Disraeli Room

"...the UK’s pervasive culture – reflected and magnified by the press – of personalising blame and apportioning it to the highest possible target. In the public sector, this culture has resulted in a highly centralised and risk-averse public sector, where decision-making and responsibility is hoarded by those higher up the organisation because those at the top are rightfully concerned that they will be the ones who will be held accountable when things go wrong..."

"... Offering have-a-go heroes greater legal protections to apprehend criminals and defend themselves is only a token gesture in the grand scheme of things - unless the Conservatives are genuinely paving the way for state retrenchment to be replaced by voluntary groups along the lines of the Arizona Minutemen who ‘operat[e] within the law to support enforcement of the law’. If the Broken Britain thesis is accurate then it requires a serious solution, and this in turn requires significant funding..."

"...We can move towards locally set living wage levels by empowering councils to set and enforce their own living wage. This would marginalise the national minimum wage but not dismiss it, as it should be retained as a reference and would continue to ensure a basic standard of living. A locally set living wage would be sensitive to the affluence, demographic composition and the electorate’s concerns in each locality..."

"...After more than a decade, Islamic finance has attracted a tiny proportion of a potential 1.5 million Muslim adults in the UK. You’d think that, by now, the Islamic finance providers would have realised that boring technical explanations and emotional blackmail may not be the most effective way to win customers..."

"...Progressives need to think very carefully about this line of reasoning. How important are grocery prices compared with long-term market competitiveness, small business ownership and the livelihood of agricultural producers?..."