Guy Opperman MP: Teach Prisoners to read and write in custody – that is a sentence that will achieve something

Guy Opperman was a Criminal Barrister for over 15 years engaged in many murder and other trials. He became the MP for Hexham in 2010. His book “Doing Time” – Prisons in the 21st Century is available in all bookshops, and on Amazon /Kindle. Proceeds go to an NHS charity, the National Brain Appeal.

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Prison does work. It locks people up so that the prisoner cannot then commit a crime: yet prison for decades has failed to change the prisoner’s behaviour. I am not against sending people to prison. I spent over 15 years doing that as a criminal prosecutor. But it is what we do with the prisoner when they are in prison that needs to change. It is this issue that I have addressed in my new book, “Doing Time” – Prisons in the 21st Century.

The harsh fact is that over the last 20 years, despite multiple new laws, and successive politicians passing tougher and tougher sentences, the prison population has doubled with reoffending rates at approximately 70%. Given that we spend at least £45,000 a year on adult prisoners, and around £100,000 on young offenders, we have to accept that the taxpayer is getting a poor return when 7 out of 10 former prisoners are reoffending upon release.

The reasons are obvious: 50 % of all prisoners are illiterate, 50% are drug addicted, over half of all prisoners were excluded from school, have no skills, and ran away from home, and 25% of all prisoners were in care as children. It is clear that parenting, education and society has failed the vast majority of those in custody. How we treat them in prison will decide how such people – who clearly struggle to cope with the normal aspects of society – will fare upon their release.

Guy OppermanMP: Five policies that will help the Tories win in the North

Guy Opperman is Conservative MP for Hexham. Here, he updates ConHome readers on his Pennine Walk and his bid to understand why Conservatives are struggling in the North. Follow Guy on Twitter.

For the first 22 days in August I have been walking from Yorkshire to Scotland, stopping off at multiple places along the way, from big cities to small towns, meeting hundreds of people, and trying to get an understanding of what our party needs to do to win in the North.

There are no easy answers but certain clear themes emerged from the conversations I had at the 14 events I attended whether it was with party members or the public in village halls, churches, pubs, clubs, or mosques.

In my piece last week I noted the importance that a hard-working MP or candidate can play, how we need to engage all communities, and not be shy about delivering our message on the doorstep, even in our toughest areas.

Guy Opperman MP: Long-term relationship building, no no-go areas and active grassroots memberships are key to Northern success

Guy Opperman is Conservative MP for Hexham. Here, he updates ConHome readers on his Pennine Walk and his bid to understand why Conservatives are struggling in the North. Follow Guy on Twitter.

Twelve days ago I set out on my walk through Yorkshire on my way to Scotland, via my home seat in Northumberland. I left with the intention of getting a better understanding of the problems we have overcome and the challenges that remain for the Party in the North.

I have visited urban cities like Sheffield, the big towns of Halifax and Keighley, the small manufacturing towns nestled between Huddersfield and Rochdale, and multiple rural towns and villages on the way. I have spoken to hundreds of people in churches, mosques, shops, pubs, B&Bs, community events, and at question and answer sessions with members and non-members alike. I am walking the rough route of the Pennine Way on my way North, but diverting to various towns and events most evenings as I go.

I've seen the good and the bad, the positive and the negative. I've seen the work our Yorkshire MPs are doing to engage with local communities. I've also witnessed for myself what happens when the English Defence League comes to town.

Guy Opperman MP: I'm walking the Pennine Way to find out why Conservatives are struggling in the North

Guy Opperman is Conservative MP for Hexham. Follow Guy on Twitter.

While others will be settling down to watch the Olympics I have cancelled my summer holidays to take a walk from Sheffield to Scotland. Why? I want to put on my hiking boots and find out for myself why our party is failing to connect with Northern voters.

Twenty years ago, in 1983, the Labour Party won 20 more seats in the North at the General Election than the Conservatives. At the 2010 General Election the Labour party won 62 more seats than the Conservatives. This year's local elections were a painful reminder that something is clearly wrong, and my party should be worried. Our party is still struggling to connect with voters in the North and I want to find out why. The best way to to do that isn't focus groups, polling, or via think tanks, its getting out there on the ground and talking to people.

I will be following one of the North's most famous routes, the Pennine Way. Its a journey that could be reflective of the Conservative's path to an overall majority.

For the Conservative party an overall majority lies in winning more seats up North in Yorkshire, the North West, the North East and the borders of Scotland. Our majority isn't won or lost in the South, its up here.

Guy Opperman MP: A bit of extra tax on properties over £2million seems perfectly fair to me

Guy Opperman is Conservative MP for Hexham. Follow Guy on Twitter.

In the run up to the budget MP's up and down the country get asked what they would like to see the Chancellor do when he stands at the dispatch box to deliver his budget.

The government has very little money, which means very little help to go around. But I believe very strongly that those at the bottom must get the help first.  Under the previous Labour Government millions of people on low incomes were forced to pay hundreds of pounds in income tax every year. Hands up who remembers the 10p tax?

A mum working full-time, stacking shelves in my constituency, earning just the minimum wage, has nearly £1000 taken from her in income tax. In fact, everyone on the minimum wage putting in a full weeks work does. That's wrong.

The Government is right to be raising the tax threshold to £10,000, which will put £700 into the pockets of everyone working hard for a living. But I would like to see the Government go further.

I believe that nobody earning the minimum wage and working a standard week should pay tax on that income.  This is a radical proposal, but one I believe is right. It's not Lib Dem policy. Nor is it Conservative policy. But it should be. It's one I'll be championing, alongside supporting the fantastic Right Angle project by my friend Robert Halfon MP.

Guy Opperman MP: Argentina should accept that the Falklands Islands wish to remain British

Guy Opperman is the Member of Parliament for Hexham.

In the 1982 Falkland Islands war, 255 British troops and 650 Argentinean troops died. As the 30th anniversary approaches, and Prince William prepares to be deployed there as a search and rescue pilot, tensions are rising. Tomorrow, Parliament will be debating the future of the Falkland Islands. All would agree that there is no such thing as a good war. But in 1982, people died because politics, governments and individual leaders failed them. It is our job in the House of Commons to make sure this does not happen again.

My hope is that tomorrow’s parliamentary debate will reiterate this House’s united position that the Falkland Islands have our full support in every way. The government is presently considering its Overseas Territories White Paper: I would like to see it introduce a self determination law, confirming that all overseas territories, of which there are 14, including the Falklands, have an unambiguous right to remain British until such time as they choose not to.

This issue of a people’s inherent right to self determination is at the heart of this debate. The 3000 inhabitants of the Falklands unanimously want to remain a British Dependent Territory. It is not even up to us give the Falklands away. Argentina’s dubious historical claim to sovereignty would amount to annexation by “negotiation” or conquest: this is colonisation and occupation by another means.  Many of the islanders trace their ancestry back to the 1840s. These are men and women, who were born on the Falklands, have lived there generations, had children, and made their lives there.

Guy Opperman MP: The falsehood of the 38 Degrees campaign on health

For 20 years prior to becoming an MP in 2010 Guy Opperman was a barrister; one of his specialities was judicial review of public bodies, including the Health Service. He led the campaign, as a pro bono barrister, in the healthcare case of Compton v Wiltshire Primary Care Trust.

Being lobbied by pressure groups is part and parcel of an MP’s life. In my view, anything that gets people engaged in politics is a good thing.

Many Pressure groups are single issue, but 38 Degrees has set itself up as a critic of the government on a number of issues. There is nothing wrong with this. But it is totally wrong to spin matters of fact matters that you know are simply not correct. On the issue of health and the upcoming debate on the Health and Social Care Bill that is exactly what 38 Degrees are doing. They have an agenda. They have commissioned legal opinion. That legal opinion does not say what they want it to say. So they have simply present the opposite view as fact, ignoring their own legal opinion.

I myself know how amazing the NHS is. Twice I have had my life saved by it. In April I was diagnosed with a brain tumour. As a result I spent the best part of three weeks in three different hospitals and met dozens of doctors and nurses. I am now completely recovered.

It is totally irresponsible when trying to use influence as a pressure group to distort the facts completely. Websites that do as 38 Degrees are now doing, in relation to this bill, are not taking political debate any further but hindering it. This approach is not in any way constructive to the legitimate debate as to how we reform and improve the NHS.

Guy Opperman: How I am promoting the Big Society as a constituency MP

Guy Opperman is MP for Hexham and writes in advance of this afternoon's House of Commons debate on the Big Society.

Call it the Big Society, call it Community Empowerment, call it whatever you like, but I urge anyone who believes in trusting people before big government to think about what can we do to foster this new direction?

What can the Government do to hand over those reigns of power to local communities? How can we build local capacity for delivery?  How can we develop parish and town councils into becoming real driving forces in our communities?  How can we change and develop under threat services into community  led services and social enterprises to secure their future?  How can we encourage our communities to become engaged in social action and maintain the many projects we already have through greater local cooperation and sharing of resources?

This is a truly radical agenda. You have an opportunity to shape the Big Society you want to see.

Earlier this month, at our first ever Tynedale Big Society Summit the aim was to showcase existing Big Society projects in Tynedale, directly influence Government policy, share best practice, and find out what local people thought was right, and indeed what was wrong with the agenda so far.

We had initially hoped to have around 100 attendees, representing enterprise, charities, volunteers, youth groups and a host of other organisations. However on the day we ended up with more than 150 guests keen to hear what the Big Society agenda was going to mean for them locally.