Government, the police and intelligence services are too easily given sweeping powers that they too often abuse
Jenny works with campaigners to defend our civil liberties
Read on for her latest posts on this topic
This government has launched an assault on our democracy. It is trying to discourage opposition voters reaching the ballot box with Voter ID; it is giving the police the power to ban protests that create “more than minor” disruption; and it is trying to by-pass parliamentary democracy by handing more power to Ministers. Continue reading “Assault on democracy”
This is an appeal to the Labour front bench: please talk to some constitutional lawyers urgently about my Fatal Motion, or even Gordon Brown, who produced such an expert report on reforming the second chamber. It appears that Emily Thornberry MP, Labour’s Shadow Attorney General hasn’t had the full picture explained to her. In a tweet the other day, she argued:
“Labour doesn’t vote in the House of Lords to kill a bill, that’s the Commons’ job. The constitutional position is the unelected Lords is a revising chamber only. If a precedent was set, the Tories could easily use their majority in the Lords to do the same to a Lab govt’s laws.”
Continue reading “An appeal to Labour’s frontbench: save parliamentary democracy”
Only a few weeks ago the Government lost a vote in the Lords on the Public Order Bill to change the interpretation of “serious disruption” of other people’s day-to-day activities to mean “anything more than minor” and now the government are now trying to reinsert this change via secondary legislation which has less Parliamentary scrutiny and can’t be amended in any way. Baroness Jenny Jones has tabled a fatal motion to stop their proposal from becoming law.
Continue reading “My petition to defend rights and democracy”
We must consider an office of the whistleblower, we need something very drastic as the current legislation is no protection at all Continue reading “Whistleblowing Framework”
We had three significant government defeats on amendments to the Retained EU Law (Revocation and Reform) Bill
After the success in the Lords of my Clean Air (Human Rights) Bill I’m very happy with the warm cross party support for my new Anti-corruption Bill (thank you Mr Starmer). When adopted it will reverse the damage done by over a decade of corporate lobbying and political donations to the Conservative Party.
My Question for Written Answer: To ask His Majesty’s Government what steps they will take to work with international partners to establish a UN investigation into the mass poisoning of school children in Iran. Continue reading “The mass poisoning of school children in Iran”
The Public Order Bill has returned again to the Commons with Lords amendments after 2 rounds of Ping Pong. The Lords are digging in on suspicion-less stop and search having won on the protection of journalists. Details of the government defeats can be viewed here Continue reading “Public Order Bill Ping Pong”
“Brian Haw (1949-2011) was one of the most visible, influential, determined and adhesive peace campaigners of our times. In June 2001, he began a peace protest at Parliament Square in Westminster, where he remained for nearly ten years.” Actor and campaigner Mark Rylance writes about him for the Big Issue.
A Crowdfunder has been set up to fund the installation of a small statue of Brian, facing the Imperial War Museum in Lambeth, creating a permanent symbol of protest for peace – you can support the Crowdfunder here
Statement from Jenny in recognition of the approach of the end of the ‘United Nations International Decade for people of African descent 2015 to 2024’ which the British Government continues to refuse to recognise. Continue reading “Reparatory Justice for Afrikan Enslavement”
Baroness Jones of Moulsecoomb 