The fact that I didn’t manage to blog last week is a fair indication that it got a little busy. The Lords was busy enough, but as a 45 year old I still have a fair chunk of mortgage to pay off so I was also earning money. For example, whilst last Friday was a sitting day…
Although I think the release of this very determined and brave woman is to be welcomed I am sceptical about the military junta allowing any genuine freedom for her or the Burmese people.
The debate on defence lasted from 10am to nearly 6pm on Friday. It was a high quality debate with contributions from a number of ex cabinet ministers and defence chiefs. Great concern was expressed across the political divide about the decision to retire the Harriers. A powerful point made by a number of people and…
This week’s quiz is a straightforward one inviting you to identify some senior members of the House. Peers are drawn from a range of backgrounds. This week the focus is on ministerial background. As usual, the first two readers to supply the correct answers will be the winners. 1. I am a Conservative peer. I…
I have just returned, much refreshed and calmed, from a performance of Mozart’s Requiem Mass in D minor. Rest eternal grant to them, O Lord, and let perpetual light shine upon them. It was a special performance for Remembrance Day, in the splendid setting of Christ Church Cathedral, Oxford. It was performed by our local world class…
The House of Lords jealously – and irrationally – guards the principle of ‘self-regulation’ which is supposed to govern the way the House works. It leads to all sorts of absurdities at Questions, and when Government Ministers are making statements, since it is in effect the Government which decides who should speak next. The Lord…
As Baroness Deech has explained, we had a long debate on Tuesday on the Second Reading of the Public Bodies Bill. We rose shortly before midnight. Over 55 speakers participated. Had each taken the 15 minutes to which they were entitled, we would have gone on for several more hours. In the event, most speakers…
Yesterday the House spent 8 hours debating the Public Bodies (Reform) Bill. This is a Bill that, in short, gives Ministers the power to abolish, merge and reform quangos (quasi-autonomous non-departmental organisations) without much further consultation, simply by statutory instrument. The Bill lists 192 of those organisations that we love to hate (the Charity Commission, the…
Tonight I am sitting in my office, catching up on paperwork, sorting out my inbox, and also planning my next couple of weeks between my Lords work, and the other things I do. I don’t know how, but miraculously it all seems to fit together. Today I travelled down from the North of England where I…
