In a quieter moment last week, sitting on our front bench on Wednesday, I was inspired to leaf through unexplored pages of that essential guide to whole way in which the House of Lords works, the Companion. My eye was caught by an unfamiliar section: PROTESTS, which read as follows: Any member has the…
This is the full text I would have delivered on 22nd October, but because of the time limit it had to be cut by about a half. A spoken version can be found at House of Lords Grand Committee col 50 for 22.10.2015 “There is good news for this debate because the Parliamentary Assembly of the Council of…
Prometheus Books – Amherst – NY pub 2014 – ISBN: 978-1-61614-948-2235 pages + Appendices, Chronology, Notes on Sources, and Index The author is an American journalist, who grew up in California as a politically active student, from a Jewish family, who protested against the Vietnam War. He gives a useful background on Syria since the…
With the final whistle minutes away, Scotland were within touching distance of the Rugby Union World Cup semi-final, the only northern hemisphere team still in contention. But in those last two agnonising minutes Australia scored a controversial penalty to take the semifinal place. Scotland played like heroes and silenced those that had…
“A referral fee is a payment made for the referral or introduction of a client or potential client. Referral fees and arrangements can take different forms. Although they are also used in other commercial relationships, they have attracted particular attention when they involve the legal professions.” That’s the definition used in a parliamentary briefing paper. …
Last Tuesday I took part in the debate considering the report of the Lords Communications Committee on Women in News and Current Affairs Broadcasting. The report was excellent, not least as a result of the superb stewardship of the Committee Chair, Lord Best. The picture painted by the report was not bright, a world far…
There was a debate on the future of the BBC, led by Baroness (Joan) Bakewell, on Thursday. Nearly every speaker defended the BBC and the need for it to continue ungagged by government under the renewed Charter. Yes, there have been mistakes, but compared to those made by other institutions, including government itself, they are…
Lord Berkeley and Jonathan Roberts today (11 September 2015) launched their Report on Euston Express, the alternative to the HS2 scheme for Euston and its approaches. Euston Express will save Government £1.5bn to £2bn, can be completed more quickly that the HS2 scheme, and puts HS2 and WCML services into the existing station, with 3…
There seem to be two widely held views about the right length for human life. On the one hand are those who believe in a loving God, who cares and provides for each human being. They believe in the Resurrection and a glorious eternal after-life for those who have followed the commandments of love. On…
