Category Archives: Baroness Murphy

A New Italian Symphony

Baroness Murphy 13/11/2011 – 9:59 am

I’m watching events in Italy with some trepidation and on Thursday I’m going to see for myself how matters are unfolding in our little corner of it. The general rejoicing at Berlusconi’s departure won’t of course automatically bring in a government able to tackle the grievous structural problems and zero growth. Even putting in Mario Monti, a highly respected and brainy economist, as P […]

Written at 9:59 am on 13/11/2011, by Baroness Murphy

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No Change in the House

Baroness Murphy 09/11/2011 – 8:14 am

I’ve spent some batty days in the House of Lords but yesterday’s debate on modernising the House’s procedure in the Chamber has to be the battiest so far. The Leader’s Group on Working Practices of the House (called the Goodlad Report) has made a series of minor recommendations (and some more substantive recommendations that we haven’t debated yet). There were eight proposals, ranging fr […]

Written at 8:14 am on 09/11/2011, by Baroness Murphy

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Angels dancing on the head of a pin

Baroness Murphy 02/11/2011 – 10:31 am

The Health and Social Care Bill committee stages started last week http://www.publications.parliament.uk/pa/ld201011/ldhansrd/text/111025-0002.htm and will continue this afternoon. We haven’t got past clause 1 yet. It was probably the most frustrating debate I’ve ever attended. It is all about whether the Secretary of State for Health should ‘provide’, or ‘promote’ and or ‘secure […]

Written at 10:31 am on 02/11/2011, by Baroness Murphy

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‘Adopt a Lord’ is counterproductive

Baroness Murphy 22/10/2011 – 4:27 pm

Following on Lord Tyler's exchanges with Zoe Williams in the Guardian, I have to confess to being increasingly alienated by mass e-mails and letters about the Health and Social Care Bill. We have always had mass mailings from union members and religious organisations on certain issues but I first noticed I was receiving large numbers of misinformed and politically naive mailings during the Higher […]

Written at 4:27 pm on 22/10/2011, by Baroness Murphy

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Scientific Advice to Government

Baroness Murphy 19/10/2011 – 12:21 pm

The House of Lords Science & Technology Select Committee inquiry into the activities of Chief Scientific Advisers (CSAs), which will shortly begin deliberations. In preparation for this the Campaign for Science and Engineering (CaSE), which quite rightly advocates for better scientific advice to inform policy making, have examined the current state of play for existing government departmen […]

Written at 12:21 pm on 19/10/2011, by Baroness Murphy

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