Neil Arun didn’t want to miss a rare but risky opportunity to embed with an Iraqi police unit, hunting members of al Qaeda. But his employers -- responsible for Neil’s security -- weren’t happy. This film by Richard Pendry nvestigates how a frontline journalist balances risk and reward.
We didn't talk about it in politics today, so I thought I'd flag this up. Should we get rid of the Whipping system? Paul Judge thinks so.
Representative democracy is in a crisis, as the calls for "direct democracy" and "power to the people" show. Aside from the obvious need to reform expenses, could this be the most potent way of re-engaging the electorate?
I certainly think there's more than a grain of truth in it, as Marcel Berlins puts it:
"Various voices tell us that we have to have proportional representation (although we'll never agree what kind); that we need a written British constitution (although we can't provide convincing reasons why) and a tailor-made British bill of rights (although we can't agree what will be in it); that we want more House of Lords reform (true, but there's deep division about how many should be elected). All of these proposals have some merit, but all of them would take many years to come into force - and all of them are largely irrelevant to the current crisis of confidence."
Yes Judge is the champion of the independent MP. Much of what he says makes sense but there is a danger in throwing out the baby with the bath water. Parties still perform an important role and democratic debate would not function without them. And bear in mind that this initiative is coming from a very rich (former Tory) banker.
What we omitted to mention today (although we have discussed previously) and what is indisputably a good idea is the notion that select committee chairman should be freely elected, rather than in the gift of the whips. This would undoubtedly give them greater authority and strengthen scrutiny of the executive. By the way Chris Mullin's recent diaries are very good (as well as highly entertaining) when he describes his role as chair of the Home Office select committee.