Today’s State Opening of Parliament followed its usual pattern, not least in terms of who was in the chamber. Not only do members of the two Houses assemble, but we are joined by members of the Diplomat Corps, who sit by seniority (the senior ones to the front of the box, and the very junior…
The Pope in Jerusalam Your scribes and editors should know that “mass” is not “delivered” like a commodity, in Manger Square or anywhere else. The eucharist is celebrated by pope or priest with the faithful. It is a thanksgiving with praise, for the life, death and resurrection of Our Saviour, Jesus Christ. The Holy Spirit…
The shopworkers’ union USDAW wants to keep strict regulation of supermarket Sunday opening hours because “Sunday is special”. I assume they must have agreed with David Cameron who gave a speech at Easter pointing out, not for the first time, that this is a Christian country. There may be differing views about the meaning and…
The quiz returns in its usual weekend slot in order to give readers time to submit answers. The focus is on the Queen’s Speech. The first reader to provide the correct answers will be the winner. The prize will be a copy of The Voice of the Backbenchers, unless the winner is Jonathan, who won…
It is a tragedy that as the civil war in Syria begins its fourth year there are no signs of a solution on the horizon. The situation is dire. The human costs are staggering. Every month almost twice as many people are killed in the streets of Syria than were murdered in the Al-Qaeda attack…
Perhaps it is that our culture has become quite negative about politics that I am so often asked what are the most difficult and the worst parts of my job. But this morning as I was walking past Peers Entrance a man was taking his young children out of their buggy to sit them on…
At long last the number of successful prosecutions for Blue Badge fraud is going up from 330 in 2010 to 686 last year. But, considering the huge amount of Blue Badge fraud, this is still a tiny number of prosecutions. The Act I piloted through the Lords early last year, although a modest measure, did…
When I chaired the Constitution Committee in the Lords, one of our major reports was on Parliament and the Legislative Process. Later this year will mark the tenth anniversary of its publication. We examined the whole legislative process, including pre- and post-legislative scrutiny. We were keen not only to see pre-legislative scrutiny (examining Bills in draft)…
Today in Tokyo I will deliver a speech to the British Chamber of Commerce in Japan. Business leaders here have questions about the future of the UK. And this matters. UK exports to Japan are just under £10 billion; Japanese investment in the UK is the highest in the EU; and 1300 Japanese firms employ…
