A few months ago it was alleged that Patrick Mercer the Conservative MP for Newark claimed that David Cameron was the worst politician in British history since William Gladstone. Mr Mercer denied making the comments but even if they were said do they actually have a basis in reality. If we discount what is probably an opinion of the current Prime Minister based on personal animosity, does the argument that William Gladstone was a terrible [...]
‘Arguably the greatest peacetime Prime Minister in British History’ D.Read- Peel and the Victorians 1987 The current Coalition government in the United Kingdom and its policies are always being compared to what has gone previously. Some commentators use history to make unfavourable comparisons and to suggest that the current administration is just a continuation of Conservative governments of the past. Others mainly on the right however, use the past to provide examples of regimes [...]
Today’s developments that Peter Cruddas was essentially caught allegedly trying to wheedle money from wealthy foreigners (in certain cases banned under British Electoral Law) is going to do the image of Politics and the ruling Conservative Party no favours at all. Despite disputing the claims of impropriety, the video transcript of the Sunday Times sting seems pretty self explanatory, unless Cruddas is using those words in ways, as yet not interpreted by the Oxford English [...]
So George Osborne has delivered his budget and now the narrative of what he should do changes to what he should have done, plus ca change… Those that argued that the 50p tax on the rich was a drag on the economy have been “rewarded” with a cut in the top rate. However, George reckons he will gather five times as much from other measures – so not an entirely successful outcome for the defenders [...]
In the United Kingdom when a major political issue becomes newsworthy media outlets vie for comments from all the major political parties in order to give a supposedly fair and balanced view. In the last few years though a minor politician from a minor political party has become incredibly prominent appearing as a regular ‘rent a quote’ and given media coverage far beyond what her and her party deserve. This politician, Caroline Lucas, is in [...]
In the space of a little under two years Nick Clegg has gone from the immense popularity of ‘Cleggmania’, where at one point he was the most popular political leader in Britain since Winston Churchill, to being reviled by a substantial number of people, especially among the chattering classes. The cause of this dramatic change of fortune is the sense of betrayal felt by some that in 2010 after the General Election he took the [...]
Many people, conservatives included, view economics as separate from society. For most, it is simply not a matter of interest. This, of course, is testament to the power of the market, which often works so well that it is noticeable only when it is absent. But more attention should be paid to the free market, as it is absolutely fundamental to the workings of a civilised society. Trade and the absence of force In my [...]
Recently, the discussion of opera came my way and I found that as attractive a proposition as it seemed there was an inherent constraint holding me back from being remotely interested in it. As a man more accustomed to the format of Match of the Day, than the great works of Stravinsky, Prokofiev and Britten it led me to think that there is still a great stigma, and a cultural deficit that is present in [...]
The issue of gay marriage has again reared its head in recent days, with the leaders of the Anglican and Catholic Churches in Britain announcing their united opposition to plans by both the Scottish and UK governments to use legislation to force Churches to carry out same-sex marriages. Cardinal Keith O’Brien, Britain’s most senior Roman Catholic cleric, has been especially scathing, bizarrely comparing gay marriage to slavery and claiming that Britain would be “shamed in [...]