Last night, we had the church hustings in High Wycombe at which I stated that I accept that all the candidates want to achieve the best possible outcomes for everyone. I was glad that this was the message with which the chairman ended the meeting. Conservatives are committed to a […]
Read MorePost Tagged with: "Social Justice"
The Future and its Enemies
I just finished Virginia Postrel’s challenging The Future and Its Enemies: The Growing Conflict over Creativity, Enterprise and Progress. It is an appeal to embrace the dynamism of life and overcome our fears for the future. It is about real progress, not state-driven, top-down control. Consider for example this, from […]
Read MoreProtected: The bureaucratisation of elder care
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Read MoreStreet Dreams
Today, I visited Jade and Jay, co-founders of Street Dreams to discuss their work in Wycombe’s deprived communities. Too many people wrongly assume that Buckinghamshire is a utopia without social problems, but, as I have reported before, there is every reason to support good quality social action here. Jay and […]
Read MoreSocial policy in the noughties
In areas such as welfare reform, criminal justice and the voluntary sector, this government has got it badly wrong time and again As the millennium dawned, record economic growth and stability gave Labour an unparalleled platform for social reform. Its intentions were commendable. Who could oppose “cutting the bills of […]
Read MoreCSJ: Dying to Belong
We are losing a generation of young people to gang violence. An incoming Tory government will have to start from scratch if it is going to make a difference. As Gavin Knight notes in “How to really hug a hoodie”, gang culture is increasingly plaguing deprived inner-city communities, and for too […]
Read MoreThe Law in Action in Wycombe
I spent this morning in the public gallery of one of Wycombe’s Magistrates’ courts. What I saw could have been a study for the Centre for Social Justice. What I witnessed today included the following cases (I dispense with the details for obvious reasons): Casual theft by a man with […]
Read MoreRemembrance Day, High Wycombe
Today, High Wycombe remembered the fallen. The occasion was magnificently put together and very well attended. I would like to share with you two things from the service — a prayer and the second half of the second reading: Lord God our Father, we pledge ourselves to serve you and […]
Read Morebella gerens: That’s right, whip the libertarian
From bella gerens, an excellent explanation and defence of libertarianism: The truth is that advocates of freedom are found all over the political spectrum, but the only true libertarians are the ones who advocate it at all times in all circumstances, from the bedroom to the wallet – who believe […]
Read MoreThe Conservative Party | News | The drug and crime culture portrayed in ‘The Wire’ is in British cities too
Via The Conservative Party | News | News | The drug and crime culture portrayed in ‘The Wire’ is in British cities too: In a keynote speech on crime and broken communities today, Chris Grayling has highlighted the “decade of neglect” under Labour – a decade in which “violence in our […]
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