Archive for category Civil Liberty
The lasting guarantee of a decent education
Posted by James Gubb in Civil Liberty, Education on 07/01/2010
In the Daily Telegraph this week, David Conway writes on the subject of his new book, Liberal Education and the National Curriculum, published by Civitas.
‘Critics of the national curriculum – and they are legion in our classrooms and teacher training colleges – seem curiously unaware that the first person to propose such a curriculum for England was Matthew Arnold.
Continued here.
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.
Another Fine Mess the Government Has Got Us All Into
Posted by David Conway in Civil Liberty, Economics, Education on 12/05/2009
For some years now, it has been the declared ambition of the present government to increase the participation rate of young people at university to 50 per cent. Whether it was a wise ambition is questionable, seeing how incapable of achievement it has always been without seriously diluting A-level and final honours standards. However, because of it, young people have been staying on at school in unprecedented numbers with a view to securing a university place. Now, suddenly, just when they have been doing exactly what the government has long been encouraging them to, it has cruelly pulled the rug from under their feet by capping university places.
The retreat of British liberalism?
Posted by James Gubb in Civil Liberty on 18/02/2009
The exclusion of the Dutch MP, Geert Wilders, from the UK has provoked a number of thought-provoking pieces, particularly in the Economist and the FT. His ideas, I hasten to add, attract absolutely zero sympathy from me – his views are extremist themselves and guilty, in particular, of distorting debate by portraying the most reactionary interpretations of Islam as being typical, when they are not – but, just as rules have now been passed against ‘incitement to violence’ etc., does the decision to exclude him not represent an unwillingness on the part of the political elite to defend civil liberty? What happened to the liberal idea of ‘I disapprove of what you say, but I will defend to the death your right to say it’?
Put that beer down!
Posted by James Gubb in Civil Liberty, Health on 29/01/2009
On the basis of a report by the CMO, Sir Liam Donaldson, the government has recommended that no child should drink before the age of 15; and that children between the 15-17 years should only drink under the supervision of adults.