I am not an advocate of an unelected upper house of parliament but as we have one it is paramount that appointments are made on merit. The recent denial of John Sentamu a peerage and the granting of a peerage by Boris Johnson to his brother smacks of scurrilous nepotism. Sentamu an ex high court judge jailed for speaking out against Idi Amin has been a champion against injustice and poverty all his life whilst Jo Johnson is an ex Tory MP. It's good to see that the government's ( Johnson's) embarrassment has forced them into a 'U turn'. Their feeble excuse being they wanted to check Sentamu wasn't involved in any sex scandal. In light of the Saville affair background checks are done to the n'th degree. They knew Sentamu's selection was due for years.
Their excuses about extra checks etc are untrue as usual but it is good to see that pressure has made them change their minds. Id far rather have Sentamu in the house of lords than Clare Fox for example
I'm not a god bothered myself, but I've always held Sentamu in high regard....I was outraged when I heard this, but apparently his nomination was delayed pending an enquiry into his handling of the Church's historical sex abuse cases....as I understand it he has come out of it without a question mark and his nomination will be forthcoming.
Although I detest Boris and what he brings to his office I'm actually not against Jo Johnson. He is a smart, serious politician and would do better in No 10 than his brother, in my opinion. So I've no problem with Jo's elevation. I agree with you regarding John Mugabi ("i-ba-gum") Sentamu. He would bring qualities to the Upper Chamber which are sadly lacking in public life. Where I do have an issue is with the wholly unmeritorious promotion of the dislikeable Clare Fox. To my mind that is nothing more than taking the p155.
Unfortunately every party puts forward silly decisions, Labour picked Alan Sugar who now does nothing but criticise them whilst being a vile racist idiot. Why can’t even be arsed to attend the Lords for votes that don’t suit him.
Sorry Farnham, missed that! Clearly we are of one mind, and should be responsible for appointing the rest of the peers!
I read the news today, oh boy Four thousand holes in Blackburn, Lancashire And though the holes were rather small They had to count them all Now they know how many holes it takes to fill the Albert Hall
Then there’s Chakrabarti, Corbyns whitewasher general. I see Red Len has showed Labours true colours again. Let’s be honest the house of lords is largely populated by those having taken a seat as a reward for turning a blind eye. Allegedly.
