Law-making in an era of weak government

But there's plenty I am being inspired by elsewhere

Strikes may be disrupting many of our Christmas plans, but life Inside the Lords continues to rumble on.

These past few days, we’ve had plenty of House of Lords drama (as least as far as anything in this place can be that dramatic!). For me, the theme that unites them is how, when the government is so weak, really anything can happen in the Lords. Without a strong democratically elected government, the Lords get something more of a free reign to exercise their undeniably undemocratic power. So, as you might expect, there have been plenty of opportunities for groups to water down various Bills, add in elements detrimental to free speech, and generally exert something of a negative influence!

Perhaps the most notable of these has been how the government has taken up a Private Member’s Bill looking to make catcalling illegal. Quite aside from the fact that the police already have plenty of powers to deal with harassment of women, this attempt to make headlines by criminalising trivial street misbehaviour feels particularly galling given the way that the justice system seems unable to control seriously dangerous violent criminals. Once again, the state criminalises more and more behaviour whilst ignoring the really serious issues which genuinely threaten safety and well-being.

It is not all bad news, however. I lent my support to an amendment from Baronesses Boycott and Chakrabarti which would give greater protection to journalists - it was a refreshing bout of collegiality among many who are often locking horns on certain issues.

As ever, you can watch the full episode, and I have included a couple of my speeches which you can view too. But one final thing. I was at the really excellent Living Freedom Christmas Party last night. It took the form of a thrilling debate about where the greatest depiction of freedom can be found. A real congratulations to my colleague Alastair Donald not just for this event, but for bringing Living Freedom (a forum for serious thought and open debate about freedom) into Universities - which you may have seen in the headlines. I know he has big plans for next year to expand this - please get in touch if you are an academic or student and would like to be a part of!

Living Freedom @LivingFreedom_

Great to see old hands and new faces at Xmas balloon debate last night. Cheers @RobertHansard @unherd for hosting. Thanks to brilliant debaters @astor_charlie @nickdixoncomic @buffsoldier_96 @RobLownie @Emma_A_Webb. And congrats to #MarenThom @perform_pod on taking the prize!

Watch my House of Lords speeches here:

Claire Fox @Fox_Claire

I'm opposed to voter photo-ID on principle. But we lost that argument months ago. Lib Dems are now trying to overturn the vote. Their case not helped by scaremongering about marginalised GPS, ethnic minorities and the poor being hapless and hopeless. Talk about patronising…

Claire Fox @Fox_Claire

Rounding up the HE (Free Speech) Bill, I noted that the debates on the Bill have already led to positive cultural changes on threats to academic freedom. I'll celebrate gains. However, there was less than gracious grumbling from Greens & opposition benches - there is a way to go!