Monthly Archives: January 2007

Last November the No Turning Back Group of MPs decided we needed to do more work on how to tackle the problem of too little social mobility.?? By clicking <a id="p44" href="http://www.johnredwoodsdiary.com/wp-content/uploads/2007/01/social-mobility-3.doc">here</a>??you can download a file which sets out my thoughts in this area. As always, I welcome your feedback.

I have no problems with a Labour Cabinet Minister choosing a better school for her child. I do have problems that there is insufficient choice for many under this government. I would like to see all schools becoming independent, with money from taxpayers sent to the schools chosen by parents up to a reasonable limit, [...]

It is shocking?? but not surprising to read of the damage being done to the army and navy by this government’s budget plans and poor management of the money. I have never known morale so low, or money so badly spent. The poor state of barracks and quarters has caught the attention of the media. [...]

If you want an independent England and an independent Scotland, with no Union, then of course my proposal is not for you. I think it is worth a try to give England a fair devolution settlement, and then see if the public would rather live in a Union with such a settlement or wants to [...]

All who have written in seem to agree we need change to Labour’s bodged devolution fix, and all seem to agree that the position of England needs recognition. There also seems to be universal support for banishing all the much unloved English regional government. The disagreement seems to be over whether the Union is worth [...]

Many of the local and national government services in my part of the world closed down from 22nd December until 2nd January, and many public sector workers (including MPs of course- we are locked out of Parliament by??a government that does not like us asking too many quesitons)??are not yet back at work. I would [...]

Churchill’s ringing phrase about an iron curtain coming down across Europe proved prophetic. For forty years Europe was split into a social democratic part in the west with considerable freedoms and an economic system that could keep?? within sight of the USA’s rear view mirror, and a communist east which performed so badly it was [...]

Let me try to explain my idea again. This is not official Conservative policy which is still being discussed. The official Conservative policy in 2005 was to create English votes on English issues in the Westminster Parliament to deal with the worst imbalance of Labour’s bodged and biased devolution "settlement". My proposal goes further. I [...]

Parliament does not meet this week – we are having another nineteen day gap. As someone who thinks there is too much legislation already I am not concerned that we are failing to produce new laws, but I am concerned that another nineteen??days pass when the government does not have to face questioning on any [...]

Devolution No, I am not proposing the abolition of the Scottish Parliament. I am suggesting that the same people that Scotland elects to Westminster should represent them in Edinburgh as well, whilst we English MPs represent people at Westminster on both the English and the UK issues. Scotland shows just how much money the public [...]