The ten things you need to know on Monday 29 April 2013... 1) 'A COLLECTION OF CLOWNS AND ANGRY PEOPLE' Two things have become clear over the pa...

A Department for Infrastructure should be created. This super ministry would provide more than leadership for spending departments. It could consolidate infrastructure resources and talent spread thinly through the rest of Whitehall.

for me the key thing is that Sandy has brought front and centre political issues which have not reared themselves in the campaign up until now. Climate change impacts and America's eroding 1950s and 1960s infrastructure - Democratic talking points.

Yet, as the lights came down on the final day of the 'greatest show on earth', I was left asking the uncomfortable question - what next for this great nation?

The Olympics hysteria descending on London is creating a sense of foreboding among those of us who live in the east. What is it we fear?

You might very well be forgiven for thinking that today's rail announcements were mainly about trains. But they're really about two other issues: (1) getting the coalition back on track and (2) the coalition's intended final destination, the 2015 general election.

A group of influential MPs might have provided David Cameron with a way to deal with three big problems all at once. The third runway at Heathrow, Jeremy Hunt and how to get pension funds to pay for infrastructure have all vexed the Prime Minister in recent months. By creating a Ministry of Infrastructure, Cameron could deal with all three in one fell swoop.

Much like Chelsea, who need to replace the ageing, creaking former world beaters (Drogba, John Terry and Frank Lampard), the Government needs to get investment into Britain's infrastructure and nurture its home grown talent if the gravity-defying performances by British clubs and businesses aren't to become the exceptions rather than the rule.

Ultimately, we must invest in our infrastructure and make the UK the most attractive place in the world to do business. It's time to stop the talk and get spending. If this is the course of action the Government has decided to take - rightly, in my view - let's get on with it.

Back into recession, austerity yet to fully bite, pressure from backbenchers, the Opposition and world leaders - the Government needs to take bold action to show that austerity and growth can go together.

I love cycling, yes even in London... I grew up in Germany and I rode my first two-wheeler bike without stabilisers before my third birthday. The main reason I started cycling in London was because I kept running out of money for the bus.

I read with interest recently, enthusiastic support for London Mayor Boris Johnson as visionary for proposing to sink Park Lane (Mayfair, London) into a tunnel and to build on the land thus freed-up. Oh dear, environmental awareness certainly escapes Boris!

It has long been accepted that infrastructure development is a vital piece of the growth puzzle. David Cameron certainly subscribes to this mantra, having put infrastructure at the heart of his growth strategy when he outlined a huge £30bn investment over the next four years.