INVENIRE

Suella Braverman came under fire for her criticism of the Progress Flag There are few gulfs greater than that between the rhetoric and the policy accomplishments of the Conservative and Unionist Party. The eight years since the Brexit referendum have seen numerous Conservative politicians style themselves as committed traditionalists, supposedly determined to reverse the constitutional and cultural change initiated by New Labour. Nevertheless, despite a General Election victory to the tune of a majority of 80 in 2019, the Conservative Party has brought about an anti-work marginal tax schedule , given up on border control, and presided over a soft-sentencing approach to law and order. Have we had a Conservative Party at all? A perusal of The Telegraph's opinion section at any point between the dampened Downing Street election announcement and polling day itself makes the size of the gulf ghastly. Every week saw a new plea by a Tory parliamentarian or one of their Fleet Street allies...

The Los Angeles Lakers' selection of Lebron "Bronny" James Jr. in the NBA Draft last week reminded us that nepotism is alive and kicking. The best player of the past twenty years gave his son, an unremarkable college basketball player, a remarkable first job. Such an action would have been impossible for James Sr's parents, and so such an act demonstrated that the James family are members of some elite, even if it lacks the shields and signet rings of the older European aristocracy. Lebron James drinks the wine of the American Dream vineyard. Though born poor, he was, more importantly, born into a society that rewarded his blend of physical giftedness and hard work. Lebron the elite talent became Lebron the elite performer and has become Lebron, member of the American elite. He has the social and economic clout necessary to set up schools, purchase Los Angeles mansions and have people sit up when he comments on social issues, such as the NFL national anthem protests. ...

The history of the modern state of Israel would be incomplete without mention of its relationship with the West and, in particular, the United States. While Israel has nominally "fought alone" in the majority of her wars since 1948, the invisible hand of American financial and diplomatic support has been an ever-emboldening presence for Zionist ambition. The United States was the principal promoter of Resolution 181, the 1947 proposal which brought about the partition of the then-dying British Mandate of Palestine into distinct Jewish and Arab states. Following the Israeli declaration of independence in the following May, President Truman immediately announced American recognition of the state. In the 75 years of Israel's existence, she has been the greatest beneficiary of American foreign aid, receiving $158 billion (not adjusted for inflation) in this period. Support for Israel and its policy objectives, foreign and domestic, have become a fact of life in Washington DC....

In enshrining values such as the consent of the governed, the American constitution is commonly associated with the Whig political tradition. Despite the fact that the American constitution owes more to the ideas of Whigs than those of royalists, the Constitution’s repeated insurance against treason and its framework for the foundation of a strong federal government indicates its mixed ideological heritage. Moreover, the Constitution’s blend of Whig and royalist ideas, girded by its own historical context, demonstrates that these political philosophies are not diametrically opposed; the Whigs of the 17th and 18th centuries supported the notion of monarchy, albeit a constitutional one. While the Constitution draws much from whiggish thought, evidence of royalist inspiration abounds. The American constitution’s emphasis on the consent of the governed is drawn from whiggism. The idea that “the People of the United States” are the sole arbiters of government legitimacy recurs. The fact tha...

If good politics unifies, rather than divides, populations; achieves political goals and reflects the will of the electorate, politics would be better without political parties. Partisan politics stokes unproductive national division, reduces the quality of political discussion, hinders political progress and allows for the corruption of the government by corporate and foreign - non-constituent - agents. Nevertheless, the weight of criticism of partisan politics has not yet resulted in detaching politics from partisanship. Citizens of liberal democracies live in a state of “partisan realism”; to appropriate Mark Fisher’s description of capitalism, “it is easier to imagine an end to the world than an end to political parties.”. The fact that only ten sovereign states lack political parties - seven of which are absolute monarchies - justifies the belief that parties are the gatekeepers to politics and immutable components of democracies. Therefore, in addition to outlining how political ...

The solution to our economic woes lies in unleashing our building potential The year is 1979. Beholden to trade union leaders, strikes have left Britain in disarray. In the wake of the Winter of Discontent, descriptions of Britain as the "sick man of Europe" seemed apt; such a label is not out of place today. Like James Callaghan was then, much of our political class seems to be on the beach in the Bahamas, with their heads in the sand while catastrophe awaits. Cures to our malaise are available, but the anti-growth coalition that dominates Britain refuses to enact any policy that capitalises on the resources — human or physical — available to us. Even among information economies, Britain is blessed with its array of world-class higher education institutions. Despite this, no considered effort has been made in converting this abundance of talent into economic prosperity. None of the world's ten largest biomedical companies are British. World-class universities are the key...

The notion that governments rely on the tax revenues derived from individuals and businesses and thus cannot simply “print more money” to solve budgetary issues is orthodox in popular thinking. The idea is so pervasive that proposals for new tax cuts or new public services programmes are invariably met with demands that they are funded by tax increases or spending decreases elsewhere. In the United Kingdom, the Institute for Fiscal Studies has become the de facto inspector of all fiscal plans proposed by political parties; their unfavourable assessment of the September 2022 mini-budget brought about the lack of market confidence that precipitated the downfall of the Truss ministry. [i] Bidding to seem fiscally responsible in this way, governments frequently prioritise debt reduction, either via expenditure-cutting austerity measures, as initiated by the UK Coalition government of 2010-2015, [ii] or revenue-raising tax increases. Politicians do not accept the idea that we can rely on ...