Tag Archives: UK Politics

I am genuinely sick and tired of being called far-right. ‘Right-wing’ does not mean “everything that a leftie disagrees with”. I am genuinely sick and tired of being called far-right. I disagree with David Cameron, but I also disagree with a lot of lefties and left-wing policies, but that does …

Warning of economic Armageddon didn’t work, and nor did peddling ludicrous conspiracy theories about government perfidy. So now, prominent Remainer opinion-setters are resorting to tear-stained pleas that Brexit is so personally stressful as to be injurious to their mental health One of the more annoying aspects of modern political journalism …

Those who make a Christian case for open borders and uncontrolled mass immigration do not apply the same altruism they demand of society to their own personal lives, and neither would tearing down national borders improve the common good. Those who use their faith (or even more cynically, the faith …

Political tribalism is usually discussed as a pathology afflicting low-information voters and preying upon the working class, but since the EU referendum we have seen many leading pro-EU figures from the political, journalistic and academic elites – people who often make a great show of their education and superior capacity …

Faint signs of optimism for the future of British conservatism, and an opportunity to pitch Stepping Stones 2022 The other day, after hitting “publish” on another one of my increasingly repetitive blog posts pressing the case for positive renewal within the British conservative movement, a friend had this to say about me: …

I have refrained thus far from writing about the Oxfam prostitution/rape scandal as the fallout metastasises throughout the charity sector, but I’m sure that regular readers can already guess exactly what I think about a largely government-funded pseudo-charity staffed by overpaid mediocrities who seem to think that their primary job …

It’s great that Universities Minister Sam Gyimah is embarking on a tour of university campuses to spread and defend the Conservative message in traditionally hostile territory. Now we just need the government to come up with a conservative platform that’s actually worth defending Sam Gyimah appears to be on manoeuvres. …

In this 14th issue of the Globe on the Weekends podcast, Isaac Anderson interviews Alex Illingworth, about the the state and history of conservatism in both major parties, debate and free speech in universities. You can listen to it here.

When unelected technocrats increasingly set policy and carry out the day-to-day business of governance we should not be surprised that electoral politics, castrated and less consequential than ever before, is becoming a circus freak show Michael Brendan Dougherty has a new piece in the National Review which so succinctly captures the state …

When every single issue is falsely portrayed as a burning crisis, none of our national challenges will receive the considered attention they deserve “We would rather be ruined than changed We would rather die in our dread Than climb the cross of the moment And let our illusions die.”  ― …

What do the latest imported smash hit musical from America and Britain’s historic vote for Brexit have in common? The answer, it turns out, is nearly everything. It has been frequently remarked, that it seems to have been reserved to the people of this country, by their conduct and example, …

Government indecision and cowardice over the expansion of Heathrow Airport is just one tangible, high profile manifestation of the British political disease There is no better analogy for the broken, dysfunctional nature of British politics and strategic government planning than the ongoing saga over whether and how to expand London’s …

A seat in the House of Commons is not a job for life. And just as the Parliamentary Labour Party should not be encumbered with MPs increasingly at odds with their local constituency parties, so Tory MPs should not be immune from deselection if they repeatedly ignore the priorities and …

This was a holding budget designed to buy the government some political breathing room, and so Philip Hammond kicked the can down the road on nearly all of the major fiscal and structural issues facing Britain I intended this piece to be just a few disjointed thoughts reflecting on Philip …

David Green, author of the upcoming “Inclusive Capitalism: He we can make independence work for everyone“, has a good piece in the Spectator about the extent to which the modern Conservative Party has abandoned the goal of maximising liberty. Bonus points to Green for quoting Michael Oakeshott, with whose work …

For many years, the most angry and bitter invective in our political discourse hailed from the far Left and Right. But now it is the supposedly rational and pragmatic centrists who are becoming unhinged and increasingly uncivilised. Like the stopped clock which still tells the correct time twice a day, …

A rare moment of honesty from an arch-Remainer New Statesman staff writer Jonn Elledge – whom I recently described as “worse than a garden variety xenophobe” for his heinous statements about elderly Brexit voters, much to his indignant outrage – recently engaged in a minor Twitter spat with Tim Montgomerie …

Renewed calls by leftists for a 100% inheritance tax force us to have the argument all over again – does the state exist to serve us, or do we exist to serve the state? I’m sure that many others have already published their own incredulous reactions, but I cannot let …

Through their arrogance and sheer incompetence, the Tories have turned an entire generation away from conservative politics. But the solution is not to go marching off to the socialist Left It doesn’t have to be like this. It doesn’t have to be the case that people under 30 years of …

Despite its complete and utter failure to deliver a solid electoral victory for the conservatives, or to meaningfully detoxify the Conservative Party’s “nasty party” image, the woolly, nebulous and thoroughly unhelpful concept of “compassionate conservatism” refuses to die. Following Theresa May’s abject failure in the 2017 general election – losing …