Tag Archives: Member of Parliament

UK’s most pregnant MP?


Just to clarify the heading, Lucy Powell, MP for Manchester Central is not pregnant, nor was she pregnant when she became the focus of a Sun newspaper article. Her son Tom was born in May, he has an older Sister … Continue reading

Posted in Journalism, Parliament and Democracy | Tagged , , , , | Leave a comment

Its not over yet


On Monday, the House of Lords will resume the Committee stage of the Transparency of Lobbying, Non-party Campaigning and Trade Union Administration Bill 2013-14. This was paused on Armistice Day (quite a significant date) as the Lords demanded either that … Continue reading

Posted in Charities, Lobbying Bill, Parliament and Democracy | Tagged , , , , , | Leave a comment

Lets finish the reform


The decision by MPs to hand decisions about their remuneration to a committee known as IPSA (Independent Parliamentary Standards Authority) is one we should all support, no matter how unpalatable their judgment seems at the moment. Their remit is broader than simply … Continue reading

Posted in Parliament and Democracy | Tagged , , | Leave a comment

Jam and Westminster?


According to recent reports, the Womens Institute has 212,000 members, 18,000 of whom have joined this year. This means they have more members than the largest British Political Party and their growth in membership outstrips the growth in any of … Continue reading

Posted in Charities, Parliament and Democracy | Tagged , , , , , , , | 2 Comments

Credit where it is due


Regular readers of this blog will know that for the last month, a recurring theme has been the disaster which is the ‘Transparency of Lobbying, Non-party Campaigning and Trade Union Administration Bill 2013-14′. I won’t repeat my previous comments here … Continue reading

Posted in Lobbying Bill, Parliament and Democracy | Tagged , , , , , , | Leave a comment

The Taxman Cometh?


Margaret Hodge MP has proposed that under a future Labour Government, charities could be regulated by the Taxman, not the charity commission as they are at present – she is showing how once again our MPs don’t understand the charitable sector, nor … Continue reading

Posted in Charities, Parliament and Democracy | Tagged , , , , | Leave a comment

Planes fluffy dogs and Twitter


One of the values of social media is the opportunity to catch glimpses of the experiences of MPs and indeed Government Ministers should you wish. Some of this is as a result of people in broadcast mode, wanting to tell others … Continue reading

Posted in Parliament and Democracy | Tagged , , , , , | Leave a comment

How accessible is your MP?


Does our Parliament really care what we think, are they interested in our views, or do they simply want us to endorse their party political ideology in between elections? At the beginning of November the House of Lords forced the … Continue reading

Posted in Charities, Lobbying Bill, Parliament and Democracy | Tagged , , , | 1 Comment

Credit where it is due


An ongoing theme of this blog is my view that all MPs and Government Ministers should visit the myriad of foodbanks that have sprung up across the country. There cannot be many constituencies without at least one foodbank, and Wealden, currently the … Continue reading

Posted in Charities, Lobbying Bill, Parliament and Democracy, Welfare Reform | Tagged , , , , , | Leave a comment

Some privilege!


According to a report on the Daily Telegraph website for Monday, ‘The 300-year-old law of Parliamentary Privilege is being threatened by a libel case being brought by a Thai football executive, the Speaker of the House of Commons has said. … Continue reading

Posted in Parliament and Democracy | Tagged , , , , , , , | Leave a comment