:: Conservative Revival ::

:: Tuesday, July 31, 2001 ::

Show me the money

Clarke tries to take the sting out of Europe, claims the Telegraph. There are strong arguments for the Tory party having a neutral position in any Euro referendum camapign, as the other Red Ken suggests. The Tories are amazingly unpopular, and will taint the campaign by their association. And there will be a tendency to argue not on the economics, but on sovereignty issues, which will put off people who might be genuinely worries about the Euro but not about Europe per se. And I believe that, given our current level of disorganisation, Business for Sterling will be a much better candidate to run the campaign. However, thanks to the hideous Referendum and Political Parties Act (?), not having a major political party associated with the campaign will cost it 5 million pounds in funding. The sudden about-face of one of the major opponents could also dent the resolve of waverers, but that might be offset by an anti-establishment movement. In all, I'd say that the funding problem is the biggest. If that can be overcome in some way, then I'd say the Clarke strategy per se is not wrong.
:: Swordsman 7/31/2001 08:43:00 AM [+] ::
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Turn again, Livingstone

The Times has a different take on the tube issue, arguing that Livingstone should give up his fight and live with the PPP. But earlier in the analysis, the article makes the point that, elsewhere in the world, city infrastructure improvements are either deemed national projects and financed and managed by the Finance Ministry, or purely local and financed and managed by the Mayor. The tube is stuck between these two stools. The Treasury should either give up control completely, and tell Livingstone that it's up to him to raise the cash to upgrade the tube and no funding will be forthcoming that has come out of the pockets of taxpayers in Glasgow, Newcastle and Liverpool, or take back control and continue to run the tube as a nationalised industry (with whatever private sector involvement they can get), with the Mayor explicitly excluded from anything but a consultative role. I'm all for the Mayor having control, especially as it will force Red Ken to put his council taxpayers' money where his (very big) mouth is, but I can't see that happening. It would be a good, and popular, Tory policy, however.
:: Swordsman 7/31/2001 08:27:00 AM [+] ::
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Tubular Balls-up

(Sorry). This Daily Telegraph leader sets out succinctly why the battle over the tube will continue despite yesterday's court decision (with which I agree -- any other result would have represented an unacceptable politicisation of the judiciary). The final paragraph is correct in its analysis:

"The railways should have been privatised by the creation of new regional companies. Some Tube lines could have been sold off entire, with integrated track and services, to private operators who would have taken them. Instead, London's exhausted and exasperated passengers will find evidence this morning of government obduracy and Mr Livingstone's slipperiness. As the grotesque bungle over the Jubilee Line proves, this is no way to run a railroad."

But it neglects, once again, to mention that vertical separation of services and infrastructure is mandated by EU directive EC 91/440. Until that directive is rescinded, rail services cannot be properly integrated. One would have thought that subsidiarity would apply to an island, but it doesn't. Conservatives need to point this out; it might just be enough of an excuse to extract us from association with the privatisation mess.
:: Swordsman 7/31/2001 08:02:00 AM [+] ::
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A classic argument

And here's something else useful in the New Statesman. Philosopher AC Grayling calls for a new appreciation of classics in education. Well, up to a point. She fails to say exactly how or when it should be slotted in to the absurd national curriculum (which, more than anything else should be blamed for the final fall of classics). Classics should, indeed, be reintroduced, but who is to teach it and what should make way for it? These are questions a conservative education spokesman should be looking to answer.
:: Swordsman 7/30/2001 01:51:00 PM [+] ::
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Strange bedfellows

I don't often agree with the New Statesman. And there's plenty even in this editorial I disagree with (particularly the second item). But the overall message -- that protest is a democratic right -- is one I whole-heartedly agree with. This paragraph is particularly ominous:

"The formal penalisation of protest is just an aperitif. Animal rights activists who organised pickets outside furriers' were prosecuted under the anti-stalking legislation that was required, parliament had been assured, to protect women being hounded by sinister men."

Misusing laws is how tyranny starts. By the way, I don't consider comparisons between these sorts of protests and the tactics of strikers in the 70s and 80s particularly valid. A comparison between them and the violent protestors is much more apt.
:: Swordsman 7/30/2001 01:30:00 PM [+] ::
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We need a (real) First Amendment...

Ministers backed in TV satire row, reports the Beeb. Apparently 2,500 people complaining about a programme justifies censorship of what sounds like quite a clever but tasteless satire. Before the screening of "The Last Temptation of Christ," there were over 1,000 complaints a day. But that onlyoffended religious sensibilities (and Christian ones at that). It scares me, however, that people should be talking quite calmly about increasing powers to suppress free speech. It just shows how meaningless the Human Rights Act is.
:: Swordsman 7/30/2001 09:12:00 AM [+] ::
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Archie Norman's Place

I first knew of Archie Norman when he was Chairman of ASDA and was appointed as a non-exec director on the board of Railtrack. While there, he expressed reservations about the approach we were taking that have proved to be quite correct. I therefore hold him in high regard. He has a piece in The Times today sketching out his vision of the future for conservativism, expecially in relation to public services.

He's right up to a point. I think the key comes in his "second" argument:

"The second basic Conservative principle is that we believe in decentralisation: this means encouraging the creativity, enterprise and variety that result from local initiative. Instead of the dull uniformity produced by national plans we should be seeking to diminish the powers of central state by allowing local communities to tailor their institutions to local needs. Our great universities and our best schools did not develop because of an edict from Whitehall. They developed because they were funded by their own communities and private endowments. They flourished because they had their own culture and fostered the creativity and enterprise of teachers and students."

Indeed. Privatisation could give way to "localisation," the devolving of power to correctly accountable local institutions. Those institutions could then find the best way of providing the services the locals want. The problem is the accountability. How do we ensure that the new institutions don't get corrupted quickly or used as political footballs?

The answer must be local democracy, but of a very different sort to the present arrangement. Local authorities are just as monolithic as central government, with a one size fits all approach to all the services they provide. Health, education, police, transport and all other services might be best served by being under the control of local commissioners, professionals appointed by local elected executives, who work with but are not part of local legislative councils (who confirm the Commissioners in their posts after open hearings). Separation of powers must, as with central government, be the key. The Commissioner asks for money from the Executive, who then prepares his central budget and submits it to the legislative council, who have to raise the money from local taxpayers (these councils would have much more tax raising powers than they do at present -- national income tax would, of course, be slashed). At each stage there should be an open debate about how the budget is justified. The local voters have their chance to have a direct say in the process by unseating executives and councillors. Assuming national politics is kept out of it, this system should work.

Any takers?
:: Swordsman 7/30/2001 09:01:00 AM [+] ::
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Revisionism

Interesting opinion piece in The Telegraph that reassesses the Great War. Just shows that conservatives have continually to cut through the jungle of misapprehension that's grown up since the sixties. What we need is an overarching principle that can act as the machete.
:: Swordsman 7/30/2001 08:26:00 AM [+] ::
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Meanwhile, in Bradford...

And here we have an example of the other side of the compensation culture. Bradford policemen are suing their employer for injuries and trauma caused while they policed the Bradford riots. There are tree ways to solve this: either increase the police budget by increasing taxes, abolish the police force or abandon the compensation culture. I think I know which one I'd pick. But I think I know what will happen instead.
:: Swordsman 7/30/2001 08:13:00 AM [+] ::
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Why are we doing this?

Payout to Sarah's parents 'is derisory', reports the Telegraph. Yes, that sum is "derisory," but why are they being offered it at all? The state is not responsible for crime (regardless of how bad policing is), so why should taxpayers contribute to this "pot"? I can understand it in a "social justice" sort of way, but to increase "social justice" surely requires much higher payments. This just brings the entire system into disrepute. Insurance and assurance could solve this problem quite easily (although assuring your child's life seems morbid to me). The payments would be voluntary and the compensation higher. So abolish CICA. Makes sense to me.
:: Swordsman 7/30/2001 08:09:00 AM [+] ::
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Supergrassroots

Activists are 8-1 in favour of Duncan Smith is the result of a Telegraph voodoo poll. It's pretty meaningless, but it will be a morale boost for IDS. I predicted earlier that Portillo would start labeling IDS an extremist, and here we are:

"In an interview in the Scotsman on Saturday, Mr Clarke said that Mr Duncan Smith was an out-of-date Thatcherite who sought to move the Tories farther to the right of William Hague. He represented "a throwback to another era"."

But...

"Mr Duncan Smith, in an interview in the Independent on Sunday, described Mr Clarke as the "extremist" because his views on Europe were at odds with those of most party members."

Unfortunately, since Red Ken and Derek Hatton have disappeared and the nation still stubbornly thinks in Euclidean terms, this strategy will fail. You can't be extreme on the Left any more, but you can be extreme on the right. Unless IDS starts equating Clarke with the "One Europe" brigade of Oswald Moseley, this won't work. Interestingly, I have been told authoritatively that when he was President of CUCA, Clarke invited Moseley to speak. He did it again when he was President of the Cambridge Union. This coincided with an exodus of Jewish members from CUCA, including Michael Howard.

And isn't it time for a repeat of "The Old Men at the Zoo"?


:: Swordsman 7/30/2001 08:00:00 AM [+] ::
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Give this idea some credit

The Washington Bulletin on National Review Online is a daily commentary by two of Washington's brightest writers, John J. Miller and Ramesh Ponnuru. In today's edition they draw attention to what I think is one of the best ideas on education policy for a long time. School choice is good (and is particularly popular amongst African-Americans here), but vouchers are problematic. In the States they run up against the paranoia of church/state separation, whilst in Britain they were howled down when Sir Keith Joseph (I think) first suggested them and have never really returned. The idea that you'd get a tax credit rather than a voucher is therefore an interesting one. I'm not sure how effective it would be with the poorest families, who are the ones who need school choice the most, but it's worth further work.
:: Swordsman 7/27/2001 11:16:00 AM [+] ::
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The UN gets it right (!)

The UNDP's Human Development Report 2001 looks at the issues surrounding GM foods and, as any level-headed analysis would, gets it right. Here's how the National Center for Policy Analysis in Dallas summarised the report's findings:

The report warns that opposition to transgenic agriculture could
endanger the ability of the poorest nations to feed their
populations.

Here are a few of the report's other observations and
conclusions:

o Opposition to GM agriculture stems from a pervasive "anti-
technology bias," especially in Europe -- where some
farmers "have used public fear of the risk from
genetically modified organisms to protect domestic
markets" from competition.

o Rich nations must let developing nations make their own
choices concerning how to feed their hungry -- and that
choice must, unequivocally in the report's view, be
biotechnology.

o Agricultural researcher and Nobel Prize winner Norman
Borlaug predicts that producing enough food on existing
farmlands to feed an expected 2.3 billion more mouths by
2025 will require an astonishing 75 percent jump in
productivity.

o The report suggests that boosting agricultural yields
protects jungles, rainforests and other natural areas from
the plow.

The Conservative Party has to reconsider its ill-advised and populist stance on GM foods. This internationalist report would make a good starting point.
:: Swordsman 7/27/2001 08:36:00 AM [+] ::
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Well said, your Grace

Huzzah for the Archbishop of Canterbury! In a sermon, er, opinion piece in The Daily Telegraph today, he defends religion from the increasing numbers who see it as the source of all the world's problems. There's a narrowspread belief in America (I say narrowspread because it clings only to the coastlines) that anything religious in public life is evil. One of the joys of having an established church is that occasionally you will get a religious leader with courage as well as the platform to speak up for religion's role in public life. It must not be domineering or intolerant, but it has an important role to play.
:: Swordsman 7/27/2001 08:24:00 AM [+] ::
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Nostra Culpa, Nostra Maxima Culpa!

It seems that theCrown Prosecution Service is "institutionally racist." I presume the new dress code at the CPS is sackcloth and ashes. Give me a break!
:: Swordsman 7/27/2001 08:12:00 AM [+] ::
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The Great Washed

Some salient points made by Tim Hames in The Times yesterday on why the middle class votes the way it does. I do find it strange that he doesn't explain why the self-employed are the most hostile to the Labour Party (they are the most self-reliant and therefore the most hostile to authoritarians). Increasing self-reliance is, to me, the key to not just conservative but the country's revival, and that means that big business (which can take on the features of a despotic state) has to be reined in as well.

On Tim's first few points, about what the party leadership should reflect, it makes me wonder whether a primary system might not be a good idea. All constituencies could ask voters to register as Independents (ie floating voters) or for any party affiliation that saved its deposit in the constituency in the last election. PPCs would then be chosen by election, say, one month before the general election (so extending campaign time by a month or so, but not too much). Small parties would still be able to select candidates in their traditional ways. Leadership elections would be by means of constituencies electing delegates to vote for the constituency's preferred candidate (which gives the small number of conservatives in South Shields an equal voice to the large number in Huntingdon, so ensuring that the party reflects national rather than regional concerns). I'm sure there' a lot more to think through on this one, but it would be a real filip to democracy, and could answer the "they're all the same, ain't they?" argument about politicians as prospective candidates would have to campaign on genuinely local issues to get their nomination.
:: Swordsman 7/27/2001 07:30:00 AM [+] ::
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Didn't it used to be the Department of Education AND Science?

Spiked's returning to form. Their article "Comprehension tests" reviews a recent panel on the role of science in the public policy debate. Good stuff generally, although the scientist concerned is, as usual, too defensive (and even I can think of an ethical question about stem cells that's different from IVF: when embryos are created for IVF purposes, although it's known that some will not "implant," each of them basically has an equal chance to be born; embryos created for stem cell research are destined for destruction, full stop. That's an ethical question, without doubt).

Anyway, the article's conclusion is worthwhile, and shows the value of strengthening science education (as long as we can get science teacher training separated from the dogmatism of the teacher-training colleges):

"A general scientific education is desirable for many reasons - but helping people negotiate controversies over risk is not one of them. While Wolpert is right to emphasis the importance of expert opinion over public prejudice, for those people who really do want to spend their time thinking about environmental risks I can think of no better recommendation than studying some science. To understand that the science of global warming is not settled, or that the risk from GM crops is somewhere between very low and zero, you don't have to be a scientific expert at the cutting edge of research.

"Today's environmental protesters clearly have tremendous determination, passion and energy. Yet they often seem peculiarly ignorant about science. If a fraction of their energy were applied to learning something of the discipline, who knows what might happen?"


:: Swordsman 7/27/2001 06:41:00 AM [+] ::
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SAfe at any cost?

Sp!ked-online does what it does best on the "Food Scares Agency" -- saying what a load of old tosh it all is. It might be a good policy to pledge to replace all such scare-mongering bodies with institutions whose job it is to assess real risk. It's impossible to say anything is absolutely safe (that's a trap we've been falling into since BSE) but it is possible for a group of experts to say whether or not something is reasonably safe. A Food Risks Assessment Board, staffed by genuine scientists and not activists (who will claim to be stakeholders and demand a place on such a body, no doubt) would take its duty of reassuring people about safety seriously. And when the hysteria's died down, perhaps we could get on with enjoying what we eat.
:: Swordsman 7/26/2001 01:05:00 PM [+] ::
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A PPE lesson for PPP

The leader in the new Spectator is a well-reasoned piece about the debate over the Tube. Private investment is not the enemy, but the way the Government is handling it is.
:: Swordsman 7/26/2001 09:23:00 AM [+] ::
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Gene genie

Looks like the debate on the nature of life I asked for a day or so ago is beginning. Great article by Daniel Johnson in The Spectator. How's this for a great conclusion:

"And so the British — despite their instinctive revulsion for human cloning — acquiesce in our sordid isolation. We are indeed leading the world; leading it in an unheard-of abdication of responsibility, the hubris of inhumanity. The nation of Burke has trampled underfoot the unwritten contract between the living and the unborn. The present generation has no right to instrumentalise the next, merely in order to prolong its own longevity. The selfish gene has become a selfish genie, now too late to rebottle. Britain is the laboratory in which posterity is sacrificed for the illusion of immortality."

This isn't about abortion. It's much more complicated than that. And the Conservative Party must have a collective view.
:: Swordsman 7/26/2001 09:17:00 AM [+] ::
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The insanity continues

Ministers blamed for NHS failings reports the BBC. Routine reverse vasectomies were apparently scheduled ahead of bladder tumor operations in order to meet waiting list targets. First, do no harm? The government's health policy is falling apart minute-by-minute. Both candidates for the leadership should spell out how they would tackle this crucial area. Given Clarke's appalling record as Health Secretary, I wonder how radical his ideas will be.
:: Swordsman 7/26/2001 07:19:00 AM [+] ::
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Eh?

Is this a declaration of independence? Gordon Brown has used the forum of The Daily Telegraph to call for a free trade agreement between Europe and the USA. The French have set themselves against such an idea for a long time. Is he publicly challenging them? Is he playing the dollar against the Euro? What on earth is he doing? As you might have guessed, I'm mystified by this.
:: Swordsman 7/26/2001 07:03:00 AM [+] ::
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This Tube strategy could have been dreamt up by Jools Holland

What time is the next train back to sanity? asks the inestimable Simon Jenkins in The Times. In the course of this brilliant demolition of the idea of Public-Private Partnerships for the Tube, he mentions Sir Steve Robson. I have to say that, in my opinion, Steve Robson is possibly the most evil person I have ever met. Privatisation was a means to an end. He seemed to treat it as an end in itself, and in the most sneering and condescending way possible. I know people at the Treasury who speak very highly of him as a person, but I always got the impression that he regarded anyone with a public service ethos as a dangerous fool.
:: Swordsman 7/25/2001 08:25:00 AM [+] ::
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Insane! Our health care system is insane!

Just read this report in The Times. Why are people afraid to make the point that our insistence on Stalinist health care principles is KILLING PEOPLE? There is no better argument for getting vast amounts of private money into the health care system via private hospitals charging insurance companies market rates than to point to the loved ones who have died as a result of this insane rationing. Of course we should retain a safety net for the poor and old, but employer-provided insurance would not cost individuals much and companies could be offered tax breaks for providing it (surely far less revenue would be lost than is currently splashing into the health service). remember -- the NHS is KILLING PEOPLE. Spin that, you Blairite butchers.

(Rant over...)
:: Swordsman 7/25/2001 08:12:00 AM [+] ::
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Freedom is Slavery?

The truly great science writer Matt Ridley is also a small farmer in Northumberland. His article today in The Daily Telegraph is a masterpiece in explaining why central government needs to "butt out," if you'll excuse the Americanism. For example,

"Planning laws designed to stop the further development of overcrowded Surrey are foisted on depopulated north Cumbria. The retreat of the red squirrel in Northumberland is seen as inevitable just because it has gone from the Home Counties. The red tape involved in felling a new spruce plantation is the same as for a 1,000-year-old oak forest. A woman refused planning permission for a porch on her cottage by Druridge Bay was notified a few weeks later of plans for a power station nearby."

One size fits all is a silly idea in sales. It is even sillier when it comes to planning regulations. Let's give localities accountable local planning commissions and let the local people decide how land use should be regulated. And let's kill off the pernicious "right to roam" idea now and forever. If you want to walk on someone's land, you ask him, and let old-style negotiation be your guide.
:: Swordsman 7/25/2001 07:53:00 AM [+] ::
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By Gove, I think he's got it!

Michael Gove in The Times hits the nail square on the head about the new world politics as demonstrated in Genoa, viz:

"These policies are not all malign, but they are the product of a mindset that is. They are born of the belief that the native political traditions of nation states should be uprooted to make way for bureaucratically regulated, globally homogenised, universally applicable solutions.

"And that is just what most of the protesters in Genoa want. As one of their cheerleaders, Katharine Ainger, acknowledged in The Guardian: “In fact the movement is not anti-globalisation at all. If anything it embodies globalisation from below.”

Well said. I only wish he'd used Disraeli rather than Billy Bragg (but this is an old tactic of his. I remember him quoting The Housemartins once...)
:: Swordsman 7/24/2001 12:55:00 PM [+] ::
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Have they thought this through?

The new Electoral Commission has recommended a box for "positive abstentions" on the ballot paper, according to The Times. Err, hang on. What happens if abstentions win the majority of the vote? Are nominations re-opened as in the NUS? Do we face the prospect of constituencies having no representation because of the number of disenchanted (laugh not, this could happen in University towns)? And what do the PR people think about this? Would they exclude abstentions and transfer their votes under STV/AV systems, or would you only be allowed to choose abstention as a last choice (and again, what if it wins, as it would be likely to)? This is the silliest idea I've heard in a long time.
:: Swordsman 7/24/2001 12:28:00 PM [+] ::
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He really wants a split, doesn't he?

There's a startling sub-text in Ken Clarke's comments in the Telegraph article "Redwood accuses Clarke of contempt for Eurosceptics". He calls certain journalists "extreme right-wing." Now accusing people in your own party of extremism is either stupid or indicative of a purge to come. But this purge will be idiotic. When Pat Buchanan and his supporters left the Republican Party, former Education Secretary Bill Bennett was able to say that it was a good thing because it meant the party had got rid of the "haters." The people Clarke is characterising as extremists are nothing of the sort. They are mainstream Tories. This is a very dangerous game Clarke is playing.
:: Swordsman 7/24/2001 08:37:00 AM [+] ::
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The European Candidate

Another excellent deconstruction of Clarke, this time by Janet Daley in The Daily Telegraph. A particular insight is:

"Under Mr Clarke, there would not be a parliamentary opposition as such. There would just be a non-parliamentary one which would come almost entirely from the Left and which would - in the great tradition of non-parliamentary dissent - become more and more anarchic and anti-social. We would, in effect, have arrived at the state which Mr Blair and Mr Clarke both idealise: that of a "modern European country" run by a de facto coalition government whose smug consensual views are largely impervious to public opinion, whose private arrangements are impenetrable (and riven by croneyism, if not by outright corruption), and whose shared beliefs, however hidebound and wrong-headed, are unaffected by the democratic process."

All we'd need is a National School for Administration (notice that institutions are often "for" things these days rather than "of" them) and we'd be set.


:: Swordsman 7/24/2001 08:26:00 AM [+] ::
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Cell-out

British public and political opinion is firmly behind embryonic stem cell research. That's worrying, mainly because it's a red herring. Expert science commentator Michael Fumento writes on National Review Online about the promising research into adult stem cells. Couple that with the fact that there seems to be an underlying instability in the development of cells taken from embryos and you have a pretty strong case for abandoning the idea. In the process, perhaps we could have a debate in Britain about what life is.
:: Swordsman 7/23/2001 07:34:00 AM [+] ::
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MORI Tory, umm

Gad, I'm getting desperate for headlines. The stalwart Dr Roger Mortimore, in his MORI - poll digest commentary column reviews a few interesting things about the leadership contest from the poll findings. The concluding paragraph is particularly interesting:

"When we asked the public during the election campaign which qualities in a leader were most important in helping them decide whether to vote for his or her party, the description that most thought "very important" was that the leader should understand the problems facing Britain, and following that that he should be capable and good in a crisis. By contrast, far fewer thought it was very important that he should have "a lot of personality". Tory members should probably ask themselves which of the two remaining candidates can most convincingly put these qualities across."

That's the last real argument the Clarkies have shot down. Game, set and match, I would have thought.
:: Swordsman 7/20/2001 01:42:00 PM [+] ::
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Down with Bureaucratic Legalism

Law and Disorder by Jonathan Rauch is one of those groundbreaking articles like "The End of History" or "The Tipping Point." Its thesis -- that excessive prescription of what is and is not allowed ("bureaucratic legalism") is coming into conflict with the natural and mutually-agreed codes by which we have always abided ("hidden law") -- seems perfectly reasonable to me, and is an excellent argument against excessive regulation. The implications for EU law are obvious.

One slight disagreement I have with the analysis comes in Rauch's treatment of Monicagate. He concentrates too much on conservatives being forced into defending the Violence Against Women Act and not enough on them defending the ancient and important law of perjury. Jonathan Aitken and, now, Lord Archer are examples of how a land with an apolitical judicial system treats that as a very serious crime. The US should take note.
:: Swordsman 7/20/2001 01:33:00 PM [+] ::
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I wish I didn't have to say this

Protester killed in Genoa clashes, reports the BBC. Shot, accorrding to them. Which is precisely what I said would happen after Gothenburg. Protests, petitions and lobbying should be peaceful, but the authorities should also be more accomodating than they are. What would the world be saying if this had happened in Seattle?
:: Swordsman 7/20/2001 12:53:00 PM [+] ::
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Byers beware

The Times has a sensible editorial on HMG's appalling fudges on transport policy. This was exactly the sort of thing successive Conservative transport secretaries were hauled over the coals for. Time to step up to the oche, gentlemen.
:: Swordsman 7/20/2001 12:29:00 PM [+] ::
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Jurassic Clarke

Also in The Telegraph, Daniel Johnson does the best demolition job on Ken Clarke I've seen. I'm definitely voting for Duncan Smith, not that I'm happy about it.
:: Swordsman 7/20/2001 11:26:00 AM [+] ::
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Comrade Hannan

J. Danforth Hannan has an entertaining piece in The Daily Telegraph comparing the EU's lack of democracy to that of Uzbekistan. Fair point.
:: Swordsman 7/20/2001 11:23:00 AM [+] ::
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Was this ambition?

Michael Gove does his best Marc Antony impression, delivering a eulogy for Michael Portillo in The Spectator. Excellent writing, but I think it might be as accurate as Antony's rabble-rousing effort. And what's the subtext at the end? "Iain Duncan Smith is an honourable man"? Hmmmm.
:: Swordsman 7/19/2001 01:55:00 PM [+] ::
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Plain-speakin'

Jack Kemp, who knows a thing or two about losing (joke!) had a column about the Tory loss just after the election. A Party That Stands For Nothing Deserves to Lose bears re-reading in the light of the leadership election. Everyone involved should think about what he has to say.
:: Swordsman 7/19/2001 12:50:00 PM [+] ::
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Belgium!

As if to underscore my point, here's a report from Agence France Press:

MADRID, July 18 (AFP) - The creation of Europe-wide arrest and extradition warants is one of two main objectives of the Belgian presidency of the Europen Union, Prime Minister Guy Verhofstadt said Wednesday. Verhofstadt said securing agreement on a Europe-wide recognised warrant would enable the EU to effectively fight crimes of terrorism, combat the trafficking of humans, drugs and arms and clamp down on those who perpetrate crimes against children.

"The creation of an arrest and extradition warrant and the successful launch of the euro on January 1, 2002 are the two main points of the Belgian presidency," he said. "We hope to obtain political consensus on the arrest warrant, and that it will be adopted definitively in time for the Spanish presidency of the EU in the first semester of 2002." The end of Belgium's presidency of the EU will coincide with the launch of the euro. "It has been the biggest political project of the European Union," said Verhofstadt. "It will allow the citizens to discover in concrete terms the significance of Europe." Spain will take over the presidency of the EU in January."

Well, there you are. Belgium wants to override the ancient right of habeas corpus in the next six months. I can't see Jack Straw objecting to this in the Council of Ministers, and certainly not David Blunkett. Would a Clarke-led party object? I would hope so, but I doubt it. The Widdecombe wing (which will be a formidable ally in the campaign) will probably endorse the policy. It'll be left to a few euroesceptics allied with people like Jon Pilger and John Wadham (!) to make the case against. What chance do they have?
:: Swordsman 7/19/2001 09:01:00 AM [+] ::
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Er, umm, good point

Have we all been over-reacting? Boris Johnson MP uses his Daily Telegraph column to say, "Come off it chaps, we're not going to split. There's more important things to worry about, like who's going to buy the next round of G&Ts..." If there is a genuine Tory (in its old sense) in the House, it's Boris. Perhaps he's right, but I have my doubts. Activists, at the very least, see Europe as a defining issue. This would be like a Democratic hopeful for President saying, "Hey, Roe vs Wade isn't as important as us getting back into the White House. We agree on abortion rights, but why bother to support a flawed decision? We can do something else about it as long as we all unite." It wouldn't wash.

Political parties these days are more coalitions of issue groups than broad churches of agreement. New Labour is made up of trade unions, public sector workers, young enviromentalists, the "socially excluded," the working class elements that still detest the Tories, the comfortable middle class and big business. It's such a powerful coalition that he can even afford to anger one block of it (public sector workers) as long as he doesn't go too far. Is there any principle uniting these blocks? I can't see one (unless it's something as inchoate as "touchy-feeliness"). Similarly, the Tory party also seems to be made up of blocks, and the euro-skeptic lobby is a major one. It also has a ready-made home in the UKIP. Annoy that block and you've lost a major part of your coalition. UKIP cost one or two Tories their seats at the last election. It would do far more damage if even a few MPs and key local figures defected.

In summary, then, I think Boris's judgment is a bit blase. I pray that he's right, but he is probably underestimating the depth of feeling on this issue.
:: Swordsman 7/19/2001 08:55:00 AM [+] ::
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Moggery

William Rees-Mogg gives us his opinion of what will happen should Ken Clarke win the leadership. Strong stuff. Is Europe another Corn Laws or Protection, an issue so fundamental that it will split the party? The mere fact that people are asking that question shows how important the issue is. Clarke needs to consider how to handle this issue. Failure to reach out to the party's base could make him the John McCain of this election.
:: Swordsman 7/19/2001 08:14:00 AM [+] ::
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I never, ever thought I'd say this..."

But Shirley Williams is right. Writing in The Daily Telegraph, she sets out concisely what is wrong with Parliament and suggests a few things for making it better. I agree wholeheartedly with everything in this article.

The infuriating thing is, of course, that it was Lady Williams who, by her idiotic comprehensivisation programme (aided later by unaccountable local authorities and the foolish National Curriculum), destroyed the teaching of history in our schools. It was, of course, history that gave us our civics education, as the history of Britain is the history of democratisation. Now if only she would apologise for that...
:: Swordsman 7/18/2001 12:59:00 PM [+] ::
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Imperium Europeanum

Europe in the Balance is the title of a substantial essay in the new Policy Review magazine (now proudly residing at the Hoover Institution at Stamford University). This is a perceptive piece, pointing out that the supranationalism so beloved as modern by people like Chris Patten is actually a throwback to pre-Enlightenment ways of thinking. This provides an important opportunity for eurosceptics. For years we have been on the receiving end of accusations that we are missing the wave of the future, that the new Europe is an evolved form of government. With this argument we can allege that Europe is seeking to go back to the dark times and install a pre-enlightenment state of absolute power. Parliamentary democracy, with its checks on the executive and its guarantees of liberty, is the truly advanced form of government. Both conservatives and (genuine) socialists can argue this line. Of course, it would have to go hand-in-hand with some genuine constitutional reform, but I think everyone recognizes how badly that is needed.
:: Swordsman 7/18/2001 11:34:00 AM [+] ::
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Well, "The English Patient" was a bit tedious...

Under the headline "Library is a closed book for schools," The Guardian reports that several schools have refused the free gift of volumes from the Everyman library because the books are "dull." Herodotus was described by one product of the "Scottish endarkenment" as "far too boring." The founders of the Workers Educational Association would be furious. This just shows that local people have got to wrest back control of their children's schools from the vested interests that control them now. This is irresponsibility of the highest order.
:: Swordsman 7/18/2001 07:30:00 AM [+] ::
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Are you an etiolated socialist?

The libertarian Ludwig von Mises institute publishes a Letter from England: Why Tories Lose, from Norman Barry of Buckingham University. It is hard to argue against this line of reasoning. Even "that dreadful magazine, The Economist" (attr Peter Hitchens) has argued this forcefully in a recent article ("Socialism in one country," July 14th), concluding:

"For the first time ever people who always said the problem with the NHS is that we don't spend enough money on it are going to find out if it's true. And when it turns out not to be, then maybe Britain can really talk about reform."

But how many people will die while we wait to find out?
:: Swordsman 7/17/2001 01:05:00 PM [+] ::
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Then fall Portillo

Loser Portillo quits Tory frontline says the BBC, not mincing words. Portillo's failure is stunning, in many ways. Up until a couple of weeks ago I considered him unbeatable. But then, it appeared, the rumours started. In some ways, there's a strange parallel to the Gary Condit affair: everyone knew Condit wasn't telling the whole truth and, when he did come clean over something, many continued to suspect there was still something hidden, perhaps something grisly. That seems to have been the case with Portillo too. He attracted only 4 extra votes in the whole of the leadership contest. in part, that may have been because he wasn't talking about how to get middle class families with children back in the fold, but I think it has more to do with a fear of the unknown. Portillo's story may not have been fully told yet.

As for the remaining contenders, a former national chairman of the Young Conservatives I was corresponding with yesterday commented, "Clarke is popular in the country and over a long summer his experience and character could win through." I agree. I think he'll do much better in the country than people are currently suggesting -aat least, until Mrs T weighs in. But the timing of that event will be crucial -- too early and she tars the party ("There's Maggie telling the party what to do again," "She won't let go will she" etc), too late and Clarke may just be able to laugh it off.

I'm currently not optimistic on this one, especially as I think a lot of Portillo's supporters -- who might otherwise be thought of as natural cheerleaders for Duncan Smith -- will follow their leader back into the shadows.

Can Ken Clarke revive the party? Only if he buries his euro-enthusiasm. Will he do that? I can't see it happening.

:: Swordsman 7/17/2001 12:35:00 PM [+] ::
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Has Dunblane claimed another victim?

Police shooting victim 'armed' with novelty lighter, reports Ananova. The victim, who presumably was enjoying a smoke close to, if not in, his home, was shot six times. This is entering Diallou territory. Was there "probable cause" for the police to act this way, or was it just that they'd heard someone had a gun, now regarded as a criminally violent act in and of itself? The hysteria that was engendered after Hungerford and Dunblane has started to tally its own list of victims. How many more people have to be killed in incidents like this before we realise how stupid our reaction has been?
:: Swordsman 7/17/2001 09:27:00 AM [+] ::
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An Epic Analysis

Michael Gove uses his column in The Times to beg for a Portillo-IDS final, using the analogy of the Trojan Cycle to do so (and very entertainingly, may I add). I have rarely seen him hit the nail squarer on the head. A must-read.
:: Swordsman 7/17/2001 08:51:00 AM [+] ::
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The Star Chamber: model of liberality and due process?

I came across these allegations today, which, if true (and I see no reason why they shouldn't be) are deeply frightening:

"I attended Norman Baker MP's appeal to the Data Protection Tribunal against the general certificate signed by Jack Straw which exempts Mi5 from the subject access provisions of the Data Protection Act.

"During the proceedings the Investigatory Powers Tribunal (set up under the RIP Act) was discussed. It is a beauty. The proceedings are always to be held in camera. The findings are never to be published. The two sides, the government and the appellant are to give their evidence separately and will not be allowed to hear the other side's evidence or cross-examine their witnesses. The appellant will not have the right to see all the government's documentary or other material, ie physical,
evidence."

This is astonishing. Even in the Court of the Star Chamber, each side heard the other's evidence. This Act MUST be repealed if the Tories are to have any credibility as a liberal party.
:: Swordsman 7/17/2001 07:06:00 AM [+] ::
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Trumpet Blowing

Good News! More People Are Reporting Crimes! wasn't my choice for a headline, but at least my latest op/ed ran in the Washington Post's Outlook section this Sunday.
:: Swordsman 7/16/2001 12:57:00 PM [+] ::
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Identity Parade

Mark Steyn writes in The Spectator about identity politics, warning the UK from the experiences of the US. Good stuff, especially the conclusion:

"In times such as this, the Tories should stand by the great principle of English justice: that we are not defined by our race or gender or sexual preferences, but by our rights as free-born individuals equal under the law. "

Hear, hear.
:: Swordsman 7/16/2001 12:26:00 PM [+] ::
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Class war: Some shots from the middle class

Interesting article in The Spectator on how middle-class families are demanding the state pays for their parents' nursing care so that they will inherit all their parents' assets. There's a word for this: greed. The answer is, of course, health insurance. No-one dares to consider this, but I'm sure there are firms that would be willing to provide it. In the meantime, it would be a good policy to agree that people who use a service and can afford it, pay for it themselves.
:: Swordsman 7/16/2001 12:07:00 PM [+] ::
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Let's not make a hash of this...

Important article in The Daily Telegraph on the real effects of cannabis addiction. Alcohol, of course, does similar things, but the line is repeated so often that "cannabis isn't as harmful as alcohol" that cannabis addiction will be treated less seriously. At least, until virtually all our teenagers are sitting around stoned and listless most of the time. (And then, I'll bet my bottom dollar, a new temperance movement will arise.) While it's still illegal, there's motivation not to get caught using it, so people don't indulge as often as they want to. We all know about the dangers of alcohol. We don't know about the dangers of cannabis. Until we do, illegality is an important deterrent.
:: Swordsman 7/16/2001 08:37:00 AM [+] ::
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Well, that was silly...

Portillo's hopes hit by angry Thatcher denial, reports the Telegraph. Apparently, Portillo's backers claimed that Mrs Thatcher felt IDS was too inexperienced for the leadership. Now Mrs T has reacted angrily. That was a silly tactic. The Portillo campaign is listing badly, but might yet hang on for the final round. Then they would either need Mrs T to stay neutral (if fighting IDS) or actively on-side (if fighting Red Ken). They have now probably guaranteed her supporting IDS, or saying neutral in the event of Clarke-Portillo. They could have completely broken with Thatcher, if they were going to use the "extremist" argument against IDS, but they can't do that now. Portillo is not looking centrist but Majorist. And that's not a good place to be (at least in perception terms). Of course if it is Clarke-Portillo, there's always a chance that Mrs T will be forced to support him in order to keep Clarke out, but I imagine that support will now be very grudging.
:: Swordsman 7/16/2001 08:11:00 AM [+] ::
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The XIVth Amendment

I am informed that a few states did establish churches after the AWI/Revolution, but all fell by the wayside -- the last was Massachusetts in the 1830s. It's argued that the 14th amendment now makes this impossible, but as the clause refers to the rights of citizens, I don't see how it can really be applied to Churches, as long as they don't require membership or act unconstitutionally in other ways. What fun.
:: Swordsman 7/13/2001 07:20:00 PM [+] ::
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Britain in the grip of an Ice Age?

Came across this marvellous quotation from Whitaker Chambers, the man who exposed Soviet spy Alger Hiss and who was demonised by the literati for doing so:

"The simple fact is that when I took up my little sling and aimed at Communism, I also hit something else. what I hit was the forces of that great socialist revolution, which, in the name of liberalism, spasmodically, incompletely, somewhat formlessly, always in the same direction, has been inching its ice cap over the nation for two decades. ... [T]hough I knew it existed, I still had no adequate idea of its extent, the depth of its penetration or the fierce vindictiveness of its revolutionary temper, which is a reflex of its struggle to keep and advance its political power."

Mrs Thatcher could say the same thing, I think.
:: Swordsman 7/13/2001 01:02:00 PM [+] ::
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No taxation without compensation

The Daily Telegraph has an excellent idea for the front line of a Tory appeal to the working class. This one needs to be sped through the policy review process, together with figures on how much it will save individual people. The "cost" to the Treasury will be minimal, I'd imagine, so "schoolsnospitals" will be safe...
:: Swordsman 7/13/2001 08:51:00 AM [+] ::
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Disestablish the BBC!

Sigh. According to Simon Jenkins in The Times, the new Head of Religious Broadcasting at the Beeb doesn't believe in God. Jenkins is at his best when he takes a sad case like this and develops a larger theme about Britain today out of it. This piece is a good example. And once again he stresses the importance of local matters:

"The policeman used to stand alongside the parson, the doctor and the teacher as embodiments of local conviction leadership. Other than the parson, still luckily in the private sector, they now spend their day filling in government forms recording their “output”. "

How true. How sad. How can we do something about it?
:: Swordsman 7/13/2001 08:00:00 AM [+] ::
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Three cheers for Betty

It takes the authority of a former Speaker to get this sort of thing into the news agenda, so well done Miss Boothroyd! According to The Times, she is leading a revolt over the Government's imperious handling of select committee chairmanships. And a good thing too. If I was to draw up a blueprint for strengthening the legislature, the powers of the select committees would be the first thing I'd enhance. Congressional Committees (not nearly the same thing, I admit) are a remarkably powerful check on the powers of the executive here in the US and membership and leadership of certain committees is a prominent career goal in the eyes of most members of Congress. It should be the same in Parliament. The Tories, thanks to Lord Norton's report, already have a coherent policy on this. It would be helpful if Tory MPs could take a little time to publicise this rather than indulging in the navel-gazing exercise that is the leadership contest.
:: Swordsman 7/13/2001 07:43:00 AM [+] ::
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You read it here first!

As I predicted yesterday, The Times is now reporting that David Davis has withdrawn from the race. Portillo's only hope now is that enough Ancram voters jump on the IDS bandwagon that Clarke can't quite close the gap on him. Roll on Tuesday...
:: Swordsman 7/13/2001 07:23:00 AM [+] ::
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Timbo gets desperate

Was it Erich Honecker who delivered the line about "let us dismiss the people and elect a new one"? Tim Hames says basically that about the voters (MPs and party members) of the Conservative Party. His man is losing and he's not happy about it. Awkward thing, this democracy lark...
:: Swordsman 7/12/2001 01:11:00 PM [+] ::
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How much longer can he hold on?

Ancram knocked out of Tory race is the big leadership news. Portillo didn't lose any, but he only gained one. Given that Ancram has gone out and that most of his votes were "Stop Portillo" votes, I think the hemorrhaging process will definitely begin now. Davis has failed to attract any more votes, which I find surprising, so I think it would be best for him if he dropped out now as well, in favour of Iain Duncan Smith. If he did that, I'd expect both IDS and Ken Clarke (who's likely to pick up the Widdecombe faction, although it's possible she might choose IDS) to beat Portillo on Tuesday.

If I were Portillo's adviser, I'd be arguing that there's still plenty to play for if he could, for instance, do a deal with Davis, but he hasn't shown the nerve needed to overcome results like these. He may be finished now.
:: Swordsman 7/12/2001 11:40:00 AM [+] ::
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Well said

I have little to add to Simon Jenkins' excellent column in The Times on how civic pride is the answer to the riots. In response to Lord Ouseley's suggestion that lack of contact and understanding between the races is the root cause, I think lack of understanding is directly attributable to not being able to talk about the issues, which also mitigates against lack of contact. I remember at every training course I went to, whether it be a financial course for DOT/DOE people of junior grades from every region or the high-flyers courses at the Civil Service College, the conversation in the bar always got round to the differences between male and female ways of looking at the world (and we always got more sense out of the junior grades, because they didn't have the pc framework that the high-flyers had to work around). That never happened with different racial groups, because it's just not allowed.

:: Swordsman 7/11/2001 01:49:00 PM [+] ::
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From Cardinals to Bishops

The Daily Telegraph raises an interesting point on church establishment. I used to be a proponent of disestablishement, mainly on the grounds that I do not see why the church should interfere in politics. Strangely, I have changed my views since living in the US. I now believe that part of Government's role (at least in the UK) is to strengthen the bonds of society, to re-inforce the moral code by which we have agreed to live. However, the usual Governmental ways of doing this are either ineffectual (tax breaks for marriage) or overly authoritarian (jail for single mothers, hem hem).

It seems reasonable to me, therefore, that there should be another estate of Government that looks after the moral health of the people without being susceptible to the whims of democracy. The Church is an ideal body to promote the "good life" that inevitably leads to better times if people follow the strictures. As I said in my Spectator article, "Faith Healing" (see here), "As [Gregg Easterbrook in] The New Republic points out, “every mainstream Western denomination encourages the flock to drink in moderation, shun drugs, stop smoking, live circumspectly, practice monogamy, get married, and stay married.” The opposites of all of these behaviors are statistically demonstrated risk factors."

But should an established church have a say in the legislature? I'd argue yes, as a check and balance on the executive, which might find itself trying to legislate on moral behaviour. If so, should there be only one voice or many? Allowing in everyone is a recipe for chaos, and allowing in some but not others (while still others like the Roman Catholics choose not to involve themselves) creates first & second divisions. It seems to me that the fairest method is to allow one church legislative representation and stick to that. Churchmen, after all, aren't the hypocritical monsters they've been in the past: if other denominations have problems, then I'm sure they will speak up for them unless there is a serious clash of values. In which case, which is the value we as a society wish to predominate?

I can see an argument that if the CofE ever becomes a minority religion, then we should consider whether or not it should remain the established religion, but at the moment I believe it is still the largest denomination in England by some way. Most English people still believe in "God," marriage, an afterlife and in other spiritual matters. It is the Church's own problem if they do so in a very airy-fairy way, but it still means that there is an identified need for moral guidance.

By the way, (re-)read the First Amendment to the US Constitution if you haven't done so (lately). You'll notice that Congress cannot forbid any of the States from setting up their own established churches...
:: Swordsman 7/11/2001 12:11:00 PM [+] ::
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Cardinal error

Peter Ridell in The Times suggests that the tory leadership election should be conducted like the Papal election, with all the MPs locked in the same room until a result comes out. Good idea -- the perfectly possible tie for bottom place was condemned by the usual suspects as "farcical" and has therefore done nothing to enhance the party's reputation.

As for the results, I agree with Ridell that Portillo has been badly wounded. A "winner" should not underperform by 20%. Duncan Smith did better than I expected (far better than I expected just a few days ago), showing he really does have broad appeal. Clarke did slightly better than I expected, although coming third is a bad result for him (he is lucky that no-one noticed given Portillo's bad showing) and Ancram and Davis did both slightly better than I expected. Now what will happen tomorrow? I can foresee Portillo's vote hemorrhaging rapidly. He was the "winner," which he plainly isn't, and the "I can beat Clarke" candidate. But given the fact that Duncan Smith can do that too, he doesn't have that card up his sleeve either. His coalition was made up of the Shadow Cabinet, which could split off in all directions, and new MPs like Mark Field and Adrian Flook. The new MPs are probably the ones who would be most likely to go to another "modernising" candidate like Davis, I'd suggest, but they might equally think that the wind is blowing Duncan Smith's way.

Prediction time: I think Ancram will go out tomorrow, with Portillo losing votes and the other three all gaining. Davis will go out on Tuesday unless Portillo's vote collapses. The party-wide election will be between Duncan Smith and Clarke. Duncan Smith will be the activists' favourite and Clarke the old ladies' favourite. A lot will then depend on how party heavyweights make their views known. Geoffrey Howe has already come out swinging for Clarke. Will we see a certain handbag swinging in the other direction?
:: Swordsman 7/11/2001 11:31:00 AM [+] ::
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Who started it?

I'm quoted in the article "Tensions boil over into rioting in England" in The Washington Times today. My view on all of this is that, while there are serious structural economic problems that form the root cause of these problems, the lack of a genuine democratic outlet for debate on these issues ratchets up the tension and causes riots. If you do not have a socially acceptable outlet for your frustrations, you will follow a socially unacceptable course. If anything, it should be unacceptable to call anyone a racist without direct evidence of tangible racism.

The good leftist libertarians at Spiked have provided some valuable contributions on this issue. Brendan O'Neill asks the unaswered questions, while Mick Hume uses his Times column to make the excellent point that blaming the NF for this is laughable.
:: Swordsman 7/10/2001 08:03:00 AM [+] ::
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Who's Queen...?

Andrew Pierce makes a petty argument over the funding of the royal family in The Times. "The Earl of Wessex is in receipt of £141,000 from the Civil List, reimbursed by the Queen. But this is a sleight of hand. The money is switched from the Privy Purse, which comes from the Treasury to meet the Queen’s expenses." Err, what's the full name of the Treasury? HER MAJESTY'S Treasury. The money it receives is raised on her authority as Queen-in-Parliament. The Monarch and her family are either a part and parcel of government, and therefore have as much right to public funds as the Department of Culture, Media and Sport, or they are not. Republicans have to realise that our constitution is entangled with the person of the monarch. It will literally take a revolution to do away with that.


:: Swordsman 7/10/2001 07:15:00 AM [+] ::
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Let's think about this one...

Which can be difficult if you're a pothead. Peter Lilley, the Daily Telegraph, the Libertarian Alliance and many other Tories are calling for the decriminalisation of cannabis use. Thankfully, The Times has advanced some good arguments against adopting this policy. I agree whole-heartedly with everything in this leader. I find Lilley's suggestion for cannabis rationing especially ridiculous. Suppose I am someone who does not use cannabis but who needs an extra bob or two. I can buy my cannabis ration perfectly legally and then sell it to someone who sells it to children alongside harder drugs. Tight regulation of this market will probably involve more infringements of civil liberty than the current market. I shall be interested to see what happens in Lambeth. Having lived there, it is hard to see how any difference will be detectable, as most of the population I came across there seemed stoned a good proportion of the time despite the current laws. Take a walk up Landor Road some time -- if you meet a sober person I can probably tell you his name. What needs to be done is to run this experiment somewhere where the drugs culture is not so prominent -- like Mayfair -- and see whether petty crime and disorder goes up. I'll bet you it does, and then a while later serious crime will begin. The most effective crime fighting strategies focus on petty crime and disorder, and pot smoking and dealing are strongly associated with those.

Which brings me back to a recurrent point on this site. The most effective Conservative strategy should be to concentrate on what makes local people's lives worse and stamp those things out (petty crime, disorder, local bureaucracy, unresponsive services, fatherlessness etc). When those problems are remedied and people are, essentially, civilised again, they will have the level of responsibility needed to restore the ancient freedoms and the world of Theodore Dalrymple might resemble again the world of George Orwell (not 1984 -- you know what I mean). Then I'll be only too happy for people to have a toke, but not when a by-product of that toke is little old ladies getting beaten up.
:: Swordsman 7/10/2001 06:55:00 AM [+] ::
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Something useful

The CENTER-RIGHT website enables you to subscribe to a weekly e-mail list of centrist/conservative/libertarian ideas in the shape of various op-eds published around the USA. Worth a look if you're interested in ideas.
:: Swordsman 7/09/2001 01:22:00 PM [+] ::
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The Duncan Smith Issue

I've had a couple of people tell me I'm being a bit hard on Iain Duncan Smith. Well, his "manifesto" in today's Telegraph makes for interesting reading. I agree with almost everything he says, and especially this bit:

"People who live in our villages and suburbs feel doubly alienated. Local services are cut back, so local pride is undermined. Local police stations, village post offices, community health councils, magistrates courts, bus services, grant-maintained schools, TA units, counties: all have been hit by Labour's centralising managerial consensus. Labour hates the local, the different, the colour that makes Britain what it is. Labour thinks society is the state: we know it is family, community and country. The man in Whitehall does not know best."

This is all good stuff, but, while I agree with them, his policies on health and school choice will be rubbished as extremist. We can't even get school choice through here in America!

Perhaps the best thing for Duncan Smith, and the party, would be a long, extended battle between him and Portillo in which Portillo threw everything at him in a dirty (from his side) campaign. If Duncan Smith can come through that while still appearing decent, honest and reasonable, articulating ideas that will both help and appeal to the man in the street, he will be seen as a credible leader. It's a challenge, because the man has the deck stacked against him. But Britain would probably be better off if he has the ability to overcome those odds.


:: Swordsman 7/09/2001 01:04:00 PM [+] ::
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Obviously the work of Tash...

My friend Eli Lehrer writes in the America's Future Foundation's Brainwash magazine about the plans to publish new novels set in C.S. Lewis' world of Narnia. He points out how the "sequels and prequels" to the Little House on the Prairie series abandon Laura Ingells Wilder's rough frontier libertarianism in favour of political correctness and fears the new Narnia books will lose Lewis' christian elements. I agree. There are few enough people alive today who could write like Lewis, so it seems almost inevitable that these books will dissolve into simple childish adventure stories. But I'll bet the Arab-like peoples to the south won't be villains...

Of course, Tolkien included very similar elements to his friend Lewis in the Lord of the Rings (Gandalf's fall and rebirth etc) but that message has been diluted by what SF reviewer Dave Langford memorably called the publication "of more clippings from the great man's wastepaper basket." I wonder if the release of the new LOTR movie will inspire the Tolkien estate to licence new stories set in Middle Earth? Eru help us.

What's the point for the Conservative Revival? Not much of one, but this is the sort of thing conservatives should decry that will strike a chord with voters. More Narnia books is a very "new Labour" idea, after all...
:: Swordsman 7/09/2001 09:05:00 AM [+] ::
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EU squeezed?

Columnist Paul Craig Roberts has a piece, entitled "U.S. foreign policy rut" in The Washington Times today in which he calls the EU "crypto-fascist" and says the US should ally with Russia. Ha! The UN Human Rights Commission vote and the blocking of the GE-Honeywell merger are starting to motivate American conservatives against Europe. The task at hand for Atlanticists is to encourage this while persuading them that Britain (and Ireland) should not be thrown out with the bathwater. At the same time, British eurosceptics should use this ammunition to show how perilous the EU's follies are for British, European and world security.
:: Swordsman 7/09/2001 07:50:00 AM [+] ::
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Leadership latest

The Daily Telegraph's Leader on the, er, leadership contest makes many sound points, although I must repeat that I don't think Iain Duncan Smith passes the "giggle test" which is so important. Let's face it, how many working class swing voters are going to vote for someone with a double-barrelled name (or pseudo double-barrelled, I'm not sure how his name is constructed) ? Never mind, the obvious image problems. I'd be only too happy for him to take a senior shadow position, whence he can radiate his obvious integrity, but I think he'd be a disaster as leader.

Having said that, if I were Portillo, I'd be trying to talk up Duncan Smith as the "candidate of the Right" and say that the ballot has to be between the two of them so that the party can send a clear message to the country that it has rejected the politics of the right. "We have clearly demonstrated today that the Conservative Party is the party of an outward-looking, moderate Britain, not a backward-looking, little England" etc etc. It'd be more difficult for the press to portray Portillo as an extremist then (as they did so successfully with Hague). Duncan Smith, of course, does not deserve this and it would be difficult to include him in a shadow cabinet after vilifying him, but from a purely political perspective it would not surprise me if that's what they did.

Overall, I'd still rather have Davis. He has the backbone and politics of Duncan Smith combined with the new broom appeal that's part of Portillo's platform. Plus he has no skeletons in his closet, as far as we're aware. Blair will pillory him as a nobody for a while, but I think Davis is clever enough to overcome that and portray it as arrogance.

We'll see how MPs really think tomorrow...
:: Swordsman 7/09/2001 07:41:00 AM [+] ::
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Wrongly labeled, wrongly argued

Nick Cohen "reports" in The New Statesman on how privatization failed to help the taxpayer. Well, no, he doesn't "report," he argues. This is an opinion piece and it is reprehensible of New Labour's house journal to portray it as reportage. But beyond that, his argument is piffling. All his examples are merely good old fashioned IT contracts, which the Government has labeled "PFI" projects in an attempt to fiddle the figures over how much private sector money they've attracted. The private sector has not put up its own money -- the old definition of PFI and what makes it different from public-private partnerships -- in these cases. The fact the the taxpayer has had to foot the bill for cost overruns is down to that old, old story: the public sector's project management skills are atrociously bad. They cannot draw up the contracts and they cannot monitor the project well enough to save the taxpayer money. This is especially the case in IT projects, where the public sector client normally doesn't understand what it's asking for, never mind what the private sector can deliver or how it can deliver it.
:: Swordsman 7/09/2001 06:53:00 AM [+] ::
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Zero Sense

The Best of the Web Today feature from OpinionJournal (the editorial branch of the Wall Street Journal) is always worth a read, especially for its "Zero Tolerance Watch" feature. Take a look at this one:

"That same question--is this America?--came to mind when we read this horrifying story from the Las Vegas Weekly. It seems that a 14-year-old boy, whom the paper identifies by the pseudonym "Joseph K.," was arrested at school and jailed for 10 days. Every time his grandparents, who are his legal guardians, came to visit him in prison, he was invasively strip-searched. Police didn't even tell him why until he'd been arrested until he'd been behind bars for three days.

"So what was his crime? A couple of girls had called to ask him to hang out. He said no, and they called back 15 minutes later. Irritated, he told them, "It's people like you who get on the Columbine lists." After his arrest, the Weekly reports:

"School police also found in Joseph K.'s locker and backpack more "evidence:" a class report he'd been writing about the Holocaust, which included sketches of Nazi symbols. Also taken was an essay he'd written for another class, answering the question: What's the biggest problem facing schools today? Joseph K.'s essay focused on school violence.

"After questioning the teen--Is he depressed? Did he have a "list?" Did he hate anyone?--police took him to his grandparents' house, grandpa signed a consent form specifically letting them search Joseph K.'s room, according to the grandfather. They not only searched the kid's room, including his computer files and email, they also went through grandpa's closet, where they found his shotgun. They took it and the boy's BB-gun.

"Prosecutors charged him with "harassment," then dropped the charges two months later. But Woodbury Middle School nonetheless kicked him out for a quarter. His grandparents were also told that he fits the "profile" of a school shooter. What would that profile be? "He's well-groomed, gets good grades and is well-liked.""

Tories should be collecting similar stories from the UK while asking the question "Are we a free country anymore?"


:: Swordsman 7/06/2001 12:54:00 PM [+] ::
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Oh, for Pete's sake...

David Heathcote-Amory completely misses the point in his article on privatisation in the new Spectator. Railtrack should have been able to finance investment perfectly well by borrowing against its balance sheet like any other private company. For massive infrastructure projects, then it should still have been able to get them built as long as there was a positive NPV. Subsidies should only have come to Railtrack indirectly via the TOCs (which themselves were looking to eliminate subsidy), unless there was significant social benefit in a major project for which the government could justify a contribution to close the funding gap. Instead, Railtrack got saddled with a useless first Chairman and massive political risk as succesive (useless) Transport secretaries/ ministers interfered where they had no right to. Railtrack is only the poster boy for renationalisation because government has forced it there!
:: Swordsman 7/06/2001 12:03:00 PM [+] ::
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Yes, Minister

My old Minister, Steve Norris, has a column in The Times today in which he basically repeats all the arguments we were making in the early-mid 90s for better investment in transport infrastructure. Steve is certainly right on the accounting issues and the overweaning power of Her Majesty's Treasury. He's on slightly dodgier ground when it comes to major projects. The trouble with these it that all the public sector project managers seem to think they're the new Brunel and gold-plate their project designs (sometimes literally). Was there any need for CrossRail's Paddington station to be a "cathedral in light"? If these schemes were designed by competition, they'd probably be a lot more affordable.

Oh, and Steve is being generous to the CrossRail Bill Committee when he ascribes rational reasons to it for throwing out the Bill. In my opinion, it was defeated because the Labour members reneged on a deal in order to embarass the government and Tony Marlow, the committee chairman, was a loose cannon appointed to the committee as punishment.
:: Swordsman 7/05/2001 08:43:00 AM [+] ::
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Clarke the Eurosceptic!

According to this Times article, Ken Clarke has decided that he's a eurosceptic after all. This all goes to show the folly of the new leadership election rules. Just as a Prime Minister must command the confidence of the House of Commons, a party leader must command the confidence of his or her fellow MPs. After all, if a PM is theoretically primus inter pares, the same must be true of a party leader. So Clarke is having to go through contortions to prove himself amenable to MPs. Not that it looks like working: from the number of declared MPs it looks like it's neck-and-neck between Clarke, Davis and Ancram to go out in the first round.
:: Swordsman 7/05/2001 08:00:00 AM [+] ::
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And one cheer more

The Telegraph goes on with the excellent article listing the recent affronts to liberty. The Tories have not been innocent parties in this, something the leadership contenders should remember.
:: Swordsman 7/05/2001 07:49:00 AM [+] ::
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Three Cheers!

The Daily Telegraph's editor, Charles Moore, begins a crusade for liberty. Huzzah! I am also happy that he makes it clear that this is not an outright libertarian crusade. I think that conservatives who believe in liberty should continually point out that our liberties are also our tradition. New liberties should be looked at as suspiciously as new restrictions on freedom. I am currently against decriminalising drugs, for instance, for the same reason as I against repealing the gun laws that were passed in the last century: Britain is no longer a mature enough society to handle these freedoms. It must grow up again, and demonstrate widespread understanding of responsibility. Otherwise, people would be lying around stoned on street corners and shooting each other with abandon (come to think of it, that's what certain inner cities are like now). Concepts like restraint and fair play have to be reintroduced as part and parcel of a liberating process. Without them, the nannies (of left and right) will always be proved right.
:: Swordsman 7/05/2001 07:30:00 AM [+] ::
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The founding father of "liberty"

The Mises Institute celebrates the 4th of July by publishing on the web some extracts from John Locke's Second Treatise on Government. Good for them!
:: Swordsman 7/05/2001 06:55:00 AM [+] ::
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More on the Dando Case

An illustrious correspondent assures me that the accused in the Dando case was "as guilty as sin" and that a defence lawyer had told him that, despite the entirely circumstantial case, the police had got the right guy.

Maybe so. But I don't care how guilty people say he is, I want to see evidence of the actual crime in question before I see anyone condemned. A circumstantial case is no case at all. It's called due process, and it is absolutely vital to justice. Blackstone said, famously, "It is better that ten guilty persons escape than one innocent suffer." This judgment lowers the bar, and that worries me.

Justice must never be made to dance to vengeance's tune, especially when that tune is written by the mob.

(I should add that I was actually impressed when Ann Widdecombe made basically this point when I explained American victims' rights laws to her.)

And I'll be very surprised if the Court of Appeal lets this one through...
:: Swordsman 7/03/2001 02:18:00 PM [+] ::
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You can't do that 'ere, mate

Campaigners fear Dando injustice says the Beeb, and it looks to me like they've got a case. This strikes me as the opposite of the OJ syndrome -- someone famous was murdered, so whoever the police say it was must be guilty (as opposed to someone famous is accused, so the police must be wrong). But what really gets me is the following extract:

"He was also arrested outside Kensington Palace, the home of Diana, Princess of Wales, in 1983 dressed in combat gear and with a 15ft rope coiled around his chest and a commando knife strapped in his belt, but was not charged over the incident."

Who arrested him? Willium from the Goons? "You can't abseil 'ere, mate." Good grief. No wonder crime rates are so high if you can do things like this and get away with it...
:: Swordsman 7/03/2001 08:06:00 AM [+] ::
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You're volunteering, whether you like it or not

Libby Purves speaks some sense on New Labour's UTTERLY IDIOTIC new scheme to include volunteer work in the national curriculum. This one really takes the biscuit. Nationalisation of so many public services that used to have a strong charitable element virtually destroyed the British tradition of philanthropy in the 40s and 50s. Now Blair seems to want to do the same to voluntarism. There should, of course, be a strong Tory policy on philanthropy, and especially corporate philanthropy, but it must be one of encouragment, not coercion. This is probably the silliest policy I've seen from NuLab, and that's saying something.
:: Swordsman 7/03/2001 07:16:00 AM [+] ::
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Blarkism?!

Good edition of the Telegraph today. Columnist Alan Judd makes the case for the rejection of what he calls "Blarkism" and the adoption of a philosophy based on freedoms -- or what the rest of us have been calling liberties for quite a while.
:: Swordsman 7/03/2001 06:56:00 AM [+] ::
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Mea culpa, mea maxima culpa

Portillo orders team to try life at the sharp end, according to the Telegraph. Has it come to this -- that the only way the Tories can show they care is to put on sackcloth and ashes? Maybe. But if I were Alistair Campbell, I'd be getting the "Appalling Tory Publicity Stunt Shows How Out of Touch They Are" press releases ready now. Now if they did it in secret, and told the world afterwards...
:: Swordsman 7/03/2001 06:42:00 AM [+] ::
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Night of the long knives next?

Blunkett summit alarms police is the headline in the Telegraph. And with good reason, too. Treating the police forces of England and Wales as one body, as this summit effectively does, is a very worrying devleopment. The police forces need to be reformed, badly, but making them a de facto national body controlled by the Home Secretary is an appalling way to do it. What next? Will we see the police forces closed down overnight and replaced by a single national body? Some months ago, New Labour gave the MOD police authority to use their powers away from MOD property. It wouldn't surprise me if that force is given more and more powers, in a very gradual fashion, over the next few months and years. A comparison to the SA/SS situation would be overblown, but I can't help thinking that way...
:: Swordsman 7/03/2001 06:36:00 AM [+] ::
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Ideal next leader of the Tories: Mercutio?

Peter Ridell writes in The Times challenging the idea that the low election turnout was due to complacency. Good for him! As he points out, turnout held steady in other years when the opposition was incompetent and the result a foregone conclusion. He has two particularly good points:

"[Young voters] regard government not as an ally but as interfering in their personal lives and being too close to big business to tackle questions such as the environment or globalisation."

and

"So there is the paradox of disenchantment and large-scale abstention among many younger, working-class people, but high expectations [of Labour] among middle-class converts."

This all leads me to think that the way to secure the votes of the disenchanted young is with a barnstorming, "plague on both your houses" appeal. This would acknowledge that the Tory party in the past was the party of people we don't approve of any more while portraying the government as a bunch of interfering authoritarians. For instance, the party should portray itself as the friend of small business but the scourge of monopolies (except for genuine entrepreneurial ones which are actually creating new markets eg Microsoft). At the same time it should point out the idiocies of the anti-globalisation movement in order to start a real debate on those issues amongst the young (see Ron Bailey's excellent article in July's Reason magazine for a useful summary).

Now I wonder what Jennie Bristow would have to say about that...
:: Swordsman 7/02/2001 01:14:00 PM [+] ::
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Headline Tells a Story (but not the one in the piece)

Keeping a stiff upper lip is the headline of this Suzanne Fields opinion piece in the Washington Times. In the print edition, the subtitle is "American hegemony bruises British pride." But as you'll see, the piece isn't really about that. In fact, at Townhall.com the piece is titled, "Brits focus on the Bushes, sort of." The Wash Times headlining strikes me as indicative of an attitude among American conservatives that has its correlative on the other side of the Atlantic, both of which are damaging to the cause of greater co-operation between the movements. The American attitude is, "You snooty Brits can't handle the fact that we're bigger than you now, can you?" (in other words, the juvenile attitude of the adolescent boy who realises he's stronger than his father). The British attitude is, "You immature Americans just can't realize how silly you are -- you'll never do anything worthwhile" (in other words, the short-sighted attitude of the stick-in-the-mud father who can't see his child's strengths and virtues). These attitudes are pernicious not only because they impede proper communications but becuase they reinforce each other. The anti-British American right and the anti-American British right need to be dealt with soon.
:: Swordsman 7/02/2001 08:09:00 AM [+] ::
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