IT has been full steam ahead for the new autumn parliamentary session made all the more interesting by the election of a “different” kind of leader for Her Majesty’s Opposition.

Despite the political pantomime, we have been dealing with the challenge of an unstable Middle East and I welcomed the Government’s commitment to playing our part in resolving the current situation. We have sent the Royal Navy to the Mediterranean, met our commitment to spend 0.7 per cent of our economy on foreign aid and targeted that aid at unstable and dangerous states like Syria.

Meanwhile our Armed Forces continue our fight against British terrorism by targeting the jihadists operating in the war zones and the announcement that Britain should resettle up to 20,000 Syrian refugees straight from the camps in the Middle East over the next five years seems to me to be a sensible and compassionate proposal. I received many impassioned communications regarding the Assisted Dying Private Member’s Bill. I voted for the motion because I think we should move towards giving people more freedom at the end of life.

However, as there was an overwhelming vote supporting the status quo, it is unlikely that the subject will return to Parliament in the next few years.