Parliament’s back to work (we MPs, of course, have been working all through the Christmas Recess in our constituencies with a few days off here and there for a bit of R and R) and there is a distinctly New Year’s spring in our step. A rash of new announcements from the Prime Minister, very properly determined to make sure his Ministers hit the New Year ground running.

In particular he wants to make sure that the Olympics and the Queen’s Diamond Jubilee are not only great and wonderful events in themselves, but also add something to economic growth and prosperity of the country as a whole, (and in particular not just in London.) As a non-ticket holder I shall be cheering from the comfort of my armchair as athletes carry out feats people like me can barely dream about. But I hope to do as much as I can nationally and locally in the celebrations surrounding the Jubilee. I played a part in encouraging Parliament to commemorate the event by a stained glass Royal Armorial in the Great North Window of Westminster Hall. After all, that is where so many great Royal events take place. And I would hope to be invited to as many local events as are taking locally - I already have Minety and Royal Wootton Bassett in the diary.

The Olympics and Diamond Jubilee may well, however, turn out to be the bright spots in what promises to be a tough year. Who knows what the future holds for the Global economy or in particular for the Euro-Zone. Its demise seems inevitable, but we must all fear for the knock-on effects on the British economy. The much-needed balancing of the national budgets will not come without some real pain, and there are so many other areas of National and International life where we are facing worrying uncertainty.

With that as a back-drop, I was inspired and uplifted by the Annual Speech Day at the Royal Wootton Bassett Academy (as I shall start to think of it, even although it has not yet been officially christened along those lines.) It is a fine school as we all know (some say the best comprehensive in England having achieved – uniquely – 27 ‘outstanding’ grades out of a possible 27 in its recent Ofsted Review). But that achievement was massively reconfirmed by the very high quality young people receiving their awards and certificates, many of them now attending some of the best universities up and down the land. The future of our Nation is in good hands if these young people are anything to judge by. We were reminded, however, that ‘genius is 1% inspiration and 99% perspiration,’ and that old saying is as true in these difficult times as ever it was.

There are tough times ahead, but with leadership, determination, guts and grit, we can collectively get through it and emerge the other side a better Nation. So I am off back to Parliament determined to see what I can do to add my little bit to it.