Richard D North
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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 16

Contented Dementia? I don’t think so

[The following blog - written in 2009 - still represents my views, but please also see a later blog of mine and its useful link to an Alzheimer's Society position paper on Contented Dementia, which I think states a very similar opinion but with far more authority. RDN, 30 July 2013] Oliver James has written some silly and poorly-argued books and it would have been nice if Contented Dementia, his new offering, was an exception. It isn't. Read more...

Published

19 October 2009

Royal Mail kicked to death by union

I told BBC Radio 2's Jeremy Vine show that it's hard to believe that the Royal Mail can continue in anything like its present form. And the Communication Workers' Union seem determined to kill it off double-quick. Read more...

Published

19 October 2009

3 riffs 4 a bolder Toryism

I shall be in Manchester promoting my new book, Mr Cameron's Makeover Politics: Or why old Tory stories matter. Here are three brief messages I am pitching to the media. Read more...

Published

04 October 2009

Financial regulation and risk (2)

Here is a bit more on the conundrum of regulating financial risk when you know you shouldn't, really. My message is that regulators should aim to encourage market-driven self-regulation. Read more...

Published

24 September 2009

Financial markets should be free (ideally)

The less we regulate banks and financial firms, the safer we will be. Those of us that want safety, that is. (That would be me: I am morbidly timid.)  Here's 10 bullet points saying why. Read more...

Published

21 September 2009

BBC is nearly history now

The BBC won't survive the next five years without massive changes. It'll get (or keep) a lot less licence fee. It is much weaker than it ever has been. It is likely to be privatised. Read more...

Published

20 September 2009

RDN on Plimer, Paltridge, Monbiot and climate change

The latest climate change row concerns a book by the "denier", Ian Plimer (an Australian geologist) and its most public critic, climate "alarmist", George Monbiot (of the Guardian). George seems to be winning hands-down at the moment. It happens that another Australian, Garth Paltridge, has also produced a climate change book, and it is sceptical rather than refusenik. I hope my review of the books, below, shows how they are both bad. Read more...

Published

16 September 2009
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