This is a fundamental question for any politician. Few answer it. They give particular answers to particular such questions, of … Continue reading “What should the government do, and what not?”

On Conservative Home, Paul Goodman defended Theresa May’s defence of the state as the entity that does good. When the … Continue reading “You want ‘the good that government can do’? You’ll get the bad as well”

The socialist left, the libertarian right and the pragmatic centre I was delighted to hear Theresa May attacking the ‘libertarian … Continue reading “‘Pragmatic centrism’: a dodgy ideology”

Theresa May’s conference speech is widely agreed to mark the end of liberal, free market conservatism and a return to … Continue reading “Look to liberal Manchester, not statist Birmingham, for historic inspiration”

Theresa May is an accidental Prime Minister. She is in Downing Street because David Cameron broke his word to the … Continue reading “The ‘libertarian right’, Mrs May? What ‘libertarian right’?”

Meritocracy. It’s a term beloved by Conservatives, who say they want a “fair” society where people’s outcomes are determined purely … Continue reading “Who could be opposed to meritocracy? Me, that’s who”

Predictably, those who demand more government spending both when the economy is doing well and badly are calling for increases … Continue reading “Six policies Prime Minister May should embrace to revitalise growth”

“Businesses and markets hate uncertainty”. How many times have we heard that recently? In the aftermath of the referendum result, … Continue reading “Osborne and the government share some of the blame for post-Brexit uncertainty”

I wonder what those famously cynical private eyes Sam Spade and Philip Marlowe would have made of the new regulations … Continue reading “The case of the tireless regulators”