John Barry
I was sad to hear of the death of composer John Barry today. His film scores – from Goldfinger to Born Free to Midnight Cowboy to Out of Africa – are as familiar to most of us as our own names. Virtually every film I remember vividly from the past 30 years has his unique stamp upon it – especially the 11 James Bond films, which bear his imprint. He lived to 77, won five Oscars and left us with a tremendous legacy of music, which – from the second you hear the first few bars - instantly transports you back in time and place.
That’s what I call a life well lived.
Posted on 31 January 2011 by Richard Drax
Egypt and an unknown future
Developments in Egypt leave many watchers anxious about will happen next. I think we are right to fear the unknown. When Shah Reza was overthrown in Iran in what appeared to be a middle class revolution, no one imagined the ascension of the Ayatollahs. The same is possible in Egypt. The fundamentalist Muslim Brotherhood, although outlawed in Egypt and neighbouring Libya, has an influential underground network and is said to be amassing resources. The poor and dispossessed have nothing to lose, which makes Egypt an ideal recruiting ground for extremists.
Until now, insurrections were brutally put down by the 450,000 strong army or the 1.5m police cadre in Mubarak’s Egypt. Certainly, the country could not be called a democracy and reforms are long overdue, but it has been a stable influence in the Middle East for the last 30 years.
Indeed, Egypt was the first Arab nation to formally recognise the State of Israel, for which the USA still pays it $1.3bn a year in military support. This makes it all the more surprising that the State Department is twittering its support for the upheaval and President Obama himself is making statements about political reform.
Obviously, change is needed and I would welcome a peaceful and orderly transition to a more democratic state. But in our haste to impose Western-style values on the Middle East, we must not lose sight of the other – possibly more malign - influences lurking in the shadows in this most strategically important country.
Posted on 30 January 2011 by Richard Drax
Is hacking really what they're worried about?
I smell a rat behind the sudden rush amongst MPs and celebrities to ask the Metropolitan Police to investigate the possibility of their phones having been hacked by the News of the World. Last week, Gordon Brown and Alastair Campbell suddenly found themselves consumed by this burning issue – resurrected after at least 3 years – and added their names to the list.
Could it – possibly – have anything to do with the fact that Rupert Murdoch’s Newscorp bid for BSkyB is in the news? Murdoch is, of course, proprietor of News of the World. Despite their slavish adherence to Mr. Murdoch’s views while they were in power, New Labour resent his change of loyalties. Rupert is now a firm supporter of the Coalition - and Labour will do anything they can to scotch the deal.
Posted on 28 January 2011 by Richard Drax
Scrapping Nimrod
Today’s letter to the Telegraph from six former defence chiefs from all three services sounds an ominous warning. Nine new Nimrod maritime patrol aircraft, currently under construction, are to be destroyed to save money. The Nimrod is able to detect and sink submarines, coordinate air sea rescue and provide long range reconnaissance, over land and sea. Certainly, I believe scrapping these planes is short sighted and dangerous. There is little point in keeping our independent nuclear deterrent if we are unable to protect it. The defence chiefs say that it will leave our country ‘dangerously exposed.’ I fear they are right.
Posted on 27 January 2011 by Richard Drax
Campbell on hacking
I never thought I would find myself agreeing with Alastair Campbell but when he said on Radio 5 today that he thought phone hacking was probably endemic and on an ‘industrial’ scale amongst journalists, I am afraid I must concur. I hasten to add, that as an ex journo myself, I do not approve, nor did I hack into anyone’s telephone during my 17 years as a journalist. But the technology exists and the opportunity for a scoop must have been overwhelming in the cut throat world of the tabloids.
Campbell suggests that hacking was not ‘confined to one newspaper.’ He also said that it was impossible to believe that those at the top knew nothing. Interesting, in view of the fact that – after his time with Blair - Campbell was employed by Rupert Murdoch, head of Newscorp and proprietor of the News of the World, The Sun and the Times.
Posted on 25 January 2011 by Richard Drax
Educating our children
Following a call from a member of the public about a recent blog, in which I commented on Jasper Copping’s Sunday Telegraph article about children “as young as four” being taught about homosexuality in maths, geography and science lessons “as part of a government-backed drive to celebrate the gay community”, I have decided to re-write my comments to ensure there is no misunderstanding. My point was not intended to be homophobic, but sprang more from a concern that young children should not be taught a subject they simply would not understand. I believe more effort should be focused on the teaching of maths, geography and science. Currently, in international league tables, we rank 25th for literacy, 28th for maths and 16th for science. This is a lamentable state; improving it must be our priority.
Posted on 25 January 2011 by richard Drax
Tony Blair and Chilcot
Finally, the reconvened Chilcot Inquiry is getting somewhere. Former Attorney General Lord Goldsmith gave evidence yesterday, which promises to blow up what’s left of Tony Blair’s reputation as a ‘straight shooter.’
Lord Goldsmith says that he told Blair that there was no such thing as an ‘unreasonable’ veto by any country at the UN. At the time, Blair was desperately scrabbling for an UN resolution to back his war on Iraq. His view of any country which vetoed the resolution – like France – was that it was being unreasonable and therefore the veto was invalid as an objection to war.
Lord Goldsmith disagreed, saying that war in the face of any veto would be illegal. He also says that when he said so to Blair, he was ‘frozen out,’ of the inner circle. He describes how he felt ‘uncomfortable’ with some of the things the former PM was saying about Iraq.
We all know what happened next.
Tony Blair has been called back to the Chilcot Inquiry on Friday. The parallels between what is happening and the Robert Harris book, ‘The Ghost’, are mesmerising. The thinly disguised novel, based on Blair’s premiership, focuses on the PM’s indictment as a war criminal....
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Posted on 18 January 2011 by Richard Drax
Lords' reforms
What concerns me most about any reform to the House of Lords is that Nick Clegg has been tasked to look at it. I'm afraid I would not put him in charge of anything, as his record indicated he believes in nothing. A part elected second chamber, as Mr Clegg is considering, is not the way forward and would undermine the supremacy of the Commons. Personally, I believe the House of Lords should never have been touched in the first place, and I've said this many times. Why? Because it has worked wonderfully well for hundreds of years, curbing the excesses of both Left and Right, as intelligence, experience and maturity have passified youth, exuberance and immaturity. Mr Clegg repeatedly shows no sign of appreciating our island's history, which we ignore at our peril.
Posted on 17 January 2011 by Richard Drax
Paternity leave
I am struck by the contrast of the government's recent announcements that it will be tackling the age-old problem of red tape and bureaucracy, which stifles businesses, and the Deputy Prime Minister's call for fathers to have ten months' paid paternity leave. Rightly, the Federation of Small Businessess has condemned this idea as costly and complicated. I'm not sure which world Mr Clegg inhabits, but it's certainly not Planet Business. He uses colourful language, condemning the current state of play as "Edwardian". If the Prime Minister is serious about igniting the business engine room of this country, I can only suggest he reins in his deputy and continues to follow his rhetoric with some solid action.
Posted on 17 January 2011 by Richard Drax
Michael Gove on Question Time
Michael Gove’s appearance on Question Time on Thursday was reassuring. The Education Secretary was crystal clear as he explained to the audience that a ‘culture of low expectations’ had blighted our school children’s lives, leading them to plummet down the school league tables in literacy, numeracy and science over the last 10 years. He said it was ‘patronising twaddle’ that working class children could not succeed and insisted that the new, English baccalaureate – where children will learn English, Maths, Science, a language and either history or geography up to the age of 16 – would enable our youngsters to compete on the international stage.
His point was immediately proved by a series of teachers who insisted that such teaching would damage children’s self esteem and make them feel like failures. I rather felt that it was the teachers whose self esteem was being damaged by the rejection of their tired, old, defunct values. ‘We should be more humble, less arrogant about our education,’ said Gove. I heartily agree.
Interestingly, he was strongly supported by the former leader of the Lib Dems, Charles Kennedy – who benefitted from the same Scottish education system which produced Gove. And in fact, the entire panel, including lefties Diane Abbott and Jeanette Winterston agreed with him too.
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Posted on 16 January 2011 by Richard Drax
The Big Day
The threat of unions in both the Underground and BA to strike on Prince William and Kate Middleton's big day is regrettable, mean-spirited and unwise. What a shame we can't sack the lot, as I expect there are many people out there who'd kill for their jobs and be only too happy to share in what will be a very happy day.
Posted on 11 January 2011 by Richard Drax
Our country
A quite brilliant leader in today's Daily Telegraph sets out the reasons why I and a number of Back Benchers are concerned about the government's stance over the European Union Bill. The Bill is meant to prevent any more power being ceded to Europe and the sovereignty of Parliament undermined. However, in our view it does not go far enough and amendments were put forward to address this problem. At the time of writing, the Bill is still being debated in the Chamber and we've yet to hear from our minister. However, I did attend a private meeting yesterday where a number of Conservative MPs were invited to question the said minister and his answers did little to reassure many of us. It's really a simple matter: the defence of our parliamentary sovereignty, and I for one will do all I can to do just that.
Posted on 11 January 2011 by Richard Drax