Some posts are not accepted as they misunderstand this site. It is not a Conservative party site. If you have criticisms of the Conservatives take it up with them. The electorate made clear their disagreements with the last government. This is an independent site geared to examining government policy and how it could be changed for the better.
When we had a Conservative government I allowed plenty of criticism. I set out my own disagreements with the net zero policy, with the Bank of England’s wild ride, with tax rises, with the extent and nature of the covid lockdown and much else. I am now doing the same with a Labour government. I rarely wrote about Labour when we had a Conservative government and I will rarely write about Conservative or Reform now. We are likely four years or more away from an election. We need to find ways to influence this government to reduce the damage being done . Nearer the election Opposition party policies are more relevant. Now what we need the fragmented Opposition parties to do is to lead and where possible get behind good campaigns to change this government’s policies.
February 10, 2025
Good luck with trying to influence or change the policy of this government Sir John.
From you own record, it is clear you were unable to influence the Tory government when you were a member of Parliament on their team!
The complex international web of interconnectivity, that is now so woven into our fabric of political engagement, having thoughts and ideas at the local or national level, needed to impact a better outcome are simply ignored.
The politicians paid from the public purse are now more focused on international rules and regulations, than they are on improving the situation of their own constituents and national needs.
Net Zero being a case in point.
Reply Not so. I helped change their approach to new UK oil and gas exploration and development and to phase out of petrol cars. Got them to see imports didnt cut world CO 2
February 11, 2025
Indeed, but why did these fools ever think that imported gas, oil or wood cut CO2? Why did they even think that cutting CO2 was something positive anyway? A bit more atmospheric CO2 plant tree and crop food is a net good anyway.
February 11, 2025
Plus even if cutting manmade CO2 were a good thing (it is not) the UK cutting home CO2 and simply exporting more CO2 production overseas will clearly do nothing to reduce world CO2 levels which is what they (wrongly) claim matters.
February 11, 2025
Also note that they thing they push to reduce CO2 – EVs, public transport, wind, solar, heat pumps, walking… do not reduce CO2 when fully accounted for – many actually increase CO2 as EVs do.
February 11, 2025
Do you have (or can you point to) any figures that back that assertion?
February 11, 2025
I can answer that one – because 99.9% of scientists (with degrees in relevant science subjects from top universities) told them!
February 10, 2025
But when I point to some piece of nonsense which should be exposed you say we should not give it airtime!
February 10, 2025
Understood, Sir John. But many of us have been followers on the site when you were a conservative MP and critical of the then conservative government. So you can’t blame us if we sometimes want to comment on the conservative opposition, or what often appears to be a lack of it.
It is great that you are still posting every day, and showing common sense, which most of our MPs seem to totally lack! The greatest frustration for most of us is that the conservative government simply ignored you, and it is unlikely the Labour one will take any notice. Is there not some way that you can show us how to campaign to change things for the better? For example, a recall system for MPs or referendums on major decisions?
We appreciate your hard work in posting daily, which you don’t have to do. Please keep up the good work.
February 10, 2025
John, very good. What we do need also is a way of getting your insights in front of a larger audience! Why not encourage your supporters to bring (good) ideas on that?
February 10, 2025
The problem is John there’s not a cigarette paper difference between the tories, limp dumb and liebour policies. Just minor tweaks. I think most posters are critical of governance in general and want to see the uniparty dead and buried
We look over the Atlantic in awe at what a patriotic president is doing vis a vis the shower of grifters in Westminster.
We have four more years to endure these chancers and the tories have no alternative to offer. It is acceptable to say tha after 14 years of chronic mismanagement your old party has set the tone for 2TK and his fellow travellers.
February 10, 2025
Thank Sir John. for those crystal clear terms of wisdom and common sense and much needed economic action
All these things simple, spot from an experienced politician and active economist.
February 10, 2025
Oh, I think the Labour government could collapse long before a general election is due.
For lots of possible reasons, predicting which straw breaks the camels back is hard, but there are lots of potential straws. Examples including the unions pulling funding and support from the Labour party, or those that constantly loan the UK money & add to our national debt getting upset for some reason and pulling the plug on any more borrowing, or Trump falling out with Labour in the UK and imposing some sanction or other, or good old fashioned unrest amongst the voters. Any of these things could easily happen, and would be serious issues for the government.
So, as much as its your site John, I would always have one eye towards what would happen if the government did collapse and an election called.
February 10, 2025
Trump or Putin could decide to annex UK under threat. Just what would we do to reject such a takeover?
Threaten either with nuclear weapons? We can’t fire any without Trump’s approval.
Perhaps this possibility should be considered, frankly EU have nothing to protect us with.
France, Israel and India might step in but I doubt it.
February 11, 2025
Foreign powers are destroying this country by stealth, by replacing the population slowly but surely with out of control immigration. Helped by our own ruling class. There wont be a homeland to defend in a few years.
February 11, 2025
This Camel has a huge majority and they will cling to power as long as they can. They have already cancelled some local elections in an attempt to suppress democracy.
February 10, 2025
Sir John
I fully understand, it your site your rules. The only however, in a matter of hours of you posing your thoughts to us the media has moved everything on, similar things that affect our daily life, admittedly probably 90% of what they publish is spurious and just click-bait to expose viewers to their sponsors(advertisers).
I would guess it is clearly hard to strike the right balance for you and your contributors. From my perspective the Conservatives are still in the frame as the bulk of the distasteful thing’s today’s Government is involved in were created by them. Those 2 Party’s are barley separated in deed and thought.
That said don’t stop, your efforts are deeply appreciated
February 10, 2025
“This is an independent site geared to examining government policy and how it could be changed for the better.”
Simply do the complete reverse of everything done by Starmer. Ditch net zero, have the size of the state, cut taxes, have a bonfire of red tape, have free and fair competition between state on private (education, energy, housing, transport…have high skilled immigration only and at sensible numbers…
Starmer is just continuing the dire socialist legacy of Major, Blair, Brown, Cameron, Boris, Sunak but he is even more appalling.
We know what is needed but how on earth do we ever get anyone to actually deliver this! They all promise one thing and do the complete reverse. Even if we had a Reform Majority would they actually deliver or be able to deliver? Most power rests with left, net zero, pro EU Judges and Lawyer and self interested Civil Servants it seems.
February 10, 2025
I accept this is not ( nor should be) a Conservative Party site. However the realities should be accepted. Sir John Redwood is a former Conservative M.P. and instinctively writes from his own right wing perspective and indeed most contributors to this site, including myself are rather right-wing. So Labour will in the modern parlance ‘take no lessons from us’ (even the Conservatives in government until 2024 took few ‘lessons’ from Sir John Redwood, let alone any of the site contributors). Sir John (and to a minimal extent some of us) still have a bit of credibility with some Conservatives and maybe even some in Reform. So any attempt to have ‘influence’ (which is difficult – elected politicians are resistant to influence from unelected outsiders – and as a former Councillor I can testify to that) should be with Conservative and Reform.
Incidentally I suspect an election may not be 4 years away : I suspect Labour will be aiming for October 2028, at least if they think they would win then.
February 10, 2025
A little objectivity : good to see
February 10, 2025
I think it is often apposite to get to the root cause of an issue, and fair to criticise past holders of responsibility for the mess we’re in. It’s all very well you saying “look, the government is doing this that or the other-running out of fuel, running out of money, BoE has a daft policy…”
Well just who appointed this BoE governor?
Who actually spent all the cash on a stupid Covid stay-at-home policy?
Who closed our gas storage?
Even Reform, I think, couldn’t have reversed all of the stupidities of the last government in 6 months. It’s a shame this lot are doubling down on them, but still valid to identify the starting point, else how do we ever learn how not to rehash these errors?
February 11, 2025
Well just who appointed this BoE governor?
It was Boris, Javid and Sunak and the equally dire one before that Mark Carney was appointed by Osborne and Cameron. Both were and are dire, lefty, big government, team world, net zero fans & innumerate dopes. One a sort of academic read history the other PPE Oxon.
February 11, 2025
Sir John, I’m genuinely surprised that you think this government might be ‘influenced’ by anything except a split in its own party that might prevent it pushing through whatever the hell it wants to rub our faces in. All the signs are of a brutal, dictatorial regime that sees its chance of uniting in a performative punishment of the common enemy, the majority of British indigenous opinion, weakened by a shaming lack of electoral representation.
February 11, 2025
To clarify a potential ambiguity in my comment: ‘the common enemy, the majority of British indigenous opinion, *which is* weakened by a shaming lack of electoral representation.’
February 11, 2025
Dear Sir John Redwood,
Thank you for continuing sharing your insights and wisdom on this site.
Your efforts and words with those of many contributors provide strength.
February 11, 2025
The biggest problem with this site, is its success …..we know that most in the party machine read this site, and its often the only vehicle to project a view point
Long may this site continue, I still surprised that the political parties don’t develop their own along the same lines
February 11, 2025
Hang on John. You assume that Labour will remain as a coherent party.
In my opinion, there is a real chance that many MPs will walk across the floor of the House in all sorts of directions. Because of too much top-down dictat from parties, and the erosion of local democracy, MPs are not well alligned to their respective parties right now and I can see some changes coming in that regard.
Imho, with pressure from voters who do not like socialist/weird policies, will there be an exodus of MPs from Labour to other parties.
The leadership may not want to deal, but MPs are capable of voting with their feet. I don’t think any party – including Labour – will be immune to this realignment, when it comes.
February 11, 2025
“We need to find ways to influence this government to reduce the damage being done.”
According to NESO (National Energy System Operator) their suggested Pathways to clean power by 2030 (well, actually 95% clean power) “will involve an investment programme averaging over £40 billion annually”. No maximum given and is likely to be an HS2 estimate.
This is £10,000 per household and will result in insecure energy that will require, again according to NESO, “customer engagement” (aka rolling blackouts) in order to prevent a complete collapse of the grid.
How can we influence government when the opposition is also fully signed up to this Net Zero madness?
February 11, 2025
PS:
It was Carl Sagan, an American astronomer, planetary scientist and science communicator who said that giving control of a country that is highly dependent upon science and technology to a group who have no understanding of science, technology or engineering is a certain recipe for disaster.
With PPE and arts graduates in control of the Civil Service, in particular the CCC and DESNZ, we are witnessing the two biggest mistakes we can make. Firstly to unilaterally act upon the CAGW scam and then to compound the error by using expensive, low energy density, unreliable, weather dependent, chaotically intermittent renewables instead of pursuing affordable, reliable, high energy density and secure nuclear.
And who would believe we would be spending £40bn + annually on attempting to create an energy system within 5 years, where important parts of the necessary technology do not yet exist and without a vote in Parliament?
February 14, 2025
How can any of the opposition parties function when they are constantly shouted down from the government side? It is disgusting and the Speaker should be more prominent. This week was terrible at PM’s Questions.