On 21 February, after 20 hours of debate and 180 speakers, the House of Lords followed the House of Commons in giving a second reading to the European Union (Notification of Withdrawal) Bill. At the end of the day, acceptance of the revolutionary nature of the referendum outcome won out, albeit with reluctance and disdain…
I have written earlier about the House of Lords Select Committee on the Equality Act and Disability – http://lordsoftheblog.net/2016/04/17/a-better-deal-for-disabled-persons/ and http://lordsoftheblog.net/2016/12/15/labour-ditches-disabled-people/ – and concluded that one cannot overestimate the lack of compassion, or just indifference, on the part of some members of the public towards disabled people. The Supreme Court judgment in FirstGroup plc v…
I had the privilege of chairing a Lords Select Committee on Disability and Equality in 2015-16, and wrote about it here – http://lordsoftheblog.net/2016/04/17/a-better-deal-for-disabled-persons/. After a year of work, the opportunity presented itself last week of achieving one of our key recommendations, by securing an amendment to the Policing and Crime Bill, currently making its way through…
Fracking was in the news today, as government approval was given to fracking sites in Lancashire, despite the widespread local opposition to it, and against the wishes of the County Council. I am not surprised. Government spokespersons bombard us with promises of plans for local democracy and consultation; councils promise residents that their wishes will be…
The UK has done brilliantly at the Olympic Games. At the time of writing, we have 55 medals at a cost of £6.3m each, based on the investment of some £347m into elite sport since the last Olympics. The UK has a winning sports strategy. Young people are spotted, monitored, put into special programmes, encouraged to win,…
