Today the Lords supported an amendment to the Welfare Reform Bill that will add £100m to welfare expenditure. Its meaning is that only households with more than 1 spare bedroom will lose out on benefits. The debate offered graphic examples of the hardship that might be suffered by families if this amendment were defeated and,…
I hope I may be allowed some nostalgia, prompted by the 60th anniversary of the death of King George VI on 6th February, and the forthcoming celebration of the Diamond Jubilee of the Queen, which will be marked, amongst many other events, by the presentation of Addresses to her at Westminster by both Houses of…
There have been conflicting stories in the press this week about how and whether the government intends to change the law in order to ensure that both parents see more of their children after divorce. Some reports said that there would be introduced a legal presumption of equally shared parenting; others that it would not…
The solution to the dilemma of the banker’s bonus is obvious. Mr. Hester should take it, and give it to charity. That way the contract he seems to have had with RBS is fulfilled; honour is preserved; and the money goes back to the people for good purposes. The chair of RBS and of the…
The Inheritance (Cohabitants) Bill received its first reading on the 12th January. It is based on a Law Commission Report, Law Com no. 331 (2011) http://www.justice.gov.uk/lawcommission/docs/lc331_intestacy_report.pdf which, after consultation, recommended that the law be changed so that cohabitants would have an automatic claim to the property of their partner if he or she died intestate, provided…
