Monday 29 November 2004

A sinner repents

In yesterday's Scotland on Sunday Gerald Warner was on fine form:
How can supposedly intelligent observers imagine New Labour was ever anything more than a cosmetic label, or that the Blair régime is a conservative administration? The Great Charlatan will leave only one legacy: an exponential increase in the scope and power of the state. If that is a conservative programme, then Burke, Disraeli, Churchill, Kirk, Hayek and Thatcher must all have got it wrong.
It's certainly true to say that Mr Blair has conned a lot of voters who should have known better. The purpose of the Labour party is to tax and regulate - Blair's just a bit cleverer at disguising this than some of his predecessors. Warner concludes by saying:
The crass notion that Labour has stolen the Tories’ clothes does not stand up to any factual scrutiny. It is the Tories who have lost their sense of identity and their nerve. They have six months to recover both and save us from a one-party socialist state.
None of the above is surprising coming as it does from the pen of Gerald Warner who is one of Scotland's most outspoken conservative writers. But this article was a big surprise. In many ways Iain Macwhirter is the left wing equivalent of Gerald Warner. Every week in the Herald - our very own tartanised Guardian - we can rely on Iain to give us the bog-standard leftist outlook on the week's events. To paraphrase: it's Tories, Bad and Labour (or someone like them), Good.

Now some leftists are intelligent enough to realise than the proposed introduction of ID cards is a bad idea, albeit one that follows logically from the very same leftists' own worldview. Mr Macwhirter (like Muriel Grey) doesn't like ID cards. Good for him (and her). Echoing so many other socialists, Mr Macwhirter is moved to write:

In five years’ time it may be too late to stop Britain becoming a nastier version of Britain under Margaret Thatcher.
No surprise there. But then I almost fell off my seat when I got to the next sentence:
I never thought I’d ever say this, but she was more protective of fundamental rights than Blair. Nearly blown up by the IRA in 1984, she didn’t introduce ID cards or imprisonment without trial.
No, indeed she didn't. And I would guess that Mrs Thatcher opposes ID cards now. Sure, Mrs T wasn't perfect: she failed to slash the welfare state and gave far too much away to the EU. But she did have a feeling for British liberties and it is rather wonderful to observe that a few of the leftist commentariat are beginning to understand that.

1 comment:

David Farrer said...

Comments made on previous template:

Stuart
Who is he campaigning for now then?

6 December 2004, 13:26:06 GMT
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David Farrer
I met Gerald Warner once at a debate hosted by the Scotsman. He thought that the Conservatives were "totally useless".

6 December 2004, 10:53:52 GMT
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Stuart
I disagree with your categorisation of MacWhirter. 
 
He is a far more measured and cerebral commentator than Warner. And unlike Warner he does not campaign for any one party. 
 
Every time Warner opens his mouth a shiver must be looking for a spine to run down in the Conservative Party. 
 
With friends like Warner, who needs enemies?

6 December 2004, 10:09:42 GMT
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rebbiker
'Why are you publishing material that offends my useless bed-wetting hippie sensibilities?' is how Dickson ought to have phrased his appeal to our esteemed blogger's freedom-loving instincts.Happy to assist anytime.

6 December 2004, 03:23:18 GMT
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Stuart
David 
 
Why are you publishing racist material from rebbiker?

5 December 2004, 20:07:25 GMT
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rebbiker
The sooner Scotland leaves the UK, the sooner Merrie England can look forward to re-establishing the Conservatives as the national party of government. It will be fun watching neo-Marxist Scottish social policies fail. Fortunately for the chippy Scots the EU wont allow them to pursue Leftist economic policies which would test the puerile theories of too many Scots to destruction.

5 December 2004, 07:35:55 GMT
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Neil Craig
Despite having quit I still have hopes that the Lib Dems in England may pass muster - their proposal to abolish the Dept of Industry is relatively radical (certainly compared to the Tories). 
 
Unfortunately the Scottish branch seem to have given up any commitment to individualism in favour of enforcing Labourism & Greenery.

5 December 2004, 01:01:09 GMT
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David Farrer
David 
 
Yes. Click on the Libertarian Alliance link over to the left. You can also click on the LA logo that appears after the list of links.

2 December 2004, 06:27:08 GMT
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David
Hmmn, is there any sort of libertarian organization in the UK?

2 December 2004, 03:49:57 GMT
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Andrew Ian Dodge
David I think the expression Illiberal Democrats is more accurate, they are over-all further to the left of Labour.

1 December 2004, 12:35:40 GMT
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Stuart
Eh... no. 
 
They are a social democratic party, with very occasional liberal leanings.

30 November 2004, 18:51:53 GMT
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David
Pardon my American Ignorance but at the Liberal Democrats anything approximating libertarianism? I read a book by Conrad Russell, and it seemed to be digestable, when compared with the major party philosphies of the US.

30 November 2004, 17:40:06 GMT
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Andrew Ian Dodge
Doh, I meant TB. Another example to me of why I should not write comments right after I have gotten up in the morning.

30 November 2004, 12:19:27 GMT
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Dave Fordwych
"the most dangerous man in Blair's government" 
 
More dangerous than Straw? 
 
I beg to differ Andrew.

29 November 2004, 22:34:33 GMT
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SWB
I do hope that AID meant TB rather than SWB.

29 November 2004, 14:54:53 GMT