“We believe that what local government does should be decided by its local electors, and that these local electors should be those who pay for the local authority. Councils should be untied from central government purse strings as far as possible, free to raise and spend their own money in their own ways. Finally, local authorities’ role in acting as agents on behalf of Westminster and Whitehall should be severely limited”
To read the full report click here.
“The recent debate over academic selection has unhelpfully distracted attention from the really important challenges facing public policy makers; how to improve the performance of the 3221 secondary schools that are not grammars and all the 17,642 primary schools across Britain. Whatever one thinks about grammar schools – and the authors of this pamphlet like them by the way – David Willetts’ bigger and better point about the need to focus on the many schools, not the few, has been lost in the ensuing row over one part of his speech…
So let’s move on from a sterile debate about whether we build a handful more grammar schools, to a productive discussion about the straightforward steps that might make a significant difference to the educational opportunities of millions of children.”
To read the full paper click here and to comment click on the comments section in the title bar above.
“It is clear that the National Health Service is not working. Patients are not getting the treatment they require when they require it. The NHS is not free at the point of use, demonstrated by dental fees, opticians’ prices and private operations if the NHS can’t deliver.
It is time to get rid of this Stalinist system and provide everybody in this country with access to the same level of high-quality health care, when they need it at no huge additional cost.
The way forward is compulsory insurance. It is up to the Conservative Party to think innovatively and radically about a health shake-up that will benefit all. People want immediate, good quality health care. They don’t care where it comes from or who provides it. When they are ill they want to be treated quickly and efficiently with the best possible drugs and techniques.
If the Conservative Party believes in a smaller state, lower taxes and better public services then a compulsory insurance system wil provide this and bring this country’s health service into the 21st Century.”
To read the full report ‘Just three letters’ click here.
“The BNP support base will be eroded if the three main political parties start addressing the public’s growing concerns about increasing levels of immigration and the impact that this is having on the allocation of public resources and structure of existing communities. In tackling these concerns, politicians must not be drawn into “bidding” for the BNP vote. We must trust that reasoned arguments supported by demonstrable action to restore confidence in the system will persuade the “soft” 80% of the BNP vote to return to the mainstream while reluctantly accepting that the “hardcore” 20% is beyond the reach of decent and principled political parties.
“Ultimately, Nick Griffin and his friends will fail because the British public will never be able to square the BNP’s hateful and destructive rhetoric with its professed desire to serve an electorate which on almost every count is despises; a massive and insurmountable contradiction.”
To read the full report click here.
In his Cornerstone policy paper Enterprise Britain, Brian Binley MP calls for an overhaul of the relationship between government and business. Under these new proposals business would cease to see the state as a “burden on its back” but instead “a supportive friend at its side”. The paper has been submitted to the policy group on economic competitiveness set up by David Cameron.
Mr Binley’s paper identifies six key issues:
1. Business taxation
2. Deregulation
3. Skills
4. New Business
5. Management
6. An Enterprise Culture
The paper emphasizes the need for government to take a step back , cutting taxes and red tape whilst taking measures to stimulate vital yet fragile parts of the economy. These would include steps to provide support for start-up businesses, promote education and skills training and create an environment favorable towards the profitable “risk taking” of the UK’s entrepreneurs.
To read the full paper click here.
18 Doughty Street News