Your weekly guide to British politics (number four)

Dear Friends,

      You may have noticed there was no Letter from London last week.  Let's just blame the British postal service and move directly on to this weeks offering. 

      Things have died down a little in Blighty this week.  Parliament is in recess and as a result we have been without the spectacle of Prime Minister's Questions.  However, just because the green benches have been empty doesn't mean the news screens have. 

      The Environment Secretary David Miliband MP has been urged by a senior member of the Labour Party to stand against Gordon Brown for leadership of the party when Tony Blair stands down.  The former Labour minister, Frank Field MP, feels that Brown is too closely associated with Blair, and feels a break from Blair is needed if Labour is to be successful in the next general election.  Field may well have a valid point, but the likelihood of Brown losing a contest for the Leadership is (at best) highly unlikely.  That said, the promotion of Miliband as an alrernative candidate raises questions about party unity.  Regardless though the scene is set for a Brown premiership when Blair stands down.  The real question is whether that is a good or a bad thing for the Conservative Party. 

      As one would imagine Iraq is never far from the headlines, and this week was no exception to that rule.  Colonel Jorge Mendonca of the Queen's Lancashire Regiment was cleared at a court martial of negligently performing his duties surrounding the death of an Iraqi detainee.  Worryingly though it has come to light that the Court Martial, the most expensive in history, may have been politically motivated.  Indeed the Daily Telegraph this week acquired documents indicating a determined effort by senior army officials to identify officers who could be put on trial for the misconduct of their troops in Iraq.  The politicisation of the Iraq war is of course inevitable, but politicisation of courts martial is an altogether different matter.  One that has put many a senior official on the back foot this week. 

      The 1st of June may be quite a while away, but it's been a very important date this week.  It marks the beginning of a ban on smoking in enclosed public spaces (bars, restaurants, offices etc) and we heard on Thursday that £29.5m is being spent on training 'smoking police'.  These 'officers', who in reality are local council workers, will have the power to give on-the-spot fines to individuals and bring court action against offending premises.  Needless to say smokers' groups are up in arms, along with the smoking industry.  However it does raise an age-old and important question.  What place should government have in society?  And in particular, to what extent should government be able to legislate the behaviour of individuals? 

      As you by now know, I like to end my letters on a lighter note.  This week I am please to be able to offer something both light(ish) and macabre in nature.  Intrigued?  You should be.  Andy Fitchett, 56, was recently told he only had a few months to live.  And in an unusual move Andy has decided to host his own wake to say goodbye to all the people who have touched his life.  A life he considers to have been incredibly lucky.   An inspiring story if ever there was one. 

      Cheers,

      Shane

Comments

[Simon Chapman]

It's David Miliband - perhaps you are confusing him with Alan Milburn, Shane.

[Jason O'Mahony]

As you are probably aware, we've had a smoking ban in Ireland for some time now, introduced, incidentally, by the most pro business govt we've ever had.
The result? Almost universal acceptance. Even in a country with PR we have NO party proposing to reverse it. What was interesting about the debate was the way the smoking lobby got hammered for believing that they had a right to inflict secondary smoking on others. The difference between the UK and Ireland was that it was sold as a worker safety issue, although I wouldn't object to workers agreeing to work in smoky atmospheres for extra money. We are a free market, after all!

[Little Black Sambo]

"Almost universal acceptance" of the ban on smoking in Ireland. That just shows what a sad lot the Irish are turning into. They'll be universally accepting a ban on drinking whiskey & Guiness next, all in the interest of safety of course.