Last Tuesday was the 15th Anniversary of that amazing day when the first democratic Scottish Parliament was officially opened in 1999. It was a day I’ll never forget, so it seemed like the perfect moment to set out my views on the independence referendum that takes place here in September. I was joined by former…
I agree with every word of Baroness Lister’s blog on Assisted Dying, I’ll say more next week as we approach the debate. But I don’t want to leave the recent news on child sexual abuse without a comment. Claims of an establishment cover-up of historical child sex abuse involving public figures, including politicians, have prompted…
The issue of assisted dying is one of the most controversial to come before the Lords. On July 18, Lord Falconer will be seeking a 2nd reading for his private members Assisted Dying Bill. The Bill will allow terminally ill, mentally competent adults to request life-ending medication from a doctor, which the patient would self-administer…
How on earth is the Committee I chair – the Delegated Powers and Regulatory Reform Committee – connected in any way with the Tour de France? Turn the spotlight on Harrogate and you’ll see why. The finish of the first stage (the Grand Départ) happened to be adjacent to a large open area in Harrogate…
These rail improvements (see DfT press release below) are really good news for Cornwall. They are the result of Cornwall CC, the LEP with Network Rail and FGW and others sending a consistent and well-argued message to ministers and parliamentarians. A lot of hard work went into this, including an exhibition in London of the…
In the 1970’s Britain discovered that nature had given her a wonderful gift – North Sea Oil. Over the years since that initial discovery the proceeds from North Sea oil have been used to transform areas of our country. Meanwhile new technologies have meant that there was more oil than was originally believed and the…
I’ll be honest here, I went into the House yesterday for meetings concerned with forthcoming bills but did not particularly want to go into the Chamber. But as readers will know, no put backside on bench, no attendance fee, so I scoured the day’s agenda for something entertaining. Isn’t that a dreadful admission? But all…
In a fascinating new biography of Brian Abel-Smith, Sally Sheard describes how this towering intellectual LSE professor influenced a generation of social scientists, global thinking on health, welfare and poverty, and over three decades of Labour thinking. (Sally Sheard, The Passionate Economist: How Brian Abel-Smith shaped global health and social welfare, Policy Press, 2014.) In…
