Blog
David Miliband and his two adoptions
I confess to having had a soft spot for David Miliband as he linked my blog to his website as Environment Secretary (I thought he was impressive), and later Foreign Secretary (not so impressive), and I considered this quite an honour, especially as I was endorsing his...
John Bercow outlines his vision to revive the Chamber
These are two videos I made of John Bercow, Speaker of the House, outlining his vision to revive the Chamber in the House of Commons to the Hansard Society on Wednesday. In the top video, he describes how he is keen to get more ministers back into the Chamber, provide...
Diane Abbott storms into Labour’s leadership contest
If Diane Abbott can score an own goal and win the support of Labour leadership rival David Miliband who also persuaded a string of his backers to the same, will this heaven sent endorsement influence trade unions and other Labour supporters to do the same? It...
Cambridge’s £1 million golden clock, the Chronophage
Whenever I visit Cambridge close to where I live, I always have to stop and admire its latest attraction which has become very popular with tourist - a £1 million golden clock created by an incredible inventor, Dr John Taylor, for his old college. It is an amazing...
Will John Bercow’s reform plans for parliament include more women MPs?
I know I won't be the only person keen to hear what John Bercow says in the Hansard Society's Speaker’s Lecture this week entitled "Reform in a new Parliament: Reviving the Chamber".I want to see if he will keep his word about the need to increase women...
A day of highly charged emotions
My husband and I are heading for the smoke today to see the Grace Kelly exhibition at the V&A, whose elegance and beauty is still unsurpassed. The story of the Hollywood star and Princess of Monaco continues to fascinate us all and I'm really looking forward to...
The Percy family and Island Hall
You will be pleased to know that my plucky author friend Jean Adamson has made an excellent recovery from her brutal attack by a ruthless mugger in our Cambridgeshire village, though disappointly the cowardly culprit has never never found.We are both garden lovers and...
Alzheimer book wins Orwell Prize
Congratulations to Andrea Gillies for winning the coveted Orwell Book Prize, Keeper: Living with Nancy. A journey into Alzheimer's. It's not a sexy subject, and normally this award is given for a political book. But this true, poignant swept judges off their feet....
Is it hard for MPs to confess they are gay?
David Laws is not in judgement for being gay - that is hardly a scandal these days for MPs - though this might be the case for Premier football players. I accept he wanted to have a private life and not tell all and sundry about his lover James Lundie. But what people...