I hope the Labour Opposition at Westminster block Francis Maude’s plans to axe the census. The one next year will go ahead but, then, that will be it.

The UK census is an invaluable time series going back over 210 years. Ad hoc surveys and alternative data sources cannot begin to substitute. I’ve blogged about this before.

And now the Canadian Federal Government, also Conservative, is about to abandon a key element of their five yearly census, the so-called “long form” which must be completed by a randomly selected 20% of all Canadian households.

In today’s Globe and Mail, Canada’s national newspaper, the former Canadian High Commissioner to the UK, Mel Cappe, together with distinguished academics describe the proposal as an attack on good government.

I agree.

They are calling on Canadian MPs to stand up and be counted. They want the three Opposition leaders to agree the text of a resolution to be put before the Canadian House of Commons to protect the integrity of the census.

MPs at Westminster should be doing the same.

Pakistan is everywhere.

The unfolding tragedy of Pakistan is happening before our eyes, in real time. We see the sheer scale of the devastation and shake our heads at the feeble response from the Pakistan Government.

Pakistan is a country that millions of people want to get out of. And, for them, the sooner the better.

Around 10,000 spouses come to the UK every year from Pakistan (although the most recent figures have dipped sharply) and I don‘t see this broad trend changing any time soon. The Coalition Government’s new language tests may slow things for a while but, inevitably, it will pick up again.

The reality is that Britain and Pakistan are locked in a lifelong embrace. There is no escape for either party.

So we should all take a keen interest in what is happening over there.

Over the years, I have followed Jason Burke’s travels through the Islamic world and I value his insights.

So I found his piece in last Sunday’s Observer a bit depressing. He describes talking to university students:

'Their view of the west, coloured by conspiracy theories about the true perpetrators of the 9/11 attacks, antisemitism and anti-Zionism, a visceral anti-Americanism and a deep social conservatism, was overwhelmingly negative.'

If this is Pakistan's future talking, we should all be worried.