Inside The Lords - and something for the weekend
Inside The Lords is back after the Easter recess, and there’s a lot going on. We’ve started discussing the Online Safety Bill, which was unexpected - we were supposed to be debating the Retained EU Law Bill, which has been quietly removed. There are a handful of us in the Lords who are dedicated to pushing for free speech to combat some of the censorious and complicated aspects of the Bill (like trying to force WhatsApp to remove end-to-end encryption). I’ll keep you updated on how the discussions go, but do take a look at the Bill and its explanatory notes yourself.
This week I put in an amendment on leaseholding during the Levelling Up Bill - arguing that you’re pretty much a tenant with a mortgage as long as you’re a leaseholder. But it was in a group of amendments about housing, in which you might imagine we’d be discussing the need for more houses. Not so - the amendments were on environmental concerns about the plight of the hedgehog and not disturbing natural habitats by doing something as terrible as building houses. Opposed to this, I spoke in favour of human habitats and the need to prioritise the needs of families who are living in overcrowded and condemned accommodation.
Elsewhere in the Lords, we’ve got the controversial Immigration Bill to discuss. Lots of Lords will be up in arms about the prospect of the government being able to ignore international judges who oppose deportation flights. But you don’t have to like the Rwanda plan (I don’t) to understand that a sovereign nation has to be able to make and enact laws that it democratically puts in place.
As I always say, politics doesn’t just happen in parliament, and at the Academy of Ideas we’re very busy. Check out our forthcoming events below this video and make sure you get your tickets to the Battle of Ideas festival if you haven’t already. We’ve got a super early-bird discount on for a limited time, so make sure you grab yours now.
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Dates for your diary…
Birmingham Salon: United? Kingdom?
When: 1 – 5PM, SATURDAY 22 APRIL
Venue: The Arthur Sullivan Room, Birmingham Midland Institute, 9 Margaret Street, Birmingham B3 3BU
Speakers and tickets: https://www.birminghamsalon.org/
Academy of Ideas Education Forum: Warm-Strict Schools – saving pupils or ‘another brick in the wall’?
When: 7PM, WEDNESDAY 26 APRIL via ZOOM
Speakers: Julie Harmieson, Barry Smith, Mark Taylor
Tickets: https://academyofideas.org.uk/event/warm-strict-schools-saving-pupils-or-another-brick-in-the-wall/
Leeds Salon: Gambling – what’s the risk?
When: 7PM, WEDNESDAY 26 APRIL
Venue: Room 2, Carriageworks Theatre, Leeds
Speakers: Jon Bryan and Alexandra Kenyon
Tickets: www.leedssalon.org.uk
The Hannah Arendt Study Group: The Concept of History - Ancient & Modern, Part II
When: 7PM, WEDNESDAY 26 APRIL
Introduction: Jenny Cunningham
Tickets: https://www.facebook.com/events/537772161776333/
This discussion will be on the second two sections of Hannah Arendt’s essay ‘The Concept of History: Ancient and Modern’ from Between Past and Future. More info, recordings of previous events, and chat on the Facebook page.
Academy of Ideas Economy Forum: China – the end of the party?
When: 7PM, THURSDAY 4 MAY via ZOOM
Speakers: Austin Williams and James Woudhuysen
Tickets: https://academyofideas.org.uk/event/china-the-end-of-the-party/
Academy of Ideas Arts & Society Forum: Ask an artist… Jack Hues in conversation - reflections of a rock star
When: 7PM, WEDNESDAY 17 MAY
Venue: 31 Oval Road, London, NW1 7EA
East Midlands Salon: The relevance of Marx in the 21st century
When: 7PM, THURSDAY 25 MAY
Venue: The Brunswick Inn, Station Road, Derby, DE1 2RU
Speaker: Efraim Carlebach
Tickets: https://eastmidlandssalon.org.uk/
In the news this week…
I was on Politics Live, discussing the illegal immigration bill, Raab’s bullying allegations, and the Manchester football slavery controversy. Watch here.
Nick Buckley has released the video of the event in Manchester at which I spoke. Watch that on YouTube.
