Tabled EDM (a form of Parliamentary petition) earlier this week:

That this House commends the invaluable work of Rape Crisis in bringing much needed support to people affected by sexual violence, often years after the offences have taken place; recognises the vital nature of this organisation; but notes with sadness that in 1984 there were 68 affiliated members of Rape Crisis (England and Wales) but in 2008 there are just 38; believes this is a failure of successive governments; and endorses the New Statesman’s campaign to secure proper funding from the Government so existing Rape Crisis centres can continue their work and new centres can open’

Three cheers for the New Statesman for running this issue. There is a petition you can sign on the Downing Street website.

Peter Black has also blogged about this and explains well the importance of the issue:

The New Statesman has launched a campiagn to help secure proper funding for Rape Crisis. In their article they reveal that the number of Rape Crisis-affiliated centres in England and Wales has nearly halved from 68 to 38 since 1984.

They write that the British Crime Survey suggests there are more than 300,000 rapes and serious sexual assaults each year. Most are not reported. One in four women have experience rape or attempted rape. One in seven women have been coerced into sex. Yet conviction rates have plummeted from 33% in the 1970s to around 5% now. Rape Crisis have provided help for countless victims of sexual violence many of whom only come forward years after being attacked.

Well – hurrah! The UK’s first political internet television channel based at Westminster and run by young people for young people is up and running. For the first time (and not before time) there is a provision for media representation for young people at Westminster. So I want to help this innovative new media initiative to reach young people.

As youth spokesperson for the Liberal Democrats I am very keen on using all ways possible to engage young people. Politics and politicians are not necessarily a young person’s first interest in life – and yet young people are passionate about their lives and world issues. Perhaps catch21 will open a new pathway for interaction and give voice to that passion. The website can be reached at www.catch21.co.uk.

Wishing catch21 every success!

I’ve written more than a few times before about my views on the behaviour of MPs at set-piece events like Prime Minister’s Questions (in short: abysmal!). Well – it looks as if Ed Balls at least may have got his comeuppance – being accused all over the media of shouting “so what?” when Cameron was speaking in the budget debate about the high levels of taxes under Labour. Not exactly a clever thing!

I understand his defence is that he actually said “so weak” – but in the end if you live by the sword, you die by the sword – and if you engage in the sort of boorish behaviour that wouldn’t be tolerated in a normal place of work, well it’s your own fault if it goes wrong.

You really couldn’t make it up…

Britain’s anti-discrimination quango had to be bailed out by ministers to avoid its breaching the law over its own internal equality scheme, The Times has learnt…

Along with all other public bodies it was meant to implement an overarching equality scheme, setting out its position for its staff on race, gender, disability and other potential areas of discrimination by January 1 this year. It failed to do so, prompting ministers to lay a statutory instrument before Parliament, extending the deadline to April 1 this year.

Last night opposition MPs expressed astonishment at the failure. Lynne Featherstone, the Liberal Democrat spokesman for youth and equality, said: “What authority will the commission have in cracking the whip to other public bodies when they fail to comply with their own legal responsibilities with such impunity from ministers?”