Robert Buckland Weblog

The campaign to lauch a SEN network was initiated by the publication of the House of Commons Education and Skills Select Committee Report on SEN back in late July. The report painted a picture of a Government that was failing to show any clear leadership or direction on the issue. Well-intentioned calls for “integration” had [...]

In recent months, I have been able to attend a few meetings at the Broadgreen Community Centre dealing with the Streets For Living project. This initiative, which enjoys EU funding, is co-ordinated locally by Swindon Borough Council but has enjoyed the fullest input from the Broad Street Community Council. There has been an encouraging spirit [...]

Since my letter about Special Educational Needs was published in the Swindon Advertiser in August, I have received a regular stream of messages from parents and practitioners who have had to battle for the needs of their children. The cases vary, but the common message is that for far too many parents, they face an [...]

If you drive up the A470 dual carriageway between the Abercynon roundabout and Merthyr Tydfil, you will pass, almost unnoticed, the village of Aberfan. It lies just below the road, facing east across to Merthyr Vale. The road passes across the path of the tip that smothered a community, both physically and emotionally, forty years [...]

“More broadly, we also need to rediscover and reproclaim faith in our common values. We need an ideological effort to move away from moral relativism and towards moral clarity, as well as a commitment to build a truly inclusive model of British citizenship in which diverse separatist identities are challenged, and rejected.” This is about [...]

After an unexpectedly daunting lecture at the Law Society offices in Cardiff, I found myself at the Wales Millennium Centre (aka the armadillo) ready to settle in to over five hours of Wagner, including breaks. My slow torture at the hands of some judicial guests over my interpretation of a newish provision of the Police [...]

We are told by the Home Secretary that more prison places will be created so that dangerous criminals do not walk free. Plans to expand the prison system are being laid in place just as we reach full capacity. What foresight! What planning! Much is being said about the prison system at present, but I [...]

Dave has got it. The X Factor, or “Star Quality”, as they used to say on “New Faces”. His ability to speak persuasively and impressively from the Conference platform is clear. He and William Hague are the only real orators of the modern Conservative Party. Let’s face it, Michael Heseltine was the only real orator [...]

The arrival of Senator John McCain at Conference on Sunday afternoon promised much. In the event, we were treated to a Fireside Chat, rather than a barnstormer from the bully pulpit. The Senator is a speaker more in the tradition of Alistair Cooke than Theodore Roosevelt. I have to confess that although I remain an [...]

Another year, another conference. This time I decided that the right thing to do would be to abstain from too much drinking. I was rather successful, which is more than I can say for some of my colleagues. The fringe was even more lively than usual, with everything from prisons to polar ice caps up [...]