Who will stand up for liberal values?
Oliver Kamm manifestly understands the need for the promotion and defence of liberal values in the world with a clarity that eludes other self-defined liberals on the left, notably the leader of the Liberal Democrats Sir Menzies Campbell (and the great majority of his colleagues in that party).
Kamm writes (for Prospect magazine):
The dominant conflict of [...]
Price fixing is bad for your health
There is plenty of outrage in the media today at the less than astounding news that pharmaceutical companies are charging the National Health Service too much for drugs. This is of course a scandalous state of affairs, however it is inherent in the nature of monolithic public services for this kind of anomaly to occur. [...]
Why the Human Rights Act must go
Following numerous absurd situations created by bizarre interpretations of the Human Rights Act, including a case in which a suspected car thief was fed chicken during a twenty hour siege, and other cases of escaped convicts whose photographs were not made public, apparently to protect their privacy, a spirited defence of the Human Rights Act [...]
Thinking the unthinkable on Iran
A report by a coalition of UK organisations has rejected the idea that military action against Iran may be necessary if the Islamic Republic pursues its nuclear ambitions. The issue has set two former Labour MPs on opposite sides of the argument. Opposed to the possibility of military action is Stephen Twigg, now director of [...]
Against the social democratic consensus
It used to be said that Britain was a conservative country, yet it is undoubtedly true that the establishment, at least, is now thoroughly social-democratic in orientation. All three main political parties are now fighting over a very small area of political terrain: we have not one, but three Social Democratic Parties in this country.
New [...]