In 2017 David Lammy, now Secretary of State for Justice and Deputy Prime Minister conducted a review of prejudice in the Criminal Justice system and he concluded that Juries “act as a filter against prejudice”. In 2020 he went further,…
I serve on the Joint Human Rights Committee (JHRC), to which I was appointed at beginning of the current parliamentary session. ‘Joint’ because the membership is composed from both the Lords and Commons. Unlike Commons Select Committees,…
The economy is still reeling from the impact of the Chancellor’s previous budget. Business confidence collapsed even months before that when, during preceding summer, we were warned that things were bound to get worse before they got…
I will support the measures that the new Home Secretary, Shabana Mahmood, has announced, which are designed to regain control of our borders, but I don’t believe they will deliver the result that she wants.
There used to be a convention of ‘pre-budget purdah’ whereby, for several months before the budget, the lips of ministers and their officials would be sealed with respect to even the slightest speculation of what might be in the budget.…
A couple of weeks ago I was invited to address a Trafalgar Day dinner in Penzance. Inevitably, as a great fan of Winston Graham’s Poldark novels, I reflected on the piracy associated with the coastline and the town: Piracy with the…
James Orr, Professor of Philosophy of Religion at Cambridge University’s Faculty of Divinity, was last month named as an advisor to Nigel Farage (US Vice-President, J D Vance regards Orr as his “British sherpa”).This follows the defection…
Sometimes being in Government can be pretty miserable. Home Office ministers would have had a pretty ghastly couple of days with the public relations disaster, when a deportee on their one-in-one-out scheme with France returned on the…
On Monday we debated the Government’s Diego Garcia Military Base and British Indian Ocean Territory Bill. This is the measure that will enable the Government to cede sovereignty of these Islands to Mauritius and then lease them back for…
Yesterday at Exeter University I debated the question that activist judges threaten our constitution. Judges, by their decisions and the precedents that they set, make law. Some of those decisions are the basis of our liberty -long before…
Usually, political policy announcements are trailed well in advance, so there are few surprises. So, the announcement this week that a Conservative government would abolish Stamp Duty was an exception, and a most welcome surprise.Stamp…
The chancellor has announced a new scheme to get the under-25-year-olds that are currently not in work, training or education, the so-called NEETS, offering a guaranteed job for those of them that have been out of work for 18 months or…
As the benefits bill ballooned, the Government’s attempt to make even the most modest of savings spectacularly crashed and burned in the Commons at the beginning of July, in the face of a massive rebellion on the labour benches. Now it is…
A liberal Democrat parliamentary colleague leaned over the gangway towards me on Monday, confiding that he had been listening to James Obrien’ s LBC news programme as he drove to Westminster: Danny Kruger’s defection from the Conservative…
On the 5th September I added a post Parent of parliaments? In which I expressed my surprise at one of the parliamentary lavatories being converted to a ‘gender neutral’ facility, by having the urinals boarded up, and leaving only the two…
We often have to identify ourselves by providing our date of birth, for example when we collect a prescription at the chemist’s.So, I am very surprised at the number of complaints I have received, demanding repeal of the Online Safety Act…
I Chaired a debate commemorating the Battle of Britain on Tuesday. Here is a gobbet from Sir Ian Duncan -Smith’s contribution:“I was fortunate enough to sit next to Jock Colville, who was assistant private secretary to Churchill throughout…
I was surprised went went to the lavatory at Westminster, to discover that the three urinals had been boarded up, leaving only the two WC cubicles: a significant reduction of three fifths in service provision. Then I spotted the notice…
The announcement that the Government is considering introducing a digital ID system for everyone, as a means of tackling the UK’s ‘pull factors’ which fuel the channel crossings, has prompted a large number of constituents to send me their…
As the aggressor escalates the war, this Russian regime is no better than its Soviet predecessor in its determination to subjugate parts of Europe and enforce its malign influence throughout the world.The tragedy is that we could have seen…
Together with France we announced our intention to recognise a Palestinian state. In this column on 26th July I remarked that, although this was ‘gesture politics’ nevertheless, I acknowledged that sometimes in politics a gesture is called…
Some of the striking headlines indicating what the Free World’s media made of the Trump/ Putin Summit in Alaska: — Sky News: “Putin behaved as if he was in control and running the show.” — Politico: “Putin’s triumph in Alaska”; — The New…
There is something grotesque about watching elderly ladies and gentlemen being hauled away by burly policemen, for doing no more than peacefully displaying a piece of card expressing their opposition to genocide and their support for…
The 30% reduction in graduate recruitment this year has been attributed to the substitution of artificial intelligence (AI) in those roles that graduates might otherwise have filled.I’m not entirely convinced. Recruitment is sharply down…
The Prime Minister has received another letter from MPs, of all parties, demanding the official recognition of ‘Palestine’ as a state.A constituent has emailed to express her surprise that my name was not among the signatories.The Simple…
On 16th January, in this column, I raised the danger that taxpayers may have to pay compensation to Gerry Adams as a consequence of the Government’s decision to repeal the Northern Ireland Troubles (Legacy and Reconciliation) Act 2023.On…
A week or so ago, I chaired a legislative committee for a order that would enable the Secretary of State for Energy to have the power to see anonymised bids for wind electricity generation, before he sets the budget for the next auction of…
Last month, a man who burned a copy of the Quran was found guilty of a religiously aggravated public order offence. Clearly, his action was in poor taste, but I believe it should not have been a criminal offence, and that Parliament never…
A couple of days ago I received a letter headed with a large, coloured logo ‘REPAIR’, giving a time and place for a meeting at Westminster. At first glance I thought it was advertising one of those sessions where you can take along…
Rather than having specific legislation to change abortion law, almost every crime bill which has come before Parliament over the last few years, has presented the opportunity to a dedicated group of enthusiasts, to use each such bill to…