The data which proves socialism – not foreign meddling – is behind Venezuela's crisis
This article was published on the Telegraph Online on 6th September 2017This week Parliament debated the deepening chaos in Venezuela. Even today, many Labour MPs, including Jeremy Corbyn himself, continue to apologise for the legacy of Hugo Chavez. Some on the British Left blame the current crisis on meddling by Western ...How the Tories can win over the young
In advance of the Queen’s Speech, the stark generational divide emerging from the general election will be sending shivers down the spine of Conservative MPs, with Labour being more popular than the Tories in every age group up to 47. If it wasn’t for Theresa May’s enormous lead among the over 60s, ...
Tory policies are inherently attractive to the young
The Conservatives have a problem with the young. They don’t like us. As Gideon Skinner and Kully Kaur-Ballagan of Ipsos Mori pointed out in yesterday’s Red Box, age was the greatest dividing factor in the general election since records began in 1979, with Labour enjoying a 20 per cent swing ...
Georgia shows us the danger of Corbyn
Now that the youth actively votes Bernie Sanders, Mélenchon and Corbyn in the name of social justice, we often hear how free-market politics only benefit large corporations, while leaving the rest of the population poor and exploited. However, behind Corbyn’s “for the many, not the few” lies real dangers. I ...
‘Freedom Lies in Being Bold’: New Ideas for a New French Right
After five pitiful years of Socialist governance, the presidential and legislative elections could have marked the comeback of the French right. Corruption scandals aside, François Fillon could have been the one taking France on the right track. However, the results of the first round of legislative elections suggest En Marche ...
The Tories must find a moral message or die
Oxford University issues the following guidance to prospective candidates: “Be honest with yourself and what has inspired you.” It pains me to say it, but the Conservative Party, of which I was once chairman, has lost touch with that essential message.We are in a muddle about what we offer. We ...
Macron v Le Pen: ‘Conversations dans le Parc Monceau’
‘Catastrophic’ was the unsurprising verdict of those I spoke to on the afternoon of the first round of the French elections in Parc Monceau with Honor Bishop, the 10 year old daughter of friends I was staying with in Paris, if Marine Le Pen won the second round of the ...How May can be as bold as Thatcher or Attlee
This article was originally published by the Times Red Box.A strong economy. A Labour Party facing, in the words of Polly Toynbee, “its darkest night”. 4 million former UKIP voters who can now only – logically – support the Conservatives. A Liberal Party which can fit all its MPs into ...The Conservatives should seize this chance to radically reshape Britain
This article was initially published in City AM on 19th AprilCalling an early General Election will, in all likelihood, be seen as a pragmatic step to strengthen the Prime Minister’s negotiating hand in the upcoming Brexit negotiations. While Continental Europe faces instability from the rise of populist parties and persistent issues with the single currency, ...
Within striking distance - trade union reform
A version of this article was originally published by the New Statesman. Keir Hardie would be aghast if he could see the state of the trade union movement today. Its reputation has been comprehensively trashed and the sad truth is that, too often, this is completely justified. Knee-jerk, reactionary opposition to ...
Strike laws should be reformed
The laws governing strike action are rarely discussed around the family dinner table but they should be. The right to strike is an important principle that should not be abandoned and trade unions play a vital role in representing the views of their members. However, they are less impressive when ...
If UKIP wants to survive it needs a Tory victory and SNP success
It was somewhat interesting to see the English and Scottish versions of The Sun newspaper set out their different party endorsements this morning – the London-based publication prefers the Conservatives, citing one of the reasons as ‘keeping the SNP out’, while their Glasgow counterpart encouraged readers to vote for the ...
Green or Communist? Take the manifesto test!
The Communist Party has released their General Election manifesto, to great fanfare (well, one of their candidates got to go on Daily Politics). Without wanting to give too much away, much of it seems to be not particularly Communist, and occasionally less left-wing than the Green Party.Can you identify which ...Whatever happened to free-market UKIP?
Looking back at an interview of Nigel Farage at the IEA in 2010, it was striking to see him give such a direct, unambiguous, principled argument in favour of free trade:“If we are going to be a successful nation …, part of the 21st-century global economy, then protectionism [is] a ...Ed Miliband's Relaunch: Zero Credibility, Zero Ideas
Ed Miliband’s latest leadership relaunch today was unfortunately devoid of any new ideas or credibility. His speech, based on the idea that Britain has become a zero-zero economy, shows that he understands neither poverty nor prosperity.Follow @CPSThinkTankMiliband’s proposals on the minimum wage and zero-hours ...