David T C Davies MP: Conservatives fought for the freedom of countries such as Hungary – we should be proud

David T C Davies is the Member of Parliament for Monmouth and Chairman of the Welsh Affairs select committee. Follow David on Twitter.

If it weren’t for the fall of the Berlin Wall, I would not have met my wife. This claim is a funny place to start discussing core conservatism, but true nonetheless. 1989 was also a crucial moment in forming my, and many others, political beliefs.

The wall may have fallen in Berlin but the first tear in the Iron Curtain took place 100 miles south on the border between Hungary and Austria. Last month I walked the site with an ex-border guard, a friend of my Hungarian in-laws, who presented me with a piece of the very barbed wire that was cut away, allowing East Germans their first taste of freedom.

It’s a symbol of why my generation were first inspired to join the Conservative Party, as defenders of freedom in party that set itself firmly against Communist totalitarianism.

The Hungarians, who had begun to open up their economy and embrace pluralism, stepped up their involvement in the politics of the wall at the start of ’89.  Centre right politicians like Otto Von Habsburg, then an Austrian MEP, a young Hungarian dissident, Viktor Orbán, and others organised the protest which became known as the Pan-European Picnic in Sopron, Hungary. It was this event which tore a gaping whole through the Iron Curtain and helped being down Communism across Eastern Europe later that year.

In the fields facing the Austrian border, gathered thousands of East Germans. They had travelled on the pretext of going on holiday in another Communist state, but had decided to abandon their homes to make a bid for freedom in the West.

Knowing what would await them if they returned to East Germany they congregated along the border and refused to leave.

David T C Davies MP: We need more people like Sayeeda Warsi in the Conservative Party

David T C Davies is the Member of Parliament for Monmouth and Chairman of the Welsh Affairs select committee.

I am not on the modernising, Cameroon wing of the Conservative Party and I have never tried to ingratiate myself with the leadership with a view to getting a Minister’s job. It may therefore surprise some to learn that I have a very high opinion of Baroness Warsi – or Sayeeda as she prefers to be called.

A narrative has built up that the Cameroonian wing of the party like Sayeeda but the right wing want her gone. I have never been described as a moderniser. My views put my very clearly on the right of the party. But I believe our Co-Chairman is effective, warm and approachable and we need more like her in government.

A Party Chairman needs to be feisty, hardworking and prepared to fight for what they believe in. Sayeeda is all those things. She’s a brilliant performer on Question Time and she is prepared to speak frankly rather than in acronyms and jargon. I really like that – and I know voters and Party members do too.

Critics say that Sayeeda is unable to do her job effectively because she sits in the House of Lords but the fact that she’s a peer is in many ways an advantage. Without a constituency, she has more time to give to the Party. She’s makes herself accessible, holding regular lunchtime meetings for backbenchers, giving out her phone number and keeping in touch with the party at all levels. I’ve contacted her about issues in the past and found her quick to respond. I wish other members of the Cabinet were as helpful, open and quick to respond as she is.

David Davies MP: Leave the St Paul's protesters in their tents - clearing them would cause more trouble than it's worth

David Davies is the Member of Parliament for Monmouth, Chairman of the Welsh Affairs select committee, and a Special Constable with the British Transport Police.

In a fit of curiosity, I headed off yesterday lunchtime to see the happy campers who have been dominating the headlines and bringing about the downfall of various prelates.

Coming out of the tube station, I walked around the corner expecting mayhem. Instead I saw some rows of tents and a few groups of youngish studentish types sitting about in a relaxed and carefree fashion.

The usual mix of Londoners walked past unhindered and seemingly unbothered. Spotting an upmarket coffee shop opposite the tents I bought a take-away coffee and walked into the encampment.

There I was, Tory MP in a suit with a poppy, symbol of the capitalist society to be overthrown, wandering up and down in the midst of the anarchists. What would happen?  From the point of view of writing an interesting article, I am sorry to report that nothing happened at all. Not a glare or stare, let alone threats or acts of physical violence were offered. Many of the protesters actually looked and sounded like bankers having a day off.

Other members of the public went about their business unmolested. Nothing seemed to be preventing people from getting into the Church. A few police officers stood about trying not to look bored. They didn’t seem to be expecting trouble.

David Davies MP: A layman's guide to the difference between debt and deficit - and why the Government is right to be cutting it (the deficit)

David Davies is Conservative MP for Monmouth and chairman of the Welsh Affairs select committee.

"Why is the Government trying to cut the national debt so quickly?” That’s a question I have been asked numerous times over the last few weeks in one way or another along with calls for certain things - such as the BBC, civil service redundancy payments etc. - to be exempt from cuts.

Full marks to anyone who has noticed this is the wrong question. The Government has no plans whatsoever to cut the national debt.  In fact they are looking at cutting the deficit over a period of four years.

Anybody could be forgiven for being confused about debt and deficit because even Gordon Brown, seemed unable to make the distinction. Two minutes into his infamous exchange with a voter from Rochdale who he later called a “bigot” he tells her in response to a question about debt: “We got (sic) a deficit reduction plan, cut the debt by half over four years.” (It’s all on YouTube, two minutes into the clip)

If a serving Prime Minister and former Chancellor can mix up debt and deficit what hope is there for the rest of us?

Yet the distinction goes to the heart of the Conservative-Liberal Democrat economic policy, which I fully support.  As a non-economist, here is my humble attempt to explain the nation’s economic situation and the Coalition’s solution into a few paragraphs of simple English.

David Davies MP: The Government must end its reprehensible policy of ministers not attending the funerals of service personnel killed in action

David Davies is Conservative MP for Monnouth and a member of the Home Affairs Select Committee.

One of the “best” funerals I have attended was for Peter Law, the Independent MP for neighbouring Blaenau Gwent, a principled Socialist and a good friend from our years in the Welsh Assembly.

There was no need to ask for directions to the church because across Blaenau passers-by had gathered along the route being taken by the hearse to pay their last respects to a true son of the valleys. It was impossible to get into the church, but as we stood outside and sang Welsh hymns the gloom lifted. It was the celebration of a great life.

Another moment I will cherish occurred at the end of a funeral for a grand old lady of Monmouthshire who died in her eighties after a full life during which, amongst much else, she had been master of the local hunt. The service took place in a tiny church with a graveyard high up in the Usk valley. Few roads or houses were visible, the scene before our eyes had changed little in hundreds of years. The coffin was brought out of the church for burial and the local Hunt appeared in full dress with the hounds. As the coffin was lowered into the grave the master began blowing “gone away” on the horn, the hounds struck up a tremendous din. Sounds of horn and hound echoed down the empty valley. It was easy to imagine the spirit of a hunter, released from an ageing body, taking one last joyous ghostly gallop across the Monmouthshire countryside.

But there has been little to lift the grief of mourners at the funerals of the three young men from Monmouthshire who have lost their lives in Afghanistan. All in the early twenties; determined, dedicated and courageous, they were the embodiment of all that is good about their generation. They leave behind parents and girlfriends who will never get over their loss.

After one funeral which had taken place with traditional hymns, the coffin was led out of the church with the Black Eyed Peas singing I Gotta Feeling - a song for young people to listen to while out in the pub having drinks with friends: a poignant reminder of what this young man had lost. Nothing could lighten the mood of these occasions, the mourners walk away in a terrible silence.

The experience of sitting a few feet away from the mother, father, brothers, sisters and wife or girlfriend of a young man who has lost his life because of decisions taken by Parliament is sobering. I walk away asking myself a lot of questions about the rightness of those decisions and whether things could be done differently. Now more than ever we need to be asking those questions. For that reason alone, if the families are happy for us to do so, MPs have a duty to try to attend these funerals.

David Davies MP: Don't rush to condemn the police who prevented the G20 protests from becoming a full-scale riot

David Davies has been MP for Monmouth since 2005 and is a member of the Home Affairs select committee. He also serves as a special constable and was patrolling the streets of London the night before the G20 protests. Here he explains some of the techniques used by the police in such situations and says that the death of Ian Tomlinson requires an investigation, not a witch-hunt.

Few people today will remember the name of PC Mulhall.

One night in 2007, PC Mulhall was called to a nightclub to arrest a woman. A security film which was then repeatedly shown on the news appeared to show him striking her several times, apparently without any cause. An uproar followed with complaints about the police and demands that Mulhall be disciplined. He was suspended from frontline duties. Months later, an enquiry revealed that the woman had become violent after being thrown out of the nightclub and was damaging cars. As Mulhall approached she had grabbed his genitals. He had simply been using an approved Home Office technique to dislodge the woman’s grip. This involves repeated strikes on the bicep to release the hand. At the time many said “The camera never lies.” When he was finally cleared, there was little publicity and tragically PC Mulhall died last year whilst on a walking holiday.

Unlike the news commentators who condemned PC Mulhall before the facts were clear, police officers are taught that when investigating an offence one must never allow personal feelings to get in the way of facts or to jump to conclusions based on prejudice or emotion. The facts and evidence must be carefully considered before making a decision about whether an offence has occurred and if so who is responsible.

The lesson has apparently already been forgotten by those who are now lining up to condemn the police once again over the tragic death of Ian Tomlinson. We can all agree that his death should be fully investigated, but let us await the conclusions before rushing to condemn. I was not at the scene of the G20 protests, but I have a better idea than most of the pressures under which police were operating.