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As just about everyone now knows, our national finances are totally up the spout. Almost no matter whom you ask, they will tell you that the Exchequer has been living wildly beyond its means and that we can’t go on like this. The recognition that we face a gargantuan fiscal crisis is, of course, the first step [...] One of the most frequent and least productive guessing-games being played just now is the “when are we going to have an election?” game. This is a very British pastime. You are no more likely to find someone in most other European countries engaging in it than you are to find them baking Yorkshire puddings or [...] There is something wonderfully English and old-fashioned about allotments. They conjure up images of the 1940s – a resilient nation, growing its own in the face of food shortages and rationing. But the paradox is that allotments are also a thoroughly fashionable and modern concept. As people become more and more concerned about the origin of [...] Nowadays, concern with pollution is definitely ‘in’. We worry about the ecology of air, water and land. And we have thousands of regulations to prevent them being contaminated by noxious substances. But there is one kind of pollution about which the law is still remarkably tolerant – noise pollution. You can drive an extremely noisy motor bike [...] What price a world heritage coastline? Some years ago, we all celebrated the news that the magnificent coastline of Lyme Bay was to be a World Heritage Site. We expected that great benefits would follow. In some respects, these early hopes and aspirations have been fulfilled. The worldwide publicity given to world heritage sites is very probably [...] So far as the country as a whole is concerned, it will not surprise readers of this column to know that I hope 2010 will be a year for change. Both literally and metaphorically, we can’t afford to go on in the way we have been doing for the last 13 years. But, in the midst [...] Christmas approaches. A time for celebration – in Bridport as elsewhere. But also a time to recall that, for some, this is the most difficult moment in the year – a moment when loneliness and anxiety are accentuated by the fact that so many families are gathering convivially to share the festivities. Years ago, when I [...] Black Rod has issued his sonorous summons. The Queen has been, spoken and gone. Her speech has been debated. And the new Parliamentary session is well under way. Of course, this year it is largely a charade. With an election likely to start not more than four months away, the chances that much of the legislative programme [...] One of the worst features of the recession has been its effect on young people. So far, at any rate, the growth of unemployment amongst people in mid-career has been rather lower than one might have feared in the deepest and longest economic downturn since the 1930s. Many firms and many employees have agreed to reduce [...] Quite regardless of what you think about the risks from carbon emissions and climate change, freeing Britain from excessive dependence on imported oil and gas is an urgent national necessity. We simply can’t go on like this, being massively and increasingly exposed to fluctuations in price and security of supply – especially when the oil and [...] |
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Copyright © 2010 Oliver Letwin MP - All Rights Reserved |
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