Which party wants a modern state?
I want to scrap the BBC, expand the military, phase out the NHS and the rest of the Welfare State, empower Whitehall. What is this unholy muddle? And how does affect politics? Do the Tories get it? Read more...
Politics & campaigns.
This is not a party political site and not very partisan in any way. My emphasis has tended to be on the quality of debate and campaigning, and especially on the need to appreciate represtentative democracy (government through elected representatives whose own views matter), and to be sceptical of the claims of vox pop, "the people", social media, Crowd Wisdom, and "direct action".Page 14
The Tories lack “bottom”
The Tory leadership under David Cameron clearly lack something. Their followers don't know what the party's for. The Cameroons are a bit controlling. Blairite, then. But there's something more... Read more...
Spiked Online: in a climate muddle
The little Spiked essay introducing its After Copenhagen climate debate lays out a devil-may-care progressive, anti-green agenda. That's good fun. But it doesn't address the difficulty that mankind may have to act on AGW. Read more...
Compare: Cameron & Blair and 1997 & 2010
Here we go again. We are headed for an epoch-making election with an opposition leader who has a horror of authenticity. We don't need atavastic politics, but it is a big danger that we have political stars whose charisma depends on being bland and controlling. Mr Cameron could do far better. Read more...
A dozen Copenhagen winners
It's a bit early I know but let's assume that there is a weak agreement at Copenhagen that we really, really ought to do something but only what's politically feasible, starting quite soon. Here's a dozen professionals who come away happy. Read more...
Climate Change (AGW): Let’s take it seriously
Most of the books on global warming science and policy are pretty muddled, hysterical or dreamy by turns. Very few have real quality. Mike Hulme's book, Why We Disagree About Climate Change seems to be in a different class. Read more...
Why is Cameron a Unionist?
One often hears David Cameron state rather fiercely that he is a unionist - committed to the United Kingdom consisting of England, Scotland, Northern Ireland and Wales. But why? It makes no obvious sense. Read more...
Is Red Toryism the new true-blue?
It is just possible that Philip Blond and the Red Toryism of his ResPublica are the very fig-leaf a true-blue Conservative Party needs. It may be that David Cameron, beyond his bland rebranding of the Tories, is thinking along these lines.... Read more...
Global Warming Policy Foundation: strategic error?
Lord Lawson and Benny Peiser are bonny climate change policy warriors but they have perhaps made a strategic error in lining-up climate (or AGW) deniers for their new think-tank. Read more...
Global warming: A new war of religion?
The battle lines in the climate change wars are not quite where I had thought they were.
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