On Thursday I went to a business breakfast which was attended by Nick Harvey, MP for North Devon and Liberal Democrat spokesman for Defence.

Networking can be a funny old game, but this breakfast was a good reminder of the practical advantages of making connections through meeting people. It’s not every day that you get the chance to ask questions of and discuss issues with your MP. There’s no guarantee that what you say will change the world, but you never know what ideas you could spark off and spread to Westminster and beyond.

Meeting people and discussing issues with them are healthy for individuals, business and democracy. Perhaps in some small way we are capable of influencing the wider world for the better?

Robert Zarywacz