Largely, because she's just brilliant. She's erudite, insightful, at times amusing. And her blog pieces sometimes challenge the way I view things. Her blog is one of those that make us re-examine our own beliefs, to really look at things we might have said in anger. Her blog, more than lots of those I've read (including mine) actually have something interesting and different to say, and really offer a fresh perspective. I hope she continues to blog and continues to be a member of our Party for years to come! She's our Harriet Harman. No, she's not, actually. She's our ...
My Biobank day and I went along for want turned out to be 2 hours of questionnaires, tests and an interview. I could have done without spending the time but the NHS has done a lot for me, and it is a way of giving it back. If I'm still around it will be interesting to see what sort of evaluation they come up with in years to come. Of course the NHS has been in the news a lot as the...
Leaseholders and tenants on the Wyvil and Mawbey Brough estates continue to be hit by the Labour Council's sky-high charges and rent increases. Lib Dem Councillors are backing all estate residents to get a fair deal from the council. We have also been taking the council to task over the Oliver House lift on the Wyvil Estate breaking down all the time - we hope it will now be fixed properly!
blockquote>Biography lends to death a new terror – Oscar Wilde Melmoth, the sixth and shortest of the separate 'graphic novels' that make up the work Cerebus, is, at two hundred pages, described by its author/co-artist Dave Sim as a 'short story', because it takes so little time to read in comparison with his longer, more obviously ...
One of the joys of Islington is its pubs, not the high street chains but the lovely Victorian pubs on quiet side streets. Last night, Rich and I enjoyed a pint and the Sunday papers at the Island Queen. Hidden away opposite Hanover School on Noel Road, the Island Queen has a spectacular interior, huge ...
The more you are involved in campaigning the more you realise how the press doesn't always get a story right. The other week in my job at a CAB, I got an email about managing spam from our national body. A bit oddly it had a sentence about calling things "blocklisting" rather than "blacklisting". It was a bit odd but the comment of one person. The next thing I know the Daily Mail is running a story over the weekend about how the CAB service across the county has banned the use of the phrase "blacklisting" in another example of ...
A couple more gems from the Beeb this weekend. BBC News channel, reporting from Africa, referred to a region where "the cheese hold sway". The big ones, presumably. And on Match of the Day, a commentator querying a possible offside was reported as asking "Is it his fiancée?". WAGS rule. ...
Tory MP Sir Patrick Cormack - the grandees' grandee - isn't alone in thinking MPs are under-paid. Today's Times reports (under the oh-so-impartial headline, MPs hijack expenses inquiry with complaints and demands for pay rise - do you remember the days when newspapers reported facts, and let us form our own opinions?) that Sir Christopher Kelly's Committee on Standards in Public Life inquiry into Parliamentary standards has been bombarded by MPs' complaints about their miserable lifestyles, media intrusion, the inadequacy of existing allowances — along with repeated demands for a hefty pay rise. ... A detailed analysis by The Times ...
I wasn't going to blog about this today given I did not watch or hear the debate, however I have sat and read many reports from people there and just want to comment on a few things. I stick to my original view that Abdelbaset Ali al-Megrahi should not have been released, although I do understand all of the arguments on the compassionate grounds, I do think we have to assess each individual case on it's merits and details. Abdelbaset Ali al-Megrahi is terminally ill with cancer, I fully appreciate that is hard to properly assess and that is what ...
A couple of straws in the wind regarding Esther Rantzen: Linda Jack tweeted at the weekend thus: At Love Luton Hate Racism - Esther Rantzen spoke - vry short sed nothing at all, not even 2 condemn fascism! And from last night's Jam and Jersualem comedy drama, spoken by David Mitchell as Dr James Vine (who is a budding Liberal Democrat parliamentary candidate in the story): If the only alternative to politicians is Esther Rantzen then God help us all.
We're pleased to announce that once again we have Locality Funding of £10,000 to spend on improvements or activities in Lee Green ward and we would like to invite you to take part in the consultation process which runs until Sunday 27th September. Applications or suggestions for how to spend this money should directly benefit the local neighbourhood. All funding must be allocated and spent by the 31st March 2010, and the project be completely delivered by 30th November 2010. To give you an idea of the kind of thing we are looking for, in previous years funding has been ...
The Daily Telegraph has this piece; "Gordon Brown has "let down the poor", despite claiming that ending poverty was his defining purpose, Chris Grayling, the shadow home secretary, will say. Mr Grayling will lead the Conservatives' most aggressive raid so far on Labour's core support, in a fresh campaign centring on fixing "Broken Britain"." How the Conservatives can ...
1,500-2,000 cyclists use the Greenwich foot tunnel every day to cross the River Thames, and I know some of them are commuters from Lee Green who do the ride across Blackheath and down through Greenwich Park each day. The tunnel is due for refurbishment, and part of this will involve replacement of the lifts and then closure of the tunnel completely for a period. Obviously this is going to cause some problems for regular users, particularly cyclists. My Lib Dem colleague Caroline Pidgeon AM has arranged a meeting with representatives of Lewisham and Greenwich cyclists tomorrow night. Caroline will be ...
I always enjoy talking to people in town about politics and Bracknell in general. As always there were a lot of national debates as well as local debates with many questions raised to Ray Earwicker Lib Dem PPC. I was also ask a number of questions... For some reason I always bump into the same conservative activist who always has a lot of questions for us on the EU. It will be interesting to see what the Tories do in relation to the EU when (as I'm sure they will) win the next election. Will they have a referendum on ...
Mon 24th
18:55
Brown needs to consider the context of UK politics more when discussing third world rights for women...
If this isn't political opportunism, I don't know what is. Gordon Brown acting like he is a true promoter of women's rights? What, when his own female cabinet members say that he promotes a 'ladette culture', uses them as 'female window dressing', and fails to realise the extent of reform that needs to be done to Parliament in order for women to have equal representation. Whilst this double standard is important to bare in mind, it is important to focus on the crucial points about universal women rights Gordon Brown and Ellen Johnson - Sirleaf highlight in their article, even ...
I haven't listened to the whole proceedings from this afternoon, so I'll need to look at the Official Report tomorrow. That's what happens when Parliament is recalled at school chucking out time. I heard the statement and had to leave fairly early on in the questions. My initial impression is that there was a bit too much political posturing from all sides. I'd hoped for a bit more light than we actually got, although I was impressed that Tavish did ask clear and relevant questions relating to the visit to Al Megrahi, none of which I think were adequately answered. ...
Labour Home has a blog post about Shaun Bailey, a Conservative PPC who has a story about him in the True Blue tales book. The tale about Shaun Bailey is quiet weird and if the thoughts in the book run through his mind then clearly Bailey isn't ready for Parliament. The man thinks and dreams about sex from what I have gathered from the passages of the book, which have been highlighted by Labour Home! Updated since first publish.
St Nicholas Family Centre at Abbotswood is creating a new outdoor area for all the groups that use the centre. They are aiming to have a "grand community planting" on Saturday 26 September, from 9.30am to 12.30 pm. Please put this date in your diary, and come along and help.
Hadleigh Roberts has done an interesting blog post with the alliterative title "Cutting down the Commons will cripple Cameron's government". In it he argues that if David Cameron got his way and was able to cut the number of MPs by 10% he would cause himself some big problems and that he would end up with more Hannans and less pliable lobby fodder as well as more forced government appointments. In order to illustrate this, he uses the classic quote from Yes Minister: There are only 630 MPs and a party with just over 300 MPs forms a government and ...
The Government owns an area of surplus land almost as big as Slough that could be used to build almost 100,000 new homes, analysis by the Liberal Democrats has revealed. Over 3,100 hectares of surplus land are owned by the public sector. Guidelines say that property must be sold within six months if it already holds housing, but can be left for three years if it is empty. ...
There were four principal council by-elections held on Thursday 20th August. The Liberal Democrats gained two seats from Independents but lost one to the Conservatives. The Tories held one seat In the only parish and Town council elections reported to ALDC the Lib Dems held one seat and lost one seat to the Conservatives. In the Hucknall Central Ward of Ashfield District council, Nottinghamshire the local Liberal Democrats continue to march onward apace. Following dramatic recent electoral progress they had formed the district council's minority administration following the 2008 elections. Then in May this year a cabal of Labour, Independents ...
More than £500m has been spent on Criminal Record Bureau (CRB) checks since 2002, the Liberal Democrats have revealed. The rate of checks being carried out has also trebled since they were introduced, while the fees charged for carrying them out have also increased dramatically. The figures, revealed in Parliamentary answers given to Liberal Democrat Shadow Cabinet Office Minister,...
More nonsense from the Guardian, I'm having a field-day!This time is from M. Bunting who gives the impression of having never entered a library preferring some cheap reads of pop-science.Madeleine Bunting's astonishment at learning that human beings are influenced by their environment in the choices they make is bewildering. Marx, Gramsci and Bourdieu, to name but a few, analysed how society,
So John Redwood has called for the Prime Minister to recall Parliament. Am I alone in seeing this as a little act of desperation on the part of the MP for Pluto South? Might he just be feeling a bit miffed that no one gives a damn what he says about anything any more?
Nick Clegg; having absented himself from the debate around the NHS, finds it fit to comment on the Al-Megrahi case. He is right that the case is one of enormous gravity but his statement that; "I find it difficult to accept that someone convicted in a British court of law should be released as he was," shows a ...
Just got back from a Neighbourhood Action Panel (NAP) meeting on a day that looks as though it will be dominated by crime issues for me, as I have a Crime and Disorder Committee meeting tonight as well. Anyway, the NAPs are an initiative by the Colchester Crime and Disorder Reduction Partnership (CDRP) to get people from various bodies - the Council, the Police, Neighbourhood Watch, Residents Associations and the like - working together to solve issues, and it's sometimes surprisingly easy how quickly you can get things done when everyone's in one place and able to answer each other's ...
The A-level results came out last week leaving many wondering about the significance of the 27th year running in which grades have increased and whether or not they still represent the 'gold standard' in school education etc. These are perhaps interesting questions, but ... are we missing the elephant in the room? I think so. The long-standing primary purpose of ...
I left King's Lynn yesterday morning on the bus for Sutton Bridge. I got a shock when I arrived as the town's main hotel, which was apparently still thriving according to numerous websites, was boarded up. I was later told that it had been like that for a year or so. This turned out not to be a problem as I was able to find accommodation just down the road. The cricket was on in the bar and I was pleased to see that we had already got both Australian openers out. I headed off to photograph the Crosskeys bridge. ...
Speaking ahead of today's statement in Holyrood on the release of Abdelbaset Ali Al Megrahi, Liberal Democrat Leader Nick Clegg said: "It is absurd and damaging that the British Prime Minister simply remains silent in the hope that someone else will take the flak." "Although the decision to release Megrahi was a Scottish one for which Gordon Brown was not personally...
Katy Gordon, our candidate in Glasgow North, has just been recognised in Total Politics as a "face to watch" in their feature on the GE in Scotland. While a magazine for political obsessives probably won't swing the vote in Maryhill, it's encouraging that Katy's being recognised for all the great work she's doing here. Hat tip ...
Well, it's groundhog day! It's Monday and I am on a train heading to London. At least it's not first thing in the morning. I certainly don't miss those early morning trains to London. I was however up at a reasonably early hour this morning. Our candidate Neil Bradbury called to have some photos done in Sunniside before he went to work. So we were out on the Front St to catch the rush hour.At
Norman Lamb MP is calling a public meeting on Cromer regarding the persistent problems with US airforce jet undertaking low flying exercises late at night over Fakenham, Cromer and other towns in North Norfolk. Having been brought up on one of the flight paths regularly used by RAF jets landing at the now closed RAF Coltishall, i have no problem with low flying jets. But when I lived in Fakenham I was always surprised to see US jets screaming very low and very fast across Fakenham, going in to steep climbs (needing an afterburner and making lots of noise) and ...
Redcar and Cleveland Council's Democracy Commission has begun to discuss how it will consult the public about implementing the Executive arrangements in the Local Government and Public Involvement in Health Act 2008. The Act requires any Council in England to operate one of the following models: Option 1 Mayor and Cabinet Executive A Mayor directly elected by the people in a stand alone election separate to that of Council. The mayor would ask a small number of councillors to join her or him to share in the leadership of the authority (cabinet). Option 2: Council Leader and Cabinet Leader chosen ...
Nick Clegg has today condemned Gordon Brown for issuing no statement following the release on compassionate grounds of convicted Lockerbie bomber Abdelbaset Ali Al Megrahi: Although the decision to release Megrahi was a Scottish one for which Gordon Brown was not personally responsible, the fallout puts the UK at the centre of an international storm. "In these circumstances, it is absurd and damaging that the British Prime Minister simply remains silent in the hope that someone else will take the flak." He went further on this lunchtime's BBC Radio 4 World at One, openly criticising the decision of the Scottish ...
I may be on holiday, but Slugger O'Toole has been hard at work.
Tom Harris has asked the question over at his blog, this comes after the letter from John Redwood to the Prime Minister asking him to recall Parliament. I personally think MPs shouldn't have been given as long as they have been given for recess. Tom thinks that MPs can work without being in Parliament but I disagree, the main role of an MP is to represent their constituents in Parliament, and with Parliament closed MPs can not do that. I think Parliament should have had 3-4 weeks of recess and then MPs should have been made to come back to ...
Bournemouth is the venue for this year's Liberal Democrat Federal Party Conference (19-23 September 2009). (Book online here.) We've already reported on our "BASIC SKILLS" programme of free courses for Lib Dem volunteer campaigners (Sunday-Tuesday in the morning); and on ALDC's busy fringe programme. (Details of both here.) Effective Lib Dem Councillors Once again this year we've teamed up with our friends at the IDeA (Improvement and Development Agency) to bring you the only programme at Conference aimed at developing Lib Dem Councillors. On Sunday and Monday during the day we've a series of eight sessions with the IDeA: - ...
Just reading the news that Andrew Flintoff will be having knee surgery following England's Ashes victory, and a thought strikes me. As the England team have inconsiderately chosen to have lots of other matches this summer, is this the chance for the papers to get shots of a bleary-eyed Flintoff struggling to walk to match last time?
Jenny Willot has been drawing attention to the increasing delays in getting, and costs of getting, CRB checks. It seems that not only is the system proving rather expensive for organisations and/or job applicants, the delays are actually causing people to lose job offers. Obviously we all know we need some form of checking. But I do wonder whether the CRB system as it stands needs an overhaul. Because of the work I do, and the other things I am involved in, I have had to fill in quite a few forms for checks. At one time three organisations were ...
In a startling departure from my usual practice of healthy disdain for the SNP, I shall go to the shop this lunchtime and buy some Scottish shortcake in support of them. I shall avoid anything from our American brethren perhaps until they come to their senses over the recent decision of the Scottish Justice Minister to free a Scottish prisoner from a Scottish prison for reasons entirely justified by the Scottish legal system. Perhaps when the American justice system is free of faults, graft and gross miscarriages of justice, such as the extradition of British citizens for grossly inflated charges ...
Today's top prize for idiotic nonsense has to go to McFadden from the Guardian. In a rather confused and confusing article on the 'science' of artificial life, he cheers 'mankind' (sic) creating nature as a technological product to suit our lifestyle. Maybe it's not his fault if science has been turned into technology. Maybe it's not his fault if he, following technocrats, misses the point of the
Plymouth is a military city and I am from a military family. My father was a Royal Marine, my brother was in the Army Air Corps and my brother-in-law has served in Afghanistan. I am committed to fighting for a better deal for our armed forces - and that's why today I'm launching a campaign to honour them. The Government needs to do much more for our servicemen and women. Did you know, for example, that over 60,000 serving military personnel, including soldiers on the frontline in Afghanistan, are paid less than the starting salary of a police officer or ...
In the last budget the government sneaked out a proposal to increase landfill tax on PFA (power station ash) from £2.50 a tonne to £40 a tonne (up to £72 by 2012/13). The industry is very concerned that this may have an impact on the financial viability of coal power generation at a time when another arm of government is seeking to make the sums add up on carbon capture technology. It is estimated that the proposal alone could increase electricity generation from coal by 5-10%. The Treasury say that there are now alternative/commercial uses for PFA but the market ...
And so the Ashes are back where they belong; let us not concern ourselves with the facts that this was a scratchy, scraped series win over the plumb worst Aussie XI since immediately post-Packer - Wisden will show that England won by two Tests to one and that's all that matters in the Grand Scheme. What, however, was a more worrying development was the producers' attempts to make Test Match Special more suitable for a "younger audience" by introducing airheads like Lily Allen as their lunch interval guests despite it being patently obvious that all they knew about the beautiful ...
The decision to release the convicted Libyan bomber was botched from start to end. Lets ignore for a moment the unelected Business Secretary's involvement in the process. 1. Why did MacKaskill - the Scottish Justice Secretary - feel the need to MEET the convicted bomber ? There was no need. Representations could and should have been made in writing without the need to actually go and have a chat with the man. 2. Why did the bomber drop his appeal immediately following that meeting ? What was said at that meeting that led to that extraordinary decision? Under Scots law, ...
This is great. (Hat tip Chickyog) The best bit is why they don't trust the police: "because every time we hold a protest, the police turn up and start hitting people".
MORE than 200 soldiers have now died in Afghanistan with no sign of any end to the fighting. So when is it going to stop? Well, the government tells us it will stop when we win. The new British Army chief General Sir David Richards even said that we might be stuck there for 40 years! If we're still stuck in the Afghan mountains then, it would mean a lot more fatalities ahead. But is this war even winnable? It's a hard one to call. Obviously, our government reckons we can get the job done. And the courage and professionalism ...
Just as a quick followup to my recent posts on parking, the Gazette have discovered that the owner of a parking firm is against a ban on clamping. Apparently "the police would have anarchy in the UK", if such a ban were to be brought in. Coming soon, shock revelations about the Pope's religious beliefs.
Once again, the Liberal Democrat Blog of the Year Awards are upon us. If you have a blog or website that you would like to enter (either one of your own or one that you enjoy reading) then make sure it is nominated. There is a special category for Liberal Democrats who hold public office, and so it's time to enter those MyCouncillor sites. The full list of categories is: Best new Liberal Democrat blog (started since 1st September 2008) Best blog from a Liberal Democrat holding public office (The Tim Garden Award) Best use of blogging / social networking ...
In a fiery article, Janet Street-Porter demonstrates further the way in which women are isolated from top institutions and positions. She names and shames banks such as RBS, who should be more concerned with their representation after taking £20bn from the taxpayer, have no females on the board. So why is that? Well there is a complex set of reasons for why this is the case, and every time, such as Harman, raises their concerns and ways to tackle the problems, men (and some women) accuse her of being a radical feminist who needs to get off men's backs, as ...
MSPs troop back to Holyrood this afternoon at 2.30pm to listen to a statement from Justice Minister Kenny MacAskill on his decision to release the Lockerbie Bomber on compassionate grounds. You can watch it live on their website As I've said before, I think that this decision was absolutely the right thing to do. I've had problems with MacAskill's presentation and with the very flawed process, particularly his visit to Megrahi in prison, but does it really matter if he did the right thing in the end? I suppose I have to imagine how I would have felt if the ...
I've updated my earlier post on the topic and turned it in to a short guide: Reviewing political party websites: the top mistakes to avoid, available via Scribd. Related posts:How not to judge a political website: the top six mistakes Whether it is outsiders commenting on how parties and politicians...Political websites: what do people want? Having warned about some of the common mistakes made when...One of the most common mistakes people in PR make David Meerman Scott has some wise advice for people in...
Dear Editor, Credit where credit's due... Derek Stevens and the Elections Office at Rother District Council should be congratulated for raising the subject of electoral registration in the Observer last week. I know that the behaviour of many MPs - particularly over their expenses claims - has resulted in large sections of the electorate becoming further alienated from ...
[IMG: brown-and-gaddafi-002] Gordon Brown has been under pressure, for several days now, to say something about the release of the convicted Libyan bomber, Abdulbaset al-Megrahi. And rightly so. After all Colonel Gaddaffi has gone public thanking "his friend" Gordon Brown for the release of al Megrahi. And Gaddffi's son has made it clear that the convicted bomber was always part of Libya's discussions with Britain on oil and other trade. But to date, nothing from our Prime Minister. Last night I was listening to the radio five live news (Sunday 2230) and I hear that Downing Street are describing the ...
The leaflet is now delivered across the ward, thanks to the efforts of Ros and Jamie yesterday, and the process of doing so has been very informative. I've met more dogs than I ever would have in London, and they're all friendly. Big, soppy labradors, bouncy Jack Russells, I've patted them and made conversation with their owners, virtually all of whom have been friendly too. Now I'm long enough in the tooth to know that, just because people are friendly, they aren't necessarily going to vote for you. However, there isn't a history of intensive campaigning in large parts of ...
Leaving aside two typos (no, they weren't really debating the internet in 1919 and no, those 1974 radios weren't wireless access points ahead of their time) the first mention of the internet in Parliament was, as far as I can find, in February 1990 from then Conservative MP Emma Nicholson: According to L'Express, in a few months the hackers of Hamburg were in touch with the Red Army through a contact derived from Amsterdam—it is a very international affair. In under a year the group had accessed and gone through a number of highly protected and important networks, including those ...
One of my blog readers Judy Jansons has sent a letter to her local MP (former Tory minister Peter Lilley) regarding the injustice of Credit Unions being made to help fund the banking bail-out that I posted about last week. I think it is an excellent example of how to express your strong feelings on a subject to your MP and she has given me permission to post the letter here. Over to Judy: Dear Mr Lilley, I was horrified to hear that the FSCS levy being applied to deposit-takers regulated by the FSA to fund the recent bail-out of ...
"...in landfill a traditional ethylene vinyl acetate (Eva) trainer midsole can last up to 1,000 years." claims Lucy Siegle in yesterday's Observer magazine. This would be based on the cache of Saxon midsoles Ms Siegle recently discovered, perhaps discarded by Nike-wearing warriors marching to Hastings and their meeting with destiny. Or perhaps it's just a pile of complete toss, making an otherwise vaguely sensible article about recycling and extending the life of trainers look like just the sort of loopy nonsense that hands ammunition to climate-change sceptics. Why is it so hard for some "green" commentators to stop and think ...
A visit to my bookshelves comes up with Petra: A Dog for Everyone by Biddy Baxter and Edward Barnes. It tells the story of Blue Peter's first dog - though it leaves out the fact that the original Petra died of distemper after her first appearance on the programme. Rather than face telling the nation's children that their new dog had died, they toured the pet shops of London until they found an identical replacement. In September 1965 Petra had eight puppies - the father was Moss, a Shetland sheepdog. (These days he would have made a living afterwards by ...
[IMG: National Express West Midlands] I welcome the announcement from the Office of Fair Trading that local bus services, including those in the West Midlands, are to be referred to the Competition Commission. I'm long been appalled at the consistent price rises from Travel West Midlands, now National Express West Midlands. It's now £1.70 for a single bus journey across Birmingham. Bearing this in mind, it's concerning that the West Midlands was excluded from the OFT's analysis looking at the relationship between price and the level of market concentration, "because National Express did not consent for the Department for Transport ...
So the American's wish to boycott Scotland and all that means after the release of al-Megrahi last week, let me help you out. First turn off the TV right now, as that was invented my John Logie Baird a Scot. You're just going to have to find other things to do with your time. But you're not going to be able to arrange it by telephone as that was invented by Alexander Graham Bell another Scot. Yes America you are actually going to have to go around and visit people. But you can't go by car as the pneumatic tyre ...
In what is starting to become a common theme around here, this morning's brief look through what's churning through the news cycle has not impressed me one bit. The real problem here is the way the newspapers are behaving over the release of the Lockerbie bomber. Personally, I think it was handled very well, and the ...
Party members with a working email address should have recently received the email that follows with details of the Welsh Lib Dem's autumn conference in Wrexham. When we were last in Wrexham a few years ago the Ramada hotel put on an impressive display. It's totally unofficial as a recommendation but I'd suggest staying there if you can. If it is a bit pricey so see if there is someone you can share with. The Welsh Liberal Democrat Autumn Conference will this year be returning to Wrexham. Conference itself will be running from Friday 16th to Sunday 18th October at ...
The decision to end smelting operations at Anglesey Aluminium later this year is likely to add to the pressure to resolve the issue of Wylfa nuclear power station. Islanders will be keen not to see another local employer close down, whilst the employment involved in constructing and operatng a new facility will be very welcome in an area facing the imminent loss of 500 jobs. Deputy First Minister and local AM, Ieuan Wyn Jones cannot have been very happy therefore to see his government colleague, Environment Minister Jane Davidson, calling for a public inquiry into plans that could see a ...
The Guardian is reporting that Gordon Brown spoke to Colonel Gaddafi regarding the release of the Lockerbie bomber, and asked him to keep it as a low profile event. Now I ask the people who are making a noise about this letter, what is wrong with it? The Prime Minister asked Gaddafi to keep the home coming event small and low profile as he didn't want to upset the families of people who died in the bombing, and the whole media reporting around this news is clearly uncalled for. Brown is bad, I accept he isn't the perfect Prime Minister ...
Do big divorce settlements undermine marriage? This was the question on yesterday's BBC1 programme "The Big Question", which is the main BBC commitment to religion. What tends to happen on television and radio is that the demands for balance often mean that non-religious views are put forward in religious programmes. So is marriage undermined? If someone said I would give you a pound to leave your spouse you would say don't be ridiculous I have entered into a commitment. Then raise the price. This is the storyline of the film Indecent Proposal. We may all have our price as we ...
