Three Thousand Versts of Loneliness

It might be calculated to appeal to Guardian readers, as one 3000 Versts reader alleges, but David Cameron's 'Big Society' message is absolutely compatible with traditional Tory philosophy . Conservative means realising progressive ends. It is a message which will maintain the party's micro-resurgence. The 'centre ground' is not some insidious euphemism. It is the territory on which elections are won. The electorate has taken the benefits of Thatcherism, banked them, and added the Blairite benefits of public service investment. Now they want a reduced deficit and a continued commitment to providing excellent education and health provision. Modern Conservatives are committed to providing these essential services. They also want to squeeze out a centralised state, as if it were a toothpaste tube, enabling people who work in particular areas to take decisions for which THEY are best equipped. In order to win the election, David Cameron must emphasise this mes...

Heresy is the theme for Burke’s Corner’s coverage of the Tory conference, and today the shibboleth BC chooses to transgress is the notion that Conservatives should always advocate tax cuts. Yesterday George Osborne gave a speech which offered a defence of progressive taxation, as a justifiable obligation, levied to the end of a fair and functioning society. As far as Brian is concerned, free market liberalism is not the only, or even the main strand, which comprises modern conservatism, and although the shadow chancellor ‘genuflected in the direction of the tabernacle of low taxes’ he is edging towards a more authentic vision, acknowledging that slashing taxes is not always a free standing virtue. This blog has previously stressed the importance of the Conservative party keeping distance between its modern incarnation and its Thatcherite past. Although Burke’s Corner argues persuasively that combating budget deficit now represents ‘the great cause of conservatism’, it is vital t...

Keith Gilmour has emailed a thought provoking list which should stimulate some debate. It consists of 65 means by which, its author contends, 'broken Britain' can be mended. Some are controversial, some are incontrovertible common sense, some are easier said than done. See what you think. 65 Ways to Fix Broken Britain By Keith Gilmour Recruit (and reward) whistleblowers to expose waste and inefficiency in public services Curtail the out-of-control 'I trip, therefore I sue' compensation culture Ditto the offence industry Encourage everyone to spring clean their possessions and give to charity shops anything they don't want or need Do more government advertising on the cheap via competitions (as when members of the public submitted to the BBC homemade 'London 2012' Olympics logos far superior to the one that cost us £400,000) Cut the bureaucratic overkill that puts many people off volunteering Scrap extraneous new database schemes Scrap quangos that duplica...

The Humble Economist has made my day by posting on the topic of the Polish Beer Lovers’ Party (PPPP) . The group was formed in the early nineties, by the satirist Janusz Rewinski, with the declared aim of encouraging Poles to drink beer rather than vodka. It won 16 seats in the 1991 election and although it has since dissolved, its former members can take heart from the buoyant state of the Polish beer industry. Ironically, given the perception that many of Britain’s health problems are fuelled by a fondness for beer, in much of northern and eastern Europe its consumption is viewed as a healthy life choice. Three Thousand Versts’ medical team confirms that vodka drinking is statistically more likely to result in alcoholism and it is more probable that the spirit will contribute to digestive problems, due to its acidity. In Russia, Ukraine, and indeed Poland, beer is popular amongst young people and ‘beerhalls’ have become trendy venues. Admittedly, it is also drunk throughout the ...

I usually find much to applaud in Alex Kane’s commentary. The UUP’s Director of Communications writes a weekly News Letter column, which is frequently cited on this blog with commendation. I have to challenge a section of Alex’s latest piece , however, which includes a rather blithe dismissal of ‘shared future’. It’s a puzzling stance, because the Ulster Unionist party should be proud of its position, holding the ‘Ourselves Alone’ coalition to account for its abandonment of the strategy. “It is taken as a given that people in Northern Ireland want ‘something different’ in political and social terms and millions of pounds are spent on all sorts of cross-community projects and shared future propaganda. If only we could all be educated together, live together, play sports together and work together, it wouldn’t be long before the old barriers collapsed, the peace walls crumbled and spanking new parties emerged to build a new Northern Ireland. Isn’t that right? But maybe, just maybe, ...

Another week, another keynote speech expected from a member of the shadow cabinet. Chris Grayling, prospective home secretary in a Tory government, will tomorrow expound upon the well worn Cameron Conservative theme, ‘broken Britain’, highlighting crime, gangsterism, poverty and social immobility, which he believes have flourished under the stewardship of a Labour government. It is a further development of the themes which George Osborne laid out in a recent speech at Demos, when he referred to the modern Conservative party as the ‘dominant progressive force’ in British politics. The Tories argue that they are espousing constructive social policies, in tune with a Conservative ethos, which offer the best means to tackle the unique set of problems which the United Kingdom faces. Grayling presaged his speech with an article in a popular Sunday newspaper. Three Thousand Versts loathes the journal, and its daily sister, so profoundly that any link to its website would compromise our p...

The think tank Demos was considered critical to the development of Blairism. Now, reflecting an altered political landscape, it is often mentioned in conjunction with David Cameron and his ‘progressive conservatism’ project. This afternoon, George Osborne will deliver a speech on the topic, at Demos, which has been extensively trailed in the media this morning. The shadow chancellor will stress Conservative commitment to social values, communitarianism, localism and green issues, and contrast it with Labour’s woeful record on civil liberties and centralism. This blog has consistently advocated strong emphasis of these aspects of the Tory agenda. I have argued that David Cameron should, on no account, capitulate to the wing of his party which views the economic crisis as a pretext to drop policies aimed at building a fairer, happier society. To his credit, the Conservative leader has resisted this temptation, whilst delivering a strong message on fiscal accountability. Steve Hil...

Even the most fanciful commentator would struggle to describe Northern Ireland as a well integrated society. Indeed the political dispensation which provides our regional government is based on community carve-up and neither of the two largest parties is prepared to weaken their grip on respective fiefdoms by pursuing an agenda of ‘sharing’. From the top down, there is an assumption that inclusive housing or education entails unpalatable compromises which cannot help but dilute the ‘cultures’ which are being integrated. Given the fetish for a particular view of community which our politicians indulge, why then should we be surprised when newly arrived additions to Northern Ireland’s society are not integrated seamlessly or welcomed generously? In South Belfast a particularly abhorrent attack took place last week which seems to have been racist, or at least xenophobic, in motivation. A group of aggressive, and apparently drunk, young men forced their way into a house in which four ...

Burke’s Corner believes a consensus on ‘post liberal’ politics might be developing. He bases his assertion on Frank Field’s Prospect article , which proposes compulsory civic service for young people and suggests that prevailing political trends of social liberalism have allowed atomised individualism to prevail over the maintenance of a strong, coherent society. Field’s thesis is not so terribly far removed in its themes from an article written by ‘progressive conservative’ Philip Blond in the same magazine, which argues, “(t)he current political consensus is left-liberal in culture and right-liberal in economics. And this is precisely the wrong place to be.” Two further pieces, carried today by the Guardian and Telegraph websites respectively, come from opposite sides of the political spectrum, and both contemplate the best means to build the ‘good society’. Significantly both John Cruddas and Tim Montgomerie start from the premise that British communities have suffered the cons...

The shadow Justice Secretary, Dominic Grieve, is to deliver remarks about multiculturalism today which will suggest Labour’s wrongheaded approach to the issue has had a damaging effect on Britishness as a cohesive concept and the United Kingdom as a functioning society. He strikes a particularly pertinent chord by attacking the tendency to treat people simply as members of distinct interest groups, defined by race, religion or ethnicity, rather than as individual citizens who interact with society and communities on their own terms. “A decade of ranking people as members of neatly categorised ethnic, religious or social groups, rather than treating everyone as an individual in their own right; a decade of courting self-appointed heads of minority groups and pandering to special interest lobbies, ignoring the range of opinions and depth of diversity in modern Britain.” This is, of course, a tricky area, and a delicate balance must be struck between celebrating our diversity as a natio...

Here’s an instance where I wholeheartedly agree with El Blogador . He suggests that Northern Ireland should resist following the Scottish government, should it go ahead with its plans to introduce a minimum price for alcohol. I concur with the thrust of his article and with the Scottish Conservative spokesman who described the strategy as ‘horribly flawed’ . Imposing a minimum price on alcohol sales is a short term gimmick, entirely consistent with the SNP’s style of government. Rather than tackling the problem of alcohol abuse at its root, these proposals are designed in order that Holyrood can conspicuously be seen to be doing something. It is a populist policy which will merely exacerbate the attendant problems which accompany alcoholism. Alcohol abuse is largely a social issue and only changes in society and its attitudes will successfully alter behaviour which is associated with it. Prohibiting drinking to various extents, trying to price people out of buying alcohol, restric...

Writing on the Guardian politics’ blog today, Toby Helm implies a degree of nervousness on the part of Tory academics who propound the communitarian vision of conservatism which provides such an attractive alternative to Labour’s statist ethos. His contention is that in differentiating Conservative policy on the financial crash from the massive programme of borrowing which Gordon Brown believes is necessary to restimulate the economy, a perception has arisen that David Cameron is reneging on the vision of social responsibility which has paved the way for a Conservative revival. Perhaps sensitive to such criticism, Cameron has reiterated his commitment to the principles which his new conservatism promises. His New Year message states, “…far from dropping our green agenda because of the recession, we will this year step up the pace because leadership on the environment will help create the jobs, wealth and opportunity Britain needs. Far from dropping our commitment to make British p...