Category Archives: Baroness Murphy

Rethink Politics

December 2, 2009 – 3:02 pm

I’ve just got back from the launch in the Commons of ‘Rethink Politics’ an initiative funded by the Electoral Commission, supported by Rethink, the Mental Health charity, aimed at encouraging partcipation in politics by people who have been affected by mental illness. One of the successes of the project has been to get 5000 service users onto the [...]

By baronessmurphy | Comments (6)

A very long debate

November 24, 2009 – 9:43 am

The debate on the “Gracious Address” (never the ‘Queen’s Speech” please note) carries on for 5 days, as Lady D’Souza has already remarked. Yesterday we had the debate on “Home, Legal and Constitutional Affairs”, with 45 speakers, 2 maiden speeches,  Lord Bach kicking off for the Home Team and Lord West of Spithead following up [...]

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Long wait, Short speech

November 18, 2009 – 3:21 pm

Well I hope you all saw me on the telly this morning…I was first row up on the left between Ladies Howarth of Breckland and Pitkeathley. Being lady peers, our spouses/partners had been banished to the galleries above whereas the peeresses with their tiaras  sat right behind us in the Chamber…now that’s not quite equality [...]

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End of Term

November 12, 2009 – 11:24 am

This is both a new post and a follow-on to Lord Tyler’s last. Last night was an exciting evening in the Chamber. The Commons response to the Lords amendments in the Coroners and Justice bill returned to our House for consideration. The process by which a Commons amendment A (usually a re-insertion of the former [...]

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In the red

November 10, 2009 – 1:16 pm

Just a quick one. I mentioned before that a peer must hire robes for State Opening. Until yesterday Ede and Ravenscroft had run out and I was stranded. But yippee,  yesterday they had a cancellation so I will go the party after all! It’ll cost me £124 in case you wondered…..

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