Time to Quit the Trough Helen Szamuely (Return to Contents Page)
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The The quarterly magazine of conservative thought Time to Quit the Global Learn Now Pay Trough Warming: Later Helen Szamuely Beyond Belief Theodore Dalrymple Brian Ridley Portugal’s Save the Family Saviour Jane Kelly Nigel Jones Spring 2010 £4.99 Contents Subscribe to the Salisbury Review — see page 19 3 Editorial 17 Put that Light Out! Articles Dan Lewis 20 Save the Family 4 Time to Quit the Trough Jane Kelly Helen Szamuely 22 An Airhead from Alaska? 6 Don’t Vote, it Only Encourages Them Paul Gottfried Arnold Gill 24 A Mean Test 7 Global Warming Patricia Morgan Brian Ridley 27 Ministry of Tears 9 Parliament of Fools Jan Davies Patricia Lança 29 Letter from Australia 12 Pay Now, Learn Later R J Stove Theodore Dalrymple 14 Letter from South Africa Hugh Farquharson Columns Arts & Books 40 Charles Cecil 32 Conservative Classic — 38 on the Financial Crisis The Black Book of Communism 41 Jeremy Lewis 34 BBC Watch on Somerset Maugham 35 Roy Kerridge 43 Nigel Jones 36 Reputations — 27 on Richard Overy Antonio Salazar 44 Vladimir Bukovsky 38 Eternal Life on Jozef Mackiewicz Peter Mullen 45 Celia Haddon on Birds 46 James Hughes-Onslow 39 Letters on Roy Kerridge 47 Jules Stewart on Sierra Leone 49 Mark Baillie on Wartime Spain 50 Robert Hugill on Roger Scruton 51 Richard Packer on Economic Fallacies 52 Film: Katharine Szamuely on Colonel Blimp 53 Art: Andrew Wilton on a Role for Academic Art 55 Music: D J Eden on Sullivan’s Ivanhoe 57 In Short The Third Marquis of Salisbury Managing Editor Merrie Cave Consulting Editors Roger Scruton Lord Charles Cecil Myles Harris Mark Baillie Christie Davies Literary Editor Ian Crowther 33 Canonbury Park South, London N1 2JW Tel: 020 7226 7791 Fax: 020 7354 0383 E-mail: [email protected] Web site: http://www.salisburyreview.com he political parties at this election are reminiscent in ‘Time to Quit the Trough’ tries to return some of of the big dance bands of the 1930’s. The lyrics our MPs to a sense of decency. Theodore Dalrymple Tthey offer, while competing in volume and in ‘Pay Now Learn Later’ lays a cane across the back brassiness, are identical. Choreographed by the ruthless of Britain’s education establishment and an ingenious millionaire impresarios of the BBC, troupes of political way out for those who want to learn. Brian Ridley in dancers cross the stage in perfect rhythm, each with ‘Global Warming: beyond belief?’ sets our minds at rest an earphone plugged into party HQ. Yesterday it was over this alarming theory, while in ‘Chinese Whispers’ ‘Swine Flu Swing’, today ‘Global Warming Tango’. Myles Harris warns of the threat posed by trading with Next week we will have ‘Megan’s Song’, or spot the the biggest and most murderous Mafia in the world, paedophile in your neighbourhood. Each number Communist China. In ‘Airhead of Alaska?’ Paul outdoes the last in its triviality and irrelevance. Gottfried discusses the life and political character of At intervals ‘Prudence’ Brown and ‘Cast Iron’ Cameron Sarah Palin, and, remaining abroad, Hugh Farquharson (of the ‘cast iron promise’ of a vote on Europe?) announce and Robert Stove examine the politics of the English rivers of gold for Britain at the Olympics, degrees for speaking southern hemisphere in Letters from South all including those who can barely read and write, tax Africa and Australia. Back home again in ‘Ministry of bribes, bigger stadia and improved versions of our state Tears’ Jan Davies examines the wrecking of childcare religion, the National Health Service, the envy of the by the Independent Safeguarding Authority, while Jane world. Unpleasantries, like the struggle for cheap oil for Kelly in ‘Save the Family’ shows how children who which our soldiers must die, imprisonment without trial, have fallen by the wayside can be helped. the opening of everyone’s correspondence, the electronic Finally we offer a selection from the BBC; liberal tagging of the population by means of their passports, to a fault, slyly anti-white, hugely privileged, an the wrecking of our schools and universities, the sale of organisation that has outstripped the importance of our industries on the cheap, the importation of millions Parliament and dreams of unelected rule from Brussels. of labourers willing to work for slave wages in return for What would Gibbon make of this electronic senate the future ownership of our country — the price we have besotted with the tribes of Germania over the people to pay for politicians’ promises — are never mentioned. of Rome, yet so feared no politician dare speak without It is why we have the war against terror; a war we would its approval? never have had to fight if we had not opened the gates to all He wrote: ‘…the trembling senate, without any comers, or decided instead of real work to live off the loose hopes of relief, prepared by a desperate resistance to change of the cardsharps of the Square Mile. Weeping in delay the ruin of their country. But they were unable the streets of Wootton Bassett over ‘our fallen boys’ cannot to guard against the secret conspiracy of their slaves hide the fact we have become either a nation of illiterate, and domestics, who either from birth or interest were complaining louts sponging off state benefits, or middle- attached to the cause of the enemy. At the hour of class whingers led by government spivs, living on credit and midnight the Salarian gate was silently opened, and the congratulating our children when they bring home degrees inhabitants were awakened by the tremendous sound not worth the paper they are written on. of the Gothic trumpet. Eleven hundred and sixty-three How are we to vote in such circumstances? Arnold years after the foundation of Rome, the Imperial city, Gill in ‘Don’t vote, it only encourages them’ will not which had subdued and civilised so considerable a part be attending the polling station. But for those of us of mankind, was delivered to the licentious fury of the who intend to vote we offer a guide. Helen Szamuely tribes of Germany and Scythia.’ The Salisbury Review — Summer 2009 3 Time to Quit the Trough Helen Szamuely (return to Contents Page) t the end of 2006 there was a routine kerfuffle your individual needs or for the position you seek about MPs’ pay with a number of them to occupy in society. And that is not reckoning the demanding that their salaries should be assured high pension out of public funds at a time A when the Chancellor of the Exchequer has ensured increased to £100,000 or so. Inevitably, there was an outcry and the Prime Minister decided to stop the that other pension funds get ever lower. increase. The following year the story repeated itself It seems that you feel that your salaries have fallen and so it went on until the MPs realized that there was behind those of people in comparable occupations. a way round this whole problem. Instead of demanding Dear me. What comparable occupations would those an increase in pay and thus opening the door to a be? I note that one MP, who had enough shame to discussion as to what they actually do, they will vote want to remain anonymous, has groused that he was themselves a new system of ‘expenses’ that, in effect, earning considerably less than the local GP. doubled their salaries without them having to pay any tax on the second half. That, in turn, came crashing This is not a particularly useful argument. In the first down around them when the details were passed to place, GPs pay their staff out of their basic salary. In the second place, GPs are not in a ‘comparable’ journalists; there was an even bigger public outcry, occupation. General Practitioners work and many of a commission was set up and a new unaccountable them work very hard. We know what they do. We see quango created to supervise our elected representatives’ them when we are ill, when our children are ill, when financial probity. Another move away from politics our aged and not so aged relatives are ill. towards managerial bureaucracy. The main problem, however, has not What is it you been solved and do, ladies and in that connection gentlemen, that it seems worth would justify yet another pay rise? looking at the Open Do you legislate? Letter I wrote at Well, not in the the end of 2006 eighty per cent to our so-called of the legislation Legislators on the t h a t c o m e s , E U R e f e r e n d u m o n e w a y o r blog. It was sent to another, from the them but with very European Union little result as they and is passed on continued to behave the nod because you do not have like denizens of an the right to reject ancien régime. To or amend it. Let’s add to all their other face it, you do sins, our MPs are not even bother sadly deficient in to read most of it. their knowledge of history. There is a lot of material there, I agree, but it is you and your equally greedy predecessors, who made Ladies and Gentlemen, Members of the House of sure of this state of affairs. Commons, Let us not forget, Members of the House of Commons, I note in this morning’s newspaper that you have so that a good deal of that legislation does not even pass far forgotten the honour that is being a Member of through Parliament.