A friend of mine recently said to me: ‘ You haven’t blogged about yourself recently’. He obviously said this in a fit of complete absent-mindedness, since he usually takes the view that everything I write is, in some way, about me. I had been thinking I might lighten (or possibly darken) the mood by writing…
One rather encouraging aspect of this summer has been the number of parliamentary select committees that have been meeting. Some have held evidence-taking sessions – some quite high profile, as with the Governor of the Bank of England – and a number have issued reports. I have not noticed such use made of the summer…
This week’s quiz questions. To add to the competitiveness, only the first reader to respond with the correct answers will be a prize winner. We already have one grand prize winner – Chris K. – who will be coming to tea at the Lords in October. Let’s see if we are about to have another…
I think Baroness Murphy makes some powerful points. I am still unsure about the wisdom of this. Some points of concern can be ironed out but I think the key question is will it prevent abuse? I find a number of people who work with children insisting that it will but Baroness Murphy is right to point…
I add my voice here to the chorus of protests about the establishment of this new authority. Actually it’s not really the Authority I object to; we already have an unwieldy and ineffective system of checks on a whole range of individuals who come into contact with children and vulnerable adults and the Authority does…
I mentioned I was going to raise a number of contentious issues and invite readers’ comments. I have three issues in mind, each of which attracts strong feelings but which deserves being debated, if only for the purpose of rejection. They are the sort of issues that are appropriate to debate in the Lords, in that we have…
This week’s quiz questions. The first two readers to come up with the correct answers will be declared the winners. 1. There are presently more members of the House of Lords who have served as Government Chief Whip in the House of Commons than there are who have served as Government Chief Whip in the House of Lords. …
The House of Lords provides various opportunities for members to raise issues. I have been very fortunate in the number of occasions I have been successful in the ballot for a full debate; I have also raised issues or contributed to debate through a Question for Short Debate. The nature of the House – its…
For the last 3 years, many of us have had the experience of standing in line at an airport, enduring and not enjoying the experience. We felt herded like cattle, searched, and treated with suspicion. We are told what liquids and other items we cannot take on board the plane. We are just relieved when…
