OK. Let us manfully resist exploring the comedy value inherent in Simon "the straight choice" Hughes accusing anyone else of lies and nastiness. And let us set aside the chutzpah of the Lib Dems – the party most notorious in British politics for its deceit, distortions, evasions, half-truths, and dishonourable tactics – proposing to report […]
Suicide has been back in the news recently, with the tale of a non-terminally-ill woman having an assisted suicide and of a video discussing assisted suicide being shown in school philosophy classes. I don't personally see any problem with philosophy classes discussing assisted suicide and euthanasia and watching videos featuring advocates and opponents – surely […]
Another week, another case of Christians being oppressed because of their religious beliefs. What has attracted particular interest on this occasion is this section of the judgement, in which the judges state openly that Britain is "a secular state not a theocracy". They declare: "We sit as secular judges serving a multi-cultural community of many […]
With Parliament asserting itself on votes for prisoners, there must now either be reform of the European Convention on Human Rights, the European Court's interpretation thereof, or of Britain's relationship to the Convention. But isn't this an opportunity to get the Lib Dems on side, to help with another big ECHR-related issue before us: Control […]
I’ve said before that I would have no particular problem with those on very short prison sentences — a few weeks, a month — being permitted to vote. And if some countries, like the Swiss, want to allow all prisoners to vote, good luck to them. But there is obviously nothing illegitimate about preferring the […]
So let’s see. The government grants a free vote on votes for prisoners (no choice, really). The measure goes down 500 votes against, 80 for. We then have five thousand prisoners complain that their human rights have been violated, and they sue for compensation. The courts rule in their favour at – what shall we […]
Whether they’re called “control orders lite”, “revised control orders”, “continuity control orders”, or whatever, almost everyone agree that the announcement today constitutes the continuation of control orders, not their abolition. The objections to controls orders are well-known. It is odious, and an offence against our national traditions, that Britons can be subjected to such restrictions […]
I stood up in support of Cameron and Hague when they launched their new post-Lisbon-Treaty policy. A number of Eurosceptics criticised me for that at the time; other assumed I was just being a good egg so as not to create splits in the run-up to the General Election. Actually, I still believe that the […]
Melanchthon questions the Mail on Sunday's decision to splash this morning on the story of MPs enjoying themselves on New Year's Eve. Prize for ridiculous article of the day goes to the Mail on Sunday. An appropriate title for the article might be “MPs use holiday season to… go on holiday!” Instead it had the […]
Melanchthon prefers to remain anonymous. There is much anguish about the election to the European Parliament of two BNP candidates, with passionate debates about whether they should be ostracised, countered in debate, or pelted with eggs. I, personally, find much of the BNP’s platform and personnel unpleasantly beyond the realm of proper democratic debate — […]
Melanchthon prefers to remain anonymous (and is NOT an MP). How bad a defence is “I acted within the rules and according to the advice I had received as to what was appropriate”? Suppose that you worked for a company in which expenses on business trips were capped at £100 per meal. The understanding was […]
Melanchthon prefers to remain anonymous (and is NOT an MP). Melanchthon wrote a first post yesterday. Everyone now agrees that the system of remunerating MPs needs to change. But an interesting question is raised by that. For in many ways the logical way to go would be to abolish the MPs allowances system, perhaps proving […]
Melanchthon prefers to remain anonymous (and is NOT an MP). In the current scandal over MP expenses, there have been perhaps three or four cases that appear criminal or verging on the criminal — apparently outright frauds in which claims were made for expenses that simply didn’t exist. Beyond that there have been five or […]
Suppose you caught a thief with his fingers in the tin, and he said "You caught me, but I am part of a broader system. We have all failed. To coin a phrase – 'We're all in this together'. Which of us has not taped our own music, or failed to pay our tax on time, or […]