It is rumoured that, in the event of a Conservative victory at the General Election, Lord Strathclyde, Leader of the Conservatives in the Lords, has let slip that there will be one hundred new Conservative Peers nominated so as to ensure a working majority over the other two political groupings. Whilst I'm not the least bit surprised by this cynical approach, it does have some pretty serious implications. Ironically, the past thirteen years have seen the House of Lords pass from having an overwhelming Conservative majority to being effectively hung, with the removal of all but ninety-two hereditaries, and the creation of a number of Labour and Liberal Democrat Peers sufficient to give the Government the greater number of votes but not enough to ensure a majority without having to...

The Ministry of Justice have been in touch following my story on Saturday about the government appearing to backtrack on election night counts. Here's what they have to say...The clause requires Returning Officers to take reasonable steps to begin the count by 2am. That is a clear duty and goes further than the existing legislation which requires them only to make arrangements for the counting of votes "as soon as practicable" after the close of poll. It is clear in our view that when the amendment becomes law, it would not allow for Returning Officers simply to excuse themselves from starting the count within the 4 hour period set out. Of course, the legislation cannot guarantee overnight counts everywhere - there might for example be some constituencies with challenging geography...

Wednesday’s Philadelphia Inquirer published this very funny commentary about snow-control legislation. It begins: As the mid-Atlantic region faces yet another massive blizzard, the problem of unregulated snow can no longer be ignored. It’s time for Congress to set limits on the crystalline mayhem descending through the atmosphere and disrupting the lives of hardworking Americans. Certainly, snow-control legislation would require political will and bipartisan support. But if today’s policymakers don’t put an end to snowstorms, these boom-and-bust blizzards will continue to undermine our nation’s growth and prosperity. Thanks to troll_dc2 for the link. Copyright © 2010 This feed is for personal, non-commercial use only. The use of this feed on other websites breaches copyright....

On Monday the Church of England’s General Synod effectively rejected an appeal for tolerance on issues of sexual orientation by the Archbishop of Canterbury, when the Archbishop of Uganda, the Very Rev Henry Orombi, made a ‘pugnacious speech’ according to The Guardian, placing his church firmly behind the homophobic legislation now going through the Ugandan Parliament.As it happens, the House of Lords was debating legislation to add two countries to the ‘white list’ of states which are supposedly safe for asylum-seekers to return to. I started my speech with a reference to the treatment of gays in certain countries, and Uganda in particular:The last time we had a designated states order was July 2007, when I asked, for the second time, whether the Government had considered the...

Yesterday the Church of England’s General Synod effectively rejected an appeal for tolerance on issues of sexual orientation by the Archbishop of Canterbury, when the Archbishop of Uganda, the Very Rev Henry Orombi, made a ‘pugnacious speech’ according to The Guardian, placing his church firmly behind the homophobic legislation now going through the Ugandan Parliament. As it happens, the House of Lords was debating legislation to add two countries to the ‘white list’ of states which are supposedly safe for asylum-seekers to return to. I started my speech with a reference to the treatment of gays in certain countries, and Uganda in particular: The last time we had a designated states order was July 2007, when I asked, for the second time, whether the Government had...

Benedict XVI says legislation safeguarding rights of same-sex couples violates 'natural law'Pope Benedict XVI has condemned British equality legislation for running contrary to "natural law" as he confirmed his first visit to the UK later this year.In a letter addressed to the Catholic bishops of England and Wales, the pope praised Britain's "firm commitment to equality of opportunity for all".However he criticised UK legislation for creating "limitations on the freedom of religious communities to act in accordance with their beliefs".It is thought his comments relate to laws that came in last year preventing adoption agencies from discriminating against gay couples.The pope, whose visit is expected in September, made the comments after hearing representations from English and Welsh...

I’m sure there's some people out there who are genuinely interested in who sits on certain committees in the Assembly. So for that silent majority here’s a list of some changes to those committees.Legislation Committee No.1 - Val Lloyd AM (Labour) in place of Huw Lewis AM (Labour).Legislation Committee No.2 - Rhodri Morgan AM (Labour) and Lynne Neagle AM (Labour) in place of Jeff Cuthbert AM (Labour) and Sandy Mewies AM (Labour).Legislation Committee No.3 - Joyce Watson AM (Labour) in place of Janice Gregory AM (Labour).Legislation Committee No.4 - Christine Chapman AM (Labour) and Brian Gibbons AM (Labour) in place of Lorraine Barrett AM (Labour) and Joyce Watson AM (Labour).Legislation Committee No.5 - Andrew Davies AM (Labour) in place of Lesley Griffiths AM (Labour).Subordinate...

Over at Politico, Glenn Thrush takes a look at how the Christmas terror attack may change the course of pending legislation on the use of body image scans at airports. Meanwhile, over at Skating On Stilts, former DHS official Stewart Baker discusses the politics of the same issue over the last few years. UPDATE: Stewart’s post is interesting for a few reasons, one of them being that it flips on its head the common refrain that Congress overreacts and enacts draconian legislation after an attack. From Stewart’s perspective, Congress underreacts and won’t enact sensible legislation without an attack. I guess we all agree that Congress enacts legislation following an attack — we just differ in our views of whether that legislation is likely to be regrettable or overdue. Copyright...

I thought it might be interesting to actually write out this answer given by Harriet Harman at PMQs to a question about Lord Ashcroft.“We certainly do need transparency on this issue and as I’ve said we will bring forward legislation – while he’s busy commending the Conservative party, I would like to, at the risk of being partisan, complain about the Conservative party, because their deputy chair of the Conservative party promised, and this pertains to legislation, this pertains to the need for legislation, their own deputy chair of the Conservative party made a promise to the Honours Committee that he would make his tax affairs on shore. And the Foreign Secretary, er, the shadow foreign secretary, the shadow foreign secretary, can tell us what the shadow chief secretary to the...

The British press have been raising the subject of the number of innocent people who have been taking photographs who have been questioned by Police. On the face of it, it is wholly appropriate for the Police to be vigilant against the threat of terrorism, however the framing of the anti-terror legislation has been sloppy and open ended. In fact this is the defining characteristic of Nu Labour legislation across the board. The determination to pass legislation with minimum scrutiny has led to a huge amount of badly drafted bills being signed into law, and has required repeated repair to unworkable or prohibitively expensive measures.The problem that the British parliament has is that there are few if any guiding principles that can help create consistency of legislation. The result is a...

Michael Gove has been on Today bemoaning the level of 'electioneering' in today's Queen's Speech, suggesting that such tactics would have been beyond previous Prime Ministers. I presume Michael was having a laugh. Otherwise, I must have been dreaming when John Major invented 'a grammar school in every town' just ahead of the 1997 election - the policy Michael and David Willetts have wisely binned - and extended assisted places in their last legislation as a way of creating silly dividing lines with Labour on education (which we managed to turn to our advantage with a policy of cutting infant class sizes instead).In fact, today's measures are surprisingly strong for a government that is supposed to have run out of steam. The new national care service blueprint is a long overdue way of...

The Queens speech is set to be one that Her Majesty will have to read through clenched teeth. Leaving aside the fact that there are only seventy days left in the Parliamentary session before it is prorogued, the fact is that the "gracious speech" is set to contain yet more evidence of the moral and intellectual bankruptcy of New Labour.We are told that the government will introduce legislation to guarantee the right to a good education and to guarantee- with legal force behind it- that the deficit will be reduced.Could it be that ,like some kind of wavering alcoholic, the government doubts its own commitment to existing policies? In any event how can any government leaving binding commitments to its successors? The Parliament is sovereign and may change laws at any time as it sees fit.The...

By Margaret Talev, McClatchy Newspapers28, October 2009WASHINGTON -- President Barack Obama on Wednesday signed the first major piece of federal gay rights legislation, a milestone that activists compared to the passage of 1960s civil-rights legislation empowering blacks.The new law adds acts of violence against gay, lesbian, bisexual and transgender people to the list of federal hate crimes. Gay-rights activists voiced hope that the Obama administration would advance more issues, including legislation to bar workplace discrimination, allow military service and recognize same-sex marriages.(1)Not bad. It's a start I guess. I wish he would do more though.Footnote:(1)...

Ann Jones AM has welcomed new legislation that outlaws restaurants using tips to cover the minimum wage for waiting staff. Earlier this year, the Vale of Clwyd AM led a boycott of Tragus, a major restaurant company (Strada, Bella Italia and Café Rouge) that takes tips paid for electronically whilst threatening disciplinary action for staff who make a preference for cash tips. The new Government legislation will separate tips from the minimum wage completely as well as providing a new ‘code of practice’ calling on restaurants to inform customers of their tipping policies in a clear and transparent manner. Mrs Jones’s campaign for fair wages and treatment for Tragus staff enjoyed support from each political party – except the Welsh Conservatives – and called on the...

South West Tory MEP Giles Chichester isn’t keen on the light bulb ban. This is what he said. It is often difficult for me to control my anger at the irresponsible way in which this Government has rushed into adopting so-called eco-friendly legislation to prove their green credentials. They pay little regard to expert advice or the views of the British people and, in consequence, have made a dog’s breakfast of Government policies to reduce carbon emissions and develop a green, sustainable energy supply. Their latest debacle involves the implementation of the EU Directive to ban incandescent light bulbs by 2012 and replace them with energy efficient fluorescent bulbs. When this legislation was introduced, the European Parliament made clear that the implementation date for the ban...

Observer journalist Carole Cadwalladr manages the feat of writing a piece that actually reaches the right conclusion, but in such an absurd and ludicrous way that the casual reader would be tempted to dismiss it as utter garbage.It's about how our MPs should be working hard over the summer on legislation rather than having a break.Unfortunately, Carole uses a tactic that even a Daily Mail journalist would be a little ashamed of: reporting on a conversation with one MP - just one - and generalising from that to make a point about all 600 plus of them.Apparently this MP, a former minister, only spends two days a week on parliamentary duties so is able to take on other jobs. What Carole doesn't mention, of course, is that the vast majority of MPs from all parties work far harder than that,...

Afghanistan is about to enact legislation that will allow husbands the right to deny their wife food and sustenance if she refuses to have sex with him. The legislation will also require wives to obtain their husbands permission if they want to work. and gives custody of children solely to fathers. The legislation will also allow men to escape prosecution for rape by paying ‘blood money’ to the victim. Hhmm, remind me – wasn’t one of the reasons cited to justify the war against the Taliban in Afghanistan, their ‘unfair’ treatment of women? Seems the alternative – the side the USA/UK and their allies are supporting – is not much different from the Taliban in their attitudes towards women Source . . ....

At first I imagined that I was treading in the footsteps of William Morris who had written about Iceland; then I checked my facts (always a useful thing to do) and found that though Morris had visited Iceland at least twice and translated several of the sagas he had not written any books that could be called news from Iceland. He did write a poem about the country and published his travel journals, though. That’s just as well because I am not exactly a follower of William Morris: a great deal to be said for his designs but his literary output is heavy going and his political ideas are mushy to put it mildly.W. H. Auden, on the other hand, is a man I admire greatly; just in time I recalled that he and Louis MacNeice (less admired but good nevertheless) wrote a book together, called...

Peter Mandelson's influence in government was underscored today with the release of a breakdown of government committees which shows that he attended 80% of them.Mandelson, the first secretary of state, attends 35 of the 43 committees and subcommittees, in contrast to the 23 attended by foreign secretary David Miliband.Mandelson's total is also in contrast to the 27 attended by chancellor Alistair Darling and sees the business secretary asked to cast an eye over policies as varied as immigration, climate change, "life chances"; Africa; food and energy and children.The official deputy prime minister to Tony Blair, John Prescott, sat on just 17 committees.Mandelson's reach was revealed during a rush of announcements as parliament rose for its summer recess. This summer recess is longer...

I wasn't going to return to this subject, but Angela Eagle's performance on the Today Programme merits some discussion, not least because she told an absolute whopper about the Gay Hatred legislation and the Conservative attitude to it. If I was feeling uncharitable I’d say it was a lie. Listen to the discussion HERE - scroll in to 1hr 41 mins.It is not true to say that the Tories voted against creating an offence of homophobic hatred, as Angela Eagle alleged. They DID support the creation of an offence – in fact David Cameron stated on the floor of the House that they would do so – and as a result that part of the Criminal Justice and Immigration Act 2008 passed without division. So no Conservative voted against it.The Tories did support amendments to the bill that would have...

We all know that famous phrase if not from personal experience then from countless TV shows. There is, however, one group of people who seems unaware of it and that is Her Majesty’s Ministers and their advisers.On Thursday there was a reply to a Written Question put down by Lord Stoddart of Swindon. The question was interesting in that it implied (oh heck, said quite clearly) that a previous reply had been economical with the truth, a phrase that Ministers and their advisers know very well, indeed. To ask Her Majesty's Government further to the Written Answer by Lord Malloch-Brown on 4 June (WA 107), why he did not mention that European Union regulations have direct effect in the United Kingdom; and whether, in the light of the United Kingdom's results in the European Parliamentary...

No, not the MPs, although it would be nice to see them thrown out of the House and into the gutter, where legions of pigeons would dive-bomb them with stinking, foetid, green turds and the second wave—weasel skirmishers armed with razor-teeth and sharpened cockroaches—head straight for our lords' and masters' cruelly-unprotected genitalia...But no, that is not what I mean.It has struck me that, although all of these ministers have stepped down (though definitely not because they have been discovered to be thieving bastards, oh no), the Bills that they sponsored are still making their crippled fucking way through the House, binding us in misery with yet more illiberal laws and authoritarian regulations.Indeed, if I may paraphrase a most excellent poem, who knows"what rough...

Grabbed the opportunity of the Policing Bill - which proposes changing the rules around lap-dancing - to extract a promise. The new legislation, when passed, will make lap dancing clubs have to apply for license as a sex encounter establishment. Currently they only need the same license as a pub. Part of the concern in Crouch End, outside of just the application (now on hold) for such a club at the Music Palace, was that an application would be rushed through and get granted before the new legislation - and then the legislation would allow all existing lap dancing clubs automatic new licenses - called 'grandfather rights'. So - up I leaped during the week - and intervened on the Minister to point out how dreadful this would be. And happily, on the floor of the House of Commons, I...

One of the joys of having a blog is that sometimes I can have an idea and just put it out there to see what people think.Today, I have mostly been thinking about new legislation...How about getting a law proposed that says that any MP who has fraudulently or inappropriately claimed for expenses, [such as garden furniture or dog food] must pay back the money within 30 days. We can hold a public forum which can decide what the people consider to be justified and what is considered excessive... This list could then be used as a template for a future expenses system.The legislation could go onto, [ahem], "Nationalise" the assets purchased by MP's through their expense claims, so as to ensure that these ill-gotten property portfolios which have been funded from public funds can be either sold...

The Sunday Times reports that leading figures from Britain’s biggest media firms including c&binet ambassadors Lucian Grainge of Universal Music and Channel Four’s Andy Duncan have formed a “copyright sqaud” to advise Lord Carter on how to tackle online piracy ahead of publication of the Digital Britain Report on June 16th. The six-man working group, which also includes Michael Lynton of Sony Pictures, Jeremy Darroch of Sky and Neil Berkett of Virgin Media are calling for draft legislation that will force internet service providers (ISPs) to collect data on repeat offenders which can be used to prosecute them, citing that uncertainty over legislation has delayed signing rights deals. However, ISPs have been reluctant to support legislation, arguing that that it raises...

The Sunday Times reports that leading figures from Britain’s biggest media firms including c&binet ambassadors Lucian Grainge of Universal Music and Channel Four’s Andy Duncan have formed a “copyright sqaud” to advise Lord Carter on how to tackle online piracy ahead of publication of the Digital Britain Report on June 16th. The six-man working group, which also includes Michael Lynton of Sony Pictures, Jeremy Darroch of Sky and Neil Berkett of Virgin Media are calling for draft legislation that will force internet service providers (ISPs) to collect data on repeat offenders which can be used to prosecute them, citing that uncertainty over legislation has delayed signing rights deals. However, ISPs have been reluctant to support legislation, arguing that that it raises...

It is outrageous that the EU may scrap legislation that requires eggs and egg boxes to be labeled according to farming methods. All eggs ought at minimum to be free-range - whereas this proposal would restrict consumers ability to know what they are buying. Compassion in World Farming (CiWF) has recently reported that the EU Commission is discussing the possibility of repealing the current law. This requires battery eggs to be labeled as "eggs from caged hens" - legislation that CiWF and many supporters of higher welfare standards fought so hard to bring about.As a lifelong campaigner for better treatment for animals, I am concerned that this excellent law, which has been an important contributing factor in the decline in demand for 'battery' eggs, is under threat. It is a...

MPs have awarded themselves a 12-week summer holiday, we are told by The Daily Telegraph today, amid "increasing concern that the Government is not introducing enough legislation to keep them occupied." That itself has to be regarded as a bizarre statement, as if making legislation was somehow a work creation scheme for MPs. But it also misses the point. It is not as if our governments (the one here and the one in Brussels) are not producing legislation any more. Simply, most law is now brought into effect via Statutory Instruments – of which there is no shortage - which do not require any direct input from most MPs.Nevertheless, Matthew Elliott, chief executive of the Taxpayers' Alliance, falls into the trap, offering us the wisdom for which he has become famous by opining that:...

… then I wish all of our politicians were workshy bastards! Alex Salmond was last night accused of being a “work-shy” First Minister by his Labour rivals because his SNP Government had only passed seven pieces of legislation since coming to power in May 2007… The minority SNP Government has passed two budget bills, legislation for the abolition of bridge tolls, a Glasgow Commonwealth Games Act, a graduate endowment abolition act, a judiciary and courts act and a public health act. (Scotland on Sunday) And in comparison with them, the Labour government at Westminster? They’re well ahead! 3,605 new criminal offences created by the Labour Government since it won power in 1997 - almost one for every day it has been in office… The new offences are made up...

Now that we have all seen the wisdom of allowing lavish expenses to provide for the relief in hand of parliamentary and governmental spouses whilst their partners are away, then maybe it is time to see how else we can increase the rewards given to these great servant of our state. For we must accept, must we not, that these people go to a great deal of trouble to lord it over us, patronize and belittle us, and make our lives as awkward, miserable and as expensive as their seemingly almost limitless powers allow. So, it would make a great deal of sense to make sure they are too busy working out how to wangle more expenses out of the system, and then on spending those ill-gotten (if vastly deserved only in their own minds) monies rather than creating more useless, pointless and...