Lord Harris of Haringey is currently conducting an inquiry into the Olympic legacy (The Committee on Olympic and Paralympic legacy). I suspect we all have very different ideas of what a good legacy would look like. The Government of course has come out one year on with some (difficult to substantiate or disprove) statistics proving…
First, a welcome to the new peers announced yesterday. Odd that the LibDems should be appointing any, given their stance that all peers should be elected. And good luck to the new ones in finding a desk and a computer, room to sit down on the red benches, securing a place on a committee and getting…
As we stagger towards the end of the Parliamentary sessions and look forward to sun, sand and sangria, the UK’s relationship with Europe has continued to occupy our minds as well as a good deal of Parliamentary time. At the centre of the current discussion is the UK’s right to opt out of 130 European…
By Lord Warner On 25th July the House of Lords debated the contribution of atheists and humanists to UK society. There was a big turnout of atheists and humanists showing their distaste for organised religion through the ages even if they liked cathedrals and church music. I felt quite sorry for the solitary bishop who…
This is the story behind the amendment I am moving on Monday 29th during the passage of the Care Bill. It is the plight of two very elderly sisters who have lived together all their lives, unmarried, and who cared for their parents when they were alive. Now when one of them dies the survivor…
I penned an earlier post on the procedure for Third Reading in the Lords in response to clear interest shown in it during passage of the Marriage (Same Sex Couples) Bill. Many people outside the House appeared unaware of how we differed from the Commons. The passage of the Bill also prompts comment on when its…
When Big Ben strikes 11AM on the first anniversary of the opening of the Olympic Games (Saturday 27 July, 2013) I will be setting off from Downing Street to walk nearly 500 miles to Enniskillen in Northern Ireland. If all goes to plan then I will arrive at Loch Erne in Northern Ireland on Monday…
In 1592 Lord Howard of Effingham commissioned a series of ten tapestries to commemorate the defeat of the Spanish Armada (he was Lord High Admiral at the time). In 1616 he sold them to King James 1 for £1,628. By 1660 the tapestries had moved to the Royal Palace of Westminster, where they hung in…
When MPs are off for their Recess (working hard in their constituencies, of course), the media take more interest in the work of our House. This may explain why a number of journalists were so fascinated by our discussion yesterday of the Profumo affair, whose fiftieth anniversary is this year. Donald Macintyre hoped we were…
