News

Liz St Clair and Parliamentarians visit South Sudan

The six-day voting just over two weeks to decide whether the South should remain a part of Sudan or become independent included a polling station for Sudanese people living in Europe that was set up in Westminster Central Hall.

The station located in front of the UK Parliament was the only one in Europe. It welcomed Sudanese voters who travelled from Russia, Ireland and many other places on the Continent, who came to express their opinion on succession for the South in Sudan.

African and Caribbean Leukemia Trust crisis

The African and Caribbean Leukemia Trust (ACLT have sent out an urgent SOS to appeal for community support to halt its closure.

The plea by co-founders Beverley De-Gale and Orin Lewis is to raise £80K by 31st March to stop the organisation from having to close its doors.

Lords Ahmad, Loomba and Hussain take their seats in the Lords

Three new Peers took their seats in the House of Lords this Month.

Lord Tariq Ahman for the Conservatives and two Liberal Democrats -  Lord Rajinder Paul Loomba and Lord Qurban Hussain.

Tariq Ahmad was raised to the Peerage as the Lord (Baron) Ahmad of Wimbledon; and was formally introduced into the Lords by Conservative Party Chairman, Rt Hon. Baroness Sayeeda Warsi and former leader of the Conservative Party, Rt Hon. Lord Michael Howard.

The 2011 State of the Union Address

Last night, President Obama gave the annual State of the Union speech-his second since being elected.  In the traditional address to a joint session of Congress Obama revealed he will "not walk away" from his health care reforms.

He also reached out to Republicans, asking lawmakers of both parties to "overcome the numbing weight of our politics."

The Conservative Chair takes on one of the biggest challenges facing society

I’ve known Baroness Warsi, Sayeeda, for over 15 years. When we first set up Operation Black Vote in the North of England we were told about a dynamic lawyer who was fighting the good fight on behalf of those who were least able to defend themselves.

I got in touch.  It was easy to see how we shared many ideas not least our mutual desire to empower our communities to engage in politics and use the democratic tool to achieve justice and equality.

The governance of our local authority and city has become increasingly complex: Where does power lie? Who, at a local level has responsibility for our education, litter or indeed for representing our views and concerns on the Council? How can ordinary residents effectively interact with and influence the kaleidoscope of public bodies and institutions that make decisions over our daily lives?

Emma Macorison (pictured left) pays homage to Alan Johnson who resigned as shadow chancellor yesterday. She spent the last six-months shadowing the MP on the Operation Black Vote Parliamentary Shadowing Scheme.

Avon and Somerset Police has produced a film about the case of Isa Ibrahim, a young man from Bristol who was convicted of terrorism offences in 2009.

The film, called Conviction and a discussion package was created to help raise awareness around the circumstances of the case with the aim of helping to prevent future similar occurrences.