en-us https://www.intensedebate.com/users/7909492 Comments by BusterKitten https://www.conservativehome.com/thetorydiary/2021/02/protecting-free-speech-university-legislation-will-help-but-ministers-need-to-speak-out-more.html#IDComment1097605421 I imagine most are like the rest of us - believing people should have the right to say what they like within the law, and that institutions should be able to apply whatever rules they like to the clubs and societies they run. Why do we need the government to govern these things? Tue, 16 Feb 2021 12:58:08 +0000 https://www.conservativehome.com/thetorydiary/2021/02/protecting-free-speech-university-legislation-will-help-but-ministers-need-to-speak-out-more.html#IDComment1097605421 https://www.conservativehome.com/thetorydiary/2021/02/protecting-free-speech-university-legislation-will-help-but-ministers-need-to-speak-out-more.html#IDComment1097603480 On both left and right, the people who complain most about culture war are those most eager to fuel one. Is this what we want politics to be? Just an online shouting match about things which affect a tiny minority of people?. Most people are not at university. Most universities have no issue with no-platforming. Of the people at Universities that do have an issue, most do not care about any of this stuff. Tue, 16 Feb 2021 11:26:10 +0000 https://www.conservativehome.com/thetorydiary/2021/02/protecting-free-speech-university-legislation-will-help-but-ministers-need-to-speak-out-more.html#IDComment1097603480 https://www.conservativehome.com/thecolumnists/2021/02/emily-carver-an-online-sales-tax-would-be-a-clear-cut-case-of-levelling-down.html#IDComment1097449966 It amazes me that voices like the IEA, which claims to fight the corner of capitalism on the basis that it believes it to be the best way for us to organise ourselves, will turn a blind eye to where capitalism fails. If we want people to have faith that capitalism is better than the alternatives, then advocates should call out when companies distort markets and cease to uphold their side of the bargain - namely that they are free to make oodles of cash as long as they pay their fair share of tax, don't build monopolies and provide employment that can give normal people some level of security. If they don't do this, isn't that a rather big signal that capitalism isn't working? Despite their clever spokespeople and pseudo-academic messages, it seems the IEA is actually interested most of all in protecting not capitalism, but the large companies which enrich themselves by distorting markets. Wed, 10 Feb 2021 10:53:09 +0000 https://www.conservativehome.com/thecolumnists/2021/02/emily-carver-an-online-sales-tax-would-be-a-clear-cut-case-of-levelling-down.html#IDComment1097449966 https://www.conservativehome.com/thetorydiary/2021/01/responding-to-rashford.html#IDComment1096718321 Are you elected? And if you're not, should we also insist that you butt out? Fri, 15 Jan 2021 13:02:13 +0000 https://www.conservativehome.com/thetorydiary/2021/01/responding-to-rashford.html#IDComment1096718321 https://www.conservativehome.com/thetorydiary/2021/01/responding-to-rashford.html#IDComment1096718309 Why do you say he is none to bright? What's your basis for saying that? Fri, 15 Jan 2021 13:00:53 +0000 https://www.conservativehome.com/thetorydiary/2021/01/responding-to-rashford.html#IDComment1096718309 https://www.conservativehome.com/thetorydiary/2021/01/responding-to-rashford.html#IDComment1096715312 The outrage is that a £30 allocation for food appears to translate into only about £5 to £10 actually being used to buy food - and the rest goes where? One assume it's swallowed by the costs and profits of the private sector contractors who supply it. That's bad value for the taxpayer and bad value for poor people who need the food. A new measure of child poverty is window dressing. Fri, 15 Jan 2021 10:22:20 +0000 https://www.conservativehome.com/thetorydiary/2021/01/responding-to-rashford.html#IDComment1096715312 https://www.conservativehome.com/thetorydiary/2020/11/with-a-cummings-a-cummings-and-a-half.html#IDComment1095238384 Elections are chaotic things. If a couple go your way it's easy to believe that there is some magic source at play, in this case that Cummings has a special genius for winning. But maybe it was just luck, or happenstance. We don't hear that much of Lynton Crosby these days, do we? Cummings' interpersonal deficiencies have been known about since his days in Education. He has a track record of causing chaos and then flouncing. He is a man of science with no scientific background. He is a hero of the working class with a private education and aristocratic ties. He complains - as highlighted by Paul - of amateurs in the ruling class but is an amateur himself, and he's been found out. Fri, 13 Nov 2020 09:30:31 +0000 https://www.conservativehome.com/thetorydiary/2020/11/with-a-cummings-a-cummings-and-a-half.html#IDComment1095238384 https://www.conservativehome.com/platform/2020/10/emma-revell-the-triple-lock-pension-guarantee-isnt-a-priority-young-peoples-futures-are-however.html#IDComment1094698431 'Sadly things are not handed out on a plate just because you want it now' - Well, quite. So why do you think pensioners should be handed more and more public money? 'Older people suffered hardships of different types and as others have said, with enormous mortgage payments/interest rates and hyper inflation.' - Interest rates on much lower amounts borrowed and inflation that was also reflected in pay rises. 'My father went to war in 1939 having just had a son and didn't see him or my mother again until 1945. I think that's pretty hard.' - What has your father and 1939 got to do with this? Are you trying to compare pensioners today having to put up slightly lower (but still rising) pension increases with having to fight a war? Tue, 20 Oct 2020 11:31:00 +0000 https://www.conservativehome.com/platform/2020/10/emma-revell-the-triple-lock-pension-guarantee-isnt-a-priority-young-peoples-futures-are-however.html#IDComment1094698431 https://www.conservativehome.com/platform/2020/10/emma-revell-the-triple-lock-pension-guarantee-isnt-a-priority-young-peoples-futures-are-however.html#IDComment1094695180 You seem to be against housebuilding. Less housebuilding means house prices are more likely to rise. Higher house prices means people buying houses need to borrow more. More personal borrowing means the economy is less able to withstand rises in interest rates. In other words, your opposition to housebuilding actually contributes to your savings interest being low. Tue, 20 Oct 2020 08:21:47 +0000 https://www.conservativehome.com/platform/2020/10/emma-revell-the-triple-lock-pension-guarantee-isnt-a-priority-young-peoples-futures-are-however.html#IDComment1094695180 https://www.conservativehome.com/platform/2020/10/emma-revell-the-triple-lock-pension-guarantee-isnt-a-priority-young-peoples-futures-are-however.html#IDComment1094695089 There's a lot of misunderstanding about the Triple Lock in these responses. 'Scrapping' the Triple Lock actually means getting rid of the 2.5% lock, but retaining the wages and inflation locks. So pensioners would not see their State Pension frozen at all, but actually still see it rising every year by the HIGHER of average wage rises or inflation. In other words, they would be treated no worse, and potentially slightly better, than the average working age person. Tue, 20 Oct 2020 08:15:55 +0000 https://www.conservativehome.com/platform/2020/10/emma-revell-the-triple-lock-pension-guarantee-isnt-a-priority-young-peoples-futures-are-however.html#IDComment1094695089 https://www.conservativehome.com/platform/2020/10/emma-revell-the-triple-lock-pension-guarantee-isnt-a-priority-young-peoples-futures-are-however.html#IDComment1094695024 No, the reform commonly discussed is to get rid of the 2.5% lock, but retain the wages and inflation locks. So it wouldn't be 'f*ck the pensioners', it would be 'treat the pensioners the same as everyone else, if not slightly better'. Tue, 20 Oct 2020 08:11:50 +0000 https://www.conservativehome.com/platform/2020/10/emma-revell-the-triple-lock-pension-guarantee-isnt-a-priority-young-peoples-futures-are-however.html#IDComment1094695024 https://www.conservativehome.com/thetorydiary/2020/09/why-conservative-mps-should-vote-to-amend-the-uk-internal-market-bill.html#IDComment1093845605 Well the government signed and won an election on an agreement that confirmed NI would be treated differently to the rest of the UK. This was known about at the time and was seen as necessary to avoid a border in Ireland. Mon, 14 Sep 2020 09:56:52 +0000 https://www.conservativehome.com/thetorydiary/2020/09/why-conservative-mps-should-vote-to-amend-the-uk-internal-market-bill.html#IDComment1093845605 https://www.conservativehome.com/thetorydiary/2020/09/why-conservative-mps-should-vote-to-amend-the-uk-internal-market-bill.html#IDComment1093844551 Paul's right that most people won't care if the UK breaks international law. The risk is that it contributes to a 'drip-drip' charge against the government of incompetence and chaos. The public will care much more about bad outcomes in a chaotic Brexit, and that is when the events of the last week will come home to roost. Brextor supporters are sceptical that a No Deal will be all that bad. If we get one, and it is rather bad after all, those up-til-now supportive leave voters might just conclude that it is this Government's incompetence in failing to prepare and negotiate that are to blame for a bad Brexit. The past week will provide evidence for that conclusion. That's the danger of these events to the Government. Mon, 14 Sep 2020 09:09:13 +0000 https://www.conservativehome.com/thetorydiary/2020/09/why-conservative-mps-should-vote-to-amend-the-uk-internal-market-bill.html#IDComment1093844551 https://www.conservativehome.com/thecolumnists/2020/09/richard-holden-if-starmer-stands-or-kneels-for-each-passing-fad-he-wont-rebuild-trust-with-working-class-voters.html#IDComment1093844324 Based on his performance at PMQs last week, Boris (and the author of this article) would dearly love Starmer to wade into the Brexit issue so the PM can reel off his pre-prepared 'remoaner lawyer' spiel. Starmer is wisely avoiding that, preferring a much better line of - 'you said you'd get a deal, so get one'. If (when) no deal arrives, and there are negative outcomes, Starmer will be much better placed to make his criticisms. Mon, 14 Sep 2020 09:01:21 +0000 https://www.conservativehome.com/thecolumnists/2020/09/richard-holden-if-starmer-stands-or-kneels-for-each-passing-fad-he-wont-rebuild-trust-with-working-class-voters.html#IDComment1093844324 https://www.conservativehome.com/platform/2020/08/mo-hussein-this-channel-crisis-must-not-distract-ministers-from-bringing-vulnerable-refugees-to-britain.html#IDComment1093018214 But what about those from Syria? Do they have a case, or not? Mon, 24 Aug 2020 12:57:57 +0000 https://www.conservativehome.com/platform/2020/08/mo-hussein-this-channel-crisis-must-not-distract-ministers-from-bringing-vulnerable-refugees-to-britain.html#IDComment1093018214 https://www.conservativehome.com/platform/2020/08/mo-hussein-this-channel-crisis-must-not-distract-ministers-from-bringing-vulnerable-refugees-to-britain.html#IDComment1093007627 So for you it's simply case that we should not take refugees, even from places where there is a real danger they will be killed. There should be no human compassion to people in mortal danger at all. Because, well just because. Got it. Mon, 24 Aug 2020 08:37:45 +0000 https://www.conservativehome.com/platform/2020/08/mo-hussein-this-channel-crisis-must-not-distract-ministers-from-bringing-vulnerable-refugees-to-britain.html#IDComment1093007627 https://www.conservativehome.com/thetorydiary/2020/08/with-less-than-a-month-to-reopen-schools-johnson-needs-labour-to-back-his-message.html#IDComment1092357483 The Conservatives are in power with a large majority. They can do what they like. What this article seems to want is for Labour to endorse whatever it does so that the Government has an excuse if it goes wrong - 'look, you supported this too'. If the Government is confident it has science on its side - open the schools. If it is right and Labour opposed it, the Government can make that point. But if it is wrong and infections go up, the Government must own it. Mon, 10 Aug 2020 09:22:37 +0000 https://www.conservativehome.com/thetorydiary/2020/08/with-less-than-a-month-to-reopen-schools-johnson-needs-labour-to-back-his-message.html#IDComment1092357483 https://www.conservativehome.com/highlights/2020/07/profile-chris-grayling-scorned-defender-of-the-unglamorous-middle-class.html#IDComment1091822860 Grayling is like that kid who, with enough cajoling, you can persuade to eat a slug. He hangs around the cleverer boys waiting for them to give him horrible jobs to do. Once a reputation is completely destroyed, as happened to Grayling's some time ago, I guess it becomes indestructible. That's his political career now - a sort of professional scapegoat for hire. Thu, 16 Jul 2020 07:11:20 +0000 https://www.conservativehome.com/highlights/2020/07/profile-chris-grayling-scorned-defender-of-the-unglamorous-middle-class.html#IDComment1091822860 https://www.conservativehome.com/thecolumnists/2020/07/darren-grimes-today-its-conservatives-who-are-the-real-rebels-against-woke-conformity-and-the-cancel-culture.html#IDComment1091799164 Darren I really wouldn't wish for the end of cancel culture if I were you, you owe your career to it. As a professional troll, what on earth would you do if there were not equally cynical self-promoters on the other side for you to fight with? Wed, 15 Jul 2020 07:38:05 +0000 https://www.conservativehome.com/thecolumnists/2020/07/darren-grimes-today-its-conservatives-who-are-the-real-rebels-against-woke-conformity-and-the-cancel-culture.html#IDComment1091799164 https://www.conservativehome.com/thecolumnists/2020/07/robert-halfon-johnson-delivers-for-the-workers-but-starmer-could-win-back-their-votes.html#IDComment1091521074 There are certainly lessons to be taken from the US, but they are opposite to the ones you assume. Waging culture war brings chaos, and voters tend not to like that. No matter the rights and wrongs of the issues at hand, ordinary people want to know that their government will be able to maintain a broad peace and take the sting out of conflict, rather than encourage it. That's why Trump has tanked in the polls. This Conservative government has rather embraced chaos as a reforming principle, and is happy to upend institutions to make the changes it wants. It needs to be careful that it isn't seen as pursuing chaos for chaos' sake. Voters still value competence very highly. Wed, 1 Jul 2020 07:39:25 +0000 https://www.conservativehome.com/thecolumnists/2020/07/robert-halfon-johnson-delivers-for-the-workers-but-starmer-could-win-back-their-votes.html#IDComment1091521074