Justin Welby is the greatest churchman I have ever met, and an outstanding Archbishop of Canterbury. When you meet him you are genuinely moved. If any Churchman has an aura he has it.
He has two very large issues to confront over the next week: I am strongly behind him on one [women bishops] and against him on the second [assisted dying].
- on Monday the Church of England General Synod debates the thorny issue of Women Bishops, with a great prospect of success at last. I am in no doubt that the presence of female vicars has re galvanised the Anglican faith. I see it regularly both in the churches in Tynedale and daily in the House of Commons, where our vicar is female. The Rev Rose Hudson Wilkin has made a huge difference in parliament. My strong hope is that the Synod will change their view on women bishops.
- on Friday the House of Lords begins the debate on the Assisted Dying Bill. I am told there are over 100 speakers in their Lordships debate. This means they will debate through the night. Justin Welby has made his position clear in today's Times. I also have to acknowledge that this Bill is highly unlikely to succeed in parliament, until one of the political parties has the courage to back it. Single member or Private Member Bills rarely ever pass as they are blocked, are subject to lengthy filibuster or talked out.
However, Saturday's announcement by former Archbishop Carey is a true ground breaker: put simply, Carey has changed his mind. His views are in all the papers - he argues that it is not true Christianity to ignore agony and suffering. As he puts it:
"In strictly observing the sanctity of life the church could now actually be sanctioning anguish and pain, the very opposite of the Christian message of hope."
For those who oppose this Bill I would urge you to read it before coming to a judgement.
The BBC report is here: http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-28274531
My speeches and blogs on this issue are easily found: the House of Commons last debated this issue in March 2012: the debate moved me immensely. Read the speech of Paul Blomfield, who is a Sheffield Labour MP, and friend and colleague of mine: his is an amazing speech. Mine is here: http://www.theyworkforyou.com/debates/?id=2012-03-27a.1373.0&s=%28%28assisted+suicide%29%29+speaker%3A24962#g1432.1
Showing posts with label Paul Blomfield. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Paul Blomfield. Show all posts
Sunday, 13 July 2014
Tuesday, 24 December 2013
Who are the Westminster stars of 2014? My take on who did well in 2013 & the future
It is that time of year to do a political review and give predictions for 2013:
Labour: this year we said goodbye to some great Labour figures - whether it was John Healey confined to the backbenchers or Jim Murphy demoted. But my favourite line was when Jack Straw was being hailed, shortly after his retirement was announced for his long service, and he shot up to announce: "I am not dead yet!"
My congratulations for 2013, however, go to Paul Blomfield, for his campaign on pay day lending. He is both a friend of mine and a good MP, and he carried on what Stella Creasey started.
The common sense star of the year is an unlikely choice. Eric Joyce is a maverick, a delight to talk to but struggling with demons, notably drink. But he is also very wise, and very critical of political correctness, which definitely exists in spades in parts of the Labour Party. I liked this recent Spectator piece on him:
http://blogs.spectator.co.uk/alex-massie/2013/12/in-praise-of-eric-joyce/
It is genuinely worth a read.
Clearly the rise of the very upper class Tristram Hunt proves the theory of the article wrong but...
My Labour MP to watch in 2014 in the Commons is Natascha Engel, the chair of the backbench business committee, and someone who is being talked about on all sides as the next Speaker, if she wants it. Unlike many MPs on all sides she does the job for all the right reasons, and is much liked.
Conservative: although Sajid Javid is clearly one to watch for the long term leadership, one new ministerial name stands out for me. The rising star of 2013, and a likely star of 2014, is Nicky Morgan, recently Promoted into the Treasury. Some people fit naturally into the job and she has really impressed in the Commons. My guess is that she will be promoted again, as the PM seeks to promote more women up the ministerial ladder.
As to the big guns. ... The cabinet will not stay the same all the way until the general election and there will be opportunities for other middle ranking ministers to get promoted. All of us in the parliamentary party admired in particular Alastair Burt, who was an outstanding minister at the foreign office; he should be given another job if at all possible.
If I had to pick one 2010 Conservative backbencher who should have been promoted, but was not, then I would select the outstanding Paul Uppal, MP for Wolverhampton SW. He is a mate of mine, but he typifies the new Conservative party of 2010 and beyond. Bear in mind he represents the seat of Enoch Powell ... and he is an ethnic son of a migrant: his wiki site is here: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Paul_Uppal
Liberal: their best backbencher is definitely Duncan Hames, but my star of the year is Jeremy Browne. In effect, his predicament defines so much of what ails the Lib Dems. I worked with him at the Home Office, and although Norman Baker has been an excellent and entirely reliable replacement, Jeremy was sacked by Clegg for no reason at all. What the liberals do next almost defines which way the liberal democrat party will go? They have an upcoming Deputy Leadership election and it will decide their direction of travel. Do they go left wing, and try to become even more left wing than the Labour Party? If so then there are plenty of options like Sarah Teather or Tessa Munt they could choose. Or do they advocate liberal beliefs in a modern orange book world of fiscal discipline and pragmatism. If so they should choose an orange book liberal like Jeremy. I fear that they will go left wing. Given the electoral projections for 2015 that has very significant consequences for this country.
Labour: this year we said goodbye to some great Labour figures - whether it was John Healey confined to the backbenchers or Jim Murphy demoted. But my favourite line was when Jack Straw was being hailed, shortly after his retirement was announced for his long service, and he shot up to announce: "I am not dead yet!"
My congratulations for 2013, however, go to Paul Blomfield, for his campaign on pay day lending. He is both a friend of mine and a good MP, and he carried on what Stella Creasey started.
The common sense star of the year is an unlikely choice. Eric Joyce is a maverick, a delight to talk to but struggling with demons, notably drink. But he is also very wise, and very critical of political correctness, which definitely exists in spades in parts of the Labour Party. I liked this recent Spectator piece on him:
http://blogs.spectator.co.uk/alex-massie/2013/12/in-praise-of-eric-joyce/
It is genuinely worth a read.
Clearly the rise of the very upper class Tristram Hunt proves the theory of the article wrong but...
My Labour MP to watch in 2014 in the Commons is Natascha Engel, the chair of the backbench business committee, and someone who is being talked about on all sides as the next Speaker, if she wants it. Unlike many MPs on all sides she does the job for all the right reasons, and is much liked.
Conservative: although Sajid Javid is clearly one to watch for the long term leadership, one new ministerial name stands out for me. The rising star of 2013, and a likely star of 2014, is Nicky Morgan, recently Promoted into the Treasury. Some people fit naturally into the job and she has really impressed in the Commons. My guess is that she will be promoted again, as the PM seeks to promote more women up the ministerial ladder.
As to the big guns. ... The cabinet will not stay the same all the way until the general election and there will be opportunities for other middle ranking ministers to get promoted. All of us in the parliamentary party admired in particular Alastair Burt, who was an outstanding minister at the foreign office; he should be given another job if at all possible.
If I had to pick one 2010 Conservative backbencher who should have been promoted, but was not, then I would select the outstanding Paul Uppal, MP for Wolverhampton SW. He is a mate of mine, but he typifies the new Conservative party of 2010 and beyond. Bear in mind he represents the seat of Enoch Powell ... and he is an ethnic son of a migrant: his wiki site is here: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Paul_Uppal
Liberal: their best backbencher is definitely Duncan Hames, but my star of the year is Jeremy Browne. In effect, his predicament defines so much of what ails the Lib Dems. I worked with him at the Home Office, and although Norman Baker has been an excellent and entirely reliable replacement, Jeremy was sacked by Clegg for no reason at all. What the liberals do next almost defines which way the liberal democrat party will go? They have an upcoming Deputy Leadership election and it will decide their direction of travel. Do they go left wing, and try to become even more left wing than the Labour Party? If so then there are plenty of options like Sarah Teather or Tessa Munt they could choose. Or do they advocate liberal beliefs in a modern orange book world of fiscal discipline and pragmatism. If so they should choose an orange book liberal like Jeremy. I fear that they will go left wing. Given the electoral projections for 2015 that has very significant consequences for this country.
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)