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Remembrance Sunday this year was a particularly sombre occasion. Like so many of you, my day started with the Sunday Service on Radio Four, broadcast from Camp Bastion in Afghanistan.

It was desperately moving, including many contributions from those who are serving so bravely and running such appalling risks on our behalf.

Later, Sandra and I went to Lydd for my last Remembrances Service as a Member of Parliament. There was a significantly bigger turnout than usual, both in church and at the wreath laying ceremony, at the War Memorial.

This year we all have in our minds the losses our armed forces have incurred so recently as well as those from previous years. We must all hope and pray that the coming year will bring ewer casualties.

On Monday, the Secretary of State for Energy made a statement in the House of Commons about the future energy needs of our country. Nuclear power is to play a prominent part in meeting these but Dungeness was omitted from the list of selected sites.

In a conversation I had with him just before he made his statement, the Secretary of State told me that the reason for his decision was not based on concerns about coastal erosion or flooding but was based solely on the unique nature of the Dungeness habitat.

As I pointed out in the House of Commons, local people will be bemused by this, given that we already have two nuclear power stations on the site.

In answer to my question, the Secretary of State assured me that he would continue to consult on the omission of Dungeness from the list and would not give Natural England a veto. Natural England, which used to be called English Nature, is the body that has advised the Secretary of State to omit Dungeness from the list.

I shall continue to argue the case for Dungeness in the hope that the present Government can be persuaded to change its mind. If it does not, then I hope the next Government will look again at this issue and reach a more sensible conclusion..