I'm not confused at all...you have a polemical viewpoint there but modern, and even traditional, conservatism has always put pragmatism at its core. It's not just about complete free market capitalism (otherwise that would put conservatism in the realm of objectivism) and it never has been. Even under Thatcher Conservatism was allied to pragmatism, national identity and tradition.

Great piece. If you're an active Conservative party member you should be aware that there are growing numbers of old-style liberals who are fed up with progressive authoritarians and would be invaluable allies in both elections and in helping the party in the years ahead. People who would have once voted for Blair but who now see his ruined legacy as the beginning of the downward trend to nanny state intervention in everyday lives.

What are we doing even pandering to the authoritarian Left? Why are we buying into the gender fluid theory nonsense? Why are we banning libertarian Canadians from entering the UK? Why is Mark Meechan a) being prosecuted for a sick joke and b) any enquiry to Conservative MPs on this issue come with the reply "we uphold the right to freedom of speech BUT......blah, blah, blah, hate speech". Democratic and classical liberal values are being undermined and the Conservatives are holding the remains. Labour never wanted it, the LibDems have turned their backs on it and only Conservatives are capable of preserving it but will we? If the Conservatives take a stand on free speech, defend it and stand firm against those in the media and academia who will sling insults at them then the support and votes will follow in greater numbers.

Now there's talk of banning the sale of knives. Bans...this is straight out of the New Labour playbook. We already have laws against the carrying of knives, what's the point of banning sales? Why are Conservatives going down the path of illiberalism, where the innocent are blamed for something they might do in the future? We saw this with handguns in the late 90s, where law abiding sports shooters got shafted. The crime is in the act not with the object. I wish the Conservatives would stop trying to emulate the more illiberal aspects of Labour under Blair and Brown.

When I say libertarian I am using her description of herself. And anyway, please cite examples of her being alt-right. Considering she's declared she's not alt-right the burden of proof that she is one rests with you. You also have some other facts wrong: Tommy Robinson is not in the EDL anymore, he disassociated from them some years ago, has since worked with the Quilliam Foundation and even Douglas Murray, who has interviewed him a number of times, has said Robinson is not a fascist. So is Douglas Murray alt-right?

Besides, even if they were that does not mean it is right to ban them from entering this country and talking. If Lauren Southern wants to meet Tommy Robinson at a private venue to conduct an interview then why should that be illegal? What crime is being committed? You seem to be someone who would criminalise opinions and is quick to throw insults without arguments to back them up. That is the hallmark of someone who hasn't got the courage of their convictions nor strong enough arguments to counter their views.

This is a good article and welcome in light of three things that happened in the UK this week:

First, the UK banned entry to a Canadian Libertarian commentator. The kind of person who would be good to have speak at a British campus, even if you didn't agree with her.

Then, Sadiq Khan made a video about how tech companies and social media outlets should take more responsibility to censor nasty comments. He equated a comment about an unflattering comparison with Jose Mourinho with a death threat.

And today a Scottish YouTuber has been jailed for making a crass joke about a dog doing a Nazi salute.

All these things happened on our watch. We have to assert boldly that we are the party of free speech, of classical liberalism, personal responsibility and the protectors of individual rights because no other party will do that.

The reason for emphasising security and sovereignty is that it helps define what it is that differentiates us from Putin's Russia. What values do we cherish that they don't that we feel we should protect? Unfortunately, there are cases where it's hard to tell the dividing line between the UK and Russia. This week, the UK have barred entrance into the country to a Canadian Libertarian political commentator and have jailed a Scottish YouTuber for a crass Nazi joke. Meanwhile, the Mayor of London calls for more restrictions on social media. So how does that help delineate between us and Putin's Russia?

Liberalism, in the classic sense; the ideas of Burke, Locke, Paine and countless others has been left in Conservative hands. Labour never wanted it, the LibDems abandoned it and the other parties don't care for it. Only Conservatives are capable of keeping the ideas of freedom, liberty, personal choice and responsibility alive in this country. And what are we doing about it? Pandering to the Socialists. May sees too much with a security lens: Anti-Hate speech policies were bequeathed to us by Blair's Labour and she seems to think that they're useful to stop radical Islamists or Fascists but now they're being used by the police and courts to go after people with opinions and rude jokes. The government must abandon widening "hate speech" laws now and stick up for free speech because heaven help us if any other party becomes a government: It'll only get worse.

Not the same thing at all. The Conservative party had to modernise on a number of points; change is not always a bad thing. I would add that as the Conservatives were modernising they would answer why they were doing such a thing. Remain did not refer to Federalism or the Euro crisis at all. It was a wall of silence.

What I found really distasteful was his comment that "victory has been achieved without a single bullet being fired".

Stay classy, Nigel.

Your last phrase is precisely what cost Remain the vote. You treat the electorate with contempt, you deserve to be defeated.

Let's not heap too much praise on Nigel Farage. He didn't become a leading voice in the campaign until his silly boat stunt on the Thames which he followed up with that daft poster. As usual, he let others debate the nitty gritty and intellectual points and he's swanned in at the last phase of the campaign.

His little speech this morning wasn't brilliant. He paid tribute to the "decent voters" who voted to leave forgetting that Remain has decent voters as well. Farage, UKIP and myself may have voted the same way; but he's still a wally who's full of wind.