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Diary: The anti-gay marriage MP who raced against time. And lost Diary: The anti-gay marriage MP who raced against time. And lost
(4 months later)
• With Labour's help, PM Dave jumped a significant hurdle en route to legislation enshrining gay marriage. Good for him, but a worry for Lord Tebbit. We might see a "lesbian queen giving birth to a future monarch by artificial insemination", warns Normo. All quite concerning. Yes, it was Ed and his troops to the rescue – but not all of them. Rob Flello, Labour MP for Stoke on Trent South, voted against, and hoped others would do the same. His contribution was quite tense. "I have about five minutes to make a 10-minute speech, so I hope that honourable members will forgive me if I do not take any interventions," he said at the outset of a speech about the impact on "religious individuals and organisations". He concluded: "I would love to speak at further length on this issue but, given the time and the fact that at least half a dozen more members want to speak to this group of amendments, I will move to a conclusion." More time might have allowed him to mention his previously declared sponsorship from the Catholic Bishops Conference of England and Wales, which seeks to protect "the existing legal link between the institution of marriage and sexual exclusivity". But his time ran out. Time is against us all, isn't it?• With Labour's help, PM Dave jumped a significant hurdle en route to legislation enshrining gay marriage. Good for him, but a worry for Lord Tebbit. We might see a "lesbian queen giving birth to a future monarch by artificial insemination", warns Normo. All quite concerning. Yes, it was Ed and his troops to the rescue – but not all of them. Rob Flello, Labour MP for Stoke on Trent South, voted against, and hoped others would do the same. His contribution was quite tense. "I have about five minutes to make a 10-minute speech, so I hope that honourable members will forgive me if I do not take any interventions," he said at the outset of a speech about the impact on "religious individuals and organisations". He concluded: "I would love to speak at further length on this issue but, given the time and the fact that at least half a dozen more members want to speak to this group of amendments, I will move to a conclusion." More time might have allowed him to mention his previously declared sponsorship from the Catholic Bishops Conference of England and Wales, which seeks to protect "the existing legal link between the institution of marriage and sexual exclusivity". But his time ran out. Time is against us all, isn't it?
• Tension mounts about who will be the new lord chief justice when Lord Judge steps down this summer. The successor should be known by the end of June, and will be in place when m'learneds return from their seasonal vacation. The word from the inns of court is that the field has narrowed down to three contenders: Lady Justice Heather Hallett, who presided over the 7/7 inquests and would be the first female lord chief justice; Lord Justice Brian Leveson, whom you may have heard of; and Lord Justice John Thomas, who has sat in some of the Binyam Mohamed Guantánamo hearings. The barrister bookies make Hallett the narrow favourite over Thomas. They make Leveson the outsider. But as Sir Brian well knows, the bookies may be wrong, and journalists very occasionally make mistakes. Keep hope alive, as they say.• Tension mounts about who will be the new lord chief justice when Lord Judge steps down this summer. The successor should be known by the end of June, and will be in place when m'learneds return from their seasonal vacation. The word from the inns of court is that the field has narrowed down to three contenders: Lady Justice Heather Hallett, who presided over the 7/7 inquests and would be the first female lord chief justice; Lord Justice Brian Leveson, whom you may have heard of; and Lord Justice John Thomas, who has sat in some of the Binyam Mohamed Guantánamo hearings. The barrister bookies make Hallett the narrow favourite over Thomas. They make Leveson the outsider. But as Sir Brian well knows, the bookies may be wrong, and journalists very occasionally make mistakes. Keep hope alive, as they say.
• Vince Cable becomes the latest top-ranked politician to succumb to the blandishments of author Dominic Shelmerdine and to provide a reminiscence of his "original ambition". "My first serious ambition was to be an actor," replies Vince. "Aged 16 or 17 I discovered a talent for performance. But it was impractical, as I was studying science A-level and I wasn't brave enough to drop it to pursue an uncertain career on the stage. Shortly afterwards I started developing a serious interest in politics (this was around the 1959 "never had it so good" election) and did fantasise about becoming a cabinet minister one day – but it wasn't serious, and I had no idea how to get there." Then David Cameron made a hash of the election in 2010. Bingo!• Vince Cable becomes the latest top-ranked politician to succumb to the blandishments of author Dominic Shelmerdine and to provide a reminiscence of his "original ambition". "My first serious ambition was to be an actor," replies Vince. "Aged 16 or 17 I discovered a talent for performance. But it was impractical, as I was studying science A-level and I wasn't brave enough to drop it to pursue an uncertain career on the stage. Shortly afterwards I started developing a serious interest in politics (this was around the 1959 "never had it so good" election) and did fantasise about becoming a cabinet minister one day – but it wasn't serious, and I had no idea how to get there." Then David Cameron made a hash of the election in 2010. Bingo!
• "Give me your tired, your poor, / Your huddled masses yearning to breathe free," it says on the Statue of Liberty, a welcome for immigrants to the US. A welcome, perhaps, to the titans of British television news heading west past Liberty and through Ellis Island. This week Deborah Turness of ITN, off to be president of NBC News; earlier this year Jon Williams, from BBC foreign editor to managing editor (international news) at ABC. And of course Mark Thompson, former BBC director general, president and CEO of the New York Times since November. But the transition isn't always seamless. Thompson, who is married to an American, appears to have everything, but his movements have been hampered by the lack of the green card that would cement his status in the land of the free. Like hundreds of thousands before, he has been nipping in and out at regular intervals and braving the immigration queues. How long before there is a fast track for British media folk in the US? Time is against us all. And isn't the can-do spirit what makes America great?• "Give me your tired, your poor, / Your huddled masses yearning to breathe free," it says on the Statue of Liberty, a welcome for immigrants to the US. A welcome, perhaps, to the titans of British television news heading west past Liberty and through Ellis Island. This week Deborah Turness of ITN, off to be president of NBC News; earlier this year Jon Williams, from BBC foreign editor to managing editor (international news) at ABC. And of course Mark Thompson, former BBC director general, president and CEO of the New York Times since November. But the transition isn't always seamless. Thompson, who is married to an American, appears to have everything, but his movements have been hampered by the lack of the green card that would cement his status in the land of the free. Like hundreds of thousands before, he has been nipping in and out at regular intervals and braving the immigration queues. How long before there is a fast track for British media folk in the US? Time is against us all. And isn't the can-do spirit what makes America great?
• Let's end with Joan Collins. She's 80 this week, but might prefer we didn't talk about it. She used to get confused about her age. Then a bounder from the red tops unearthed her birth certificate. She has never really forgiven him, but it was 30 years ago. Time enough to bury the hatchet, Joanie. And happy 80th birthday.• Let's end with Joan Collins. She's 80 this week, but might prefer we didn't talk about it. She used to get confused about her age. Then a bounder from the red tops unearthed her birth certificate. She has never really forgiven him, but it was 30 years ago. Time enough to bury the hatchet, Joanie. And happy 80th birthday.
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