THIS week BBC Wiltshire broadcast a special programme from Paderborn in Germany focusing on the armed forces families who will be returning to the UK in the next few years, and I spoke to the great Ben Prater, who hosts the popular morning show, about all of the work that is going on.

The Ministry of Defence is investing £1 billion in the local area to provide homes, infrastructure and services to support the move, and for the past few years I have been working closely with Wiltshire Council to ensure that we are ready for the challenge – and that we can all benefit from the billion pound boost to the local economy that this move brings.

There is still work to do, for example to ensure that the school funding 'follows the pupils', but preparations are in good shape. But one thing that current residents and those returning say is that we need more family entertainment locations, and I will keep pressing firms like Wetherspoon’s to consider investing locally. After the move, Tidworth and its surrounding villages will be one of the largest and fastest growing parts of my constituency and a great place to invest.

Then it was up to Westminster for a flat out week before the Easter Recess, but one that was sadly over-shadowed by the emerging evidence of endemic anti-Semitism and hate speech at the heart of Her Majesty’s Official Opposition – ideas and attitudes that we thought had been driven out of mainstream politics decades ago.

Jewish leaders in Britain said that Jeremy Corbyn “cannot seriously contemplate anti-Semitism because he is so ideologically fixed within a far left world view that is instinctively hostile to mainstream Jewish communities”, and sadly his hard-left activists have put actions to these words by driving out respected council leaders like Claire Kober and Jon Clempner, who have resigned over the misogyny, bullying and anti-Semitism that has taken over the top of the Labour Party.

With such disgraceful views extant in parts of Westminster, it will be really lovely to celebrate Easter with family and friends in Wiltshire and then take a break in Cornwall for a few days, which means that I will not be writing a column next week.

I would like to wish all of my constituents a peaceful Easter break, and of course this is also the 70th anniversary of the great Devizes to Westminster canoe race, so I want to say a big thank you to the tireless organisers, and a huge good luck to the doughty competitors!