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I wish Vince agreed with Nick (and Nick stuck by his own principles)


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In his conference speech, Nick Clegg said, The Conservatives, on the other hand, have made it clear that their priority is to help some families over others, with a tax break for married couples. A tax break for some, funded through the taxes of everybody else – that tells you everything you need to know about their values. While making an argument in the Finance Bill Committee against tax privileges for favoured industries, I said, We should not say, “Actually, everybody […]

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Government-bench MPs were decisive in moderating policy on Syria


Anyone reading the BBC news site this morning might think Labour, the party which led us into Iraq, had saved the day. Via BBC News – MPs debate Syria after ministers drop quick vote on action: MPs are set to debate military action in Syria in principle only, after the government dropped plans for a speedy vote on British intervention. A Commons motion to be debated later states that a final vote on action should be held only after UN […]

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Why iPhone and iPad work with Exchange but not OS X


Update: An update in the course of 2014 rendered this obsolete. Exchange email, calendars and tasks work well enough with iOS devices (iPad and iPhone) but not OS X. Google revealed the usual spread of despairing cries for help followed by suggestions of varying usefulness. A couple of top tips include the news that, when there is no field to enter your domain, you can specify your username as <domain>\<username>. This is apparently well-known to Windows system administrators (although why […]

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Finance Bill Committee coming to an end today


Today is the last day of the committee stage of this year’s Finance Bill. Details of all stages may be found here. I confess I look forward to it being over. I have been on the Committee since 23 April, making a sincere attempt to scrutinise every clause and promote my constituents’ interests. I spoke frequently, often criticising measures for one reason or another. I have certainly learned a great deal of the detail about the state of our country’s […]

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Is the EU maintaining the Rule of Law?


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 […]

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In the WSJ: No Need to Panic About Global Warming


Sixteen scientists write in the WSJ: A candidate for public office in any contemporary democracy may have to consider what, if anything, to do about “global warming.” Candidates should understand that the oft-repeated claim that nearly all scientists demand that something dramatic be done to stop global warming is not true. In fact, a large and growing number of distinguished scientists and engineers do not agree that drastic actions on global warming are needed. It’s a fascinating article and I […]

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More QE to be discussed today


If the Bank of England today decides on more Quantitative Easing, I’ll produce an article explaining why they are wrong, why QE is a grave source of injustice and how it will fail to revive the economy. In the meantime, here’s a flavour from James Tyler at The Cobden Centre: Governments achieve rising prices by encouraging the supply of new money.  This new money comes from the central bank via its control of the banking system.  The first users of […]

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The dangerous subversion of Germany’s democracy – Telegraph Blogs


Carsten Schneider, finance spokesman for the Social Democrats, spoke for many last week, denouncing the shabby back-room dealings as a scandal. “A new multi-trillion programme is being cooked up in Washington and Brussels, while the wool is being pulled over the eyes of Bundestag and German public. This is unacceptable.” via The dangerous subversion of Germany’s democracy – Telegraph Blogs.

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Lord Lawson on Margaret Thatcher’s approach to coal, nuclear and carbon


Via The Australian: Lord Lawson, 79, has long been an outspoken critic of the direction of climate change politics, doubting the ability of world leaders to agree on co-ordinated action, instead favouring adaptation and development of new technologies to replace carbon-intensive power generation. Comments in Australia about Baroness Thatcher’s position as one of the pioneers of action against climate change were “not an accurate portrayal”, he said. “I was as close to Margaret Thatcher as anybody at the time. The fact […]

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Britain told to find extra £1.6bn a year to fund EU – Telegraph


Despite national austerity measures, including a savage EU-IMF programme of cuts in Greece, The Daily Telegraph understands that a draft EU “multiannual financial framework” will increase spending by 12.5 per cent. The rise, at over five times the EU rate of inflation, will take Britain’s annual contribution to £13billion a year. via Britain told to find extra £1.6bn a year to fund EU – Telegraph. Out.

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