Published on
23 December 2011
Posted in British Politics, Christianity, Public Policy, Religion
Last Friday, in Oxford, the Prime Minister gave a speech to mark the four-hundredth anniversary of the King James Bible. He began that speech with the following words: I know there are some who will question why I am giving this speech. And if they happen to know that I’m setting out my views today […]
Published on
16 December 2011
In a prior blog-post headed, Property Rights: Do They Also Include Responsibilities?, it was argued that ownership of a property not only grants rights, such as that of determining who should or should not reside in or on it, but also responsibilities. The outstanding responsibility is that towards the community or society in which the […]
Published on
18 November 2011
Posted in British Politics, Europe, Marriage & Family, Public Policy, Social Commentary
Last week Channel Four television programmed a documentary entitled Go Greek For A Week. Three distinct individuals were shown living as their counterparts in Greece had been doing according to employment and circumstance. The programme focused on the financial generosity of the Greek State, and also on the ease with which taxation might be evaded. […]
Published on
27 October 2011
Posted in British Politics, Europe, Political Economy, World Affairs
The parliamentary debate which occurred on Monday, upon a non-binding motion proposing that a referendum on the UK’s membership of the EU be held, has been widely portrayed as a debate internal to the Conservative party, with its leadership and frontbench squaring up to those on the backbenches. More specifically, the issue has been portrayed […]
Published on
21 October 2011
Posted in British Politics, Human Life, Public Policy, Social Commentary
The Intergenerational Foundation, a Think-tank that ‘promote(s) fairness between generations’, has just launched a press release headed 25 Million Unoccupied Bedrooms. It claims that ‘each generation should pay its own way’, and that ‘British policy-makers have given undue advantages to the older generation at the expense of younger and future generations’. The press release promotes […]
Published on
12 October 2011
Posted in British Politics, Public Policy, Social Commentary
Last week saw the end of the Conservative Party Conference, the last of the three major party conferences. The usual practice at such events is that leaders seek to inspire party activists and to unveil strategies for electoral success. Such strategies can often be captured by a catchy phrase or term. One such is the […]
Published on
21 September 2011
The Government is currently undertaking a consultation about the National Policy Framework for house-building. The aim is to simplify the policies binding local councils and house-builders. The responses of groups such as the National Trust, Woodland Trust and Campaign for the Protection of Rural England have – predictably – been negative. The National Trust is […]
Published on
7 September 2011
Posted in Abortion, British Politics, Human Life, Public Policy
The amendment tabled by MPs Nadine Dorries and Frank Field to the Health and Social Care Bill has provoked much media controversy. It would hardly be an exaggeration to suggest that this one amendment, among the hundreds proposed, has come altogether to dominate coverage. To a casual reader of the amendment as tabled it is […]