Blog

The Future of Local Government

The Future of Local Government

By Cllr Stephen Canning It’s Monday morning and Ellie’s recycling hasn’t been collected, frustrated she sends a DM to the council Twitter account on her way out of the house. Using geolocation it dispatches a drone to go collect the bag that was missed by the refuse collection and sends her a picture to show it being removed. Later, during […]

by · 25th November 2014 · Home Affairs
From Civic Conservatism to Civic Capitalism

From Civic Conservatism to Civic Capitalism

By Tom Hunt  The idea of Civic Conservatism was central to David Willetts when he wrote his seminal text on Modern Conservatism in 1992. He presented the argument that for a Conservative, the key aim should be to reconcile support for free markets – which deliver freedom and prosperity – with the belief in the power and inherent worth of […]

by and · 20th November 2014 · Home Affairs
Vladimir Putin’s bad week

Vladimir Putin’s bad week

Mr. Putin’s week started out bad when he left the G20 summit in a huff after Western leaders “ganged up on him” and turned worse after Germany announced they will not be making their 2020 co2 emissions target. It’s been a tough week for the Russian President, Vladimir Putin. First the Putin regime was singled out at the G20 summit in […]

by · 20th November 2014 · Foreign Affairs
Sheikh down: Mahmood’s questionable journalism

Sheikh down: Mahmood’s questionable journalism

By Steven George-Hilley The fake Sheikh story shows how crime and journalism can get too close for comfort. There is also the terrible pain and suffering that tabloid journalism at its worst can inflict on naive people who are just as flawed as the rest of us “I have to tell you I have never been so nervous in my […]

by · 13th November 2014 · Blog
Gideon’s Gridiron

Gideon’s Gridiron

Why George Osborne’s push for a Wembley based NFL team would be great for the London and American Football By Matthew Gass I usually catch up on enough news during the day, through Today/City AM in the morning and some browsing at lunch, that I don’t feel the need to grab an Evening Standard on the way home. However yesterday’s […]

by · 24th October 2014 · Tory Thought
Grayling has failed to learn from Labour’s mistakes

Grayling has failed to learn from Labour’s mistakes

The Justice Minister, Chris Grayling, is guilty of one of New Labour’s most egregious sins, making unnecessary laws for soundbytes. The Malicious Communications Act 1988 is a monstrous pre-internet law that thoroughly criminalises vast tracts of speech, including jokes, smut, and the glorious English tradition of being thoroughly rude about people who deserve it; so long as these are done […]

by and · 21st October 2014 · Home Affairs
Voteless Recoveries

Voteless Recoveries

By Matthew Gass Voters are giving governments less credit – and blame – for economic events Recoveries in the US and UK are, finally, becoming entrenched. However this has yet to yield dividends for the respective governing parties in their upcoming elections. In the US steadily improving job figures are have not given Barack Obama’s Democrats any reasonable prospective of […]

by · 6th October 2014 · Economy & Tax, Blog

Post-referendum Scotland – A massive Conservative & Unionist opportunity

I have just returned from Scotland, where I did some doorstep campaigning on behalf of the United Kingdom I love.  I left a Scotland in a state of nervous prostration, knowing it had done the right thing, but with a pang of guilt at not taking the emotionally attractive  route of becoming an independent nation.  For the young novices to […]

by · 23rd September 2014 · Home Affairs, Blog
Aitken on the ‘Nice Nixon’

Aitken on the ‘Nice Nixon’

In the last of our series of interviews with former Cabinet minister and Nixon biographer Jonathan Aitken, Paul Nizinskyj delves into the real Richard Nixon and how he differs from his media image as the ogre of US politics. Anyone who’s a fan of one of my favourite TV shows, Futurama, will be familiar with the popular caricature of Richard Nixon – jowly, cold, and taking […]

by · 21st September 2014 · Interviews

The Union rides again…but what can we learn from the vote?

The Union rides again… …but what can we learn from the vote? Jonathan Galbraith, 19 September 2014 “We came within a few thousand votes of losing the greatest country in the world.” Who said that?  David Cameron?  Alastair Darling?  Her Majesty?  David Bowie?  Clearly not Nicola Sturgeon…  None of the above as it happens: Warren Kinsella, former spin doctor to […]

by · 19th September 2014 · Home Affairs, frontpage