Tag Archives: will forster

It’s Jennie vs Toffee in Westminster Dog of the Year

My favourite Westminster event of the year happens in September when the Dogs Trust and Kennel Club run their Dog of the Year competition.

Steve announced Jennie’s candidacy on Twitter:

This year there are two Lib Dem entrants, Steve Darling’s gorgeous guide dog Jennie and Will Forser’s beautiful and spirited dachshund Toffee.

I’m delighted to share that my guide dog Jennie is taking part in Westminster Dog of the Year 2025, held on Thursday 11 September at Victoria Tower Gardens. Organised by the Dogs Trust and The Kennel Club, this brilliant event celebrates the special bond between MPs and their canine companions. Jennie has quickly become a cherished presence in Parliament and beyond — and now we’re hoping she can be crowned Top Dog with a little help from Torbay! We’re calling on our community to support us in the Sir David Amess Pawblic Vote, honouring a passionate advocate for dog welfare. Jennie’s calm, caring nature and her role as my guide dog have made her a symbol of accessibility and compassion in politics.

On the event page, Will makes his pitch for Toffee:

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Ed questions Starmer on young carers

Ed Davey used the final PMQs of the year to ask the Prime Minister for more support for young carers. Keir Starmer’s response combined warm words with no promises of action and a bit of gentle teasing about Ed’s Christmas single.

The text is below:

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Maiden Speeches: Will Forster MP for Woking

Our next maiden speech comes from Will Forster, the new Liberal Democrat MP for Woking who spoke in the Budget Responsibility Bill.

This text is below:

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Our new MPs: Mike Martin, Danny Chambers, Charlie Maynard, Will Forster, Clive Jones

We thought you might like to find out a little bit about our new MPs. We didn’t think we’d have quite so many, but this is a lovely problem to have. All details come from the party website or the MPs’ social media. We’ll get to know them more over the next wee while, but here’s a taster.Ā 

Our editor sleepily compiled a Twitter list of all our MPs’ accounts she could find. You can follow it here.Ā 

Mike Martin MP: Tunbridge Wells

Mike Martin is standing as the candidate for Tunbridge Wells. He is a former British army officer who served multiple tours in Helmand, Afghanistan. Since leaving the army, he has also had other leadership roles, including as a senior executive in a global charity working to bring different people and organisations together to solve problems.

Mike is a Senior Fellow at King’s College London – an expert in geopolitics and conflict – and the author of several books on psychology, conflict and travel.

His background has taught him a lot about how to understand and work with different perspectives, how to bring people together to solve problems and how to get difficult things done.

Mike is campaigning on making the town centre of Tunbridge Wells a town centre that is fit for the 21st century—greener, less traffic, and with more things for youngsters to do. He would also like to lead a drive towards building more affordable housing in the area and, crucially, to make sure there is sufficient infrastructure for the houses that we already have. This means enough GP surgeries, and school places, and public transport.

At a national and international level, Mike has significant expertise in geopolitics and conflict. If elected, his focus at a national level will be on helping guide the UK through the turbulent years that we face.

Twitter: @threshedthought

Danny Chambers MP: Winchester

Danny works as a vet in Winchester, is the trustee of two charities and was elected by his peers to the body that governs the veterinary profession. He’s been involved in charitable projects all over the world.

He is committed to campaigning for better healthcare services for Winchester. He has also used his platform as a vet to campaign nationally on wider issues ranging from mental health to animal welfare.

Danny enjoys cycling, running and hiking. One of his favourite routes is the Itchen Navigation along the route of the old canal.

Twitter: @dannyvet

Charlie Maynard MP: Witney

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