubDate>
                           
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                           <title><![CDATA[Obama elected: what now?]]></title>
                           <description><![CDATA[With the US election now behind us it's possible for me to reflect on what happened, the challenges ahead and what it means for the UK. First, Obama's election was a remarkable personal achievement. Bearing in mind how recently civil rights were denied to black people in the USA this...]]></description>
                           <link><![CDATA[http://www.marktodd.org.uk/4b915729-53a5-8634-f5e3-24bd6b4cb3f1?Entry=961f907f-f5f8-0c24-511f-0ce23ad40a2c]]></link>
                           <guid isPermaLink="false"><![CDATA[http://www.marktodd.org.uk/4b915729-53a5-8634-f5e3-24bd6b4cb3f1?Entry=961f907f-f5f8-0c24-511f-0ce23ad40a2c]]></guid>
                           <pubDate>Thu, 01 Jan 1970 01:00:00</pubDate>
                           
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                           <title><![CDATA[The Employment and Support Allowance]]></title>
                           <description><![CDATA[The Employment and Support Allowance has just been introduced marking a significant change in the benefit system for people with disabilities and illnesses. In essence, it replaces incapacity benefit and income support paid on incapacity grounds changing the emphasis from proving that you can't do something to looking to see...]]></description>
                           <link><![CDATA[http://www.marktodd.org.uk/4b915729-53a5-8634-f5e3-24bd6b4cb3f1?Entry=df1d3d78-9276-c5b4-f909-4a2913d0a527]]></link>
                           <guid isPermaLink="false"><![CDATA[http://www.marktodd.org.uk/4b915729-53a5-8634-f5e3-24bd6b4cb3f1?Entry=df1d3d78-9276-c5b4-f909-4a2913d0a527]]></guid>
                           <pubDate>Thu, 01 Jan 1970 01:00:00</pubDate>
                           
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