Human rights home and away

Should the Prime Minister have visited Sri Lanka given the country's questionable human rights record? Given that the Prime Minister has brought considerable media attention to the issues by becoming the first world leader to visit the north of the country recently and also visiting the offices of a newspaper burnt down on more than one occasion, I think that, on balance, I'm in favour of his visit providing that he continues to press the issue when he returns from the Commonwealth summit.

Unfortunately while supporting freedoms abroad, closer to home his government is using the Anti Social Behaviour, Crime and Policing Bill to reduce freedoms at home. If passed, in future it might take just a few grumpy, blinkered, its-nothing-to-do-with-me, I'm-all-for-a-quiet-life types, of whom there is not exactly a shortage, to ban legitimate protest in England and Wales.

http://www.independent.co.uk/news/uk/politics/councils-to-be-given-powers-to-ban-peaceful-protests-that-might-disturb-local-residents-8940535.html

Councils to be given powers to ban peaceful protests that might disturb local residents

www.independent.co.uk

Peaceful protests could be outlawed on the sole grounds that they might annoy nearby residents under contentious new powers being granted to co

What goes on in a bedroom?

5 of us in a three generation household in Llandudno. If ours was a rental property, our fourth bedroom which was is filled by a succession of family and friends would count as a spare bedroom for the purposes of the bedroom tax. The elderly couples who live either side of us would each have three spare bedrooms. We won't, of course, be directly affected by the bedroom tax because we are owner occupiers and not in receipt of any benefits beyond the old age pension and older person's heating allowance.

It will inevitably be the poorest who are most affected by the bedroom tax. They are therefore not allowed to have family and friends to stay. Many with members of the family has who have a medical condition which means they need a separate room will also be caught by this tax.

If your MP claims the allowance in this article while voting for the bedroom tax, please write to them and complain. In fact, write to your MP anyway, it will encourage the good ones.

NAMED: The 169 MPs who voted YES to the Bedroom Tax after claiming up to £25K EACH in...

agirlcalledjack.com

BY JACK MONROE. 15 NOVEMBER 2013, 0900HRS. 169 of the MPs that voted YES to the Bedroom Tax on Tuesday evening, claimed up to £25k EACH in their own "spare bedroom" expenses. The highest claim