HUGE hikes in energy prices and big rises in the price of food are hitting household budgets all over the Highlands.

LAST Thursday was the 5th anniversary of the start of the war in Iraq. Five years after Tony Blair and Gordon Brown joined forces with George Bush’s illegal and unnecessary war, British and American troops are still in Iraq with no clear timetable for withdrawal.

DEBATES at Westminster last week were dominated by a single issue. After two weeks of discussing its implications, MPs finally voted on the Lisbon Treaty.

THE news has recently been dominated by f the Highland Council's budget for the next financial year.

WE have entered the final week of the current consultation on post office closure proposals covering the whole of the Highlands.

SIX months and 28 days after Gordon Brown's arrival at 10 Downing Street, he has suffered his first cabinet casualty.

THE start of last week was dominated by the long-awaited announcement by the Post Office of proposed branch closures in the Highlands. This follows the decision by the Government to seek 2500 closures right across the country. For too many communities the good wishes of New Year have been replaced by anger about the proposals.

I WAS very surprised to learn last week that John Swinney, the SNP finance secretary in Edinburgh, has refused to approve the list of priorities which were submitted by our regional transport partnership HiTrans in March.

THE government's announcement that it had lost the personal details of 7.25 million families, including every child in Britain, provoked gasps of shock from MPs when Alastair Darling told the Commons.

LAST week John Swinney presented the new SNP government's first budget. The document sets out what money will be spent and where during the next three years — right up until the eve of the next set of Scottish parliamentary elections in April 2011.

LAST week I joined pupils from five local schools on a visit to the site of the former Nazi concentration camp at Auschwitz. The visit was organised by the Holocaust Education Trust as part of their programme to inform young people about these barbaric events.

THE last time I wrote for The Inverness Courier, I expected that by now we would be in the grips of a general election campaign.

THE House of Commons returned yesterday after the summer recess. Having spent most of that 10-week period talking to local people, businesses, and organisations, there are a number of key issues that I will pursuing with my Highland colleagues John Thurso and Charles Kennedy in Westminster.

THE new political season entered full swing last week, with the Liberal Democrat conference in Brighton. It will be followed by the Labour and Conservative party gatherings, with speculation about the possibility that Gordon Brown will call an early election no doubt following too.

OVER the next few weeks, it seems that the Highland Council will at long, long last reach agreement on a proposed route for the Inverness Trunk Road Link.

EVERY day the news that unfolds on our television screens from Iraq seems to get worse. Iraqi civilians and British and American troops are losing their lives in ever greater numbers and the only people who seem unable to understand that a tragedy is unfolding before us are the people responsible for it.

THE foot and mouth outbreak may have taken place in Surrey, but it is having dire consequences here in the Highlands. While the news coverage is focusing on the cause of the outbreak the consequences for farmers and consumers will last long after the story has faded from our TV screens.

AS the House of Commons starts its summer recess, it seems that ministers have been using the opportunity to sneak out difficult announcements.

I HAVE spent most of the past 10 days at home, following the birth of our first child on 6th July. Everyone who told me that fatherhood changes your life was absolutely right.

LAST week I spent some time with representatives of the South Kessock Environment Project to hear more about the proposed Merkinch Local Nature Reserve. Following the disappointment of the Waterfront centre proposal, this innovative idea has the potential to give a real boost to the local community and the whole city.

OVER the last few weeks, transport issues affecting the Highland capital have been on the agenda at all levels of government. There are serious issues that need to be overcome if we are to have the road, rail, and air links that we need to continue to be the UK's fastest growing city.

IT is all change at all levels of government at the moment. In a move reminiscent of eastern Europe before the wall came down, Gordon Brown is to be elected unopposed as our next prime minister. Once Tony Blair has completed his vanity farewell tour, Mr Brown will take office at the end of June.

THE Government's consultation on its plans to close post offices demonstrates very effectively why people are so sceptical about official ''consultation exercises''.

GORDON Brown’s last budget was much hyped, but in fact does very little to help in the areas that the Highlands needs most.

FAMILIES on low incomes spend approximately £1000 a year more than those on higher incomes for essential household services such as electricity, gas, insurance and access to cash. This “poverty premium” was itemised in a report by Save the Children published last week.

LAST week the Prime Minister responded to the 1.8 million people who signed a petition on the 10 Downing Street website opposing the idea of road pricing. Mr Blair’s response attempted to have it both ways — but I believe he was wrong to water down the already lukewarm Government support for this idea.

IN less than three months’ time, readers of this column will be asked to vote for members of the Scottish Parliament and Highland Council. Perhaps confusingly, these elections will take place under two different proportional voting systems.

LAST week Parliament debated the war in Iraq, for the first time in many months. The debate was notable for the absence of the prime minister and David Cameron, and for a powerful speech from Ming Campbell setting out the case for withdrawing Britain’s troops from Iraq. I share his view that the time has come for a staged withdrawal.

I HOPE that all Courier readers have had a happy a peaceful Christmas and a good New Year too.

SPEECHES in recent weeks by Ming Campbell and David Cameron have, quite rightly, pushed the issue of the fight against poverty in Britain towards the top of the political agenda.

THE publication of HiTrans draft transport strategy for the Highlands and Islands has focussed attention on that body’s role, and the influence it will have in persuading the Scottish Executive about the funding priorities for our area.

THIS has been an interesting week in Westminster. Not only did the new James Bond film premiere at the Leicester Square Odeon but the annual Queen’s Speech and the official opening of parliament has set a fresh agenda for the next parliamentary session.

CLIMATE change is already having a damaging effect across the world, but in some quarters there has been a degree of complacency about the impact of the changing environment on our lives.

THE scandalous collapse of Farepak is blighting the lives of many hard-pressed Highland families at the cruellest time of year - in the run up to Christmas.

HOW much of a person's income is it reasonable to pay in tax? Last week, at the Conservative conference, complaints were heard that the very reasonable higher rate of 40 per cent is too high.

THE news that Richard Branson has decided to put $3 billion over the next 10 years into research into climate change highlights once again the need for urgent action to tackle global warming.

THE events of the past week in Afghanistan have raised big questions about the approach which has been taken to the country ever since the beginning of military action in 2001, as well as of ensuring British forces have the support they need for the vital task with which they have been entrusted.

RISING oil prices have again pushed the issue of the disproportionate impact of high petrol prices to the top of the political agenda. The higher prices, greater distances, and lack of transport alternatives add up to a triple whammy in the Highlands and Islands from which the only beneficiaries are the Treasury.

LAST week’s security alert — after police uncovered what looks like a very serious plan to attack commercial airliners flying from the UK — reminds us all of the threat that continues to be posed by terrorism.

THE appalling events in the Middle East seem to get worse with every day that passes. I visited Beirut last October, for a friend’s wedding, and was impressed by the energy with which the people of that city were reconstructing it after the years of war.

LAST week I was one of the group of Liberal Democrat MPs who forced the House of Commons to hold an emergency debate on the new extradition treaty with the United States. This has treaty has become notorious because of the wide media coverage given to the case of the "Nat West Three", but I became involved because I believe it has much wider - and more worrying - implications that go far beyond the current case.

WITH the rising oil price pushing petrol prices at some Highland filling stations beyond £1 a litre, now is a good time to be looking at ways through the tax system to reduce the cost of fuel for drivers in rural areas.

TEN days ago I crossed another small landmark in my time in Parliament - my first chance to ask a question at Prime Minister's Questions (PMQs). His answer offered little hope to post offices in the Highlands - but I will come to that.

THE tax credit system has been established to help supplement the income of people in low wage jobs, or with family responsibilities.

TAVISH Scott was in Inverness last week to see the plans for redevelopment at the harbour.