Monthly Archives: August 2011
Confusing Parliament and Government
It is not unusual for the public to confuse Parliament with Government. Even the BBC do it. I notice that on one programme, Heir Hunters, whenever there is a reference to the Government, or to the Treasury, it displays a … Continue reading
Novel reason for not holding an election
Political leaders come up with some novel reasons for holding or failing to hold elections. The new Japanese prime minister, Yoshihiko Noda, has come up with a particularly distinctive reason for declining to call an election. According to The Times, he … Continue reading
Winning awards
The winner of the caption competition, Sheldon Howcroft, mentions in response to his win that he hasn’t won many awards recently. I know the feeling. For many years, the only award I won was in the 1980s when the then … Continue reading
And the winner is…
After long and detailed deliberations, and much reflection (oh yes), I can now announce the winner of the latest caption competition. The winning entry is that of Sheldon Howcroft with: Hull’s latest “Boy Band” gather for a practice before facing … Continue reading
Parliamentary archives
I recorded an interview yesterday for the BBC Radio 4 programme, The World this Weekend, about the Parliament Act 1911. The basis for the piece is the display of material relating to the 1909 Budget and Parliament Act which has been put … Continue reading
Meeting deadlines
One of the problems with accepting writing commitments is that they often come months, even years, in advance of the submission deadline, leaving the deceptive impression that there will be time to complete them without undue pressure or haste. Things tend … Continue reading
Staying young
A friend of mine recently turned fifty. ‘People tell me I don’t look fifty’, he said. ‘Same here’ I said.
Different perspectives
I was recently returning to the House of Lords when I bumped into a Hull politics graduate outside the Palace of Westminster. We stood chatting for some time. The pavement was rather crowded and, as we talked, I saw among the crowd a member … Continue reading
The Norton View 