Tag Archives: Parliament

24hrs in the World of Politics

Posted on February 28, 2014 by ianchisnall

We are half way through a very strange day for Party Politics from my vantage point. A day that doesn’t appear to show Party Politicians in their best light, although I admit as I wrote yesterday, I am no fan of Party Politics. Over the … Continue reading →

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Mark Twain, Westminster style

Posted on January 30, 2014 by ianchisnall

Mark Twain is reputed to have said that  everyone talks about the weather, but no one does anything about it. When the rain has stopped and the surface water has left the Somerset Levels, one of the issues that MPs will … Continue reading →

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Lines on a map

Posted on January 22, 2014 by ianchisnall

A challenge for many organisations, is that of geographical boundaries. No sooner has a line been drawn on a map than the grass on the other side of the line can look very green. Alternatively the issues which the organisations want to … Continue reading →

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Pictures at an Parliament

Posted on January 15, 2014 by ianchisnall

Over a 20 year period, Parliament has spent £250,000 on paintings of some of the MPs and Lords as part of efforts to document the work of the institution. This was discovered through a Freedom of Information request by the Evening Standard as reported … Continue reading →

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Jam and Westminster?

Posted on December 8, 2013 by ianchisnall

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 →

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4 weeks and counting

Posted on November 15, 2013 by ianchisnall

Two weeks ago the Government and the House of Lords struck a deal to delay the ‘Transparency of Lobbying, Non-party Campaigning and Trade Union Administration Bill 2013-14’ in order to allow Ministers to “consult widely all of the interested parties, members of … Continue reading →

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Join me in changing the system

Posted on November 10, 2013 by ianchisnall

“If you don’t like the politicians you’ve got, kick them out and elect new ones, if you don’t like the political system, then change the political system” Nicola Sturgeon MSP “Give us the hard time we deserve to make sure … Continue reading →

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5 weeks is a very long time in politics

Posted on November 7, 2013 by ianchisnall

The Gagging Bill is to be delayed for 5 weeks so that Ministers can “consult widely all of the interested parties, members of this House and the many others outside”. This is very good news, the “Transparency of Lobbying, Non-party Campaigning and … Continue reading →

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Not that open after all

Posted on November 3, 2013 by ianchisnall

On Thursday David Cameron attended a conference held in London which was intended to promote the use of open data by Governments and private business. One of the aims of the summit was to ‘open up government data to boost entrepreneurship, economic … Continue reading →

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Consultation deniers

Posted on October 27, 2013 by ianchisnall

The timing of the Newsnight interview with Russell Brand and this piece of analysis by Mark Easton of the BBC could not be more inconvenient for the Government and for Parliament as a whole. While Russell was explaining his desire for a … Continue reading →

Posted in Parliament and Democracy | Tagged , , , , , , , , | 4 Comments