Yesterday marked fifty years since Edward Heath asked voters “Who governs Britain?” and received the polite but firm reply of “Not you, mate”.
Private security guards will soon be deployed at constituency events. MPs most at risk will be able to apply for 24/7 protection. Funds “will also pay for increased security such as CCTV, alarms and sensors required at MPs’ homes or constituency offices.”
The past three and half years had consisted of one policy failure after another. Heath began in 1970 by pursuing monetarism, but as unemployment rose, he panicked and reversed the policy.
Even before the names and details of ten thousand personnel were leaked, the PSNI was already losing one member a day. Exposed to dissident republican terrorism, how many more will quit?
It was made at the same time that the police were opening a fraud investigation into the party over alleged misuse of its referendum fighting fund.
There is probably nowhere else in the United Kingdom where this shabby, universally-derided Bill would be contemplated.
What is less recognised is the way in which David Cameron’s Government decided, not without risk to the Conservatives’ electoral prospects in some key marginals, to withhold patronage and money from some Muslim organisations that, fitfully, had gained both under Labour.
More work is needed to ensure proper protection for ex-servicemen and give victims’ families a chance at the truth.
The proposals are in line with those we outlined in an article earlier this month: immunity in exchange for honest testimony.
Would it be worth abandoning long-shot hopes of criminal prosecution to get evidence on the record before the witnesses die?
The move would mark a long-overdue end to “a grubby, behind-closed-doors deal with people linked to scores of terrorist atrocities.”
The situation will fester, which will pose major challenges for statecraft, and for the stability both of Ukraine and of surrounding areas.
This soldier and statesmen deserves the memorial shield in Parliament that is now customary for Members killed in the line of duty.
It arises from a campaign to protect ex-servicemen which has nothing to do with the particular circumstances of the Province.
To mark the 40th anniversary of the murder of Edgar Graham by the Provisional IRA, this is an adaptation of the chapter on his assassination from Himself Alone: David Trimble and the Ordeal of Unionism by Lord Godson.