Optimist. Father. Ex jockey, lawyer, Hexham MP & Minister. Brain tumour survivor and campaigner. Now consulting, chairing and charity work.

Joined May 2010
Guy Opperman retweeted
The strongest section of Kemi Badenoch's speech so far: "To those who say “unite the right”... we are not uniting with THAT. I don’t want to live in a country run by people who threaten journalists, call veterans traitors and debate whether my mixed-race children are English. "I don’t want to explain to my son, when we’re watching our brilliant England team play football, that some people don’t think our black players are English. "I remember back in the day when Ian Wright and John Barnes were playing - nobody was questioning whether they were English. We certainly didn’t have sitting MPs questioning whether they were English. "We must not let these people take us backwards. That is not the country we are. I don’t know whether you’ve noticed, but I am black. I am British. I’m proud of my country, I’m proud of our history."
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Guy Opperman retweeted
The Tory Shadow Chancellor, @griffitha, has more private sector experience than the entire Labour Cabinet….combined. Wild.
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Guy Opperman retweeted
Archie Goodburn has made an emotional plea to the prime minister. The Scottish 50m breaststroke record holder was diagnosed with brain cancer two years ago.
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Guy Opperman retweeted
So devolution means getting people's taxes to spend but not being allowed to give it back to them 🤷‍♂️ Last time I spoke to the PM, devolution was about whitehall not dictating what areas can or can’t do. Doesn’t sound much like devolution to me? Just an excuse for a tax grab
Cabinet Office minister Lou Haigh says Tory and Reform mayors will not be able to use new freedoms to hand tax rebates to local people and businesses. Devolution only goes so far…
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Guy Opperman retweeted
It doesn’t get much better than that! Guts and courage from every single member of this squad. Proud of this team! ❤️🏴󠁧󠁢󠁥󠁮󠁧󠁿
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Guy Opperman retweeted
One of the best post-match interviews you will EVER see! Rest up, Harry :)
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Guy Opperman retweeted
Josh Baker died at the age of 20. Ben Stokes ensured his worst day in sport ended like this. What a man
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Guy Opperman retweeted
Today I have met Lucy, Mark and Katie, Henry Nowak’s mother, father and stepmother. Their courage is extraordinary. They have endured the most appalling loss, it is a life sentence for them. They have also faced the agonising decision to release the harrowing body-worn camera footage, knowing how painful it would be and how strongly people would react. They did so because they want truth, accountability and change. They have asked that we work across political parties and religions to rebuild trust in the police. That trust has been broken because of what happened, and I agree with them on that. We must also be prepared to examine, carefully and seriously, religious practices or exemptions that permit the carrying of dangerous weapons in public, and other activities that are not conducive to the public good. We also need to examine where the law needs to change. Henry’s family do not want anger to tear communities apart. They are a family who have friends across faith and race, and so did Henry. His family want his memory to help bring our society together. Everyone knows I have strong views about how we should deal with equality under the law. What the family agreed with me on is that we need to bring common sense back, and that is what we should all be fighting for. I promised the family that we will work to ensure there is a positive legacy for Henry out of this tragedy. That is my focus now.
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Guy Opperman retweeted
Setting a record for youngest think tank panellist remains among my proudest achievements. (Make your own jokes about his making much more sense than the usual speakers...)
Nooooo! A disaster - @rcolvile was an outstanding lead of an amazing think tank. V Big shoes to fill. Many thanks for your service, inspiration & ideas. 🙏👏👏 Will never forget your kindness in letting me bring 6 week old Kit on to one of your panels when i was solo parenting
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Guy Opperman retweeted
Over the past 36 hours, Iran has attacked more Arab and Muslim countries than Israel has in its entire history. And most of these countries aren't even involved in the conflict. The Iranian regime launched 460+ missiles and 350+ drones at 11 countries across the Middle East: 1. Israel 🇮🇱 2. Jordan 🇯🇴 3. Kuwait 🇰🇼 4. Oman 🇴🇲 5. Bahrain 🇧🇭 6. Qatar 🇶🇦 7. UAE 🇦🇪 8. Iraq 🇮🇶 9. Saudi Arabia 🇸🇦 10. Cyprus 🇨🇾 11. Syria 🇸🇾
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Guy Opperman retweeted
Needs no extra comment!
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This evening, The King and Queen, The Princess of Wales, Prince George, The Duke and Duchess of Edinburgh, and The Duke and Duchess of Gloucester attended @PoppyLegion's Festival of Remembrance at the @RoyalAlbertHall, to honour all those who have lost their lives in conflict.
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Guy Opperman retweeted
Back in March 2024, at the time of last Tory Budget, the OBR reckoned the UK would borrow £323 billion over the coming five financial years (2024/25 — 2028/29). By March 2025, after Labour’s first Budget, the OBR increased that to accumulated borrowing of £524 billion — a £200 billion increase in borrowing, including the actual £152 billion borrowed in 2024/25 (almost double the OBR’s March 2024 forecast). The OBR regularly underestimates borrowing. So actual borrowing likely to be more than £524 billion. Yet Starmer/Reeves claim they’ve ‘fixed’ the economy and that it is ‘improving’ …
Early HMRC estimates for May 2025 indicate that the number of payrolled employees in the UK was 30.2 million, a 274k decline compared to May 2024 (0.9% decline) and 109k decline compared to last month (April 2025). But Starmer/Reeves claim they’ve ‘fixed’ the economy, which they say is ‘improving’.
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We made it an academy - and thanks to my friend Phil Harris it’s now outstanding…
Rachel Reeves does class war “I joined the Labour Party over 30 years ago - because I knew the Tories didn’t care about schools like mine” That finally gets a big cheer
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Thank you Hexham for the warm welcome today! The Queen met local community leaders and stall holders in the Northumberland market town as well as visiting Hexham Racecourse to officially open the ‘Queen Camilla Stand.’
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Guy Opperman retweeted
A feeling unlike any other. #themasters
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Guy Opperman retweeted
Keir Starmer is right, of course. So it makes me wonder why he’s created 28 new quangos/regulators in the eight+ short months he’s been in power.
Keir Starmer, "I think there is a large amount of growth we can get by stripping away regulation" "You'll be astonished at how many regulators and regulatory bodies we have put in place" "The priorities of the regulator don't always align to what a government wants to achieve' "All of us are frustrated that when we want to get something done it is taking far too long" "Planning is an example of that"
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Guy Opperman retweeted
New figures show, the Labour Chancellor's reckless anti-business Budget is costing us a job every 9-minutes! You can't tax your way to growth. As an entrepreneur, who has built businesses from scratch, I know it's business that creates prosperity. My thoughts in today's @mailonline 👇🏻 dailymail.co.uk/debate/artic…
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❤️ That first hug, that first embrace! Emily Damari’s mother finally gets to hug her daughter, after 471 days of hell!
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