One of my colleagues passed on this quote regarding tax avoidance from about 80 years ago: Lord Clyde, President of the Court of Session, ruled: “No man in the country is under the smallest obligation, moral or other, so to arrange his legal relations to his business or property as to enable the Inland Revenue to put the largest possible shovel in his stores. “The Inland Revenue is not slow, and quite rightly, to take every advantage which is open [...]
Tags: HMRC, Justice, Rule of Law, Tax
John Hampden Grammar School has been awarded a grant of £44,800 by the Heritage Lottery Fund for a student-led project on the history of the school and its role in providing education in High Wycombe since 1893. My researcher, Tim Hewish, is a former pupil of the school and is especially looking forward to seeing the final result. In the Palace of Westminster, on the right as you enter Central Lobby from Westminster Hall, there is a statue of John Hampden [...]
Tags: Education, Freedom, High Wycombe, John Hampden, John Hampden Grammar School, Liberty, Rule of Law
Last week, after watching the documentary Kashmir’s Torture Trail on Channel Four, I submitted a written question to Alistair Burt, the Foreign Minister for the Indian sub-continent. I asked what assessment he had made of the allegations of human rights abuses made in the documentary and if he would make a statement. I reproduce the full answer below: We are aware of the Channel 4 documentary on Kashmir. We monitor developments in Kashmir closely and regularly raise concerns about the [...]
Tags: Channel 4, Democracy, FCO, Freedom, Human Rights, India, Kashmir, Kashmir Torture Trial, Liberty, Pakistan, Rule of Law
Tom Bingham’s The Rule of Law is a lively and enjoyable short book on a much misunderstood but relied-upon subject. My quick guide to the Rule of Law was inspired by Hayek’s The Constitution of Liberty. Perhaps in being contemporary, Bingham reflects the growth of state power since Hayek’s book was published in 1960: he seems somewhat more flexible. Nevertheless, on pages 41 and 42, Bingham relates the story of the man who pleaded guilty to offences relating to tobacco smuggling under [...]
Tags: Books, Rule of Law
Zadok the Priest, I Vow to Thee My Country and Land of Hope and Glory played together on the BBC? A public and press rounding on the Beeb for their lamentable coverage of the Diamond Jubilee? A joy. Occasionally, someone – too often someone frothing at the mouth – will speak or write of New Labour’s attempt to eradicate traditional British institutions in the name of progress. There’s sometimes talk of “cultural Marxism”, which most of us know as “political correctness”, and [...]
Tags: BBC, Great Britain, Jubilee, Liberty, Media, New Labour, Rule of Law
Successive governments have incentivised people to buy ‘greener’ cars which use less fuel. Apart from outrageously high fuel duty with 20% VAT on top, the other tool has been Vehicle Excise Duty graded to promote low CO2 cars. Having herded people down this road, apparently the Government now finds it cannot afford to lose the tax revenue. The Telegraph reports Drivers punished for going green: The Daily Telegraph has learnt that government officials have begun private discussions with the motoring industry [...]
Tags: Cars, Conservatism, Environment, Liberty, Rule of Law, Tax, Transport
Last week, the Foreign Secretary launched the Government’s Human Rights and Democracy Report. The Report is a comprehensive look at the human rights work of the Foreign & Commonwealth Office around the world. The Foreign Secretary has said that 2011 will stand out as a positive year for human rights and democracy. He went on to say that the UK is one of the most active governments in the world when it comes to promoting human rights and that this [...]
Tags: Democracy, FCO, Human Rights, India, Kashmir, Pakistan, Peace, Referendum, Rule of Law, William Hague
In their haste to use ever greater state power to solve the problems caused by excess state power, the European nations intend, it appears, to use an EU institution, the ECJ, to arbitrate disputes under a non-EU treaty. This may seem arcane, but EU matters always are. It’s one of the reasons democrats and lovers of liberty keep losing. The world long since ought to have learned that politicians must obey the law, in crisis as in routine. And yet [...]
Tags: EU, Europe, Rule of Law, Sophistry
Please note: this post was written at my request by Michael Dowsett, after yet another European policy which breached the Rule of Law, as classically understood. – Steve The rule of law is a phrase which is widely used but perhaps little understood. Far from being merely the sum total of all the laws passed by a particular central or local administration plus courts to enforce them, the term ‘the rule of law’ draws on a higher concept of laws [...]
Tags: Bastiat, EU, Freedom, Hayek, Justice, Rule of Law
On the horror of the European Stability Mechanism: The path on which the EU is embarked is not only profoundly anti-democratic but it also tramples the classical Rule of Law. The benefits of trade are tremendous but that shouldn’t stop us being concerned that our neighbours are headed this way. The Treaty is here. It does at least provide for vetos over some of the worst decisions possible. Proposals for Euro breakup are here.
Tags: Democracy, EU, Financial Crisis, Rule of Law
Steve Baker is MP for Wycombe. He was previously an RAF officer then a business software consultant. Find out more...
Steve holds regular surgeries in High Wycombe. If you would like an appointment, please call 01494 448408.
