I was recently discussing with a colleague in the House – an accountant by background – how many accountans and engineers we had in the House. I thought it would make the basis for the quiz. All the questions relate to current members of the House of Lords. As usual, the first two readers to…
The Inquiry has now published recent written evidence. You can read it here: http://www.levesoninquiry.org.uk/about/module-4-submissions-on-the-future-regime-for-the-press/ I submitted evidence in January and added to it in May at their request. I also sent a copy of my Bill from 1991. You can see all three on the site. There is also other interesting evidence from the industry,…
My comments on these replies are: 1: That the PKK, like Hamas, have for too long been unfairly demonized. They have tried to make ceasefires and have very strong popular support; 2: That an independent mediator is needed between the government of Turkey and the Peace and Democracy Party (BDP).
Next month, South Sudan will celebrate its first birthday. While this should be cause for elation, we must pause to recognize that the world’s youngest nation may perhaps also be the most vulnerable. The peaceful secession of South Sudan last July was a remarkable outcome after decades of conflict and dispute. The agreement to…
From these two replies, one about the Shebaa Farms, and the other about mock air raids , it is clear that HMG know that the state of Israel is behaving provocatively, but are unwilling to do much about it. It is important , therefore, that the friends of Israel exercise influence on the Israeli Government, in such…
I asked an Oral Question in the Lords today: “To ask Her Majesty’s Government how many people from an ethnic minority background aged 16-24 are undertaking apprenticeships” I’ve learnt that when asking a Quesion, you need to have a pretty good idea of not only what the answer may be, but also what information you…
It is reported that the Government will seek to enact legislation providing for a presumption of “shared parenting” where father and mother split up. This move flies in the face of the Norgrove Review of family justice (2011), to be found at http://www.justice.gov.uk/downloads/publications/moj/2011/family-justice-review-final-report.pdf , which examined the situation in Australia, where a similar law is…
I encountered some 120 teachers of A Level politics and citizenship courses yesterday, brought together by the excellent Parliamentary Education Service. I was nominally leading a discussion about the work of the Joint Committee on the Draft House of Lords Reform Bill, but their questions naturally took us much wider, taking advantage of my previous…
The House suffered the loss of another member at the weekend with the death of Lord Maples. He was a former MP and minister and had done notable work for the Conservative Party under David Cameron in helping ensure that the party’s candidate base was considerably widened. He thus contributed to the diversity of the…
