I have recently joined longer-standing advocates of a Conservative-UKIP pact, such as Daniel Hannan and Toby Young. Some folk will think this an obviously attractive idea; others will think it obviously unattractive. But for some the question might turn upon the details. Here, then, I try to unpack some. As a preamble, though, it is […]
If you produce a Bible pickled in urine, you might be a candidate for the Turner Prize. If you used to be a Catholic but left the church claiming to have been maltreated, and publicly burn a Bible whilst yelling "I hate Jesus", you might get on the local TV. If you make a movie depicting […]
I don't support UKIP. I've never advocated leaving the EU. I don't think immigration's all that big an issue (illegal immigrants aside). There have been some pretty unsavoury internal incidents involving senior UKIP figures. Unlike the Referendum Party, I don't think they've achieved anything especially concrete other than perhaps depriving the Conservative Party of some […]
It's sometimes claimed that the values of our society arise game-theoretically, that something about complex societies with an interplay of urban and rural elements and a cycle of seasons means that society can only function without degenerating into anarchy or civil war if we have something close to the morals, values and aspirations that our society […]
Democracy can a splendid alternative to civil war. Though it is the natural enemy of liberty and property, it is also the natural friend of order, allowing a bloodless exchange of power. But around the world, across the Caribbean, Africa, and some parts of Asia there are many countries that are democracies that we do not […]
Over the long haul, the most politically significant speech made by any policy-maker in the past couple of weeks is unlikely to be those from the US presidential conventions or Draghi's announcement of the ECB's bond-buying attempt to save the euro. Instead, it will probably be European Commission President Jose Manuel Barroso's state of the […]
I have written before that I expect the UK to leave the EU soon (probably during the next Parliament), and that the suggestions that the UK might adopt a position like Norway or Switzerland, as small countries focused on free trade with all on a global basis, seems wrong to me. A universal free trade posture is […]
In a remarkable turn of events, as part of a series of test cases on religious discrimination before the European Court of Human Rights, the UK Government is reported as having argued that "a Christian, or any other religious believer, “under difficulty” is not discriminated against if the choice of “resigning and moving to a different job” is […]
Many pieces have been written, recently, discussing the end of US hegemony. Some frame this in terms of internal US issues — US debt, or the US looking inwards and ceasing its concern with world affairs. More often commentators suggest that China will overtake the US in terms of the size of its economy, and […]
My favourite book to read my children when they were very small was "Love you forever" by Robert Munsch. In the story a woman has a baby, and as she cuddles him, asleep, she sings "I'll love you forever, / I'll like you for always, / As long as I'm living / my baby you'll be." […]
Politics is paralysed. I want to write about my schemes for the reform of welfare, or university funding, or healthcare, or prisons policy. But what would be the point? The Conservatives and Lib Dems can no longer agree on almost anything, the Conservatives aren't inclined to push the Lib Dems into openly disagreeing with them, […]
The New Statesman claims to have an exclusive this evening, saying that many of the economists that signed a Sunday Times letter in 2010 backing Osborne's deficit reduction strategy have now turned against it. The Telegraph has bought it, hook, line and sinker. "Only one of the 20 economists who put their names to the […]
Benedict Brogan puts it starkly: "Defeat in 2015 looks certain." Pete Hoskin declares there to be "dwindling hope for a Conservative majority". The latest reason for this despair is what Tim Montgomerie has described as the Conservative Party's "worst single electoral setback since Black Wednesday", namely the Liberal Democrats deciding to vote against the boundary […]
Nick Clegg says that, by failing to support a PR-elected Lords, the Conservative Party has broken the Coalition "contract". To show that deal-breaking has consequences, he is instructing the Lib Dems to vote against the boundary review. Now I'm not fussed much about the boundary review (mildly opposed, if anything). But let's be clear, here. There […]
A great sporting event such as the Olympics reminds us of some key truths, which are of cultural and political importance. 1) Having victors and losers is much better than equality. We love to cheer the victors, to celebrate their triumph and excellence. Competition is a wonderful thing, and the process of struggle and overcoming […]