Blog
Julian Sturdy, campaigning in the North
Julian Sturdy, who will contest the new parliamentary seat of York Outer for Conservatives, has been getting positive feedback from his grassroots campaigning where all the target seats are held by Lib Dems - for now. We will soon know whether Labour...
The Whistleblower
While my son James heads off for another day of filming today as an extra in a new ITV drama called The Whistleblower with Carnival Films, my thoughts are with fearless whistleblower Mordechai Vanunu who revealed the secrets of Israel's nuclear...
Charles Clarke omits to mention his Home Office failures
The memory is very selective. In reflecting on 10 years of Labour rule in today's Eastern Daily Press, Norwich South MP Charles Clarke fails to mention any achievements from the Home Office and how he was sacked as Secretary for his gross failings. In case he has...
John Prescott’s shameful legacy
While the world debates the legacy of Tony Blair's tempestuous leadership - 10 years on Wednesday - the legacy of his ridiculed deputy leader will come under far less scrutiny when he steps down. After all, what is there to say? What remarkable...
Meet Veronica, a reformed alcoholic
My name is Veronica and I am a reformed alcoholic. And I don’t want it to happen to you too, which is why I have trained as a therapist and launched a training programme. There has been considerable media coverage about Alcohol Concern's idea...
A day of human rights
Today I shall be in Cambridge participating in human rights debates, including 'honour' based violence against women, secret detention, children's rights and the Israel-Palestine conflict. What better time to raise the mysterious disappearance of BBC...
Some green reasons to quit the Strasbourg travelling circus
If saving £200 million a year is not good enough reason to stop the ridiculous European Parliament's travelling circus sitting in Strasbourg to simply appease the French, then how about on grounds of saving carbon emissions. A green study of the European Parliament's...
Planning a Greek trip
I would like to take my mother Loula to Greece for a week next month, back to Thessaloniki, her birthplace. I'm planning to book a hotel via the internet and wondered which online site you would recommend for flights. I doubt I will be as lucky as Maalie and find a 1p...
Green is the new black
Who says celebrity endorsement doesn't work? I would have liked one of these £5 eco-friendly bleached cotton shopping bags too, but there was no way I was going to get up early and queue, even if Reese Witherspoon, Lily Allen and Alicia...