On the 3rd October 2011 I wrote a post on the relationship between the UK and the EU ( http://lordsoftheblog.net/2011/10/03/winds-of-change/ ) I think the potential threat to British policy is growing more significant. David Cameron is being excluded from the key decisions in Europe. Germany and France are determined to put the political structure of the…
In the run-up to Christmas, I shall publish the names of grand prize-winners to date. I also plan to include those readers who have been regular contributors to the quiz, frequently getting answers correct but not necessarily being among the first two to supply the answers. I think they too merit an invitation to tea…
I just heard the PM say that 40% of schools are open in spite of the strike and there is a video clip on BBC news of passport control moving at a pace at Heathrow I haven’t seen it for years. No doubt tomorrow we’ll get a better picture but possibly the strike will not…
Twenty five years ago when I was Health Secretary the Government mounted a high profile campaign warning of the dangers of HIV and AIDS. At that time AIDS was a death sentence and public education was one of the few weapons we had. Over the last quarter of a century much has changed. In particular,…
Perhaps it was not unexpected that David Willetts, Universities Minister, should have been forced to abandon his speech about the Idea of a University in Cambridge on 22nd, when students took over and prevented him from continuing. This sort of blocking of free speech goes back a long way in universities, and it was that…
The Archbishop of Canterbury, Rowan Williams, last night gave evidence to the Joint Committee on the Draft House of Lords Reform Bill. Following him, we heard evidence from representatives of THEOS, a Christian think tank, and the British Humanist Association. Earlier, the House of Lords Library published a useful Library research note on religious representation…
I have previously commented on the sheer growth in recent years in the number of all-party parliamentary groups in Parliament. There is a group for virtually every topic you can think of, political and non-political. An all-party group can serve a valuable purpose, bringing together members from all parties with a particular interest in a…
I watched the Boarding School Bomber programme on BBC3 last week. I found it very powerful and moving. http://www.bbc.co.uk/iplayer/episode/b017nghc/The_Boarding_School_Bomber/ It raises a number of questions about the way Al-Quaeda targets the young and vulnerable and also the difficult issue of how a friend or a community reacts when they see someone close to them getting into…
