Latest news with #Cromwellian
Irish Independent
02-05-2025
- Sport
- Irish Independent
Dick Clerkin: Connacht champs won't have much to celebrate – integrity of All-Ireland shouldn't come down to blind luck
'To hell... and win Connacht' Cromwellian, perhaps, but not far off the mark when it comes to describing the reward awaiting this weekend's Connacht champions, as Galway and Mayo go head-to-head in Castlebar in search of provincial honours and local bragging rights.
BBC News
26-04-2025
- BBC News
Inside the 'smallest church in Sussex' in the South Downs
Nestled in the South Downs and Cuckmere Valley, it would be easy to miss what is one of the smallest churches in the about 16ft by 16ft (4.8m by 4.8m), Lullington Good Shepherd Church can host about 20 people at a time, whether they are members of the community, returning visitors or hikers who have stumbled across the accessible by foot, the church sits just off a section of the South Downs Way which winds its way through Alfriston and towards the Long Man of Reverend Stephen Stuckes, rector of the Cuckmere Churches, said: "It creates its own special spirituality." He added: "The knowledge and love of this place extends far and wide beyond the immediate community to the many people who find it by reputation or by accident."There's something about the scale which makes it extra special. You can only gather here with a limited number of people. "Somehow that makes it distinctive amongst churches that are often so much larger." Thought to date back to the 13th Century, it now stands as Sussex's smallest is thought to be the chancel of a much larger space believed to have been burned down by a fire in the mid-17th Century Cromwellian the church hangs a bell, believed to date back to the 19th century, and an organ which featured on the 2003 song The Smallest Church in Sussex, by Sea Power. But, in a countryside church which is more often sound tracked by birdsong and the whistle of the wind, what stands out, according to Rev Stuckes, is the added: "One of my favourite times to come here is when nobody else is around, such as early morning on a spring or summer day."You can walk up here and find that you have the place to yourself and sit here in the pure silence of this special place."It gives you a sense of your connectedness with this ancient place and a moment to find yourself amongst the singing of the birds and the gentleness of the breeze."
Telegraph
05-04-2025
- Politics
- Telegraph
Starmer is destroying 600 years of history with attack on Lords, says grandee
Sir Keir Starmer is destroying 600 years of history to give jobs to union barons, a House of Lords grandee has warned. In a rare interview, Lord True accused the Prime Minister of 'dancing on the graves of public servants' with his plan to expel all remaining hereditary peers from the Lords. The leader of the Conservatives in the upper house, who was recently involved in amendments to the Regency Act, also warned that the Lords could bring the Government's agenda to a standstill if the plan goes ahead. In 2022, the Regency Act was changed to create two additional counsellors of state. The move was designed to ensure that the Duke of York and the Duke of Sussex would never be called upon to deputise for the King. Lord True stewarded through the amendment which created new counsellor positions for the Earl of Wessex and the Princess Royal. This means that they can act as official stand-ins for the King, should the need arise, effectively replacing Prince Andrew and Prince Harry in the order of precedence. Now, Lord True has been moved to speak out before the Prime Minister crosses a 'constitutional Rubicon' by removing dozens of active lawmakers from parliament. Comparing Sir Keir to Oliver Cromwell, Lord True described Labour's planned Lords reforms as 'a purge on a Cromwellian scale'. Under Labour's plans, the remaining hereditary peers in the Lords will be ejected from the House. Most of them are Conservatives. The Bill to exclude them has moved through parliament at pace and is due to become law before the end of the year. 'I think Starmer has absolutely nothing to be proud of,' Lord True told The Telegraph. 'Jumping on the graves of 80 hard-working public servants, of whom over half are Conservatives, is not actually a great achievement. 'He can end 600 years of history, reduce the number of independents in the House and sort of adjust the numbers marginally and put in a few more trade unionists. That's not a very proud legacy.' He warns that relations could break down if the 'purge' goes ahead, resulting in 'very aggressive procedural action' by the Lords against the Government. 'Goodly number' Such action could include filibustering, wrecking amendments and 'ping-pong', a process by which bills are delayed as they are repeatedly passed between the two chambers for revision. A determined effort by the Lords could tie the Government up in knots and delay key pieces of legislation. Lord True is still irritated about the behaviour of the Labour Lords when they were in opposition and he was steering government business in the House. He notes that the Labour Party broke records with the number of Lords defeats it inflicted on the Tories while they were in Government. 'The House of Lords was very oppositionist under the Conservative government, quite aggressively,' he says. He suggests that the Conservatives may behave similarly if the Government pushes ahead with the move, as 'respect and understanding between the two main parties' could break down. His 'offer to the government' is to maintain proper order in the House in return for allowing a 'goodly number' of hereditary peers to stay on. He said: 'It's not a threat. But I think if relations broke down, as night follows day, you would find that a lot of people, perhaps on the back benches, would put down amendments that would slow things down.' 'My offer to the Government is that in return for proper respect and understanding and allowing a goodly number of hereditary peers to stay, we should stick to reasonable, sensible, proper constitutional arrangements. That you don't keep ping-ponging all the time, that you don't kind of have very aggressive procedural action.' 'We have total freedom. I would never imperil that. But some people could use that freedom if they were very provoked.' Without the hereditary peers, the Lords would be made up entirely of life peers appointed by politicians under the Life Peerages Act 1958, and the bishops who form the Lords Spiritual. Lord True said Sir Keir had already appointed 'a whole football team of trade union, ex-trade union people and trade union leaders' to the House, warning 'it's easy for the character of a place to change'. He also cautioned that the exclusion of the peers could set a precedent for future governments. He said: 'Imagine Nigel Farage coming in with the sort of power to just kick out of Parliament people he doesn't like.'
