In his speech yesterday to mark the tenth anniversary of the Macpherson report, Trevor Phillips – chair of the new Equality and Human Rights Commission – drew attention to the fact that the House of Lords was more ethnically diverse than the House of Commons. Parliament, he argued, was not reflecting changes in British society. “For Parliament to…
Former Chancellor Kenneth Clarke has been appointed Shadow Business Secretary. He will be the opposite number to Lord Mandelson. However, he will not be facing Lord Mandelson as they sit in different chambers. Lord Mandelson answers directly to peers and can be called to appear by committees in the Commons. Conversely, ministers in the Commons…
The House of Lords gets relatively little media attention. That applies not only to the chamber but also to committees. The House used to be a chamber-oriented institution, making little use of investigative committees. That has changed in recent years and the House has become a much more specialised body. It has created more select…
How the world changes! An ex Russian spy buys a British newspaper. What would Ian Fleming have made of it?! Maybe the current and soon to be deposed editor, Veronica Wadley, was Moneypenny all the time!
At last a bit of good news. Like everyone else I hope the ceasefire holds and that we build on it by working for that permanent settlement that keeps eluding us. With a new president in the USA and the direct involvement of the Arab states there is a chance of movement. Tony Blair was…
“Our time has come”. This was the rallying cry of Senator Barack Obama, during the American Presidential campaign. I decided to use that phrase whilst addressing a crowd of 2 million people, in Nigeria’s Lagos Stadium, during the recess. This was an extraordinary moment in my life. I felt privileged at the high level of…
I am on an interview panel (for Thouron scholarships) throughout today and tomorrow, so I thought I would post this weekend’s quiz questions this morning. The questions are on women peers. 1. Who is the youngest female peer sitting on the Conservative benches? 2. Who is the youngest female peer sitting on the Labour benches? 3.…
The first debate in the House today was a three-hour debate, introduced by former Education Secretary, Baroness Shephard of Northwold, on the functioning of Children’s Services Departments. I took part in the debate. It is not one of my principal areas of interest, but I was interested in one particular aspect. Under the Government’s proposals…
An extraordinary editorial appeared in the Sri Lankan Sunday Leader newspaper on the 11 January. Written by the editor he predicted his own murder which happened shortly after he wrote it. The Guardian published an edited version on Tuesday. It makes chilling reading and demonstrates the risks taken by journalists in in certain countries. http://www.thesundayleader.lk/20090111/editorial-.htm …
