It is Manchester, Not Liverpool, Oops

It seems that the party was ahead of me already and has chosen Manchester for 2009 and 2011. This decision was actually released before I posted the bit arguing in favour of Liverpool but I had clearly missed the story. Oops. Sorry. Nevermind.

I honestly think that Liverpool would have been a great choice. However, Manchester did a good job with Spring Forum last year and I am sure it will also prove to be a wise choice. What is more, Manchester had tied for top spot with Birmingham in our December poll, so it appears that the TRG voice has rung out loud and clear, once again!

Liverpool is a Winning Choice for Reforming Tories

I have just come back from three days in Liverpool.

It was a brilliant long-weekend of museums, galleries, good food and fun nights out. Liverpool is celebrating its 800th anniversary, is a UNESCO World Heritage site and has been selected as the European City of Culture 2008; facts that are being widely celebrated in the city. Perhaps not surprisingly there are cranes everywhere as new developments are underway to prepare for next year.

But 25 years ago, things were very different. The riots in the Toxteth area of the city in 1981 marked a low-point for Britain’s inner cities, sparked by high unemployment, rising crime and a breakdown in community relations. The city was simply failing. As one local said while I was there, he was glad that the riots had happened – it had made people sit up and take notice of what was happening.

Those people not only noticed, they acted. Michael Heseltine was sent to Liverpool by Margaret Thatcher that year. His actions led to a dedicated task force and a series of new investments ranging from the International Garden Festival in 1984 to £15m of government money that matched a personal donation from Sir Paul McCartney to form the Liverpool Institute for the Performing Arts. The derelict Albert Docks were restored and turned into a centre for the arts, flats and bars that now includes the northern branch of the Tate Gallery and which collectively make up the largest collection of listed buildings in Europe. There has been much more besides.

Last year David Cameron recalled Lord Heseltine (who is also a Patron of the TRG) to continue this work through the Inner Cities Task Force and thus to ensure that these experiences are not lost and with the intention of generating new policies that will be worthy successors to those of the 1980’s. As Tories, we should not be ashamed of proclaiming our achievements here, in stark contrast to those of the Labour Party and its Militant wing, who did so much damage in Liverpool over the same period.

What we should take from this transformation in Liverpool’s fortunes is a belief in the ability of the Tory Party to be progressive and to help the poorest and most disaffected in society. We should not forget just how bad things were or that we were able to turn them around when we were willing to act. These are central beliefs for members of the TRG.

Perhaps one sign of our commitment would be for Liverpool to fill one of the upcoming gaps in the Tory Party’s annual conference schedule. 2009 looks free and by then the amazing-looking new conference centre that is going up on the banks of the Mersey should be ready to receive us!

There Are Reds That Need Saving

No, this is not a plea to save Red Ken Livingstone… it is another Number 10 petition that has been brought to our attention, and this one is a request to save the Red Arrows aerobatics display team. It has been alleged that they are under threat from the current budgeting process within the armed services who are so strained by current operations in Iraq and elsewhere.

The Red Arrows are a truly world-class outfit and deserve out support. They symbolise much about dedication and skill that are worthy traits and have helped to inspire generations of young aviators.

Please sign the petition.

The Need to Listen to MPs

A story that is now a couple of days old has been working away at the back of my mind. At first I thought it was a nothing issue, but I now think it rests on a point of principle. It seems that Sir Swinton Thomas, the outgoing Interception of Communications Commissioner (no, I had not of him before, either) has suggested that the ban on tapping MPs communications should be lifted in the belief that no one should be “above the law”.

It should be stressed that the ban only refers to the security services. All of the protection from communications tapping that the rest of us enjoy would still be present if the ban was lifted.

As I have previously noted, Gordon Brown like to ignore the experts appointed to oversee such government activities (see here and here) so it seems unlikely that the ban will be lifted. However, I think it should be overturned.

I cannot understand why MPs believe they might be talking about anything that should not be subject to interception in the name of national security. If George Galloway was talking to Saddam Hussein, as has been alleged by some, then surely the security services should have been able to listen to that? What could they be talking about that deserves protection? Surely the interests of national security should over-ride anything that could be considered!

The story also reports that Labour MP Peter Kilfoyle and Lid-Dem Simon Hughes both appear to be against the lifting of the ban. This inevitably leads me to think that they must have something to hide. What could it be?

Livingstone Shows His Old Colours: Red

When Ken Livingstone ran the Greater London Council, he was known as “Red” Ken for his socialist ways. These included bringing in 10p tickets for the tube without thinking about how the network would be paid for in any other way and helped contribute to the appalling state of the under-funded network that lasts to this day.

Since he became London Mayor, the name has been used occasionally in the media but has not caught on in the same way, not least because his old socialist and communist pals around the World are not really in power in the way they once were. There is one place where such old-style left wingers are back on the rise and that is South America.

Now there are some new friends in his playground, “Red” Ken is back – and how!

Following previous failed trips to Venezuela and other parts of Central and Southern America, Ken finally has something to show for his worshipping of these new demi-gods: cheap oil! Incredibly, Ken has done a deal with President Hugo Chavez of Venezuela to supply discounted oil for London’s buses – looking at the pictures, it is clearly the result of a new love-affair for Ken!

The value of this deal is estimated at £32m. This deal was outlined last year, but today the full details were released including the fact that the money saved will be spent on giving public transport passes to the poorest in London.

Now, I live in London. In some way, there will be a benefit to me of this generous act as this is something I will not be asked to pay for in my taxes. Yet, I still think this is wrong.

It is wrong that Ken should be trying to generate a separate foreign policy for London. It is wrong that a developing nation such as Venezuela should be, in any way, subsidising one of the richest cities on earth. And it is wrong because what we are giving in return, it seems, is assistance with traffic management!

Surely London is not in a position to give such advice? If it was, should that advice not start with ways in which to decrease the number of cars in the city by supplying less cheap oil?

I can’t imagine Ken has done much to improve his standing with Blair, Brown or Beckett with this little trick.

Straw in U-turn on Lords Reform

Jack Straw has pulled the first u-turn over his latest attempt at Lords Reform. He has withdrawn his proposal of a vote by preference and has returned to the traditional first past the post method.

I say “first” because I expect there to be others. This is because most of the ideas he has put forward are completely daft. However, I promised to hold off on this until we are done polling you.. Look at the poll on the right hand bar!

Political News and Buses

This is by way of an apology.

Sorry for having not blogged much over the past week. This is in part because I have been very busy, partly because there have been a number of films I wanted to see when I was not working (I can recommend Hot Fuzz and Perfume, among others) and partly because I have really not seen that much that was worth commenting on.

I vow to do better this week! I have always believed that political stories are like buses… you wait ages for one and then three come along at once. The reasoning, I am sure, is that bad news tends to get released when there is already another story out there that will cover it up. We shall see!

If you think I have missed something in the meantime, please let me know.

Learn English! Demands the Government

The government wants the 40,000 or so unemployed people who cannot speak English to either start learning it or face losing their benefits.

This strikes me as a perfectly sensible policy – in principle. There are many people who find it hard to get a job because their English is not good enough and serving them in job centres by providing interpreters costs the tax-payer £4.5m per year.

Threatening people with an end to benefits might well be a good stick to motivate them to improve their skills. I have some doubts about this, though, as it will be the vulnerable members of immigrant communities such as the elderly and those who are unable to write even in their native tongue, who will lose out. Their benefit entitlements will probably fall prey to others who take their place in order to defraud the system, sometimes without their knowledge. However, it is probably a policy that is worth trying all the same as it is a problem with few other solutions on offer.

Vince Cable, the LibDems shadow Treasury-team leader (and not someone I have normally any warmth for), has rightly pointed out another flaw in the plans during an interview on the BBC, today. At the same time as these proposals are coming out, the government is trying to cut funding for adult education courses which are the main route to language training for the people that this policy is supposed to target! So the stick will be present, but the carrot is being pulled away.

Great to see the lack of communication and connected thinking in this administration is continuing!

Sadly, I am less sure that the government’s reasons for proposing this are based on a paternalist desire to help people by prescribing a nasty medicine. What it actually suggests to me is that today’s ideas are simply a way of looking like the government is getting tough on immigrants who are not integrating and it smacks of being a cheap shot.

As a supporter of the One Nation ideal, I applaude the ends and even the means in this case, but the motivation and timing seems dubious to me. This policy should be watched with caution.

Blair is Not Interested in History

In an interview with Stephen Fry, Tony Blair has admitted that he does not keep a personal diary and he also seems to regret the fact. Two things strike me about this, both of them comments on Blair as an individual.

So, it may be that he is not as concerned with his place in history as many people (including me) have often accused him of being. On the other hand, maybe he is and that is why he regrets not keeping a diary at all!

As a footnote, I am not sure I would have bought a book based on the diaries if one had been written, but mainly because I am sure that Blair would have found it hard to break down his skin of spin and tell the truth as it happened, even years later. What the admission has done, though, is give a green light to anyone else that has a diary and wants to write an anti-Blair narrative. They can now do so, safe in the knowledge that Blair will not have his own personal records on which to do draw.

Edward VI – Are There Lessons for Our Times?

I could not really miss out the chance to mention that one of the TRG’s board members, Chris Skidmore, has recently published a biography of Edward VI. He had a fun book launch at Daunt Books on Marylebone High Street last week.

Now, I have not read this yet, but I would love to see some comments from anyone that has and I am sure we will review this in Reformer soon. What I am sure of is the importance of history for modern politics. When Lord Hurd gave the TRG’s annual International Lecture last year, he observed that the Blair government regularly failed to recognise the lessons of history, whether it be in Iraq or general lessons of government leadership. This has become even more curious, as history will play a key role in the “Britishness” lessons the government is now proposing to introduce.

In the meantime, there is a link on the right to the TRG page on the Amazon website where you can buy the book and let us know if you think there are lessons for our time that we should learn.

New Poll for February – House of Lords

To coincide with the government white paper due soon and  the TRG’s discussion panel on the Constitution on 27 February (click here to book), I thought we would have a poll on a constitutional issue: the House of Lords.

Part of reason this interests me, is that there is some split among the TRG Board on this issue (along the lines of I am right and most of the rest are wrong). However, rather than attempt to influence the vote now, I’ll leave a longer piece on the issue until the poll is finished.

But do feel free to leave your comments as a start to the discussion – we are keen to see what you think. Should the Lords be elected, appointed or a blend of the two?

January Poll Results – What should an incoming Conservative Government make its top priority during its first 100 days?

For our January Poll, we asked:

“What should an incoming Conservative Government make its top priority during its first 100 days?”

Here are the results:

1. Iraq and the Middle East (21%)
2. Education (19%)
3. Transport (16%)
4. Over turning the ban on fox hunting (14%)
5. Reforming the police (14%)
6. The NHS (9%)
7. Immigration controls (7%)

Maybe the top answer here is not surprising. Iraq remains the single most emotive issue in British politics. What I am surprised by it the fact that the NHS (which is officially one of the Conservative Party’s top priorities) comes so far down. I’d be interested to know why anyone thinks this is.

My personal view is that most people who are interested in politics would love to make the NHS a high priority but they are simply unsure how to go about fixing it – there are just too many problems. Labour has thrown money at it, but that has not helped. Gerry Robinson tried looking at the management for a TV programme and seemed to think that something could be done there but was still defeated by the scale of the problem. Anecdotal stories from my friends who work in the NHS simply scare me.

“What to do with the NHS?” may be the political question politicians are afraid to ask.

Office Outage

A little local difficulties in Victoria Street this morning. If you have been trying to email or call us, please accept our apologies for our lack of response.

There has been a security alert and the block our office is in has been cordoned off. We’ll get back to any messages just as soon as we can.

Update – 2pm

We are back now. :0)

Update – 5pm

Reuters has reported that a woman working at the Capita Group’s office on Victoria Street has been taken to hospital following the explosion of a letter box. The report suggest that her injuries are not serious. All the same, we wish her the very best on her recovery. This was a close-to-home reminder about the very real dangers that exist and threaten our collective security.

TRG Poll Claims Birmingham Victory!

In our poll before Christmas (see here) to find your opinion of the best host towns and cities for thr Tory party conference in future, Birmingham and Manchester came out on top.

It is not yet clear just how much influence that poll had ut I am sure it was considerable! ;-> The best evidence of this is that party officials have now announced that we will be heading to Birmingham next year and in 2010 and in the TRG office we think this is a good thing – in all ways.

In fact, we had anticipated this event and had arranged for our Deputy Chairman to be based there from the second half of the year so we can all expect something interesting to be on the agenda in 2008!