Barack Obama has made me want to boycott America
Obama has refused to support British sovereignty in the Falklands (Photo: Reuters)
The special relationship is over. We gave America years of unwavering support after September 11. And now we see how Barack Obama’s administration repays us.
First, Obama declared that America was “neutral” over the sovereignty of the Falklands, ignoring the clear wishes of the islands’ population. And, second, his Assistant Secretary of State, Philip Crowley, snubbed Britain by failing to use their proper name and instead calling them the “Malvinas”.
I don’t know where Obama learned about diplomacy, but his stinks. I’m normally pro-American, but Mr Obama’s seeming support for Argentinian aggressors, who have no legitimate claim over the Falklands, is gratuitously offensive. So from today, I’m boycotting America as a tourist destination. This summer, I’ll be going to… Read More
Election 2010: If George Osborne decides to raise VAT, Tory voters will stay at home
George Osborne should stop looking towards higher taxes (Photo: Eddie Mulholland)
Have the Tories completely forgotten their purpose? The main reason we vote for them is because they will cut taxes. Yet George Osborne’s worrying flirtation with raising VAT is rapidly turning into a firm policy of tax rises.
We already pay too much tax. Most senior Tories appear oblivious to this, commiting only to the need to cut public-sector workers. This is not enough. The current Government already pinches more tax than any British government in history. The last thing we want is more tax rises: we need lower taxes across the board, because the evidence from around the world shows that countries with lower tax rates have faster economic growth.
Besides, VAT is a particularly stupid tax to… Read More
The NHS pays to 'cure' homosexuals
If you thought funding those quack homeopathic medicines was a waste of the NHS budget, you’ll absolutely hate this waste of money. Taxpayers are paying for gay people to be “healed” of their homosexuality, even though homosexuality is perfectly normal.
This bizarre state of affairs, which was reported on in the Independent today, appears to be worryingly widespread. Professor Michael King of University College London apparently believes that a sixth of psychiatrists and psychotherapists have tried to reduce or convert a patient’s sexual orientation.
I dare say that there are young and insecure gay people who would happily sign up for a miracle conversion to heterosexuality. But shrinks who prey on the anxieties of gay people are not helping the lot of gay people one bit and don’t deserve referrals from the NHS.
The Government wants to pointlessly force gay rights on the Catholic Church, but shouldn’t they instead put their… Read More
Andy Burnham rejects the nanny state – up to a point
Andy Burnham: opponent of the nanny state? (Photo: Martin Pope)
How refreshing it was to read today that Andy Burnham, the Health Secretary, thinks that the state has no right to nanny us about what we do in private spaces. Apparently, he’s dead set opposed to introducing new legislation to stop parents smoking in their homes. That’s just the sort of liberal attitude I like in politicians.
But hang on a minute. If he really believes that it’s none of the state’s business to regulate smoking on private property, I do hope he sees the irony. His Government is the one that has forced hundreds of pubs out of business precisely because it banned smoking on their private property.
Now I don’t want to give him a bad idea, but there i… Read More
Is David Cameron a girlie man?
Should we be worried about David Cameron? (Photo: Rii Schroer)
Uh oh. David Cameron’s come out and contradicted George Osborne on Tory economy strategy. Well, that’s how a Guardian.co.uk report today sees it. Osborne has previously said that Britain needs to slash public spending once the election is won. But Cameron now says that: “We’re not talking about swingeing cuts. We’re talking about making a start in reducing our deficit”.
This comes at the same time as we learn the Tories have pledged to increase government funding to local authorities. If you remember, they were originally only going to promise increases in education, health and international aid expenditure. Now that there’s a fourth part of government that can’t be cut, many Tories will be wondering: is Dave an economic… Read More
American pressure will make gay marriage a reality in Britain
I don’t suppose you follow New Hampshire’s politics, but if you do you’ll know that the state has just legalised gay marriage. Cheered by this good news, American supporters of gay marriage are saying that the US Supreme Court should strike out bans on gay marriage across the whole of that country. Writing in today’s New York Daily News, Bob Levy of the libertarian Cato Institute points out that the US constitution’s 14th amendment says that it’s illegal to “deny to any person within its jurisdiction the equal protection of the laws” – something that bans on gay marriage arguably violate.
A Supreme Court ruling against restrictions on gay marriage couldn’t come soon enough, if you ask me, because if the whole of America legalises gay marriage, there’ll be a huge cultural pressure on Britain to follow suit – pressure that British politicians will struggle to resist.
Bigots will foam at… Read More
I once voted Ukip – but David Cameron’s getting my vote this year
What’s a good smear? It’s something that’s true. So when David Cameron described Ukip members as “fruitcakes, loonies and closet racists, mostly”, he hit a raw nerve.
I probably shouldn’t admit this, but – like a lot of Tories – I lent my vote to Ukip once. During the 2004 European elections, it seemed like the right thing to do – the Tories in Brussels were too wet for my liking, and I wanted to protest against the European Constitution.
But I haven’t voted Ukip subsequently, and I won’t in future. The reason? I met some of its members – and Cameron was right. The party is stuffed full of nutters – the green ink brigade, who bang on about the supposed benefits of national service (legalised slavery), rant about the need to hang and flog ‘em, and obsess about immigrants and gay people. Most disagree with the libertarian view of… Read More
Will David Cameron let gay people have real marriages?
History won’t remember Tony Blair favourably – except in one important respect. By introducing civil partnerships, Blair made a huge leap in how the state treats gay people.
The one problem with the policy is its name: Blair used “civil partnerships” to appease the foam-mouthed bigots on the authoritarian Right. But many gay people find the idea of having a “civil partnership” totally crass – and the state’s continued insistence in treating them as second-class citizens quite insulting.
Gordon Brown has never been a particularly vocal supporter of equality for gay people. That’s understandable because he was hounded by smears that he was gay (which he isn’t). My hope is that David Cameron, a self-styled “liberal conservative” who has tried to court the votes of gay people, will complete the one good Blair policy and rename civil partnerships as weddings.
This may sound Left-wing to some people, but it is actually a very… Read More
I’m ashamed to be a Tory voter today
Even though I’m a Margaret Thatcher-worshipping libertarian, sometimes Tory policies – even those from the Iron Lady herself – make my blood boil. There is one particular Tory policy, followed by each of the last three Tory prime ministers, that is totally demented. I’m talking about raising VAT. Today, the day when Gordon Brown copies that Tory policy and raises VAT, I feel embarrassed to admit that I vote Tory.
Ted Heath introduced VAT in 1973 as part of his deal to join the European Economic Community. Heath was never a real Conservative, anyway, so I can put that to one side. But why Margaret Thatcher and John Major both raised VAT is barely explicable. While Thatcher understood the need to cut wasteful state spending from day one, she didn’t truly become a Thatcherite on tax until Ronald Reagan came to power and she ditched Geoffrey Howe for the brilliant Nigel… Read More
365 of Britain's most eminent photographers attack anti-terror legislation
Is this the most important newspaper letter of year? 365 of Britain’s most eminent photographers have written to the Sunday Telegraph calling for anti-terrorist legislation to be amended. They say that is being misused by the police to stop and search photographers unnecessarily, which they find “humiliating”.
The letter says that the police are wrong to target amateur and professional photographers using big, heavy cameras: “We do not believe it likely that real terrorists would bother to set up a tripod or use a heavy single-lens reflex camera, as perfectly satisfactory pictures for their purposes could be taken on a discreet camera phone.” Moreover, the signatories reckon their photography may actually cut crime: “If our photography has an effect on law and order, it is beneficial, as wrongdoers are unlikely to commit crimes in close proximity to someone visibly holding a camera.”
Their letter will add to the pressure on the… Read More