The Government has decided to remain a member of the European Defence Agency (EDA). The EDA is part of the Common Foreign and Security Policy (CFSP). It is yet another area of mission creep by the European Union towards a unified foreign affairs policy. Ultimately, it would rival and undermine […]
Read MorePost Tagged with: "Liberty"
Dido has said in 8 words what I have tried to say in thousands
On the way to church this morning, I heard Dido’s new song, No Freedom: No love without freedom – no freedom without love. The longer I spend in politics, the more convinced I become that expanding freedom is near impossible without high standards of individual behaviour towards others. Unless people […]
Read MoreKashmir update
Following the recent armed contact on the Line of Control dividing Kashmir, I asked the Foreign & Commonwealth Office for an update on its position: Steve Baker: What reports he has received on the armed contact between India and Pakistan in Kashmir on 6 January 2013? Mr Swire: We are concerned […]
Read MoreVia City A.M. – Boris on Starbucks and DC on judicial review
On the cover of City A.M. this morning, Boris Johnson argues that Starbucks must do more for the UK. Apparently, the Mayor said of Starbucks, “It needs to reflect very fast and very seriously on its position…Either it makes a change in its tax arrangements or does a lot more […]
Read MoreTomorrow’s most important political event?
Tomorrow, the BBC Radio 4 programme Analysis features Jamie Whyte’s Keeping the Free Market Faith at 20:30: The financial crisis has made many on the political right question their faith in free market capitalism. Jamie Whyte is unaffected by such doubts. The financial crisis, he argues, was caused by too much state interference […]
Read MoreLiberty, power and the Coalition
Just as the Coalition’s key measures on freedom come into force, in The Telegraph, Philip Johnston asks, Is the Coalition really giving us a freer society? We should all be feeling a little bit freer today. This month, key provisions of the Protection of Freedoms Act come into force; so now […]
Read MoreSelf-control: The secret ingredient that guarantees a successful life
This morning, City AM includes a column on Self-control: The secret ingredient that guarantees a successful life: WHEN psychologists isolate the personal qualities that predict positive outcomes in life, they consistently find two traits: intelligence and self-control. So far researchers haven’t learned how to permanently increase intelligence. But they have […]
Read MoreAnti-cronyism humour – the TARP song (2009)
The TARP song, which shows people can find a way to laugh at most things (contains moderate bad language): TARP is the Troubled Asset Relief Program, a massive bailout in the USA. In a similar vein, The Spectator recently reported a truth about current monetary policy: QE — the ultimate […]
Read MoreJohn Hampden Grammar School receives lottery funding
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 […]
Read MoreBook review: Popper, All Life is Problem Solving
Karl Popper’s All Life is Problem Solving is a wonderful collection of his speeches and shorter writings in two parts: Questions of natural science and Thoughts on history and politics. I first discovered Popper through The Open Society and its Enemies, a vehement defence of democracy against totalitarianism. Many of […]
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