I began Conservative conference last Monday with a discussion hosted by ResPublica about empowering patients. The background was the report Power to the People – the mutual future of our National Health Service (PDF) produced for health mutual benenden. The report deals with the underlying reasons why the NHS is struggling to cope despite this Government protecting […]
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Cancer Prevalence in the UK 2010 – 2040
In the course of reading ResPublica’s report Power to the People: The mutual future of our National Health Service, I found this horrific chart: The section explaining “Why the NHS is on an unsustainable footing” clearly discusses pressures on the NHS from obesity, diabetes, cardiovascular disease, cancer, arthritis, dementia and depression. […]
Read MoreA brighter future for Wycombe Hospital
Today, I am publishing a report I commissioned from Durrow: A better future for Wycombe Hospital – a proposal for a long term & successful future. In the years since Wycombe was established as a district general hospital, healthcare demands have increased and changed while medical practice has become more specialised. As a consequence, hospitals […]
Read MoreAn important truth about tax: history shows a limit to what people will pay
Following the Prime Minister’s pledges on tax, the commentators are at work dissecting the implications. The Financial Times in particular is critical. An important fact seems to have been forgotten. The evidence of the past century is that there is a practical limit to how much tax a government can take. During […]
Read MoreToday: no global warming for 18 years
Via CNS News.com: The Earth’s temperature has “plateaued” and there has been no global warming for at least the last 18 years, says Dr. John Christy, professor of atmospheric science and director of the Earth System Science Center (ESSC) at the University of Alabama/Huntsville. Further, when asked why the UN […]
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Book review: The Golden Revolution – How to prepare for the coming global gold standard, Butler
Conservative economic policy is easily recognised when stated as balanced budgets, low taxes and sound money. Today, these are a distant prospect. For all the work the Government have done, this year’s net financing requirement is £144.9 billion, larger than the health budget (£140bn) or education (£98bn). As my weekend brief […]
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Book review: A Brief History of Liberty, Schmidtz and Brennan
A Brief History of Liberty by David Schmidtz and Jason Brennan “provides a comprehensive, philosophically–informed portrait of the elusive nature of one of our most cherished ideals”. Each chapter begins with a thesis, comprises a lively, engaging and well-referenced discussion and concludes with questions to consider and comprehensive notes. The […]
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What is the single best thing we can do for our health?
My wife Beth and I enjoyed a walk around West Wycombe and Downley with the Ramblers this morning. In the course of it, Beth (a GP) mentioned the video 23 and 1/2 hours: What is the single best thing we can do for our health? It’s an astonishing fact that we […]
Read MoreSpeech at Runnymede on the 799th anniversary of Magna Carta
Two years ago, I attended a two-day Liberty Fund conference on Magna Carta. Today, I was glad to join The Freedom Association to commemorate the 799th anniversary of Magna Carta at the memorial. Here’s an extended version of my speech: Seven hundred and ninety nine years ago today this place […]
Read MoreA “UKIP earthquake”? No – a landslide for disengagement
Politicians don’t care much about turnout. That’s why most politicians and commentators don’t talk about it. What politicians care about is winning. There’s plenty of news right now about a “UKIP earthquake“. The BBC reports UKIP gaining 30% in an area where they had not run before. They explain excitedly […]
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