Normally the mention of a “cross party consensus” is reassuring: it means that the parties are reaching agreement on a big venture, for example transport infrastructure, or (if only!) the NHS or pensions, that necessarily spans many years. In this way, abrupt changes of policy are avoided when there is a change of government. Today however, I…
I was a BBC Governor. I can’t discern much difference between the remit of the new Trust and the old Governors. I don’t think that governance structure lies at the heart of the current problems faced by the BBC. Trust or Governors, both can very well regulate and be cheerleaders: after all, doesn’t every school…
Or, as the Americans would have it, Egyptian fall. My take on what is happening in Egypt right now is one I set out in the (much delayed) Lords debate on the Arab spring over a year ago. In brief, democracy is not just about voting. Voting is necessary but insufficient in itself. The state needs a constitutional structure and…
First, a welcome to the new peers announced yesterday. Odd that the LibDems should be appointing any, given their stance that all peers should be elected. And good luck to the new ones in finding a desk and a computer, room to sit down on the red benches, securing a place on a committee and getting…
This is the story behind the amendment I am moving on Monday 29th during the passage of the Care Bill. It is the plight of two very elderly sisters who have lived together all their lives, unmarried, and who cared for their parents when they were alive. Now when one of them dies the survivor…
