Last night, I had the pleasure of being a guest on BBC News to talk about today’s headlines, appearing twice on The Papers.
One item that particularly caught my attention was the Prime Minister’s wish to keep interest rates at “rock bottom” forever. It’s certainly a nice thought. Especially for young, first time buyers. The issue of house prices effects people all over the country, but particularly in the north.
Despite what some may say, there is a huge north/south divide in this country. If Cameron’s wish for permanently low interest rates comes true, that can only be a good thing. The more young people, families and others looking to buy a home can afford to do so, the better.
Another issue that piqued my interest was George Osborne’s ‘devolution’ proposal. Basically, the idea is to set up a ‘metro mayor’ in Manchester who would have increased powers. In theory, it sounds terrific. Anything that will help the north of England achieve equality with London is worth pursuing. However, we should beware of one man, or woman, having too much power. On the other hand, perhaps I should throw my hat in the ring?
We also discussed topics such as the vast variations in train fares, and Apple CEO Tim Cook coming out as a gay man, which I think is fabulous PR for the company.
In my second appearance, we talked about the tragic death of Michael Payne. As a lawyer, I have seen more cases than I would like to where a family has just not been able to cope following the death of a child. I, and countless others, can only express our sorrow that Mr Payne had to go through this terrible ordeal and that he was unable to deal with it. A very sad story indeed.
We also talked about the trouble which continues to plague the Home Secretary’s child abuse panel. Fiona Woolf, who is the chair of the panel, has come under fire numerous times since her appointment. People are asking her to leave the panel as they do not think she is fit to lead it.
So what we have now is the establishment investigating the establishment, which is frankly something of an own goal. The government needs to get a grip on this situation because there are too many victims to simply ignore.
There was also a fun story about the development of a device which can read someone’s mind. I can only imagine what implications that would have for divorce lawyers. You could really understand what the other party was thinking. It would be a lawyer’s dream!
The appearances capped off a busy, but very enjoyable, day. Earlier, I sat down with Sky News to talk about the legal rights of sperm donors.
