In response to my post on the problems of a long recess, two readers – Adrian Kidney and James Clarke – expressed distrust in the media. I pointed out that Eurobarometer data reveal that they are not alone. The data show low – and declining – levels of trust in the press. Eurabarometer 69 (Spring…
I continue to be fascinated by some of the search-engine terms that result in people being directed to this site. Among recent terms are ‘puzzling questions in the bible’ and ‘men’s massage parlour + cochin’! Other terms are more straightforward and raise queries that are clearly relevant to the Lords and, more generally, Parliament. One…
I have already commented on the fact that the long recess has meant that MPs and peers have not been able to question ministers on events in Georgia. Had Parliament been sitting since the end of July, we would have had statements on a range of issues, including the economy, events in Georgia, world trade talks,…
Barbara Castle was a formidable and feisty politician, both when she served in the Commons and also when she joined the Lords. (She was elevated to the peerage in 1990 when she was 80.) She was not afraid to speak her mind and that included when taking on her own Government. She also came out with…
I switched on BBC1 this evening, too late for Panorama, and no sooner had I switched on than I saw a shot of Westminster. This was in a programme called New Tricks and it showed what purported to be a meeting with a Labour peer at the House of Lords. The programme-makers clearly have no knowledge…
