Undercover lobbying investigation
MP Scott Benton was stripped of the party whip after reporters posing as investors secretly filmed him saying he was prepared to leak market sensitive information to their bogus investment fund and ask parliamentary questions on its behalf, in breach of parliamentary rules. Under those rules, MPs are forbidden from advocating a particular matter in the House or raising it with ministers in return for payment. They are also prohibited from serving as paid parliamentary advisers or consultants or guiding firms on ways to influence Parliament. In a meeting, Mr Benton said he could support the fund, which he believed was set up by an Indian businessman looking to make investments in the UK betting and gaming sector, by attempting to water down proposed gambling reforms. This scandal comes as the Government carries out a major review of gambling laws, considering stricter regulations which could affect operators’ profits.
Consider and confess
Through Haggai, the Lord calls His people to ‘consider their ways’. Despite their best efforts, Israel’s ‘agricultural economy’ is failing, because they have neglected the ‘house of the Lord’ (Haggai 1:1-11). In Hosea, ‘the land mourns and all who dwell in it languish’, because of the sins and apostasy of the people, particularly the priests and prophets (who should know better) (Hosea 4:1-11). Then and now, the state of the land and its inhabitants is an indicator of the spiritual condition of (God's) people. Many current issues in rural life (and society in general) are symptoms of the underlying spiritual malaise in the nation and church and its leadership. Diverse wings of the church are capitulating to the spirit of the age by uncritically adopting its consumerism, ‘celebrity culture’, and ’woke’ agenda or even consorting with the ‘gods of the nations’ by mixing New Age / pagan practices with Christian worship.
Northern Ireland: politics of Biden’s ‘homecoming’
The shift in tone and mood was unmistakable as US president Joe Biden visited the Republic of Ireland, having spent a short time in Northern Ireland. Baseball cap on, and into a pub. ‘It feels like I'm coming home,’ he said in Dundalk, County Louth. The NI politics tightrope negotiated, it seems it is now time to unwind a little. His sister and son were in tow: it was not diplomacy but a return to family roots and a sense of belonging. 30 million Americans also have Irish ancestry, and Biden hopes for a political dividend the year before a presidential election. Meanwhile his visit to Northern Ireland, although talked about for months, only lasted 17 hours. There is no such thing as a low-key trip for an American president, but this came close. Quick, short, with Rishi Sunak's input minimal, not even appearing at Biden's only public appearance - raising some eyebrows in government.
Bill’s impact on the environment
The House of Lords debated a bill on 11 April, and if wise amendments are not made before it receives royal assent it is regarded as the gravest threat to our wildlife in decades by a number of wildlife and conservation charities. A new bill, officially called the Retained EU Law Bill, threatens to wipe out thousands of crucial laws which protect wildlife by the end of the year. This will lead to even more pollution poisoning rivers, more wild places at risk of being damaged - and potentially destroyed - and more wildlife threatened with extinction. It is an attack on nature, and environmentalists are urging the Government to bin it before it’s too late. The Government wants to halt the loss of biodiversity by 2030. If this bill is passed without change, it will undermine any possibility of achieving that goal. A Rocha believes the bill should be abandoned in its current state.
