DOCSLIB.ORG

47 Summer 2005.Indd

Total Page：16

File Type：pdf, Size：1020Kb

Download full-text PDF Read full-text
47 Summer 2005.Indd John Meadowcroft and Jaime Reynolds examine the role of Arthur Seldon (– ) and the Liberal antecedents of the Institute of Economic Affairs. LIBERALS AND THE NEW RIGHT ‘I was persuaded into economic ‘I say and I shall continue to say The young Arthur hough few Liberal liberalism by intellectual convic- that the worst thing you can do Seldon Democrats would rec- tion and the evidence of events with your money is to hand it ognise him as such, and into Liberal Party sympathies over to be spent by the State … Arthur Seldon was because the Conservatives were Far better keep it in a money-box probably one of the too socialist and the socialists too and sleep with it under your pil- Tmost influential Liberal think- conservative.’ low at night. But, better still, invest ers and publicists in Britain in it in your business or somone the period from the s to the ‘I graduated by national insur- else’s business. Anywhere else is s. Seldon was founder Edito- ance and state education to the better than letting it pass through rial Director of the Institute of LSE. There I read voraciously the slippery fingers of the State.’ Economic Affairs, the free-mar- Lenin, Laski, Strachey, Dalton but Oliver Smedley, Vice-Preisdent of ket think tank, which played an was more influenced by Robbins, the Liberal Party () important role in the revival of Plant and Hayek. The war and economic liberalism that led to post-war siege economy, several ‘We lost people from the Lib- the global implementation of pol- years as editor of a trade jour- eral Party who described them- icies such as the privatisation of nal, the years as an economist in selves as neo-liberals of the sort of previously nationalised industries, industry and five years working Thatcherite school. I was reading the control of inflation via sound in fruitful partnership with Ralph the other day that Arthur Seldon monetary policy and the applica- Harris at the IEA have reinforced was involved in the Liberal Party tion of market-oriented service the view I had acquired from a in Orpington at the time of the regimes where public goods were teacher that the nineteenth cen- by-election. He was typical of a provided by the state. tury was the great age of eman- certain school of Liberal who In the UK these policies were cipation and that the classical abounded in the party at that implemented by the Conserva- economists were basically right.’ time …’ tive government of Margaret David Steel, interview in Marxism Thatcher and its successors. This Arthur Seldon, Capitalism () Today, October association with Thatcherism has Journal of Liberal History 47 Summer 2005 45 LIBERALS AND THE NEW RIGHT led many Liberal Democrats to went to live with uncles, and two Seldon described as ‘the hostile reject the notion that the ideas were sent to an orphanage). Sel- anti-capitalist environment of the Seldon advocated had any con- don’s foster parents were Jewish s’. It was during his time at nection with Liberalism. Conrad refugees from Ukraine, whose the LSE that Seldon Anglicised Russell, in the opening of his An family name Schaberdain was his surname, apparently following Intelligent Person’s Guide to Liberal- adopted by Arthur. His foster- advice from Arnold Plant who ism, contrasts the ‘moral’ liberal- father died in . His foster- thought such a change wise in the ism of Roy Jenkins (of which he mother set up ‘shop’ in the front light of the rise of anti-Semitism clearly approves) with the eco- room of their East End home in Europe. nomic liberalism of the IEA (of selling lisle stockings in order In the Liberal Party estab- which he clearly disapproves). Yet to pay the rent. The family were lished a committee of inquiry while it is true to say that Seldon’s kept afloat by a £ payment into the distribution of property tireless advocacy of economic from a Friendly Society, paid for inspired and chaired by Elliott liberalism had its greatest impact by his late foster-father’s weekly Dodds. It included Harcourt on the Conservative Party, rather contributions of two shillings. Johnstone, the leader Sir Archibald than the Liberal Party, it is nev- For Seldon such enterprise and Sinclair’s right-hand man and ertheless the case that many Lib- mutual insurance was a model of expert on economic issues in the erals recognised the continued voluntary working-class responsi- party leadership. Plant and Rob- relevance of economic liberalism bility and welfare that was to be bins were approached for their to the Liberal cause. replaced by state benefits and the advice and they asked Seldon to Jo Grimond was a regular IEA ‘dependency culture’. write a paper on the effect of an author, contributing papers to six The family fortunes improved inheritance tax. This led Dodds to different IEA publications, and in when his foster-mother ask him to draft the committee’s he wrote that ‘Liberals must at remarried (a tailor) and they report, Ownership for All, which all times stress the virtues of the moved to the relatively middle- was adopted by the party confer- market, not only for efficiency class suburb of Stroud Green. In ence in . In Seldon’s view, but to enable the widest possi- Seldon won a free place ‘the proposals for the diffusion ble choice … Much of what Mrs to Sir Henry Raine’s (Gram- of private property rather than its Thatcher and Sir Keith Joseph mar) School, off the Commer- replacement by public (socialised) say and do is in the mainstream cial Road, where he was taught property raised the flag of classical of liberal philosophy.’ Certainly, history in the sixth form by E. J. liberalism for the last time in the Seldon, who is now eighty-eight Owner- Hayward, a Liberal of the old Liberal Party’. Its questioning of years old and living in retirement school ‘whose teachings on the public ownership and proposals in Kent, always saw himself as ship for guild system and its replacement for selective privatisation were more of a liberal, or ‘conserva- by industrial capitalism, with its denounced by the Labour Party tive radical’ than a Tory. For over All was advantages for living standards as a violent shift in the Liberal three decades he was an active and liberties, intrigued me more position back to laissez-faire and member of the Liberal Party and a radical than the Fabian influence of the individualism, at odds with both only severed his connection with attack on persuasive economics master’. Labour and Conservative think- it in the s. Nevertheless, when he arrived ing on the ‘socialised sector’. the maldis- at the LSE in , having won a Yet despite its unfashionable state scholarship, he seems initially and ‘right-wing’ reputation, Own- Arthur Seldon, the Liberal tribution of to have shared the prevailing far- ership for All has stood the test of Party and the IEA3 left attitudes of the majority of time better than many of the so- Seldon was born on May . wealth and students, before joining the tiny called radical tracts of the s, He later described his tragic and property in Liberal Society. He supported the and many of its arguments would poverty-stricken childhood, anti-Fascist protests against Sir be regarded as mainstream, if not upbringing and education in the inter-war Oswald Mosley’s march through left-wing, today. It was a radical East End of London, as an ‘indoc- the East End in . attack on the maldistribution of trination against capitalism’. He Britain – Seldon studied and researched wealth and property in inter-war recalled that at the age of eight at the LSE from to , Britain – inequalities which it in the general election, he inequalities graduating with first-class hon- described as ‘gross and shocking’. cheered the Labour candidate for which it ours in economics in , and The uneven spread of property Stepney, and booed the Conserv- then becoming a research assistant prevented equality of opportunity, ative and Liberal cars. described to Arnold Plant. He also stud- wasted social resources, reduced Seldon’s family name was Mar- ied under other liberal and Lib- consumer choice and menaced golis, but both his parents died in as ‘gross eral academics including Hayek, democracy by providing a recruit- the Spanish flu epidemic of Lionel Robbins, Frank Paish and ing ground for Fascism. The and he was brought up by foster- and shock- George Schwartz, who kept alive report rejected outright any abso- parents (two of his elder siblings ing’. free-market economics in what lute right of property and insisted 46 Journal of Liberal History 47 Summer 2005 LIBERALS AND THE NEW RIGHT on society’s right to modify laws style of argument anticipated his Owner- nature writer for the Daily Worker. of inheritance to reduce inequal- later critique of state ownership Up to his death in , he and ity and spread wealth. The causes and provision and his champion- ship for Seldon would debate the issues of the maldistribution of property ing of markets and competition, of communism versus capitalism. were traced to faulty laws and which essentially built on the All was Marjorie was to become in her policies, particularly inheritance framework laid down in Own- own right an active Liberal, free law, lack of educational opportu- ership for All. The Liberal Party unusual for trader and campaigner for educa- nity for the poor, encouragement continued to use the ‘Ownership the times tion vouchers. of monopolistic industrial con- for All’ slogan into the late s. On his return to Britain after centration, divorce of ownership In July the Liberal Party in reject- discharge from the army in , from control of companies, and Organisation published Seldon’s he was drawn back into Liberal indirect taxation on wage-earners pamphlet, The Drift to the Cor- ing statist Party activity after attending a in the form of tariffs, quotas and porate State, which analysed the meeting chaired by Clement subsidies.
Load more

Recommended publications
  • Prohibitions Prohibitions Edited by John Meadowcroft with Contributions from Ralf M
    Prohibitions Prohibitions edited by john meadowcroft with contributions from ralf m. bader simon w. bowmaker mark j. cherry k. austin kerr gary a. mauser john meadowcroft alberto mingardi martin ricketts robert simmons nadine strossen alexander tabarrok mark thornton geoffrey e. wood the institute of economic affairs CONTENTS About the authors 9 List of tables and figures 15 Foreword by Jamie Whyte 16 first published in Great britain in 2008 by 1 Introduction 21 the institute of economic affairs 2 Lord north Street John Meadowcroft westminster Prohibition and the harm principle 23 London sw1p 3lb Policy lessons of this collection 25 in association with Profile books Ltd Prohibition, public policy and responsibility 34 the mission of the institute of economic affairs is to improve public understanding of references 35 the fundamental institutions of a free society, by analysing and expounding the role of markets in solving economic and social problems. 2 Prohibitions and economics: an overview 37 copyright © the institute of economic affairs 2008 Martin Ricketts and Geoffrey E. Wood the moral right of the authors has been asserted. introduction 37 all rights reserved. without limiting the rights under copyright reserved above, no part market process 39 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, Preferences 40 recording or otherwise), without the prior written permission of both the copyright Paternalism 42 owner and the publisher of this book. Pollution 46 a ciP catalogue record for this book is available from the british Library. Policing and enforcement 50 isbn 978 0 255 36585 7 conclusion 52 many iea publications are translated into languages other than english or are reprinted.
    [Show full text]
  • Privatization and the Federal Government: an Introduction
    Order Code RL33777 Privatization and the Federal Government: An Introduction December 28, 2006 Kevin R. Kosar Analyst in American National Government Government and Finance Division Privatization and the Federal Government: An Introduction Summary During the past two decades, the privatization of federal agencies and activities has been much debated. That said, privatization — here defined as the use of the private sector in the provision of a good or service, the components of which include financing, operations (supplying, production, delivery), and quality control — is not a recent phenomenon. Since its founding in 1789, the federal government has used private firms to provide goods and services. Hence, privatization is of perennial interest to Congress. This report is an introduction to privatization in the federal governmental context. It discusses the emergence of privatization on the federal policy agenda in the late 1970s and early 1980s. To some, privatization appeared as an answer to the purported failures of “big government.” Privatization attracted political support due to its rhetorically persuasive rationales, purported benefits, and political attractiveness. However, privatization also has been controversial. Critics have complained that privatization is a form of union busting and that privatization can have unforseen and undesirable consequences. This report also supplies a typology of the various means through which federal agencies and activities have been privatized. The typology shows that privatization is not an either/or proposition. Rather, privatization, as this report’s definition implies, is a matter of degree. Policymakers may transfer to the private sector one or more of the components of government provision of goods and services — however many they deem appropriate.
    [Show full text]
  • Arthur Seldon's Contribution to Freedom
    Arthur Seldon’s Contribution to Freedom BY NORMAN BARRY ome politicians, so important today, are forgotten could do better. Most important, he realized that if you by next year. Events that seem so cataclysmic in want to advance the interests of the working class, free- Sour own times are soon but distant memories. But market capitalism always beats the government.This was the great ideas live on long after their authors’ death.We the beginning of a lifelong campaign against state wel- must put into that category the work of Arthur Sel- fare. From his earliest days he understood that sponta- don—cofounder, with Lord Harris of High Cross, of the neous working-class organizations like the friendly Institute of Economic Affairs (IEA), Lon- societies provided better health care, old- don—whose death last October 11, at age age pensions, and unemployment benefits 89, we mourn. than the vast state bureaucracies that From obscurity and complete intellec- replaced them. tual unfashionability throughout the The IEA was set up in 1957, with the 1950s and 1960s, Seldon and a distin- backing of a prosperous chicken farmer, guished cadre of writers managed to Antony Fisher. Fisher, a convinced free- influence a whole generation of econo- marketer, had learned from Hayek that to mists and writers on the market and lim- influence events, it is better not to go into ited government. At a time when the politics, but rather to produce ideas. That intellectual world was dominated by the is why he financed the IEA and many Keynesian-collectivist consensus, Seldon other free-market think tanks throughout successfully educated a new generation the world.
    [Show full text]
  • Tony Greaves
    TONY GREAVES An Appreciation Liberal History Group by Michael Meadowcroft Tony Greaves never seemed to age. He had a firm belief that politics was capable of transforming society, and his consistent advocacy of local campaigning, community politics and the necessity for both to be anchored in a radical Liberalism had hardly changed from his Young Liberal days. His election to the Lancashire County Council, in 1973, disqualified him legally from his job teaching geography and from then on to his sudden death almost fifty years later he became one of that committed band of Liberals who put the cause before comfort and struggled to find a succession of jobs that would enable him to keep politics as his first priority. His life before politics captured him was that of a scholarship boy separated from his background by intelligence and an ability to pass exams. Born in Bradford into a family with no direct political involvement, he passed the extremely competitive examination for the direct-grant Bradford Grammar School, but an employment move by his police driving- instructor father took him instead to Queen Elizabeth Grammar School in Wakefield. His successes at ‘O’, ‘A’ and ‘S’ levels enabled him to go to Hertford College, Oxford, and to gain a BA in geography. He followed this with a Diploma in Economic Development at Manchester University. By this time, he had discovered a passion for politics and particularly for political debate. By personality – and influenced by the non-statist radicalism of the then party leader, Jo Grimond – Greaves naturally gravitated to the Liberal cause.
    [Show full text]
  • 01 IEA Dilemma of Democracy
    The Dilemma of Democracy The Dilemma of Democracy The Political Economics of Over-Government ARTHUR SELDON with a comment by samuel brittan The Institute of Economic Affairs CONTENTS First published in Great Britain in 1998 by The Institute of Economic Affairs 2 Lord North Street Westminster The author 7 sw1p lb London 3 Foreword 9 Acknowledgements 13 Reissued in this new edition in 2002 by The Institute of Economic Affairs Summary 15 in association with Profile Books Ltd List of tables 17 Copyright © The Institute of Economic Affairs 1998 Introduction 21 The moral right of the author has been asserted. Escapable government meets irresistible markets 21 All rights reserved. Without limiting the rights under copyright reserved above, 1 Democracy at the crossroads 41 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, The government of democracy 41 mechanical, photocopying, recording or otherwise), without the prior written The penalty of over-expansion 47 permission of both the copyright owner and the publisher of this book. The disabling constitution of democracy 54 A CIP catalogue record for this book is available from the British Library. 2 The debilitating disease of isbn 0 255 36536 5 over-government 61 Over-government – too soon 61 Many IEA publications are translated into languages other than English or are 68 reprinted. Permission to translate or to reprint should be sought from the Over-government – too far General Director at the
    [Show full text]
  • Liberals in Coalition
    For the study of Liberal, SDP and Issue 72 / Autumn 2011 / £10.00 Liberal Democrat history Journal of LiberalHI ST O R Y Liberals in coalition Vernon Bogdanor Riding the tiger The Liberal experience of coalition government Ian Cawood A ‘distinction without a difference’? Liberal Unionists and Conservatives Kenneth O. Morgan Liberals in coalition, 1916–1922 David Dutton Liberalism and the National Government, 1931–1940 Matt Cole ‘Be careful what you wish for’ Lessons of the Lib–Lab Pact Liberal Democrat History Group 2 Journal of Liberal History 72 Autumn 2011 new book from tHe History Group for details, see back page Journal of Liberal History issue 72: Autumn 2011 The Journal of Liberal History is published quarterly by the Liberal Democrat History Group. ISSN 1479-9642 Riding the tiger: the Liberal experience of 4 Editor: Duncan Brack coalition government Deputy Editor: Tom Kiehl Assistant Editor: Siobhan Vitelli Vernon Bogdanor introduces this special issue of the Journal Biographies Editor: Robert Ingham Reviews Editor: Dr Eugenio Biagini Coalition before 1886 10 Contributing Editors: Graham Lippiatt, Tony Little, York Membery Whigs, Peelites and Liberals: Angus Hawkins examines coalitions before 1886 Patrons A ‘distinction without a difference’? 14 Dr Eugenio Biagini; Professor Michael Freeden; Ian Cawood analyses how the Liberal Unionists maintained a distinctive Professor John Vincent identity from their Conservative allies, until coalition in 1895 Editorial Board The coalition of 1915–1916 26 Dr Malcolm Baines; Dr Roy Douglas; Dr Barry Doyle; Prelude to disaster: Ian Packer examines the Asquith coalition of 1915–16, Dr David Dutton; Prof. David Gowland; Prof. Richard which brought to an end the last solely Liberal government Grayson; Dr Michael Hart; Peter Hellyer; Dr J.
    [Show full text]
  • Orme) Wilberforce (Albert) Raymond Blackburn (Alexander Bell
    Copyrights sought (Albert) Basil (Orme) Wilberforce (Albert) Raymond Blackburn (Alexander Bell) Filson Young (Alexander) Forbes Hendry (Alexander) Frederick Whyte (Alfred Hubert) Roy Fedden (Alfred) Alistair Cooke (Alfred) Guy Garrod (Alfred) James Hawkey (Archibald) Berkeley Milne (Archibald) David Stirling (Archibald) Havergal Downes-Shaw (Arthur) Berriedale Keith (Arthur) Beverley Baxter (Arthur) Cecil Tyrrell Beck (Arthur) Clive Morrison-Bell (Arthur) Hugh (Elsdale) Molson (Arthur) Mervyn Stockwood (Arthur) Paul Boissier, Harrow Heraldry Committee & Harrow School (Arthur) Trevor Dawson (Arwyn) Lynn Ungoed-Thomas (Basil Arthur) John Peto (Basil) Kingsley Martin (Basil) Kingsley Martin (Basil) Kingsley Martin & New Statesman (Borlasse Elward) Wyndham Childs (Cecil Frederick) Nevil Macready (Cecil George) Graham Hayman (Charles Edward) Howard Vincent (Charles Henry) Collins Baker (Charles) Alexander Harris (Charles) Cyril Clarke (Charles) Edgar Wood (Charles) Edward Troup (Charles) Frederick (Howard) Gough (Charles) Michael Duff (Charles) Philip Fothergill (Charles) Philip Fothergill, Liberal National Organisation, N-E Warwickshire Liberal Association & Rt Hon Charles Albert McCurdy (Charles) Vernon (Oldfield) Bartlett (Charles) Vernon (Oldfield) Bartlett & World Review of Reviews (Claude) Nigel (Byam) Davies (Claude) Nigel (Byam) Davies (Colin) Mark Patrick (Crwfurd) Wilfrid Griffin Eady (Cyril) Berkeley Ormerod (Cyril) Desmond Keeling (Cyril) George Toogood (Cyril) Kenneth Bird (David) Euan Wallace (Davies) Evan Bedford (Denis Duncan)
    [Show full text]
  • Thecoalition
    The Coalition Voters, Parties and Institutions Welcome to this interactive pdf version of The Coalition: Voters, Parties and Institutions Please note that in order to view this pdf as intended and to take full advantage of the interactive functions, we strongly recommend you open this document in Adobe Acrobat. Adobe Acrobat Reader is free to download and you can do so from the Adobe website (click to open webpage). Navigation • Each page includes a navigation bar with buttons to view the previous and next pages, along with a button to return to the contents page at any time • You can click on any of the titles on the contents page to take you directly to each article Figures • To examine any of the figures in more detail, you can click on the + button beside each figure to open a magnified view. You can also click on the diagram itself. To return to the full page view, click on the - button Weblinks and email addresses • All web links and email addresses are live links - you can click on them to open a website or new email <>contents The Coalition: Voters, Parties and Institutions Edited by: Hussein Kassim Charles Clarke Catherine Haddon <>contents Published 2012 Commissioned by School of Political, Social and International Studies University of East Anglia Norwich Design by Woolf Designs (www.woolfdesigns.co.uk) <>contents Introduction 03 The Coalition: Voters, Parties and Institutions Introduction The formation of the Conservative-Liberal In his opening paper, Bob Worcester discusses Democratic administration in May 2010 was a public opinion and support for the parties in major political event.
    [Show full text]
  • St Catherine's College Oxford
    MESSAGES The Year St Catherine’s College . Oxford 2013 ST CATHERINE’S COLLEGE 2013/75 MESSAGES Master and Fellows 2013 MASTER Susan C Cooper, MA (BA Richard M Berry, MA, DPhil Bart B van Es (BA, MPhil, Angela B Brueggemann, Gordon Gancz, BM BCh, MA Collby Maine, PhD California) Tutor in Physics PhD Camb) DPhil (BSc St Olaf, MSc Fellow by Special Election Professor Roger W Professor of Experimental Reader in Condensed Tutor in English Iowa) College Doctor Ainsworth, MA, DPhil, Physics Matter Physics Senior Tutor Fellow by Special Election in FRAeS Biological Sciences Geneviève A D M Peter R Franklin, MA (BA, Ashok I Handa, MA (MB BS Tommaso Pizzari, MA (BSc Wellcome Trust Career Helleringer (Maîtrise FELLOWS DPhil York) Lond), FRCS Aberd, PhD Shef) Development Fellow ESSEC, JD Columbia, Maîtrise Tutor in Music Fellow by Special Election in Tutor in Zoology Sciences Po, Maîtrise, Richard J Parish, MA, DPhil Professor of Music Medicine James E Thomson, MChem, Doctorat Paris-I Panthéon- (BA Newc) Reader in Surgery Byron W Byrne, MA, DPhil DPhil Sorbonne, Maîtrise Paris-II Tutor in French John Charles Smith, MA Tutor for Graduates (BCom, BEng Western Fellow by Special Election in Panthéon-Assas) Philip Spencer Fellow Tutor in French Linguistics Australia) Chemistry Fellow by Special Election Professor of French President of the Senior James L Bennett, MA (BA Tutor in Engineering Science in Law (Leave H14) Common Room Reading) Tutor for Admissions Andrew J Bunker, MA, DPhil Leverhulme Trust Early Fellow by Special Election Tutor in Physics
    [Show full text]
  • 50 Douglas Liberal Predicament
    THE LIBERAL PREDICAMENT, 1945 – 64 For most of the twenty years from 1945 to 1964, it looked as if the Liberals were finished. They were reduced to a handful of MPs, most of whom held their seats precariously,. They were desperately short of money and organisation, and were confronted by two great parties, both seeking to look as ‘liberal’ as possible. For the ambitious would- be Liberal politician, there was practically no prospect of a seat in Parliament, or even on the local council. Roy Douglas examines why, despite the desperate state of their party, many Liberals kept the faith going, and not only carried on campaigning, but also laid the foundations for long-term revival. Liberal election poster, 196 1 Journal of Liberal History 50 Spring 2006 THE LIBERAL PREDICAMENT, 1945 – 64 he great Liberal vic- It wasn’t at all like 1874, when a failed. At the general election of tory of 1906 had been Liberal government had more or that year, the Liberal Party won won, more than any- less worked itself out of a job, or a little under 5.3 million votes, thing else, by the party’s 1886, when a Liberal government against well over 8 million each devotion to free trade was divided on a major issue of for the other two parties; but Tand its resistance both to the policy, or 1895, when a Liberal they only obtained fifty-nine protectionist campaign of ren- government collapsed in chaos. MPs, one of whom promptly egade Joseph Chamberlain and Wisely or (to the author’s mind) defected to Labour.
    [Show full text]
  • A Very English Scandal Ep.2 Prod Script Amended 27.11.17 GR
    A VERY ENGLISH SCANDAL EPISODE TWO by Russell T Davies SHOOTING SCRIPT 28.09 PINK AMENDMENTS 03.10 BLUE AMENDMENTS 04.10 GREEN AMENDMENTS 25.10 YELLOW AMENDMENTS 31.10 SALMON AMENDMENTS 08.11 GOLDEN ROD AMENDMENTS 27.11 Based on the book by John Preston 1 INT. COMMONS CHAMBER - DAY 1 JEREMY on his feet, to a packed House. A firebrand. JEREMY I regard it as immoral! This country continues to supply arms to Nigeria, while no food has been able to reach these people since the 10th of June. And who takes advantage of this? Soviet Russia! The Russians have been growing in strength within Nigeria with every passing day - the world should see this! The world should know! CUT TO: 2 INT. HOUSE OF COMMONS, CENTRAL LOBBY - DAY 2 MINUTES LATER, the session ended, the lobby full, JEREMY striding through, PETER BESSELL trotting after him, alarmed, as Jeremy returns to his greatest passion of the moment: JEREMY The real question is, where to dispose of the body? In New York, they drop corpses in the river. CUT TO: 3 INT. HOUSE OF COMMONS, STAIRCASE - DAY 3 JEREMY and BESSELL now hurrying upstairs. JEREMY I’ve read, you can seal a body in concrete at the base of a motorway. CUT TO: 4 INT. JEREMY’S LEADER’S OFFICE - DAY 4 JEREMY striding towards his office, BESSELL following - JEREMY Tin mines! That’s the solution. David! Ready for you now. Waiting outside the office, now jumping to his feet, is DAVID HOLMES, 40s, northern, a solid, bluff man, heavy glasses; a good, blunt, down-to-earth contrast to these MPs.
    [Show full text]
  • 01.01.13 Green Liberalism
    The Green liberalism project is part of a wider Green Alliance programme which looks at the relationship between the values and priorities of the UK’s three main political traditions – conservatism, liberalism and social democracy – and their support for the development of a greener economy. Green Alliance is non-partisan and supports a politically pluralist approach to greening the economy and restoring natural systems. Many political scientists consider the environment to be an issue similar to health and education where voters judge the likely competence of a party if it were in power, and where most voters want similar outcomes. In such issues parties tend to avoid taking sharply contrasting ‘pro’ or ‘anti’ positions.1 Nevertheless the way environmental outcomes are achieved, and even understood, will differ depending on how individual parties view the confluence of their values with environmental solutions. There is also a risk that as environmental policy beings to impinge on significant economic decisions, such as the transformation of transport and energy infrastructure, there will be less common ground between parties. The two-year Green Roots programme will work with advisory groups made up of independent experts and supporters of each political tradition, including parliamentarians, policy experts and academics, to explore how the UK’s main political traditions can address environmental risks and develop distinct responses which align with their values. Liberalism is founded on a supreme belief in the importance of the individual.2 This belief naturally extends to a commitment to individual freedom, supported by the argument that “human beings are rational, thinking creatures… capable of defining and pursuing their own best interests.”3 However, “liberals do not believe that a balanced and tolerant society will develop naturally out of the free actions of individuals..
    [Show full text]