There was a question for short debate in the Lords last night on electoral systems, especially the party list system. I missed it because I was taking part in a debate hosted by Policy Exchange – on electoral systems. Home Secretary Alan Johnson and Professor Vernon Bogdanor argued the case for introducing a system of…
Lord Quirk asked a question today about taking measures to improve performance in written and spoken English throughout the education system. So many peers rose to their feet wishing to participate that very few could be heard. Had I been one of them, I would have asked the Minister to tell schools and universities to…
Bedd Gelert has suggested we should have a discussion about airport security and the underpinning policy approaches (security profiling or blanket coverage of restrictions). Since I am about to embark on a journey from Pisa to Stansted airport where travel time will be doubled as a result of security provisions that will make me feel…
Heavens, it turns out I’ve been eating nanoparticles for lunch! I didn’t know they were naturally occurring in some foods; ricotta cheese for one. So my ravioli gnudi (which are largely ricotta and spinach and absolutely delicious) presumably had billions of them. How do I know this? Because the House of Lords Science and Technology…
As I am in Oxford this weekend at the annual meeting of the Study of Parliament Group, and may not have access to a PC, I am posting this week’s quiz earlier than usual. I will not be back until Sunday, so this gives readers plenty of time to research and provide the answers. As I mentioned in…
There was an interesting contrast in the mail I received this morning. The Winter issue of The Voice – the newsletter of the British Cleaning Council – included a section justifying health and safety legislation and seeking to debunk claims made about health and safety measures; for example, that children had to wear goggles when playing…
The Prime Minister considers it ‘completely inappropriate’ for Muslims to demonstrate in Wootton Bassett to remind the wider world of civilian deaths in Iraq and Afghanistan. No harm in considering something inappropriate but there would be great harm to my mind if the planned demonstration were to be censored. The protest march would offend the…
To my surprise I’ve gone from being snowbound in Norfolk to being snowbound in Tuscany. The forecast suggests it will quickly turn to rain but meanwhile the olive trees and vines take on a rare appearance. A young Italian friend got stuck coming up our steep lane this morning and we had to dig her…
I am spending the new year break in Cape Town. I have a deep interest in and affection for South Africa, having been a trustee of the Rhodes Scholarships and of the Mandela-Rhodes Foundation. The Rhodes Scholarships bring American, S. African and other commonwealth graduates to Oxford – but the Mandela-Rhodes Foundation returns some of…
