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The Meritocrat's Manifesto
THE MERITOCRAT’S MANIFESTO Dominic Raab MP THE MERITOCRAT’S MANIFESTO Dominic Raab MP FIRST PUBLISHED BY The Social Market Foundation, June 2014 ISBN: 978-1-904899-91-4 11 Tufton Street, London SW1P 3QB Copyright © The Social Market Foundation, 2014 The moral right of the authors has been asserted. All rights reserved. Without limiting the rights under copyright reserved above, no part of this publication may be reproduced, stored or introduced into a retrieval system, or transmitted, in any form or by any means (electronic, mechanical, photocopying, recording, or otherwise), without the prior written permission of both the copyright owner and the publisher of this book. THE SOCIAL MARKET FOUNDATION The Foundation’s main activity is to commission and publish original papers by independent academic and other experts on key topics in the economic and social fields, with a view to stimulating public discussion on the performance of markets and the social framework within which they operate. The Foundation is a registered charity and a company limited by guarantee. It is independent of any political party or group and is funded predominantly through sponsorship of research and public policy debates. The views expressed in this publication are those of the author, and these do not necessarily reflect the views of the sponsors or the Social Market Foundation. CHAIRMAN DESIGN AND PRODUCTION Mary Ann Sieghart Pistachio Design www.pistachiodesign.com MEMBERS OF THE BOARD Daniel Franklin PRINTED BY Graham Mather Diversified Global Graphics Group -
Making a Hasty Brexit? Ministerial Turnover and Its Implications
Making a Hasty Brexit? Ministerial Turnover and Its Implications Jessica R. Adolino, Ph. D. Professor of Political Science James Madison University Draft prepared for presentation at the European Studies Association Annual Meeting May 9-12, 2019, Denver, Colorado Please do not cite or distribute without author’s permission. By almost any measure, since the immediate aftermath of the June 16, 2016 Brexit referendum, the British government has been in a state of chaos. The turmoil began with then- Prime Minister David Cameron’s resignation on June 17 and succession by Theresa May within days of the vote. Subsequently, May’s decision to call a snap election in 2017 and the resulting loss of the Conservatives’ parliamentary majority cast doubt on her leadership and further stirred up dissension in her party’s ranks. Perhaps more telling, and the subject of this paper, is the unprecedented number of ministers1—from both senior and junior ranks—that quit the May government over Brexit-related policy disagreements2. Between June 12, 2017 and April 3, 2019, the government witnessed 45 resignations, with high-profile secretaries of state and departmental ministers stepping down to return to the backbenches. Of these, 34 members of her government, including 9 serving in the Cabinet, departed over issues with some aspect of Brexit, ranging from dissatisfaction with the Prime Minister’s Withdrawal Agreement, to disagreements about the proper role of Parliament, to questions about the legitimacy of the entire Brexit process. All told, Theresa May lost more ministers, and at a more rapid pace, than any other prime minister in modern times. -
Beyond the Boson Graphene's 3D Counterparts Superconductivity
Autumn 2014, Number 5 Department of Physics Newsletter Beyond the boson The next steps for particle physics Superconductivity: Strike while the iron is hot Oxford researchers synthesise new iron based high temperature superconductor Graphene’s 3D counterparts Oxford researchers have discovered a new series of materials that are a 3D version of graphene ALUMNI STORIES EVENTS MOSELEY & X-RAYS PEOPLE Jean Chu (Holmes) reflects Alumni day at the Clarendon Part II of Prof Derek Stacey’s Five minutes with David Lloyd; on life as a female physics Laboratory; Bonn in Oxford; remarkable story celebrating Comings, Goings and Awards student at St Hugh’s, 1956–59 Alumni experience the LHC Henry Moseley’s work www.physics.ox.ac.uk SCIENCE NEWS SCIENCE NEWS www.physics.ox.ac.uk/research www.physics.ox.ac.uk/research in research labs, to steering oxides were shown to exhibit superconductivity the beams around particle at temperatures well above 100 Kelvin (a accelerators (such as the phenomenon which is still far from understood). SUPERCONDUCTIVITY: Large Hadron Collider at CERN) and confining the EXPLORING NEW PHYSICS STRIKE WHILE THE IRON IS HOT plasma in a fusion reactor. But perhaps their most Here in Oxford our current focus is on the newly important application has A little over a century after the discovery of quantum coherent state, a concept also applicable to discovered materials that contain iron. Some been in magnetic resonance superconductivity we are still missing some vital superfluids and Bose-Einstein condensates of cold of these have transition temperatures above imaging (MRI), the clues in understanding how and why the effect atoms. -
12 May 2021 to the Rt Hon Dominic Raab MP Secretary of State For
12 May 2021 To The Rt Hon Dominic Raab MP Secretary of State for Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Affairs and First Secretary of State. Subject: COVID-19 pandemic in Nepal and a call for urgent support Dear Secretary of State, The executive committee of the Britain-Nepal Academic Council urges the UK government to take urgent action to support the government of Nepal in the face of the humanitarian crisis which is unfolding in Nepal due to the devastating second wave of COVID-19 in South Asia. As the world has watched the tragic impact of India’s second wave, we are concerned that neighbouring Nepal, which is even less prepared, is being overlooked. We write in the wake of the unprecedented yet urgent call for international support issued by the Prime Minister of Nepal, KP Sharma Oli, published in the Guardian on the 10th May [https://www.theguardian.com/commentisfree/2021/may/10/nepal-covid-uk- g7] and following our own round-table discussion today on the situation in Nepal involving prominent experts on public health in Nepal and the UK (https://www.bnac.ac.uk/activities/covid-19-nepal/). During our programme Sir Jeremy Farrar, the Director of the Wellcome Trust, described the current situation in Nepal as ‘beyond frightening’. Nepal shares an 1880-kilometre long open border with India, with close cultural, trading and family ties. Thus, the crisis in India has equal resonance across the border in Nepal, and the problems on both sides of the borders need to be tackled simultaneously. The current wave of infections in Nepal is estimated to be just two weeks behind that of India’s. -
Parliamentary Debates (Hansard)
Thursday Volume 566 18 July 2013 No. 39 HOUSE OF COMMONS OFFICIAL REPORT PARLIAMENTARY DEBATES (HANSARD) Thursday 18 July 2013 £5·00 © Parliamentary Copyright House of Commons 2013 This publication may be reproduced under the terms of the Open Parliament licence, which is published at www.parliament.uk/site-information/copyright/. 1295 18 JULY 2013 1296 Vince Cable: The hon. Gentleman is correct to say House of Commons that our overall export performance would improve considerably if more British companies were exporting. The big contrast with Germany is that roughly twice as Thursday 18 July 2013 many of its small and medium-sized enterprises are involved in exporting. UKTI has been substantially The House met at half-past Nine o’clock reformed in the past couple of years, and it now has a much more small and medium-sized company focus. It has activities around the country, and we have a lot of PRAYERS evidence that its outreach is substantially improving. I hope that it will reach the companies in the hon. Gentleman’s constituency too. [MR SPEAKER in the Chair] Mr Iain Wright (Hartlepool) (Lab): At the last Business, Innovation and Skills questions, the Secretary of State Oral Answers to Questions admitted: “The figures on exports are not great”.—[Official Report, 13 June 2013; Vol. 564, c. 470.] Since then, the UK trade deficit has widened to the BUSINESS, INNOVATION AND SKILLS point at which it is now the largest trade gap in the European Union, and the widest it has been since 1989. Following on from the question from my hon. -
Background, Brexit, and Relations with the United States
The United Kingdom: Background, Brexit, and Relations with the United States Updated April 16, 2021 Congressional Research Service https://crsreports.congress.gov RL33105 SUMMARY RL33105 The United Kingdom: Background, Brexit, and April 16, 2021 Relations with the United States Derek E. Mix Many U.S. officials and Members of Congress view the United Kingdom (UK) as the United Specialist in European States’ closest and most reliable ally. This perception stems from a combination of factors, Affairs including a sense of shared history, values, and culture; a large and mutually beneficial economic relationship; and extensive cooperation on foreign policy and security issues. The UK’s January 2020 withdrawal from the European Union (EU), often referred to as Brexit, is likely to change its international role and outlook in ways that affect U.S.-UK relations. Conservative Party Leads UK Government The government of the UK is led by Prime Minister Boris Johnson of the Conservative Party. Brexit has dominated UK domestic politics since the 2016 referendum on whether to leave the EU. In an early election held in December 2019—called in order to break a political deadlock over how and when the UK would exit the EU—the Conservative Party secured a sizeable parliamentary majority, winning 365 seats in the 650-seat House of Commons. The election results paved the way for Parliament’s approval of a withdrawal agreement negotiated between Johnson’s government and the EU. UK Is Out of the EU, Concludes Trade and Cooperation Agreement On January 31, 2020, the UK’s 47-year EU membership came to an end. -
Freedom of Information Act 2000 (FOIA) Decision Notice
Reference: IC-48534-L8F9 Freedom of Information Act 2000 (FOIA) Decision notice Date: 1 April 2021 Public Authority: Cabinet Office Address: 70 Whitehall London SW1A 2AS Decision (including any steps ordered) 1. The complainant submitted a request to the Cabinet Office asking whether their Propriety and Ethics team held any information about non- disclosure agreements (NDAs) between Mr Dominic Raab, Secretary of State for Foreign Commonwealth and Development Affairs and First Secretary of State, and members of the civil service. The complainant was not seeking the details or contents of any such NDAs but rather whether such information was held and the number of such NDAs if held. The Cabinet Office relied on section 40(5) (personal data) of the FOIA 2000 to refuse to confirm or deny whether they held any information falling within scope of the request. 2. The Commissioner has concluded that the Cabinet Office was entitled to rely on section 40(5) to refuse to confirm or deny whether they held any information falling within scope of the request. However, the Commissioner also finds that, in failing to issue a refusal notice within 20 working days, the Cabinet Office breached section 17(1) of the FOIA. 3. The Commissioner does not require any further steps. 1 Reference: IC-48534-L8F9 Background 4. On 30 January 2011, The Mail On Sunday published an article about Mr Dominic Raab MP, entitled ‘Payout for Woman Who Claimed Workplace Bullying Under Raab’. The article related to Mr Raab’s time (2006 to 2010) working as Chief of Staff to Shadow Home Secretary David Davis. -
Review of the Year 2009/10
Invest in future scientific leaders and in innovation Review of the year 2009/10 1 Celebrating 350 years Review of the year 2009/10 02 Review of the year 2009/10 President’s foreword Executive Secretary’s report Review of the year 2009/10 03 Contents President’s foreword ..............................................................02 Inspire an interest in the joy, wonder Executive Secretary’s report ..................................................03 and excitement of scientific discovery ..................................16 Invest in future scientific leaders and in innovation ..............04 Seeing further: the Royal Society celebrates 350 years .......20 Influence policymaking with the best scientific advice ........08 Summarised financial statements .........................................22 Invigorate science and mathematics education ...................10 Income and expenditure statement ......................................23 Increase access to the best science internationally ..............12 Fundraising and support ........................................................24 List of donors ..........................................................................25 President’s Executive foreword Secretary’s report This year we have focused on the excellent This has been a remarkable year for the Society, our opportunity afforded by our 350th anniversary 350th, and we have mounted a major programme not only to promote the work of the Society to inspire minds, young and old alike, with the but to raise the profile of science -
Big Tobacco, the New Politics, and the Threat to Public Health
BMJ 2019;365:l2164 doi: 10.1136/bmj.l2164 (Published 15 May 2019) Page 1 of 9 Feature BMJ: first published as 10.1136/bmj.l2164 on 15 May 2019. Downloaded from FEATURE INVESTIGATION Big tobacco, the new politics, and the threat to public health With several Tory leadership contenders sympathetic to its ideology, the Institute of Economic Affairs is closer to power than it has been for decades. In an exclusive investigation, Jonathan Gornall reveals how the organisation is funded by British American Tobacco and has links with senior conservative ministers. After orchestrating a series of attacks on public health initiatives, the IEA may now hold the key to No 10 Jonathan Gornall freelance journalist Suffolk Whatever the eventual consequences of Brexit for the NHS,1 2 industries that stand to gain commercially from its attacks on an article published in the Daily Telegraph in March made it public health initiatives, and it is connected—ideologically, http://www.bmj.com/ clear that an even greater threat to public health in the UK may financially, or both—to no fewer than 25 serving Conservative emerge from the battle for control of the Conservative Party. MPs, including several candidates for May’s job (see box A). In an essay published on 31 March, titled “The next Tory leader The IEA is secretive about its funding sources, but The BMJ must be a bullish libertarian,” the director general of the free can report that the organisation is part funded by British market think tank the Institute of Economic Affairs (IEA) set American Tobacco. -
Parliamentary Debates House of Commons Official Report General Committees
PARLIAMENTARY DEBATES HOUSE OF COMMONS OFFICIAL REPORT GENERAL COMMITTEES Public Bill Committee ENTERPRISE AND REGULATORY REFORM BILL Third Sitting Thursday 21 June 2012 CONTENTS Written evidence reported to the House. Examination of witnesses. Adjourned till Tuesday 26 June at half-past ten o’clock. PUBLISHED BY AUTHORITY OF THE HOUSE OF COMMONS LONDON – THE STATIONERY OFFICE LIMITED £5·00 PBC (Bill 007) 2012 - 2013 Members who wish to have copies of the Official Report of Proceedings in General Committees sent to them are requested to give notice to that effect at the Vote Office. No proofs can be supplied. Corrigenda slips may be published with Bound Volume editions. Corrigenda that Members suggest should be clearly marked in a copy of the report—not telephoned—and must be received in the Editor’s Room, House of Commons, not later than Monday 25 June 2012 STRICT ADHERENCE TO THIS ARRANGEMENT WILL GREATLY FACILITATE THE PROMPT PUBLICATION OF THE BOUND VOLUMES OF PROCEEDINGS IN GENERAL COMMITTEES © Parliamentary Copyright House of Commons 2012 This publication may be reproduced under the terms of the Parliamentary Click-Use Licence, available online through The National Archives website at www.nationalarchives.gov.uk/information-management/our-services/parliamentary-licence-information.htm Enquiries to The National Archives, Kew, Richmond, Surrey TW9 4DU; e-mail: [email protected] Public Bill Committee21 JUNE 2012 Enterprise and Regulatory Reform Bill The Committee consisted of the following Members: Chairs: HUGH BAYLEY,†MR -
20 Visions for Europe: 'Buccaneering Brexit Versus European Civilisation'
20 Visions for Europe: ‘Buccaneering Brexit versus European civilisation’ DISCLAIMER: All opinions in this column reect the views of the author(s), not of EURACTIV.COM Ltd. 20 Visions for Europe: Philippe Van Parijs This article is part of our special report 20 Visions for Europe. xssmmdlg This essay is published as part of the project 20 Visions for Europe, gathering unique visions from public ocials, intellectuals, artists, diplomats, athletes, civic actors and business representatives. The project is part of EURACTIV’s celebration of 20 years of free, independent reporting with European values at its core. The partner of the project is Stars4Media. Philippe Van Parijs is a guest professor at the Universities of Louvain and Leuven and a Robert Schuman Fellow at the European University Institute (Florence). The European project is an ambitious, unprecedented civilizing enterprise. Partly thanks to the single market that formed its core, it managed to tame nationalist passions and stabilize democracies. But the single market has also been eroding the member states’ capacity to protect its citizens and curb inequalities. If a fatal backlash is to be avoided, the civilising enterprise must develop resolutely its caring dimension, address economic insecurity and halt the growth of inequality. Will Brexit make this easier? It might. But it is more likely to make this more dicult, even impossible if it is made as soft as it can be. Why? Twenty years ago, William Hague, then leader of the conservative opposition, delivered the following message to the Confederation of British Industry: “In the next millennium, nations will compete with each other for the lightest regulations, the lowest taxes and the most business. -
Conservative Leadership Poll II
State of Play Analysis Methodology v Two surveys each of n=2,400 eligible voters. v Max margin of error of +/-2.0 percent at a 95 percent confidence interval. v Respondents were residents of the 48 most marginal Conservative held seats in the UK. v 50 respondents were surveyed from each seat. v Minimum quotas set by age, gender, tenure, region, education, occupation, ethnicity and past vote. v Mixed modal online and CATI poll from 10th – 24th April conducted by IQR and Research Interactive. v Online poll from 1st – 9th May 2019 conducted by Research Interactive. © 2019 C|T Group 2 Analysis Groups v ALL VOTERS are all respondents in the survey and representative of the country as a whole. v SOFT VOTERS are undecided who they will vote for, or are likely to change their mind about their current voting intention. v CONSERVATIVE DEFECTORS voted Conservative in the 2017 General Election but would not vote Conservative if an election was held today. v LEAVE VOTERS are those who voted to Leave at the 2016 EU Referendum. v REMAIN VOTERS are those who voted to Remain at the 2016 EU Referendum. v CONSERVATIVE VOTERS are those who would vote Conservative if a General Election was held today. © 2019 C|T Group 3 Political Context National Issue Agenda (>4%) 49% TOTAL BREXIT 46% 65% 21% Brexit - not specified whether for or against 18% 23% 19% Brexit - pro 15% 43% 10% Brexit - against / 2nd referendum 3% 8% NHS 8% 3% 12% 8% Party or policy 6%8% 5% Political instability / current mess 4%6% 2% Other 2%2% 4% Nothing 4% 10% 3% Don't know 5% 9% Total Soft Voters Conservative Defectors Proportion from T1 © 2019 C|T Group Q) If a General Election was held today, what is the most important issue to you that would influence if and how you vote? That issue could be about the 5 parties, the candidates, or international, national or local issues.