Archive for October, 2009
Blair Pitch Project
Posted by Claire Daley in European Union on 28/10/2009
A few weeks ago, Tony Blair looked set to become President of the European Union, but his ‘hinted at’ appointment has draw recent criticism.
Why the European Equal Treatment Directive is Creating an Offensive Environment
Posted by David Conway in Civil Liberty, European Union, Political Correctness on 27/10/2009
In last week’s positively surreal broadcast of BBC tv’s Question Time, deputy prime minister Jack Straw blathered on about how Parliament had boldly preserved freedom of expression in Britain by deliberately refraining from making Holocaust denial a crime. In yesterday’s Times, Straw was joined by his cabinet colleague, Foreign Secretary David Miliband, blathering on about how wonderful for Britain is its membership of the EU and how Euro-sceptics should stop whinging and learn to love the wonderful new international power bloc that it will finally become after ratification of the Lisbon Treaty.
Meanwhile, the fundamental right of freedom of expression in this country is about to be severely curbed by a brand new directive from Brussels which has crept up on us all with all the customary stealth its edicts typically do.
NHS Alliance takes on reform
Posted by Laura Brereton in Health on 26/10/2009
The pre-election season seems to have ignited a raft of prescriptions for fixing the NHS, and this is a good thing. In a new report entitled ‘Rebalancing the market,’ the NHS Alliance echoes the recent DH endorsement of the NHS as the market’s ‘preferred provider’, but it presents a different rationale.
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Held back, pushed forward?
Posted by Anastasia de Waal in Education on 23/10/2009
Keeping primary school pupils ‘back’ if they have not reached the expected standard is a highly contentious policy. Whilst it is a fairly common practice in some European countries (including France and Germany), in others it is considered to be the height of child cruelty.
The Past is a Foreign Country
Posted by Pete Quentin in European Union on 22/10/2009
The twentieth anniversary of 1989 reveals more the cacophonous quality of Europe rather than its balanced unity. In recent months Europe has been confronted with a chorus of master-narratives about its recent past: the ‘triumph of liberal democracy’, ‘Westernization’, or ‘liberalization’, especially of European thought – following perhaps the example set by the turn of dissidents in Eastern Europe to liberalism. However, as with most efforts at collective self-congratulation, historical validity is usually the victim. Europe needs to start telling the truth about itself, especially when it comes to the politics of memory. Firstly, the release in September of Foreign and Commonwealth Office documents relating to British policy towards German reunification during 1989-90, caused controversy in the British national press exposing Margaret Thatcher as the principle opponent among European leaders of a unified Germany.
Sober Thoughts on Binge Drinking
Posted by David Conway in Health on 20/10/2009
Britain is currently suffering an epidemic of excessive drinking that, it is estimated, will exact a toll of 91,000 lives within the next decade. Currently, to attract customers, supermarkets and nightclubs often sell alcohol at very low prices. To curb its consumption, some are calling for a minimum unit price, but the Government is resisting one on the grounds its imposition would penalise moderate drinkers too much.