Article of the month – June 2009

Fareed Zakaria is the editor of Newsweek International. He recently wrote one of the most gripping articles I have read this year ‘The Capitalist Manifesto: Greed is good, up to a point’ and I thought it a ‘responsibility’ to share a passage from the article with you. According Zakaria:

“Most of what happened over the past decade across the world was legal. Bankers did what they were allowed to do under the law. Politicians did what they thought the system asked of them. Bureaucrats were not exchanging cash for favours. But very few people acted responsibly, honourably or nobly (the very word sounds odd today). This might sound like a small point, but it is not. No system- capitalism, socialism, whatever- can work without a sense of ethics and values at its core. No matter what reforms we put in place, without common sense, judgement and an ethical standard, they will prove inadequate. We will never know where the next bubble will form, what the next innovations will look like and where excesses will build up. But we can ask that people steer themselves and their institutions with a greater reliance on a moral compass.”

There is a great deal of meaning and understanding in what Zakaria writes. Essentially, the law and regulations, alone, cannot sufficiently ensure good legal, political, social or economic practice.  Consequently, when David Cameron talks about individual responsibility, he is pointing to common sense, to virtue and to good practice- something that has been in short supply in our communities for much too long now; something that only a Conservative government can now restore.

Fareed Zakaria is the editor of Newsweek International. He recently wrote one of the most gripping articles I have read this year ‘The Capitalist Manifesto: Greed is good, up to a point’ and I thought it a ‘responsibility’ to share a passage from the article with you. According Zakaria:

“Most of what happened over the past decade across the world was legal. Bankers did what they were allowed to do under the law. Politicians did what they thought the system asked of them. Bureaucrats were not exchanging cash for favours. But very few people acted responsibly, honourably or nobly (the very word sounds odd today). This might sound like a small point, but it is not. No system- capitalism, socialism, whatever- can work without a sense of ethics and values at its core. No matter what reforms we put in place, without common sense, judgement and an ethical standard, they will prove inadequate. We will never know where the next bubble will form, what the next innovations will look like and where excesses will build up. But we can ask that people steer themselves and their institutions with a greater reliance on a moral compass.”

There is a great deal of meaning and understanding in what Zakaria writes. Essentially, the law and regulations, alone, cannot sufficiently ensure good legal, political, social or economic practice.  Consequently, when David Cameron talks about individual responsibility, he is pointing to common sense, to virtue and to good practice- something that has been in short supply in our communities for much too long now; something that only a Conservative government can now restore.

You can read the full article here.

“Gordon is a tragedy”- Clare Short MP

Last Wednesday, BUCF was invited to The Independent Debate- Is our Democracy under threat? It was hosted by the Independent’s Editor-in-Chief Simon Kelner, with speakers Clare Short MP, Patrick Burns, Roger Alton, Steve Richards and Johann Hari. A few of us were struck by the extent to which Clare Short echoed our thoughts and feelings about the current political climate during the debate. After coming across her interview with the Birmingham Mail where she expresses her views of our bewildered Prime Minister, we learn more about why, at least on Brown, we’re on the same page. 

In the interview, Clare Short refers to Gordon Brown as a “control freak” who had “lost his way”. 

However, the parallels do not end there. Clare Short criticises Labour Education policy as it only trains the younger generation to “jump through hoops”.  

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Zero national authority, sub-zero European authority

With an unprecedented lack of support at the local elections, and a further desertion from the voters expected in the European Parliament elections, Gordon Brown’s authority has been permanently damaged beyond repair. Voters have again re-iterated that the machinery of government is ready to be serviced, not re-oiled, and that a Conservative government would be the motor for change that is in Britain’s best interests.

David Cameron has shown firm leadership on European matters throughout his tenure as party leader. His pledge to withdraw the Conservative Party from the EPP-ED transnational group in the European Parliament will undoubtedly lead to greater freedom in the decision making process for the party in the European Parliament as opposed to being bound by the EPP-ED on broadly federalist lines. The introduction of the “right to know” expenses form has increased the transparency of Conservative MEPs’ expense claims, and clearly shows initiative and leadership by David Cameron on reforming expenses, as opposed to indecision and dithering from Gordon Brown. Contrast this to the “leadership” of Gordon Brown. He has failed to give Britain a referendum on the Lisbon Treaty, otherwise known as the EU Constitution. In addition, Labour MEPs called for an end to Britain’s opt-out from the Working Time Directive, a piece of European legislation, which threatened to impose a 48-hour maximum working week on Britain, despite being in contrast to the stance of the Labour government. Thankfully, it was through the hard work of Conservative MEPs that Britain maintained its opt-out from the directive.

Conservatives are committed towards a Europe that works for Britain, by completing the single market, and increasing efficiency, by campaigning to end the €150m travelling circus to Strasbourg, and to end nonsense expenditure such as the European Parliament guide to gender-neutral language. Given a hammering at the polls, a series of resignations from cabinet ministers, and anonymous e-mails calling for his resignation, it is clear that Gordon Brown has absolutely no authority at a national level, let alone at a European level, and that David Cameron, and the Conservative MEPs are the motor for change that is in Britain’s best interests.

(This is a guest blog entry written by Douglas Groves)

Prince Charles will attend D-Day

Gordon Brown has suffered another humiliating defeat today after his scandalous behaviour in regard to the coming D-Day commemorations spectacularly backfired. The Prime Minister, much to my annoyance, claimed the other day that the event was “intended for prime ministers and presidents, rather than royals”. What seemed to escape Mr Browns logic was the fact that both Sarkozy and Obama are Heads of their State. Brown however, as Her Majesty’s first minister, is not… and thank god for that! It seems Obama was equally appalled that the Queen was not invited and the White House press secretary confirmed yesterday that the President and the White House wanted her to attend and were putting pressure on the Elysee Palace to rectify the situation. The French have always vhermently denied that they snubbed the Queen and insisted that the British contingent was a matter for the British. Quite right too. The fact remains that our Prime Minister (well in theory our Prime Minister) deliberately snubbed our Queen for the sake of a photo-op with Obama and to be seen as a leader on the world stage. This blog has repeatedly slammed this government (and the Blair government) for their scandalous treatment of our armed forces over the past 11 years and this situation is a clear example as to why.

In a blatant snub to the forces, Brown himself wasn’t even going to attend the commemorations and only changed his mind in March when he learned Obama would be going. Once going however he seemed to make damn sure that he would not be upstaged by the Queen, our Head of State and the only serving Head of State in the world who actually can remember and indeed served in the war. Browns attendence at the event is not out of a desire to honor our fallen but a chance to ‘get a nice photo’ and polish his tarnished image. Peter Hodge, secretary of the Normandy Veterans’ Association, argued that the Queen is held in “complete adoration by the veterans” and her absence will undoubtedly disappoint and anger the Veterans. Today however the situation has been in some way rectified after it was announced that President Sarkozy had offered Prince Charles an invitation to the event personally and he has accepted. Humiliatingly it seems the Elysee Palace and Buckingham Palace officials completely by passed Downing Street and made the arrangements together rather than in consulation with the Prime Ministers office. However this situation proves one thing; this government holds our forces at best with indifference at worse in contempt. While Brown hangs on to his political life by a thread it seems he had to give the Veterans one last slap in the face before he and this government fall in to electoral oblivion.