I listened with some trepidation to the Prime Minister’s speech this morning, which you can read here at http://www.politics.co.uk/features/health/david-cameron-nhs-speech-in-full-$21388842.htm. Was he going to subtly shift from the crucial parts of the Health Bill that are likely to make the difference in the long term to the cost effectiveness, responsiveness and sustainability of the public service…
As the Syrian regime has manages to creat a black hole for journalism we should perhaps spare a thought for the incredibly brave people of that sad country. Those who think there are no differences between democracies and open societies should perhaps visit Syria – or try!
The House of Lords has among its membership several distinguished surgeons as well as a good number of eminent lawyers. This week’s quiz focuses on peers who are drawn from medicine and the law. As usual, the first two readers to supply the correct answers will be the winners. 1. I combined being a surgeon…
There are those who say that the BBC is not sufficiently “accountable”. Well, the new chairman of the trustees, Lord (Chris) Patten has had a busy week explaining how it works, first to the Lords Select Committee on Communications, and then to the AllParty BBC Group. The usual issues were raised: how can the trustees…
The latest issue of The House Magazine comments on the fact that Prince William has been made Duke of Cambridge. It notes that it is the first time for centuries that a peerage has been created without carrying an automatic right to sit in the House of Lords. I enjoyed the final sentence of the…
As Lord Knight has reported – and indeed as have several newspapers today – the Government suffered a significant defeat last night on the Police and Social Responsibility Bill. This was the second defeat in two days. The previous day, it lost an important amendment on the Fixed-term Parliaments Bill. These bring to 16 the…
I rushed away to another event this evening after the vote on the Police Reform and Social Responsibility Bill. That means I missed the debate after this extraordinary vote but have now read the Hansard record and have a feel for the chaos that ensued. The defeat was significant because it was a Liberal Democrat…
The Political and Constitutional Reform Committee in the Commons recently held a seminar to discuss reform of the Lords. It published its report, Seminar on the House of Lords: Outcomes, on Tuesday. It makes the case for incremental change, noting that Government should not wait for radical reform before making such change. In looking at…
I was very interested to see Lord Soley’s blog headed “Historic Wrecks”, which could surely be an apposite description of several of us in the House of Lords. I was, however, relieved to see that he was not making any specific personal references. When I bumped into him in the Division lobby last night, I…
