The day after the funeral of Benazir Bhutto, Paul Rowen, Rochdale MP and Secretary of the All Party Group on Pakistan, has condemned the brutal assassination of the Pakistan Opposition Leader at a pre-election rally in Rawlinpindi. He said: "Benazir's death is a hammer blow to democracy in Pakistan. Since the execution of her father by General Zia in 1979 she had led the Pakistan People's Party.
At a full Council meeting on Tuesday 11 December, Members agreed to back the Fairtrade campaign and meet set requirements laid down by the national Fairtrade Foundation.
Gay news website PinkNews.co.uk has published their roundup of the most influential LGBT people in British politics this year - and seven of them are high-profile Lib Dems, including Bristol MP Stephen Williams, Party President Simon Hughes, London Mayoral candidate Brian Paddick, and Britain's first out transsexual mayor, Jenny Bailey.
Proposed electronic tagging of dementia sufferers, with their agreement, has been backed by the Alzheimer's Society. The charity said the plan could empower patients by allowing them to wander, but called for a debate on the ethics of gaining consent.
Disability rights groups are celebrating a High Court decision that a council unlawfully withdrew services for up to 500 disabled adults. Judge David Mackie QC ruled the London Borough of Harrow was wrong to tighten up adult care eligibility criteria to meet "critical needs" only. The council wanted to withdraw services for those with "substantial" needs.
The carers allowance is too complex and should be replaced with a single benefit for people unable to work for any reason, a think tank says. The allowance is designed to help those caring for relatives for more than 35 hours a week,
