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Spectator
a day ago
- Politics
- Spectator
What liberalism's critics get wrong
Perhaps we are living in the early sixteenth century. Think of the ideology of the West as a sort of religion. It needs a reformation, a purging, a back to basics movement. In a sense this is well underway: for many years now, countless thinkers have attacked the flaws and complacency of the dominant Western ideology. Yet a positive vision has not really been articulated. We need something resembling the Protestant reformation. It did not chuck out the dominant religious tradition, it came up with a new account of its inner logic. To many thinkers, liberalism is a flawed ideology that must be comprehensively ditched. More careful thinkers admit to ambivalence. Despite its capacity for error, this is our tradition: we cannot disown it, rise above it. The absolutists see liberalism as akin to communism or fascism: a system that is wrong at its core. But on closer inspection there is an element of posturing in most of these thinkers; they cannot quite deny their affinity with this tradition. Nick Timothy has just provided an example of this. His call on Coffee House for a new conservatism at first seems to be yet another advocacy of 'postliberalism'. He emphasises that a crude free-market triumphalism on the right has been accompanied by a brittle insistence on individual rights from the left: a double-whammy erosion of common values. 'Conservatives need to reject liberalism and rediscover true, philosophical conservatism'. So: liberalism bad. Or is it? He then calls for a reassertion of 'the essential liberalism that stands for pluralism and our democratic way of life'. The average postliberal does not make this latter move, for fear of seeming lukewarm. But Timothy seems unsure how to expand on the goodness of 'essential liberalism'. Instead he echoes some conventional postliberal story-telling: 'Right from the beginning, liberal thought was built on the false premise that there are not only universal values but also natural and universal rights.' As a consequence, 'liberals ignore the relational essence of humanity: our dependence on others and our reliance on the institutions and norms of community life.' The claim to be defending 'essential liberalism' is elbowed aside by this attack on liberal thought as wrong to the core. I know that 'liberalism' is a complicated term, but it seems to me that few if any thinkers are really trying to grapple with the complexity. As I see it, Timothy is on the right track: there is an 'essential liberalism' that must be distilled from the confusing excesses of liberalism in our day. It is our political tradition, of liberal democracy, or the liberal state. It is a historical reality, not a theoretical thing: we should not over-value the importance of Hobbes or Locke or any other theorist. Instead we should look at what actually happened: England rejected absolutism of throne and altar in favour of a new political narrative, in which liberty was gradually protected and expanded. And the original ideology behind this was not 'universal human rights' – the creed of eighteenth-century Frenchmen, but 'liberty of conscience' – the creed of seventeenth-century English liberal Protestants. We need to re-tell our national story of 'essential liberalism', and revive pride in the tradition of the liberal state. Only so can we hope to reform liberalism in the wider sense, the baggy flawed creed that we inhabit.
Daily Mail
4 days ago
- Automotive
- Daily Mail
EXCLUSIVE Is Sadiq Khan waging a new war on motorists? London mayor accused of making motorists' lives 'unliveable' after confidential TfL documents leaked on the Tube
Sadiq Khan was last night accused of orchestrating a new war against motorists. In an extraordinary leak, a local government official was photographed on the Tube reading a confidential Transport for London (TfL) document that listed a string of anti-car proposals. They included expanding cash-raising controlled parking zones, hiking the cost of parking permits, increasing the use of double yellow lines and slashing car parking spaces. The Mail on Sunday understands the controversial measures are championed by a senior advisor at TfL, which is overseen by Sir Sadiq, London's Labour Mayor, and are being suggested to councils. Last night senior Tory MP Nick Timothy accused Khan of 'planning to expand his war on motorists… and make life in our nation's capital completely unliveable for ordinary Londoners who need a car to travel to work, get their kids to school, or look after elderly relatives'. Sir Sadiq has already faced criticism for imposing the Ultra Low Emission Zone (Ulez), which charges vehicles that do not meet certain engine standards £12.50 a day, and increasing the Congestion Charge from £15 per day to £18 from January 2026. Now, the MoS's revelations will spark fears that costs will rise even further for London's drivers. The local government official, whose identity is unknown, was pictured reading the document – marked 'confidential' – on the London Underground on June 3. A page entitled 'Jack's list of policies' listed multiple parking rules and costs to impose on motorists. The MoS has confirmed the Jack in question is Jack Maizels, the 'spatial policy lead' on TfL's 'London Plan' team. The London Plan sets out developments for the capital over the next 20 to 25 years. TfL last night denied the policies in the leaked document were part of the next London Plan. In a post on X in 2023, Mr Maizels wrote: 'The idea that prioritising cars somehow provides people with more choice is the biggest misconception in transport.' The policies in the confidential document include 'new/expanded/strengthened parking zones', 'higher permit charges', 'emission based charges' and 'double yellow line expansion'. One of the most controversial proposals is the 'reallocation of car parking to other modes'. It follows calls last year by a green charity for councils to scrap 25 per cent of London's roadside parking spaces and turn them into 'parklets', rain gardens and cycle storage. The document's policies also included the 'reallocation of general traffic lanes to other modes', which it said would result in 'quicker buses', and 'bus and cycle only streets'. It also listed 'destination parking charges', suggesting cost hikes in the most popular areas of the capital, and 'speed limits – safer speeds', hinting at an expansion of 20mph zones with cameras. Edmund King, president of the AA, said: 'We've already seen an onslaught on drivers in London and Jack's list seems to be the final nail in the coffin. If parking spaces are removed, what are Londoners to do?' A Tfl spokesman said: 'This is nothing to do with the London Plan or its policy development, and the document is not being used by TfL to inform transport policy. 'It is simply a list of potential tools that boroughs may consider using to improve transport infrastructure and schemes.'
Telegraph
17-06-2025
- Politics
- Telegraph
The grooming gangs report exposes the moral cowardice of officialdom
SIR – Now we know who has paid the price for multiculturalism: the white girls exploited by grooming gangs, whose pleas for help went unheeded by those who feared being viewed as racist (report, June 17). The refusal to face reality must be rooted out of the police, local and national politics, and all elements of officialdom. The multicultural experiment has been disastrous, allowing the maintenance of distinct, sometimes alien, cultures and parallel societies. It should be abandoned in favour of integration, requiring the acceptance of core British values: free speech and the rule of law. John Hicks Manchester SIR – Nick Timothy (Commentary, June 17) is right to describe these crimes as 'racially and religiously aggravated rape'. Just as officials were unwilling to register the ethnicity of the perpetrators because they feared being seen as racist, so they continue to refer to 'Asian men' instead of making clear that this behaviour reflected an extreme form of Islam that treats women as inferior and despises those who do not follow the religion. Annabel Burton Cheltenham, Gloucestershire SIR – When I became the police and crime commissioner of the Thames Valley in 2013, the excellent chief constable, Sara Thornton, had initiated a criminal investigation into essentially Pakistani grooming gangs in Banbury and Oxford. The push-back from social services was extraordinary. But despite the lack of cooperation by the very services that should have been protecting the underage girls, the prosecutions were successful, and heavy sentences resulted. It was clear that, if this was happening in Thames Valley, it would also be going on in conurbations in the Midlands and the North. Again there was a push-back against this suggestion. Dame Louise Casey, who visited me, understands this. The fact that not a single major grooming gang prosecution has taken place in London also needs some explaining. Anthony Stansfeld Kintbury, Berkshire SIR – After my retirement more than a decade ago, I did some voluntary work at our local library. In a quiet period I found a book called Girl A, by Anonymous. I took it out. I found that I could not read more than one chapter per day. It was the first published account of child rape gangs written by one of the victims. It should be compulsory reading for all politicians and other authorities who will now be called on to address this issue without the suppression of inconvenient truths. Howard Phillips London SW20
The Sun
15-06-2025
- Business
- The Sun
Horse racing risks being DESTROYED if Reeves pushes ahead with tax raid on online gambling, MPs warn
HORSE racing risks being destroyed if Rachel Reeves pushes ahead with a tax raid on online gambling, MPs warned today. Senior Labour and Tory politicians urged the Chancellor not to whack up betting levies. They say it could wipe out 'one of the crown jewels of UK sport and culture'. The Treasury is considering a new flat-rate remote betting and gaming duty, under which horse racing bets would be taxed at the same rate as online gaming and slots — despite being less profitable. Such a move would discourage bookmakers from promoting the sport, leading to fewer bets, it is claimed. In a new report, the All Party Parliamentary Group for Racing and Bloodstock said the tax would bring job losses and economic pain for towns such as Doncaster, Cheltenham and Newmarket. Labour MP Dan Carden said: 'I'm calling on the Government to secure a fair funding model, protect jobs and allow horse racing to thrive for future generations.' And Tory MP Nick Timothy added: 'Horse racing is one of the crown jewels of British sport and culture. Nobody will forgive ministers if their decisions lead to its decline.' The MPs' concerns are backed by voters, with polling for the APPG showing two-thirds see horse racing as key to the identity of race meeting towns. The racing sector contributes £4.1billion to the economy and supports more than 85,000 jobs. 1
Powys County Times
15-06-2025
- Business
- Powys County Times
Parliamentary group ‘demand action' over online tax threat to racing
MP Nick Timothy has demanded action from the government to safeguard the future of British horse racing. Timothy, whose constituency of West Suffolk includes Newmarket, is co-chair of the All-Party Parliamentary Group for Racing and Bloodstock, which will release a report on Monday that warns the industry could be deeply affected by proposals to raise online betting taxes, added to existing concerns around affordability checks and a failure to deliver a more sustainable central funding model. Ahead of the budget, the Treasury is also seeking views on replacing the current three-tax structure of online gambling duties with a single remote betting and gaming duty, which would tax bets on racing at the same rate as more profitable online casino and slot games and possibly lead to a reduction in bets on racing, which would affect the sport's funding. Timothy said: 'Horse racing is one of the crown jewels of British sport and culture. Newmarket, in my constituency, is the centre of racing and breeding in Britain. Some of the most important racing operations in the world are based in Suffolk, and these businesses invest huge sums of money into the local economy. 'This is a story we could tell across the country, from rural villages to towns like Cheltenham and Doncaster, where horse racing is part of the social fabric and has been for centuries. 'The public recognise this. Nobody will forgive ministers if their decisions lead to the decline of the nation's second-biggest spectator sport. The time for warm words has ended – we now demand action. The government must listen to the public and take immediate measures to secure the future of horse racing in Britain.' Fellow co-chair Dan Carden counts Aintree in his Liverpool Walton constituency and he added: 'The message from this report is clear: British racing needs this Labour Government to be on its side. 'Racing is part of our national story, and its enjoyment and support extends all the way from rural to urban working class communities. 'I'm calling on the government to listen and to act in order to secure a fair funding model, protect jobs and allow horse racing to thrive for future generations.' Brant Dunshea, chief executive of the British Horseracing Authority, believes racing is a 'cherished national institution, loved by people across every part of society, across every type of community, across every political party' and it should be 'allowed it to survive and thrive instead of risking its future'. He said: 'The cultural, social and economic value of racing is huge for towns and rural areas across Britain. It is those communities that will suffer the job losses, the decline in community pride and the loss of identity that will come if racing is allowed to fail. 'British racing cannot – and must not – be allowed to fail. All of us who love and depend on this iconic sport call on the government to recognise the depth of the feeling and act now to back British racing.'
