Britain without the EU

The Tax Payers’ Alliance’s new Book “Ten Years On – Britain Without the European Union” turns out to be a somewhat disappointing read. The book aims to describe Britain’s improving lot ten years after leaving the European Union. It is written as a retrospective comment on the developments that took shape during the ten years after an anticipated Tory election victory in 2010.

The obvious charge against the book is

Daniel Hannan and Enoch Powell

To see what exactly Daniel Hannan said about Powell, take ten minutes and watch this. It is a ten minute clip worth watching. As for Powell himself, Hannan did specifically refer to his views on national independence (not surprising for a Eurosceptic) and advocacy of small government, not his views on immigration.Anyway, it is nice to see some room for dissent in a major party.

Restraining Orders Without Conviction

Yet another fence post: The telegraph calls these ‘restraining orders for violent partners’, yet the article makes it clear that no evidence, just an accusation of violence is needed:

“Judges will now be able to approve an order following any offence and if they are acquitted but the court feels there remains sufficient evidence to require restraint.” (source)

If the court feels there is evidence! Who needs facts when you have emotions?

More cynicism required: confronting labour’s creeping totalitarianism

In discussing Labour’s decade of totalitarian legislation, Adam LeBor draws the following comparison in The Times:

“The phrase Big Brother has entered common parlance. But Orwell’s book was published in 1949 as communist regimes in Eastern Europe cemented their control through “salami tactics”. These were invented by Matyas Rakosi, Hungary’s communist leader from 1948-56. He sliced away freedoms sliver by sliver, until he established one of the most feared dictatorships in Eastern Europe.

(…)

In my more cynical moments I imagine Labour ministers following a similar methodology.

The more Big brother watches us, the less he seems to see

The title of this post comes straight from Ross Clark’s book on the surveillance society: “The Road to Southend Pier”. In many ways, this is a worthwhile book, showing how the surveillance state –frighteningly omnipresent in theory- is in reality breathtakingly inefficient at takling crime in the conventional sense while creating new, spurious offences.

One passage seems ill thought through though: “For those

Muslims and Dhimmis in Britain

The Economist –back in May—offered some strange musings on the fate of Britain’s Muslims:
“The unhappiness of British Muslims is easy enough to explain: their living standards tend to be low and relatively few of the women work.” (source)
Hmmm… these two demographic data are presented in juxtaposition as if they were simply two external negative influences from which Muslim households tend to suffer. Could it be that one leads to the other? Could it be that households who, on average, have fewer second earners also tend to have lower household incomes?
Where the low female labour market participation is driven by religiously conservative lifestyle choices I struggle to see how this unhappiness should be seen as anything

Cameron on Personal Freedom

“We’ll start by putting back in place the protections of personal freedom that Labour have taken away.

…

So we will make some important changes. The next Conservative government will revoke the unjustified and unreasonable powers that let people enter your home without your permission.

We will change the law that allows councils to snoop on people for trivial matters.

We will review the use of the Terrorism Act’s Section 44, and the stop and search powers contained within it.

We will change the Criminal Justice Act 2003 to strengthen the right to trial by jury.

And we will review the operation of the Extradition Act – and the US/UK extradition treaty – to make sure it is even-handed and works both ways.” (Source)

Let’s remember that and remind him when the time comes …

R.I.P. Ralf Dahrendorf

“If revolutionaries exist outside a revolutionary situation, they easily become comical figures.” Ralf Dahrendorf, who died yesterday, addressing Rudi Dutschke.

Tasers in Britain

When Tasers were introduced in Britain they were only for self defence. The vice chairman of the police federation said at the time “It’s not fair to compare us with US-style policing. … Officers will use it responsibly.” (source) Judge this claim for yourself.

The Great Depression that didn’t happen

From David Friedman:

“We can learn a little more by looking at a different Great Depression—the one that didn’t happen. From 1920 to 1921, the consumer price index fell by 10.8%, more than in any year of the Great Depression; it fell another 2.3% in the next year. Unemployment rose to about its 1931 level. Looking just at that data, it’s obviously the start of a depression.” (Source)