Archbishop Cranmer (Free subscription) | 2 hours ago
The bets are on. Apparently, a hung parliament is a highly likely outcome of the next general election, following decades of gerrymandering and Labour-favouring boundary reviews. And in such a scenario, the Liberal Democrats have indicated that they would support the Conservative Party: Yes, Nick Clegg would be prepared to climb into bed with David Cameron, if the Conservative leader would entertain...
Mark Reckons (Free subscription) | 20/11/2009
Correspondence has been released between various protagonists in the saga of the sacking three weeks ago of Professor David Nutt from his position as chair of the Advisory Council on the Misuse of Drugs. One of the letters is from Professor Nutt to the Science and Technology Select Committee outlining the sequence of events from his perspective. As Evan Harris has already made clear in a very detailed...
New Humanist (Free subscription) | 19/11/2009
If you're the type of voter who likes to pay attention to the candidates, rather than just the parties they represent, then you may be interested in a new online initiative called Skeptical Voter , which has just been set up in the wake of the controversy over the government's sacking of its chief drug advisor Professor David Nutt, after he stated that scientific evidence suggests that ecstasy and...
The Lay Scientist (Free subscription) | 17/11/2009
“This talk has been approved by the Home Office and so may be damaging to your health” started Professor David Nutt last night at a crowded Skeptics Westminster. For such a serious subject, the evening produced a lot of laughs with the Professor, his fellow guest Dr. Evan Harris MP and visitor Dr. Ben Goldacre. Professor Nutt started by restating the basics of the area: there are different...
Split Horizons (Free subscription) | 17/11/2009
This tweet from Richard Wilson brings me the news that in 2007 (yeah OK, old news), 40 out of 63 Lib Dem MPs backed an Early Day Motion to continue the NHS funding of homeopathic hospitals. That is a higher proportion of MPs than both Labour (72 out of 355) and Conservative (88 out of 198), and the Others (6 out of 29). The list includes Norman Lamb, the Lib Dem Health Spokesperson, and basically all...
The Guardian (Free subscription) | 12/11/2009
MPs just don't want to engage with voters Move along, now. There's nothing to see. That's the command that the debate police always manage to get across. The tragedy is that Parliament is the debate police, when it is supposed to be the cradle of informed and formalised discussion. This time last week, the nation was in the throes of a massive pile-up of diverse and often highly sophisticated opinion...
Liberal Democrat Voice (Free subscription) | 11/11/2009
On Monday, Helen brought you news from the Guardian of the dispute between Liberal Democrat MP Dr Evan Harris and Home Secretary Alan Johnson. Over the last two days, Dr Harris’s blog has been unmissable as he has been posting details of the correspondence on his blog, along with the consequences. A fisking of Alan Johnson’s [...]
The Guardian (Free subscription) | 10/11/2009
Parliamentary committee accuses Phillips of 'sanitising' internal criticism and having conflicts of interest The embattled chair of the Equalities and Human Rights Commission (EHRC) today faced calls for his resignation after being accused of "sanitising" internal criticism and having conflicts of professional interest. Appearing before parliament's human rights select committee, Trevor...
Liberal Democrat Voice (Free subscription) | 09/11/2009
Alan Johnson has rejected Evan Harris’s claim that he misled MPs in his statement over the sacking of government drugs adviser Professor David Nutt. From the Guardian: Johnson conceded that the Home Office and secretariat for the Advisory Council on the Misuse of Drugs had been warned in advance about a paper published by Nutt in [...]
Aberavon & Neath Liberal Democrats (Free subscription) | 09/11/2009
The Liberal Democrats have formally asked the Home Secretary to apologise to the Commons for misleading statements concerning Professor David Nutt and the Advisory Council on the Misuse of Drugs and to apologise to Professor Nutt for the unfair damage done to his reputation for the incorrect and unjustified allegations made about him. In a formal complaint to the Home Secretary, Liberal Democrat Science...
Mark Reckons (Free subscription) | 08/11/2009
Dr Evan Harris, the Lib Dem MP and science spokesperson has written a letter to Alan Johnson the Home Secretary drawing his attention to a number of factual inaccuracies in the statements Mr Johnson made to the House of Commons last Monday in the debate about his dismissal of Professor Nutt. Dr Harris charges Mr Johnson with a "litany of errors" and states it is essential that he returns...
Les Bonner (Free subscription) | 06/11/2009
“Professor Nutt deserves an apology for the damage done to his reputation. Only then can a line be drawn under this affair,” said Evan Harris, the Liberal Democrat Science Spokesperson. Commenting on remarks by Science Minister Lord Drayson that the Government is to accept a set of principles guaranteeing independence and academic freedom to its expert [...]
Transform Drug Policy Foundation (Free subscription) | 06/11/2009
PRESS NOTICE: from the Parliamentary Drugs and Alcohol Treatment and Harm Reduction Group Chair: Lord David Ramsbotham Secretary: Mike Wood MP Vice Chairs: David Burrowes MP, Paul Flynn MP, Paul Holmes MP FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE: MPs table motion calling for drugs policy based on scientific evidence MPs from the Cross-Party Group on Drugs and Alcohol Treatment and Harm Reduction (DATHR) have today tabled...
Tim Worstall (Free subscription) | 06/11/2009
And Liberal Democrat Evan Harris said that giving up the Westminster flat which he owns and moving into rented property could actually result in a bigger bill for the taxpayer, as rents for similar properties were generally higher than monthly mortgage payments. Look laddie, well done you [...]
Mark Reckons (Free subscription) | 03/11/2009
Sometimes I disagree with things that MPs and other representatives of my party say. Yesterday's debate in parliament about the dismissal of Professor Nutt from the Advisory Council on the Misuse of Drugs was not one of those occasions. Instead as each Lib Dem MP popped up to make their contribution I found myself feeling more and more proud. Alan Johnson the Home Secretary, Chris Grayling his shadow...
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