Invest in the state Sir: David Cameron will never be a revolutionary if he follows your advice and concentrates only on government spending (‘Is Cameron a revolutionary?’, 3 October). He needs to completely rethink taxation, too. You say that taxes must rise. But putting up taxes now, as conventional wisdom suggests, will increase the government
The task ahead Sir: Am I alone in finding the Tories’ pre-election triumphalism nauseating (Finkelstein et al, 26 September)? When I last walked past my local constituency association, the grubby frontage still had the old logo. Tony Blair at least built a modern political party. David Cameron hasn’t even begun to build a dynamic political
Money down the Tube Sir: Andrew Gilligan’s assessment (‘Chucking millions down the Tube’, 19 September) that for much of the public sector ‘the spending of money has become an end in itself’ is a timely one. Increased investment in public services is both the No. 1 thing Gordon Brown believes he can offer the country
Clever culling Sir: As the chairman from 1995 to 2000 of the government’s biggest and most worthwhile quango, the Environment Agency for England and Wales, I would like to make two comments on Dennis Sewell’s article (‘Cameron must cull the quangos’, 5 September). Sewell seems to think that the Nolan Principles introduced by John Major’s
Don’t bank on Osborne Sir: Reinforcing your article on City doubts about Osborne’s economic credentials (Politics, 5 September), a City contact of mine, technically expert in a matter of finance and taxation of central interest to any Chancellor, had a meeting with Osborne a few months back. He found Osborne not only badly briefed and
For evil to triumph Sir: As screenwriter of the recent film Good, I was interested by the references to it in Kate Williams’s thought-provoking piece (‘We are forgetting great evils’, 22 August). For my part I think the recent spate of films about Nazi Germany has less to do with an ‘obsession with Hitler’ or
The Afghan toll Sir: Jonathan Foreman’s article (‘Britain’s forgotten casualties’, 22 August) highlights how the focus on the death toll in Afghanistan eclipses a much wider human and economic cost arising from those many seriously injured soldiers who will require help for the rest of their lives. If you include those who are subsequently affected,
Conservative progress Sir: So the notion of ‘progressive’ conservatism is roiling British politics these days (Politics, 15 August). Well, come on over to the colonies, mate, and get educated! We in Canada have had ‘progressive conservative’ political parties, at both the provincial and federal levels of government, for decades — they’re even officially named Progressive
Primary colours Sir: As a former chairman of a Conservative association, I read with interest your suggestion that the open primary held by the Tories in Totnes was a success (Leading article, 8 August). The association I chaired was constantly under pressure to increase membership. When we attempted to do so, prospective members quite reasonably
See better, Sugar Sir: We the undersigned wish to condemn Baron Sugar of Clapton’s threatened legal action against our colleague Quentin Letts for calling him a ‘telly peer’ who ‘doesn’t seem to have an enormous intellect’ on LBC on 20 July. According to a letter Mr Letts received from Herbert Smith, Lord Sugar will issue
Not every illness is swine flu Sir: Congratulations to Sarah Standing (‘The national swine flu sickie’, 25 July). It seems incredible that so much money is being spent so recklessly when we have such an enormous debt on our national books. In these days of ‘patient-led’ medicine the public decides what it is suffering from
Wagner wallows Sir: Michael Henderson states (Arts, 18 July) that Wagner’s music reveals the aspects of the human personality that we try hardest to suppress. Certainly many deep ideas and emotions are revealed. But instead of purging the emotions with pity and fear, and achieving a catharsis, Wagner wallows in them, exalting primitive values, ignoring
A heated debate Sir: One reason why we continue to live in an unsustainable way is that not enough people accept the reality and implications of climate change (‘The great climate change con trick’, 11 July). Green issues may be higher up the agenda than before but Professor Plimer needn’t fret: procrastinating politicians continue to
Moore’s TV dinner Sir: While I have been generally supportive of Charles Moore’s quest to impose a degree of financial proportionality on what the BBC pays Jonathan Ross, and of his ‘scheme’ to withhold payment for his TV licence until the matter is satisfactorily addressed, I am dismayed to read that he is doing so
On the Iraq inquiries Sir: Lest myths become accepted as facts, may I correct two aspects of John Kampfner’s article (‘The secret Iraq deal’, 27 June) about the Iraq Intelligence Review, which I chaired. First, a myth has grown up that the Review’s criticisms of the government were originally more trenchant but were watered down
A nuclear Iran Sir: Should there be any doubt, following James Forsyth’s article (‘What to do about Iran and the bomb’, 20 June), that the Iranian government intends to build atomic weapons, it is answered by the forest of anti-aircraft weapons protecting their uranium enrichment plant at Nantaz. When in the area two weeks ago
Built on a lie Sir: J. Alan Smith (Letters, 13 June) points out that Churchill from 1940-45 was, like Gordon Brown today, ‘a prime minister who was “unelected”’ — as though that should allay concerns about the democratic legitimacy of Mr Brown’s premiership. But the main concern about Mr Brown’s democratic legitimacy is not so much
Back to Black Sir: Taki (High Life, 16 May) exaggerated the ineptitude of my counsel in Chicago, and in this I am happy to agree with Tom Bower (Letters, 23 May), but they were not my counsel of choice, whom I was prevented from retaining by an asset seizure that was subsequently judged by the
Racism isn’t right Sir: Reference is made in the headlines of Fraser Nelson’s article on the BNP (‘The rise of British racism may be horribly close’, 30 May) to ‘far Right politicians’. Surely Mr Nelson does not imagine that there is anything right-wing about the BNP? As its 2005 general election manifesto shows, it is
Time to talk it out Sir: The EU is certainly one important cause of parliament’s loss of self-respect, but you fail to mention (Leading article, 23 May) what is now the main cause of the malaise: in 1997 the Blair government introduced the routine timetabling of primary legislation, and did so with the connivance of