As I was an MP until I retired from the Commons in 2005, my allowance claims for the previous year were examined by Sir Thomas Legg and his team. I received my letter from him at the weekend, giving me the all clear. He wrote “I have not identified any payments made to you under…
Amidst all the fuss about the Attorney General and her housekeeper, her recent role in helping to dissuade Gordon Brown from reforming her office has gone unremarked. In July 2007, the incoming Prime Minister indicated that he planned to detach the Attorney’s core responsibility as top legal adviser from day-to-day politics (“The role of Attorney…
I recently received two invitations for celebratory events. The first marks the “40th Anniversary of the Great Al-Fatch Revolution” which brought Col. Gaddafi to power. The second rejoices in the 60th anniversary of the founding of the People’s Republic of China, and H E Ambassador Fu Ying and Professor Hao Shiyuan request the pleasure of…
When Parliament returns there may be a new spotlight on the pay and expenses arrangements for Peers. And quite right too – they are just as messy as those for MPs. Unjustifiably, the present rules mean Peers claim tax-free “allowances” for attendance, and as recent media stories have confirmed, that encourages people to just ‘pop…
You can tell when Governments aren’t quite sure of themselves by the way in which they unveil their ideas. Those which they hope will be popular are trailed on the Today programme, and then big statements are made in the Commons, and further spinning goes on with journalists in the lobby afterwards. What tho’ if…
