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Mon, 29 November 2021

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How MPs Could Be Hit By Proposed Changes To Parliament’s Code Of Conduct
Political parties
How MPs Could Be Hit By Proposed Changes To Parliament’s Code Of Conduct
The standards committee has recommended a host of changes to the rules which govern MPs' conduct, including second jobs, after a major row over sleaze.
Spotlight on Standards
Political parties
By Lord Empey
Spotlight on Standards
The last few weeks have seen acres of newsprint and hours of television devoted to MPs having second jobs and wealthy businesspeople allegedly “buying” their peerages. Social media has been full of negative comment as well, after the botched attempt to change the standards mechanism in the Commons.
Generation Next: The Anthony Mangnall interview
Political parties
By Georgina Bailey
Generation Next: The Anthony Mangnall interview
Anthony Mangnall is spoken of with enthusiasm among senior Conservatives, as one of the most promising MPs of the 2019 intake. But, he tells Georgina Bailey, just don't call him a 'rising star'.
Government Whips Are Caught In The Crossfire In A War Between Number 10 And Tory MPs
Political parties
Government Whips Are Caught In The Crossfire In A War Between Number 10 And Tory MPs
Relations between Downing Street and the wider Conservative Party in the Commons have reached their lowest point yet this Parliament.
Refugee Charities Say Claim Safe Routes For Asylum Seekers Wouldn't Stop Criminal Gangs Is 'Political'
Environment
Refugee Charities Say Claim Safe Routes For Asylum Seekers Wouldn't Stop Criminal Gangs Is "Political"
There is no evidence that creating safe routes from France for asylum seekers would encourage criminal gangs to keep smuggling people across the Channel, charities have told PoliticsHome.
What We Know About The New Covid-19 Variant That's Alarming Governments And Scientists
Coronavirus
What We Know About The New Covid-19 Variant That's Alarming Governments And Scientists
The government has expressed concern about a new Covid-19 variant, which is believed to be one of the most heavily mutated versions of the virus discovered so far.
Delivering humanitarian aid is key to stop refugees arriving on our shores
Home affairs
By Shabnam Nasimi
Delivering humanitarian aid is key to stop refugees arriving on our shores
As we discuss who is to blame for the worst tragedy of its kind in Channel history, which killed 27 people as their boats sunk, it is worth noting that they were from Iraqi Kurd and Afghan nationalities.
We need a more co-ordinated approach to funeral and bereavement policy matters
Coronavirus
By John Hayes MP
We need a more co-ordinated approach to funeral and bereavement policy matters
It’s axiomatic that the Covid pandemic has brought pain and fear, heartache and loss. It’s meant unexpected challenges for all kinds of people in all kinds of spheres. Prominent among those who have dealt with the worst of Covid’s effects, alongside hospital and care workers, has been the funeral and bereavement sector.
The growing appetite for alternative proteins
Environment
By Lord Sarfraz
The growing appetite for alternative proteins
From green hydrogen to clean steel, much of the talk at the Glasgow COP was around innovation in energy, and bringing exciting new technologies into the mainstream. This progress is commendable, but it does not complete the net-zero puzzle.
A fair deal on fish quotas is essential for the future of many fishing businesses
Environment
By Luke Pollard MP
A fair deal on fish quotas is essential for the future of many fishing businesses
Fishing might have been misleadingly used as the Brexit poster industry, but the UK is experiencing the opposite of a coastal renaissance. That needs to change. Ministers aren't taking notice as things go from bad to worse for fishing – and they have no plan to help British fishers.
Here's The Early General Election Scenarios MPs Are Predicting
Political parties
Here's The Early General Election Scenarios MPs Are Predicting
Rumours of an early general election have swirled since Boris Johnson won by a landslide in December 2019.
Social war: Will the Online Safety Bill keep us safe?
Economy
By Georgina Bailey
Social war: Will the Online Safety Bill keep us safe?
From Myspace to the Metaverse, our online space has changed dramatically over the last two decades – and now legislation is having to play catch up. Georgina Bailey reports on whether the much-heralded Online Safety Bill can bring about the changes needed.
Downing Street Insists The Government Hasn't Flinched On Article 16
Brexit
Downing Street Insists The Government Hasn't Flinched On Article 16
Late November was supposed to be when UK and EU tensions would hit boiling point.
Tech Entrepreneur Martha Lane-Fox Warns Digital Divide Forcing Families To Choose Between Data Or Food
Education
By John Johnston
Tech Entrepreneur Martha Lane-Fox Warns Digital Divide Forcing Families To Choose Between Data Or Food
Tech entrepreneur and former UK digital champion Baroness Lane-Fox says the country must work harder than ever to tackle its deepening digital divide as we emerge from the pandemic.
The Age Assurance Bill will enforce much needed protections for children online
Culture
By Baroness Kidron
The Age Assurance Bill will enforce much needed protections for children online
Age Assurance is one of the most disputed but least understood areas of digital policy. Often characterized as a fight between privacy and safety – which fails to account for the fact that the tech sector is predicated on surveillance (data collection) and knowing their customer (ad targeting).
Algorithms are undermining efforts to eradicate racism
Culture
By Chi Onwurah MP
Algorithms are undermining efforts to eradicate racism
One and a half years ago, the #BlackLivesMatter protests over the terrible killing of George Floyd shone a spotlight on racism. Last year, in a parliamentary debate to mark Black History Month, I spoke of the possibility of eradicating racism.
MPs' Second Jobs Are Still Far From Banned And Some Fear Reforms Will Be 'Kicked Into The Long Grass'
Political parties
MPs' Second Jobs Are Still Far From Banned And Some Fear Reforms Will Be "Kicked Into The Long Grass"
The government has claimed a vote on standards reform will update Parliament’s code of conduct to outlaw controversial second jobs for MPs, but the man in charge of drafting the rules has reminded them that is not in fact the case.
From Casework to Covid: Celebrating 75 years of the House of Commons Library Research Service
Coronavirus
By Lef Apostolakis
From Casework to Covid: Celebrating 75 years of the House of Commons Library Research Service
For three-quarters of a century, the House of Commons Library Research Service has been the go-to resource for MPs and parliamentary staff seeking answers. Lef Apostolakis delves into its past, present… and future
Exclusive: The Secret Restoration Of The Big Ben Clock In The Lake District
History
By Kate Proctor
Exclusive: The Secret Restoration Of The Big Ben Clock In The Lake District
A tiny Lake District village kept one of Britain’s most precious national symbols safe and sound for three years, hidden from view in a converted cow shed. Now the Big Ben clock has made its return to Westminster, Kate Proctor meets the restoration team that gave the 162-year-old timepiece a new lease of life and are taking us a step closer to hearing the famous chimes once again.
Remembering the past, fighting for the future: The Ben Wallace Interview
Defence
By Kate Proctor
Remembering the past, fighting for the future: The Ben Wallace Interview
Whether he is confronting attitudes towards women in the forces, or looking at space for the next military innovation, Defence Secretary Ben Wallace is on a mission to modernise. As the straight-talking former army captain prepares to mark Remembrance Sunday he explains why this November will be harder than most for those who served in Afghanistan. Kate Proctor reports.
Tories Warn Boris Johnson Could Be Gone By The Summer If Sleaze Mess Isn’t Cleared Up Soon
Political parties
Tories Warn Boris Johnson Could Be Gone By The Summer If Sleaze Mess Isn’t Cleared Up Soon
Embroiled in a sleaze scandal that seems set to run and run this winter, Conservative MPs are starting to question whether Boris Johnson can get the party out of this mess – and warning if he can’t, then he could be gone by the summer.
Lords Diary: Lord Clement Jones
Economy
By Lord Clement-Jones
Lords Diary: Lord Clement Jones
Down the corridor in the Commons, early November was dominated by No 10’s Owen Paterson U-turn and in Glasgow by events at COP26 – but for me it was an opportunity to raise a number of issues relevant to innovation and the development of technology and the future of our creative industries. It started with the great news that Queen Mary University of London, whose council I chair, after many trials and tribulations, has agreed a property deal next to our Whitechapel campus with the Department of Health and Social Care. It paves the way for the development, with Barts Life Sciences, of a major research centre within a new UK Whitechapel Life Sciences Cluster.
Climate Experts Say COP26 Negotiations Are Unfair To Countries Most At Risk
Environment
Climate Experts Say COP26 Negotiations Are Unfair To Countries Most At Risk
Leading experts on climate change have raised questions over whether the COP26 Climate Summit, which is drawing to a close in Glasgow this weekend, is structurally fair to all participants despite every country involved being impacted by issues discussed.
Labour Insiders Say An Operation To Deselect Corbynite MPs Is Underway
Political parties
Labour Insiders Say An Operation To Deselect Corbynite MPs Is Underway
Senior Labour sources have told PoliticsHome that local party members are hoping to reverse Jeremy Corbyn’s former “machine control” of the party by voting to trigger re-selection ballots for MPs considered to be on the “hard left”.

Great British sustainable food can help slash emissions
Environment
By Andrew Selous MP
Great British sustainable food can help slash emissions
Over the past two years, Britain’s supply chains have come under strain from multiple pressures, and we have also come to question the health and environmental credentials of our food - with the latter under the spotlight as world leaders gather at the COP26 climate summit in Glasgow.
Boris Johnson Accused Of “Unhelpful” Application Of Gift Rules To His Advantage Over Spanish Holiday
Political parties
Boris Johnson Accused Of “Unhelpful” Application Of Gift Rules To His Advantage Over Spanish Holiday
The Prime Minister has been accused of an “unhelpful” application of the rules on gifts to avoid scrutiny of his holiday to Spain and the Downing Street flat redecoration, by declaring them under a system that he is in charge of.
Massive cuts to phone mast rental payments are hurting communities and delaying the UK’s shift to 5G
Communities
By Anna Turley
Massive cuts to phone mast rental payments are hurting communities and delaying the UK’s shift to 5G
The need to get 5G broadband rolled out across the country is urgent, as every one of us working on creaky Zoom calls can testify.
The standards system for MPs is independent and effective: but it can still be improved
Political parties
By Arun Midha
The standards system for MPs is independent and effective: but it can still be improved
At the heart of the Owen Paterson affair was a dispute over independence. Should MPs’ conduct as members of a sovereign legislature be judged only by other MPs as well as by their electorates, or should their actions be subject also to independent scrutiny?
World leaders must focus on the prize to make a success out of COP26
Environment
By Baroness Parminter
World leaders must focus on the prize to make a success out of COP26
Wild weather at the outset, so bad in some places that reportedly one of our environment ministers couldn’t travel to Glasgow, is a reminder of what’s at stake at COP26 - the biggest political event that Britain has ever hosted.
The writing is just as brilliant but some of the momentum has gone: Lord Vaizey reviews season three of 'Succession'
Books & culture
By Lord Vaizey
The writing is just as brilliant but some of the momentum has gone: Lord Vaizey reviews season three of 'Succession'
The sets are as lavish but as the characters become ever more extreme, season three of this comedy-drama about a media mogul and his dysfunctional family is sadly disappointing
What Will Happen To Commons Misconduct System After Government U-Turn On Reforms?
Political parties
What Will Happen To Commons Misconduct System After Government U-Turn On Reforms?
It's been a tumultuous 24hours in Downing Street, culminating in the resignation of an MP, and new plans to bring forward a motion to undo a vote that would have up-ended the parliamentary standards system in an effort to exonerate him from accusations of breaking lobbying rules.
Maiden Voyages: Sir David Amess
Parliament
By Patrick Kidd
Maiden Voyages: Sir David Amess
Sir David Amess did not believe that new MPs should rush to make their maiden speech, calming the nerves by getting it out of the way when no one is looking. Rather, they should wait for an occasion with a decent audience. “The only time that the House will really listen to what honourable Members say is when they make their maiden speech,” the Southend MP said in 2001. “So I am not in favour of throwing that opportunity away when there is no one to listen to it.”
Nations Facing Climate Destruction Warn Leaders At COP26: 'Sea Levels Are Rising And Fires Are Burning'
Environment
Nations Facing Climate Destruction Warn Leaders At COP26: "Sea Levels Are Rising And Fires Are Burning"
Nations severely at risk of drought, floods and rising sea water as a result of climate change have made an urgent appeal to world leaders at COP26 to act now before it’s “too late”.
Ed Miliband: 'We need to be truth-tellers in Glasgow'
Energy
By Ed Miliband MP
Ed Miliband: "We need to be truth-tellers in Glasgow"
COP26 matters more than any other climate summit, and it will all come down to maths and ambition.
Let’s get the best minds in the world to create a sustainable revolution
Environment
By Michaela Strachan, Autumnwatch presenter
Let’s get the best minds in the world to create a sustainable revolution
COP26 – is it going to be, as Greta Thunberg said, “empty promises and more blah, blah, blah”? Is it going to be headline news for a few weeks and then be dismissed from the front pages?
COP26 Faces A Chaotic Start – But Number 10 Seems Confident They Can Win On Ambition Alone
Environment
COP26 Faces A Chaotic Start – But Number 10 Seems Confident They Can Win On Ambition Alone
COP26, a landmark climate change summit that is due to begin in Glasgow tomorrow, could prove to be a legacy-defining moment for Prime Minister Boris Johnson.