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Today marks 12 months until the general election – and we have plenty to be excited about

Today marks 12 months until the general election – and we have plenty to be excited about

This time next year, under the terms of the Fixed Parliaments Act 2011, the polls will be open for the 56th general election of the United Kingdom. Just let that sink in. In exactly 12 months time, this country will be choosing its next government. Of course, to some people, ‘choosing’ may be seen as a little generous as not […]

by · 7th May 2014 · Home Affairs
The Dark Continent

The Dark Continent

Beginning in the late 1940s, The State of Africa by Martin Meredith looks at the development of the continent through time, as democracy replaced colonial rule, and this in turn was moulded into personal dictatorships and tyrannies, right up to the modern day. An excellent and thought-provoking book, and,  as the narrative wore on, I became increasingly disconcerted by what […]

by and · 27th April 2014 · Foreign Affairs
DCB – why UKIP don’t want a referendum

DCB – why UKIP don’t want a referendum

UKIP should not be written off as a protest party in the European elections, former deputy leader David Campbell Bannerman tells Paul Nizinskyj, as more MEPs means more cash to fund a Westminster campaign – scuppering any chance of Britain finally having a referendum on the EU. David Campbell Bannerman is a member of one of the fastest growing clubs […]

by · 27th April 2014 · Interviews, UKIP in Focus
Expecting a long life?

Expecting a long life?

Expecting a long life? The latest proposal from the Pensions Minister may help you here. Steve Webb has announced that the Government is considering a proposal to provide pensioners, upon retirement, with an estimate of how long they might live.  Morbid stuff, perhaps, but the thinking is that people tend to under-estimate how many years they might get before they shuffle off […]

by and · 23rd April 2014 · Economy & Tax
For a party so opposed to hereditary peers, Labour is surprisingly dynastic

For a party so opposed to hereditary peers, Labour is surprisingly dynastic

For a party hellbent on removing the hereditary element from the House of Lords, Labour is a surprisingly dynastic party. Euan Blair, 29-year-old son of the three-term Labour PM, has been touted as the next candidate for the safe seat of Bootle, Merseyside, presumably on the understanding the  incumbent Joe Benton, 81, does the decent thing and takes back his vow […]

by · 15th April 2014 · Home Affairs
Who regulates the regulators?

Who regulates the regulators?

Tuesday’s Times brought news that the Financial Conduct Authority has managed to land itself in some hot water with the Chancellor.  The FCA—set up by the Coalition Government to draw a line under the Brown-era Financial Services Authority—has been accused of “precipitating a disorderly market in insurers’ shares” by leaking to the press that it intended to review whether closed […]

by and · 7th April 2014 · Economy & Tax
Nigel Adams: King Coal isn’t dead

Nigel Adams: King Coal isn’t dead

Selby & Ainsty MP Nigel Adams talks to Paul Nizinskyj about falling unemployment, Nigel Farage’s real motives and why coal should make a comeback. There are an abundance of myths about Britain’s coal industry, most of which have about as much credibility as the Iroquois myth that North America grew out of the back of a giant turtle. One of […]

by · 6th April 2014 · Tory Thought, Interviews
The young are natural Conservatives

The young are natural Conservatives

Young people today have become used to an insecure world: global security events, economic shocks and pervasive uncertainty are all their ‘normal’. But what effect has this had on those young people? Are they pessimistic, worried, scared? No. Multiple pieces of research into the attitudes of Millennials (those aged 18-33) has found rising levels of optimism and a sense of […]

by · 2nd April 2014 · Home Affairs
John Redwood: There is only grey

John Redwood: There is only grey

Ahead of our panel event on public service reform on Tuesday, Paul Nizinskyj speaks to John Redwood MP about the tangled web of public and private delivery in the UK, why fuel bills are high and that EU referendum. You never get a straight answer with John Redwood. It isn’t because he’s evasive or pushing a line or bound by […]

by · 30th March 2014 · Tory Thought, Interviews
Annuity reform: the rabbit in the Chancellor’s hat

Annuity reform: the rabbit in the Chancellor’s hat

Jonathan Galbraith on why Osborne’s big Budget idea on annuity reform should be welcomed. The big surprise in George Osborne’s Budget last week —the proverbial rabbit in the Chancellor’s hat—is the change in pensions rules which will remove the requirement to purchase an annuity at retirement from April 2015 onwards.  An annuity is an insurance product that allows you to […]

by and · 28th March 2014 · Economy & Tax