I feel a bit Goring-like when I hear the word ‘partnership’. I’m all for partnership but only as a ‘means’ and not as an ‘end’. All too often these days, those in nature conservation talk of partnership as if it’s the only way to get things done but it clearly isn’t. I’m all for…
Category: THE POLITICS: Ministers, MPs, government policy
Guest blog – Puppet Sex and Stanley Johnson by Lyn Ebbs
By education and training I am a microbiologist and worked in the NHS and biotech sector. I finished my working career in clinical research and patient safety in the pharmaceutical industry, so am a firm believer in evidence-based science. I’ve been a member of the RSPB for many years and started volunteering for them when…
Why hate vegans?
I had a lovely Sunday – I’ll tell you about it some time – but I was a bit irritated at around 0950 on Radio 4. I don’t think I could be a vegetarian, although I do go meat-free for four days each week, and have done for about seven years now, and I certainly…
New Shadow Defra SoS on World at One
The sun was shining yesterday lunch time so I thought I’d go out and pick some blackberries – I’d been in Canterbury on Saturday and then it had rained on Sunday, so the weekend had not been a harvesting opportunity. I think others must have been similarly occupied or put off because the hedgerows were…
Corbyn watch – anthems
Speaking as one who loves a good sing – as part of a crowd anyway – I’d have been belting out the words of the National Anthem (which nation is that by the way?) with more gusto than skill if I had been in Jeremy Corbyn’s position. I miss the alternate Saturdays at Nene Park…
Kafkaesque
I complained to Defra about their handling of my FoI/EIR request on 1 September. Yesterday they replied saying how they were going to handle it – and that was fine. No complaints there. None at all. The letter even said ‘If you have any queries about this letter please contact me.’ which I thought was…
Lack of Truss
Yesterday I travelled into London for the launch of a couple of documents by Wildlife and Countryside Link (of which more later). As I walked up the steps of Westminster tube station I felt slightly nostalgic for the days when I used to spend a lot more time in this habitat and as I emerged,…
Kerry McCarthy MP – Shadow Secretary of State for the Environment
Well, this will please the Countryside Alliance! And the NFU. And the CLA. And the Moorland Association. Kerry McCarthy is a vice-President of the League Against Cruel Sports and a vegan too. Ms McCarthy spoke at the Rally for Nature last year. A copy of Inglorious is in the post to her. I wonder…
Clever
I’ve just had an email from the Corbyn campaign (you’ve already got my vote Jeremy!) – I get about five a day from the various candidates. It contained this paragraph: ‘We cannot write off rural areas as “the Tory shires”, abandoning communities struggling with issues such as housing costs, public service cuts and…
Talk me out of Corbyn
Yesterday I received my voting papers for the Labour leadership and deputy leadership elections. As you can see, I haven’t got very far in filling them in. I have to say that I am very drawn to Jeremy Corbyn for a variety of reasons – several of them bad reasons! First, he is older than…