I was delighted to see the number of comments on my last post, and on the debate I led in the Lords ten days ago. In response: 1. Scrutiny: There seems to be a consensus both among commenters, and in the Lords debate (both the other day and on the Queen’s Speech) that we should…
The State has core functions which overall allow citizens to flourish individually, socially and economically. These functions include ensuring the rule of law, managing public finance and assets, developing social policies, upholding human rights, maintaining administrative control and the legitimate use of violence. It is ONLY the State that can carry out these duties and therefore one could…
For anybody who has not seen the news, the House of Lords Appointments Commission yesterday announced they were recommending the appointment of four new life peers who will sit on the cross-benches. They include Dame Tanni Grey-Thompson, Britain’s most successful Paralympian.
This week’s quiz is on the Lords Spiritual. When I give a talk on the Lords, one of the questions most frequently asked is about the role of the Archbishops and Bishops in the Lords. (The other most frequently asked question is: ‘How do you become a Lord?’) As usual, the first two readers to…
This past week has been an exceptionally busy week for me in parliament and the theme of old age ran through much of the debates. First the Personal Care at Home Bill had its second reading on Monday. It’s a singularly unfortunate piece of legislation which has largely been created as an electoral eye catcher.…
Following on Lord Hylton’s comments, I have noticed that the provisions in the Equality Bill are making many reasonable and decent people very unhappy. They feel that their faith, and provision of services by its adherents to the members of their community and to the wider world are under threat. Why is this? Listening to…
It is good that Ruth Gledhill (Times February 2nd) thinks that Catholic Church social teachings are seminal and influence governments and political parties. These teachings include striving for world-wide peace, but also the principles of solidarity and subsidiarity. Solidarity means that, like Jesus Christ, we are on the side of the oppressed, poor, and marginalised.…
I promised to identify some of the arguments against proportional representation (PR). The Prime Minister is proposing a referendum on the alternative vote (AV), but that does not qualify as a PR system. It is because it doesn’t that the Jenkins Commission came up with AV+. I confine myself here to PR and offer a taster…
I was the only woman to speak in Lord Tyler’s debate on constitutional renewal last Thursday, and characteristically perhaps for a woman I looked at the domestic governance arrangements inside the House which I observe do not serve well the business of the House. The House is unable to respond swiftly and effectively to crises…
