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…
Category: THE POLITICS: Ministers, MPs, government policy
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…
Andy, Yvette, Jeremy and Liz
The Labour Party is having a leadership election. As a party member I get to vote in it. It’s a very difficult choice – they are all so dull! I cannot detect a smidgeon of wildlife interest in the lot of them – but maybe I am misjudging Andy Burnham, Yvette Cooper, Jeremy Corbyn and…