Monthly Archives: September 2010

Left wing politicians always wish to believe there is a crock of gold for the Treasury if only it showed some determination to end tax evasion and tax avoidance. They think these crimes and malpractise are the preserve of the rich. Tackling it more resolutely would be just, as well as filling a black hole [...]

The public spending debate in the media continues apace, with the crucial numbers left out. The debate about defence spending has been one of the most active, presumably because the lobbies in defence have been especially keen to put their views to the media whilst arguments rage within Whitehall. The meetings at Westminster on this [...]

The Papal visit has become an opportunity or an excuse for the media to ask some fundamental questions about what kind of a country and people we now are. I was brought up in a constitutional monarchy. The Queen was Head of an established Protestant Church and ceremonial Head of State. The Prime Minister was [...]

This summer I fitted in a weekend visit to some Bordeaux vineyards (at my own expense as part of my holiday before you start to hurl your allegations!). I also visited some English farms, not in my own constituency. The Bordeaux vineyards show what can be achieved, at the top end, by the vigorous pursuit [...]

Throughout the long period of debate about the “cuts” prior to seeing how the extra cash amounts in the budgets for the next few years will be allocated, we have heard mainly about the defence and welfare budgets. There has been little attention paid to transport, the local government grant settlement, public sector housing, the [...]

Twenty five years ago today Laura Ashley died. She was in the great British tradition of designer entrepreneurs who create large businesses out of their taste, passion and drive. We need more of her like to help pull us out of recession, and to create the extra jobs our country needfs. Josiah Wedgewood led the [...]

Yesterday I attended a meeting organised by the National Housing Federation where a number of public sector housing groups came to lobby MPs. Their gloomy presentation was based on the usual precepts that state direction and control and more use of the state cheque book were the only possible answers to a problem. We were [...]