en-us https://www.intensedebate.com/users/545457 Comments by DavidParker http://www.conservativehome.com/platform/2015/04/james-dobson-claims-that-immigration-undermines-social-cohesion-are-unfounded.html#IDComment962554142 Merely because this relates to a paper published by the Adam Smith Institute, for which many of us have some respect, does not automatically give this article either credibility or authority. When one examines it more closely it seems more like a post graduate essay upon an interesting hypothesis based, at best, upon dubious or debatable evidence and statistics. One should not criticise the author for his effort, nor for his youth or inexperience, however, in terms of the political importance of the whole immigration issue, it should be treated with a degree of scepticism. Tue, 7 Apr 2015 18:13:47 +0000 http://www.conservativehome.com/platform/2015/04/james-dobson-claims-that-immigration-undermines-social-cohesion-are-unfounded.html#IDComment962554142 http://www.conservativehome.com/parliament/2015/02/maudes-full-letter-announcing-his-decision-to-leave-the-commons.html#IDComment946825887 Time to leave the garden Maud! He was probably an intelligent, well intentioned man, but better suited to an academic rather than a political life. Sun, 1 Feb 2015 17:31:55 +0000 http://www.conservativehome.com/parliament/2015/02/maudes-full-letter-announcing-his-decision-to-leave-the-commons.html#IDComment946825887 http://www.conservativehome.com/thetorydiary/2015/01/labservative-that-blue-red-coalition-government-list-in-full.html#IDComment937834052 I think, Paul, that is what is known as an editorial wind- up !, but hardly necessary in the case of most of the contributors to this blog. A sword's length between benches may historically have been sufficient (apart, possibly, from Heseltine's mace wielding), but, with your suggestions, I can foresee endless contests of iPods at dawn between your job sharers. Mon, 5 Jan 2015 17:26:20 +0000 http://www.conservativehome.com/thetorydiary/2015/01/labservative-that-blue-red-coalition-government-list-in-full.html#IDComment937834052 http://www.conservativehome.com/platform/2014/12/christ-heaton-harris-mp-you-dont-have-to-change-the-treaties-to-change-the-eu.html#IDComment929395123 Mr Heaton Harris is a former MEP and cannot therefore plead either innocence or ignorance for ignoring the existence of the Acquis Communautaire ( or Ratchet clause) which, but for a fundamental treaty change, would bar most of his proposed reforms. Tue, 16 Dec 2014 11:31:38 +0000 http://www.conservativehome.com/platform/2014/12/christ-heaton-harris-mp-you-dont-have-to-change-the-treaties-to-change-the-eu.html#IDComment929395123 http://www.conservativehome.com/platform/2014/11/gerard-russell-baghdads-jewish-co-founder-egypts-christian-prime-ministers-the-islamic-legacy-that-isis-hates.html#IDComment921756549 An excellent and thought provoking article. Christianity itself has many sects, some of which historically attempted to gain superiority over their rivals by violent means and bitter internecine struggles. Sat, 29 Nov 2014 11:06:31 +0000 http://www.conservativehome.com/platform/2014/11/gerard-russell-baghdads-jewish-co-founder-egypts-christian-prime-ministers-the-islamic-legacy-that-isis-hates.html#IDComment921756549 http://www.conservativehome.com/thetorydiary/2014/11/geoffrey-cox-mp-my-hero.html#IDComment914967683 Whilst solicitors usually bill their clients upon an hourly basis, trying to calculate barrister's earnings in the same manner can be very misleading. In the first place, being self employed, their fees also have to cover their expenses, such as clerk's fees, chambers rent, etc. whilst a case which lasts one day in court can often involve many days, or even sometimes weeks of research and preparation. Wed, 19 Nov 2014 11:48:22 +0000 http://www.conservativehome.com/thetorydiary/2014/11/geoffrey-cox-mp-my-hero.html#IDComment914967683 http://www.conservativehome.com/platform/2014/11/harriet-maltby-intolerant-pessimistic-and-powerless-ukips-britain-not-ours.html#IDComment906181802 Ms Maltby, alas, seems to be typical of those denizens of political "think tanks" whose only experience of life is restricted to the Westminster bubble and who confuse dubious and often contradictory polling statistics with the real world outside. So long as they are confined to their think tanks they may be relatively harmless, apart from being a waste of money (often at the taxpayer's expense) but God help us when they think that this qualifies them to become politicians themselves. Thu, 6 Nov 2014 11:50:04 +0000 http://www.conservativehome.com/platform/2014/11/harriet-maltby-intolerant-pessimistic-and-powerless-ukips-britain-not-ours.html#IDComment906181802 http://www.conservativehome.com/platform/2014/11/greg-barker-mp-how-i-persuaded-osborne-to-set-up-the-green-investment-bank-and-the-success-that-followed.html#IDComment903067907 Even more depressing is the fact that Greg Barker actually believes in his own delusions. This gives a new dimension to the term "Barking Mad". Sun, 2 Nov 2014 10:35:56 +0000 http://www.conservativehome.com/platform/2014/11/greg-barker-mp-how-i-persuaded-osborne-to-set-up-the-green-investment-bank-and-the-success-that-followed.html#IDComment903067907 http://www.conservativehome.com/leftwatch/2014/10/cleggs-speech-from-kingmaker-to-political-flotsam-in-four-short-years.html#IDComment886406366 this is a strange twist upon the concept of "democracy". Assuming a close result in the outcome of the next GE, it will be clear that the party whom the electors LEAST want to participate in the new government of the country will be the Lib-Dems ( even assuming that they end up with more MPs than UKIP or the Greens). They are a party whose competence, policies and views have been comprehensively rejected by the great majority of both Conservative and Labour voters, who could never conceivably achieve a parliamentary majority in their own right, but which nevertheless still claims some democratic right to try to enforce their minority views upon us. Wed, 8 Oct 2014 16:56:37 +0000 http://www.conservativehome.com/leftwatch/2014/10/cleggs-speech-from-kingmaker-to-political-flotsam-in-four-short-years.html#IDComment886406366 http://www.conservativehome.com/platform/2014/10/lord-ashcroft-the-pm-has-done-a-good-days-work.html#IDComment883328795 It might have been a good speech if most of the undecided/non voters had really believed him, or, indeed even have been prepared to give him the benefit of the doubt. Just one of the problems was that this was a speech promoting Cameron first and the Conservative party second. Indeed, in his peroration he empashsised the phrase" vote for me rather than Miliband" rather than vote Conservative rather than Labour. In truth, many would-be Tory voters either abstain or vote for another party simply because they do not trust Cameron, or feel that he is in the least interested in listening to their views. Hence, once again,the party risks losing an election, not because of its policies, but because of the stranglehold of a small junta of its ruling elite. Wed, 1 Oct 2014 18:11:45 +0000 http://www.conservativehome.com/platform/2014/10/lord-ashcroft-the-pm-has-done-a-good-days-work.html#IDComment883328795 http://www.conservativehome.com/thetorydiary/2014/09/a-wharton-bill-english-votes-for-english-laws-style.html#IDComment879083883 Very well said. Sun, 21 Sep 2014 09:18:57 +0000 http://www.conservativehome.com/thetorydiary/2014/09/a-wharton-bill-english-votes-for-english-laws-style.html#IDComment879083883 http://www.conservativehome.com/thetorydiary/2014/09/scottish-referendum-evening-round-up.html#IDComment878083388 One of the greatest arguments of the Scottish Yes vote is that they are governed by a Westminster Parliament for which they did not vote. However, in fact, they did. It was the Scottish labour votes , amongst others,which ensured a Labour victory in Westminster 1997 and it was an entirely Scottish vote for Gordon Brown as an MP for his constituency which ultimately imposed upon the rest of us the worst Prime Minister of the UK for the last 100 years Thu, 18 Sep 2014 18:29:52 +0000 http://www.conservativehome.com/thetorydiary/2014/09/scottish-referendum-evening-round-up.html#IDComment878083388 http://www.conservativehome.com/video/2014/08/watch-rotherhams-police-commissioner-resists-calls-for-him-to-stand-down.html#IDComment869532867 Shaun Wright typifies all that is wrong with the mindset of professional "politicians" at both national and local levels. An inflated ego and sense of entitlement ( at taxpayers expense) not matched by either the ability or intelligence, let alone moral integrity, to merit his inflated salary. However, like his colleague Denis McShane, he still does not even have the honesty or dignity to accept any of the blame for his totally disastrous failure to perform his job either competently or honestly. He obviously intends to go down with all flags flying. I only hope that he goes down for a lengthy period, preferably never to resurface in any publicly funded position. Wed, 27 Aug 2014 18:05:49 +0000 http://www.conservativehome.com/video/2014/08/watch-rotherhams-police-commissioner-resists-calls-for-him-to-stand-down.html#IDComment869532867 http://www.conservativehome.com/thetorydiary/2014/07/patersons-sacking-is-a-mistake-but-he-is-now-free-to-push-climate-scepticism-and-brexit-from-the-backbenches.html#IDComment854181487 Contrary to some of the comments above Paterson did not make a mess of his handling of the flood crisis. Whilst most of the environment agency officials and also many rural MPs were floundering about like drowning lemmings Paterson took direct action and, even more importantly, actually listened to those locals at the epicentre who actually knew what they were talking about. Let us just hope that his replacement will not undo the considerable improvements which Paterson has made in the Environment Agency during his term in office. Tue, 15 Jul 2014 08:49:26 +0000 http://www.conservativehome.com/thetorydiary/2014/07/patersons-sacking-is-a-mistake-but-he-is-now-free-to-push-climate-scepticism-and-brexit-from-the-backbenches.html#IDComment854181487 http://www.conservativehome.com/platform/2014/06/martine-martin-we-must-take-on-ukip-with-a-simpler-message.html#IDComment837793867 Cameron's conditional promise of an in/out EU referendum is already fatally flawed by his comment that he personally would campaign for an in vote in that referendum if HE felt that the proposed terms of his re-negotiation were beneficial to the UK. Surely, the only honest position for him to take would have been to say that he would be entirely non-partisan in that referendum and to leave it to the judgement of the voters to say whether the proposed terms were acceptable and, of course to make this a free vote for his own party. Sun, 1 Jun 2014 18:11:31 +0000 http://www.conservativehome.com/platform/2014/06/martine-martin-we-must-take-on-ukip-with-a-simpler-message.html#IDComment837793867 http://www.conservativehome.com/platform/2014/06/matthew-sinclair-internal-party-democracy-is-the-best-response-to-ukips-rise-not-abolishing-first-past-the-post.html#IDComment837678463 This is a very valid argument. In some areas we are reverting to the old system of "rotten or pocket boroughs". So far, however, none of the major parties have shown any willingness to tackle this problem. It would take a government with a strong working majority to be certain of passing the necessary legislation for the rot has already penetrated deep into our parliamentary system and will continue to do so unless we have a government strong enough and honest enough to withstand the hostility of the vested interests of those who are increasingly exploiting and perverting the electoral system. Sun, 1 Jun 2014 10:24:52 +0000 http://www.conservativehome.com/platform/2014/06/matthew-sinclair-internal-party-democracy-is-the-best-response-to-ukips-rise-not-abolishing-first-past-the-post.html#IDComment837678463 http://www.conservativehome.com/thetorydiary/2014/05/how-thin-will-the-queens-speech-be.html#IDComment837428989 If the conservatives gave a clear undertaking NOW that they would not enter into another coalition with the Lib-Dems, they would probably gain considerably more votes than they might lose in the 2015 election. Again and again the Lib-Dems have been trying to gain credit for those actions of the present Government which have proved to be generally popular, but to distance themselves from those which have not. In fact, however, all of those Acts required the consent of both parties in the coalition. It is all very well for the Lib-Dems to claim that they voted under duress for policies with which they did not agree, whilst trying to claim all the credit for those with which they did, but the answer in both cases is simple, if you disagree with your partners in the coalition upon matters of principle you should either abstain or vote against those measures. If this might mean the break up of a coalition which was clearly unworkable in good faith and honesty, then that might be an argument in favour of our so called democracy. Sat, 31 May 2014 17:19:41 +0000 http://www.conservativehome.com/thetorydiary/2014/05/how-thin-will-the-queens-speech-be.html#IDComment837428989 http://www.conservativehome.com/platform/2014/05/professor-tim-bale-ukip-shouldnt-be-an-option-for-any-true-conservative.html#IDComment836535837 "Those who can do; those who who can't, teach. It appears that the poor professor is circling the perimiter of the Big Tent trying desperately to find the entrance. Thu, 29 May 2014 12:17:03 +0000 http://www.conservativehome.com/platform/2014/05/professor-tim-bale-ukip-shouldnt-be-an-option-for-any-true-conservative.html#IDComment836535837 http://www.conservativehome.com/platform/2014/05/sunder-katwala-the-ukippers-you-can-talk-to-and-those-that-you-cant.html#IDComment833767790 It would be dangerous to underestimate the "status quo" effect which would favour the IN voters in any IN/OUT referendum. Added to this a clear majority would probably vote to remain in the EU if there was any genuine prospect of Britain being able to achieve a major renegotiation of our terms of membership whilst still remaining a member. However, as has already been made abundantly clear by the majority of the leaders of other member states, not to mention the EU commission itself, the only way in which Britain could obtain any substantial renegotiation is by negotiating such a settlement from outside the EU in accordance with the terms of Clause 50 (TEU). This clause was deliberately introduced into the Lisbon Treaty to provide for precisely such a situation, where one member state wished to renegotiate its relationship without affecting those of all the other states. Whilst there will undoubtedly be further changes to the EU treaties, probably sooner rather than later, it would be naive and dishonest to pretend that these will not result in ever closer union and more rather than less EU integration and centralised control. The British PM, if a pseudosceptic, will doubtless put up a symbolic defence but, with the EU being a fundamentally left leaning, centralising and authoritarian organisation, will be heavily out voted in any resulting Inter-governmental Conference. Unless the PM then tried to "do a Brown" slinking away in the night to sign the treaty secretly, it is possible that Parliament might refuse to ratify the ensuing treaty leaving us in the worst possible position to commence negotiations by invoking the provisions of Clause 50. Thu, 22 May 2014 14:28:18 +0000 http://www.conservativehome.com/platform/2014/05/sunder-katwala-the-ukippers-you-can-talk-to-and-those-that-you-cant.html#IDComment833767790 http://www.conservativehome.com/the-deep-end/2014/04/the-ruling-tribes-of-british-politics-day-1-ukip-and-the-snp.html#IDComment817487625 As Peter Franklin states in his article, both Cameron and Clegg are unpopular. However, Cameron refuses to rule out the possibility of another Con/Lib-Dem coalition after 2015, indeed this is probably his only hope of remaining in power. This will drive many normally Conservative voters either to abstain or vote UKIP. Whilst this will certainly achieve its objecvtive of preventing another Con/LD coalition it may well result in a Lab/LD one, truly a case of "out of the frying pan..." However successful UKIP may be in the 2015 election in terms of votes this is unlikely to translate into more Parliamentary seats than even a decimated Lib-Dem party will achieve. In the event of Cameron even achieving another hung Parliament, which currently seems to be the best he can achieve ( and may well he hoping for) there will therefore be no possibility of forming a Con/UKIP coalition. Many voters, both Conservative and UKIP are now pinning therir hopes upon a genuinely eurosceptic Parliament not in 2015 but in 2020. Alas! by then it will probably be too late and Britain, under Miliband or Clegiband may already be part of a federal EU. Nor can we rely upon the safeguard of the possibility of a referendum to prevent this. We have for too long taken it for granted that the europhile camp is weak, fragmented and disorganised, however, for the first time this century the polls are now showing a slender majority in favour of Britain remaining a member of the EU. This surge of europhilia, sparked by even the remotest possibility of an eventual referendum has been orchestrated mainly by the powerful and wealthy multinational big businesses, assisted, as always, by the BBC, some ( but by no means all) of the unions, many of our own civil servants and, of course, the EU itself. If an eventual referendum to leave the EU is lost this will be primarily because so many people in Britain still have only the vaguest knowledge of what the EU is really about, how it works and how it affects so many parts of our daily lives. Of course this will be exploited, as it was in Ireland, by misinormation and deliberate lies, intimidation, scaremongering, and even bribery, in order to persuade people that the status quo is preferable to the unknown. However, it would be a grave mistake for UKIP to assume that their increasing membership would automatically mean that all of their members would be proof against these pressures. Indeed, even now less than 50% of their members place leaving the EU as their first priority when polled about this. Mon, 14 Apr 2014 12:54:36 +0000 http://www.conservativehome.com/the-deep-end/2014/04/the-ruling-tribes-of-british-politics-day-1-ukip-and-the-snp.html#IDComment817487625