We cannot say that we have a justice system if we have an innate injustice like this. The sentencing and continued imprisonment of IPP prisoners has just been cruel. The lawyer and campaigner Peter Stefanovic put out an online video about it. Continue reading “Victims and Prisoners Bill – IPP Prisoners”
It is about a century since women got the vote—in 1919 for women with property and 1928 for all women—but society is still unequal, and women are still being left behind. The statistics speak for themselves. Women still do not have equal pay. Women do not have equal representation, whether in Westminster or in boardrooms. One in four women is subjected to domestic violence during her lifetime. The number of rape cases and domestic assault cases that come to court is abysmally low, which we as a society should be utterly ashamed of. Of course, many cases are never reported—why bother if it will take years for them to come to court? The levels of violence against women and girls are at epidemic proportions, and there is strong evidence that the media’s sexist portrayal of women is part of the problem. Continue reading “International Women’s Day”
My question to the government: To ask His Majesty’s Government what assessment they have made of the work of the Environment Agency in protecting public health and the environment Continue reading “My debate on the Environment Agency”
On 5th March Biofuelwatch and the Stop Burning Trees Coalition held an emergency demo outside the Department for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy in response to the Government’s proposal to offer billions more in new ‘transitional’ subsidies for unabated wood biomass burning. This goes back on previously government policy to stop all subsidies for unabated biomass burning in 2027. The only two power stations eligible for these subsidies are Drax (the UK’s biggest carbon emitter) and Lynemouth. These subsidies have no clear end date in sight, so if approved, could lock us into decades more of forest destruction, pollution of communities and carbon emissions. We called on DESNZ to scrap these plans to keep funding tree burning, and invest in genuine renewables and climate action.
We are debating today whether this authoritarian Government can declare that the objective truth of facts decided by the courts can be overruled. If we allow it, it is another big step towards a dictatorship—intentional or not. I know that the majority of people in the House of Lords know that the Government are wrong. I also know that many still cling to the belief that the House should not vote to stop the Government passing the most draconian of laws. We are paid more than £300 per day to come here and talk and vote, but what is the point of all our hard work if the Government ignore us? Continue reading “Government push on with Rwanda Bill”
This is a mess of a Bill; it is illegal and nonsensical.
No single stretch of river in England or Northern Ireland is in good overall health. 85% of river stretches in England have failed to reach good ecological health and toxic chemicals pollute every stretch of English rivers. What a legacy this Government have left us. Ofwat has failed and the Environment Agency has failed. Continue reading “Pollution in Rivers and Regulation of Private Water Companies”
With Kit Malthouse who I served on the London Assembly with…
There is the emerging scandal of sexual and domestic abuse being systematically ignored within the police service when the accusations are directed at police officers by women who are their partners or even fellow officers. These are not one-offs or rotten apples; this is a systemic failure to protect women and ensure that they get justice. The victims’ code would help to redress that. Continue reading “Victims Code”
Baroness Jones of Moulsecoomb 