A little milestone was passed this week when I bought my first car. I learnt to drive five years ago. I wasn’t the sort of person that started lessons as soon as I turned 17. I saw no need, and waited until I was 20. After passing my test, I don’t think I drove for […]
Tentative thumbs-up for the Conservative—Lib Dem coalition
A few days ago I wrote optimistically about the prospect of a coalition between the Conservatives and the Liberal Democrats. Now that we have a coalition for real, I feel even more cheered. Part of my argument in my earlier post was that there needs to be cultural change in politics. When I listened to […]
BoJo might be a bozo, but Labour is the real danger
It is often said that the most despised people in the country are journalists and estate agents. And while these people sometimes are indeed prize toss pots, there are two other professions that I despise above all others. Actors and politicians. Thing is, acting and being a politician is essentially the same job. They’re not […]
A brief thought on income tax
A mini debate was launched in the blogosphere earlier this week when the fledgling (Devil’s Kitchen-guided) Libertarian Party’s first policy was unveiled: abolish income tax. Mr Eugenides modestly claims that he inspired the policy. He also notes Iain Dale’s hostile, seemingly hypocritical, reaction. Iain Dale is right that the probability of doing away with income […]
More on environmentalists
Since I wrote about the overblown approach some environmentalists have been taking, I may as well post about it again because two stories have caught my eye today. Firstly the nuclear thing. Today’s announcement from the government is probably the best news for the environment for years. Nuclear power is, after all, carbon-free (well, carbon-low […]
A bit of fun with US politics
I came across another of those political quizzes. This one matches you up with the US Presidential candidates. It’s quite smart. You can choose which topics you’re interested in by distributing 20 points among 14 categories. I gave one point to each category then bumped up a few areas where I feel strongest. It then […]
The Scottish Centralisation Party
Thanks to a deal the Scottish Executive has made with Cosla, local authorities will now have to freeze Council Tax — or else. The SNP’s long-term proposal is to get rid of Council Tax altogether and replace it with a Local Income Tax. Seems like a good idea. Except that the SNP version of Local […]
Can’t even move house in peace
I can’t believe that the fact that Lewis Hamilton is moving is still in the news. They were talking about it on the radio last night. I mean, when was this announced? Two, three weeks ago? And the media is still yammering on about it. I will actually defend Lewis Hamilton here. It is not […]
Why I am not in favour of independence
This is the post about independence that I have been threatening to write for months. I am seriously considering voting SNP at this year’s Scottish Parliament elections. But I will probably stand in the voting booth thinking long and hard about it, with my hand quivering. And it will definitely be only for the constituency […]
Ukip libertarian? I think not
One of the most interesting things about libertarians is how quickly their devotion to free markets and capitalism disappear so quickly as soon as it involves those dirty foreigners getting a piece of the action. The Devil’s Kitchen likes to describe himself as a libertarian (as he did in a self-congratulatory post today) and makes […]