It’s been a bit odd over the last few months – being on the same side of an argument as David Cameron and George Osborne. My instincts are always to take what they say with a pinch of salt (as pictured right) but the size of the pinch just keeps growing as the Brexit/BRemain debate…
Tag: david cameron
Best and worst at Defra – what you think
There have been six secretaries of state at Defra since it came into existence in the wake of the foot and mouth disease outbreak in 2001. Defra was born out of the thought that MAFF was too inward-looking and that farming wasn’t that important really but was a bit of a problem. Prime Ministers also…
Nature Club by E Truss (Senior Prefect) as imagined by Jonathan Wallace
St Margaret’s School (school motto Fides in mercato) Nature Club By E Truss (Senior Prefect) Gosh! Hello everyone! I’d just like to say how thrilled I am to have been put in charge of the school wildlife garden! It’s a great responsibility and I shall do my very best to…
Who do they follow? Rory Stewart
Rory Stewart is the Parliamentary Under Secretary of State at Defra and the MP for Penrith and the Borders. His Twitter handle is @RoryStewartUK. He has 24,500 Twitter followers (including me) and follows 590 Twitter accounts (not including me). It’s sometimes amusing to stroll through someone’s Twitter follows. They are usually a varied bunch and…
Liz Truss – where is your signature?
The environment ministers of Croatia, France, Germany, Italy, Luxembourg, Poland, Romania, Slovenia and Spain have written to the EU Environment Commissioner, M Vella, who hails himself from Malta, calling for the Birds Directive and Habitat Directive to be maintained, un-merged and better implemented. These countries represent well over half, and close to two thirds, of…
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…
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…
Lost leaders
The people have made their choice and we all have to live with it. The environment faces a tough time over the next five years and that means that those who care about it, not enough of us, need to raise our voices and do even more to fight for nature. I went to bed,…
Labour MPs’ take on the Rally for Nature
Here are three examples of responses from Labout MPs to their constituents on the issues raised by the Rally for Nature last week. You can see that each response is clearly a personal one and that’s why I haven’t revealed the identities of the MPs or their constituents. I’d be interested in any further responses…