Hope dies in a ditch

SPOT NEW SIGNS OF ADDICTION Abused women paying for big Boris power play

TORY MPS were silenced this week for mocking Jeremy Corbyn’s green tie, unaware it was a tribute to the 72 victims of the Grenfell Tower Fire.

Mortified by the yobbery in the ranks, it was former PM Theresa May who hissed at the offenders to shut up.

Thankfully, for once, the hooligans listened to her and piped down.

It’s a shame they were so disobedient to her when she was in power.

Because this “Tory boy” element of her nasty party seems at times wilfully out of touch with the real concerns of half the voters in this country.

These insensitive blokes failed to intervene in any meaningful way over the disturbingly high number of women MPS leaving politics this week in the face of horrific death threats and horrendous insults on social media.

Lust

So why should they care that, once again, the Domestic Abuse Bill has been brushed aside in favour of Boris Johnson’s do-or-die lust for power.

It was close to Mrs May’s heart as “a once-in-a-generation opportunity” to help victims of violence. But was there any sign of them honouring her dedication to public service by trying to find a way of keeping the Bill on track before the election?

I didn’t notice.

In the same way, I don’t remember any of them listening to their former boss’s protestations about her doomed Brexit deal which – once she had gone – was dusted off, repackaged and unashamedly hailed as a breakthrough.

I should have been sitting on the Domestic Abuse Bill Committee over

GAMBLING addiction shatters relationships and destroys families. And it’s getting an early hold on our younger generation, with new and easy online ways to say goodbye to your money.

Being a parent of a gambling addict is heartbreaking – I’ve heard of mums and dads feeling the next few weeks. I have spent months meeting organisations and individuals from within the sector discussing the draft Bill. Last week, the Bill Committee commenced with evidence from charities and frontline services who deal with domestic abuse on a daily basis.

This should have been the catalyst for the cross-party group of MPS on the committee – all passionate about changing the legislation – to begin the scrutiny of the bill. But the snap election has put a stop to that. This Bill will now fall when Parliament dissolves.

When MPS return to Westminster, I hope it will be a priority and returned to the House as early as possible. But helpless, angry and frustrated. There’s so much confusion in the ever-changing digital world, with addictive in-app purchases and random “loot box” rewards they can get in computer games.

It’s hard to keep up with the dangers. But the people who know how to spot the signs are even then, the whole process will have to start again, and this will take time.

Time that victims of domestic abuse don’t have. Time that could quite literally be the difference between life and death for some.

We all know that cases of domestic violence peak at Christmas.

Too much alcohol, the stress and cost of the festive season, and being cooped up together for long periods of time can all be triggers.

I would have liked my Christmas gift to victims, survivors and their children to have been new legislation as they have already waited long enough, but Bah Humbug Boris’s agenda, which those who’ve lived through it. Like the founders of Gamfam, a new charity set up by the parents of a recovering gambler.

It’s a terrific source of support for parents of young adults and under-18s. And wonderful to see people using their own difficult experiences in a positive way. denies women MPS’ concerns about his inflammatory language, has made that impossible.

Chaos has reigned in Parliament these past few months – the Brexit debate has divided the House in the same way as it has the whole country and our PM will go down in history for all the wrong reasons.

So, while everyone is debating the Brexit bedlam and the mayhem and in-fighting that always accompanies a General Election, say a little prayer for those whose Christmas will be anything but merry.

Because I don’t suppose Boris and his pals will give them a second thought.