Lord Rees-Mogg - Times Online - WBLG

Bring back the Prima Facie Test

After 9/11 Britain signed a Treaty with the United States to make extradition easier.  That was a natural response to the threat of terrorism.  However, the Treaty has not been used against terrorists, but against a number of businessmen.  There is now a fear of American extradition, which has led to the suicide of Neil Coulbeck, an innocent witness in the NatWet case.

Greenfield bad: Brownfield good?

I fully understand the arguments for the development of brownfield sites, but I feel they need to be appraised just as carefully as all other sites.   These are some of the problems:

Where is the final authority in British Law?

In Bradlaugh’s case, it was determined that one House of Parliament could not determine the legality of the decisions of another House.  In that case the petitioner, who could not take the oath because he was an atheist, wanted to challenge the decision of the Commons not to seat him.  The argument was that both Houses of Parliament are sovereign.

Infant charities need protection from tax

Startups are notoriously difficult in business, though they are one of the most important ways of introducing business innovations.  They are equally important in the field of charities.  Under the traditional rules which governed charities in British law, there was a presumption that education was a charitable activity and therefore free from taxation of the fees that they charged.  On this basis, private schools and private arts institutions could gain this charitable relief from the startup point.

Private equity needs public standards of disclosure

When a small number of Labour Members of Parliament sign a Commons motion, one should take that as an indicator of left wing opinion, but not as a practical threat to the institution they are criticising.  That is almost certainly true of the early day motion calling for the House “to consider legislation to exercise control over the damaging behaviour” of private equity groups and to review the relief on loan interest.  The only surprising thing is that Tony Blair felt it necessary to respond that “the private equity market brings a lot of benefits to the British economy”.

Is the Devil in Petticoats the conservatives best bet?

We are all accustomed to conservatives who think that Hillary Clinton is – to borrow an eighteenth century phrase – “the devil in petticoats”, always supposing that anyone wears petticoats nowadays.  But suppose for a moment that she is not.  Could Hillary be the best Presidential candidate that conservatives could hope for.

Which is the most civilised State in America?

If one had to advise a young person which country to choose as an emigrant which one would it be?  I recently suggested Canada.  That promoted a lively correspondence, some of it coming from disillusioned ex-Canadians, who objected to almost everything from the climate to the taxes.  On the whole, Canada got more praise than criticism.

Will the next election be in 2010?

Angela Merkel, the Chancellor of the Federal Republic of Germany, made a very important speech on January 17th 2007, her first speech as President of the Council, to the European Parliament.  She put the German position on the future of the European Constitution.

Should Israel bomb Iran?

Iran is becoming the biggest issue of the Middle East.  Ehud Olmert, the Prime Minister of Israel, has been under considerable pressure since last summer’s war in Lebanon, which has been widely criticised in Israel for “failure to achieve its objectives”.  He is concerned to defend a moderate policy in Iran, which is a matter of controversy.  He recently told a meeting of his Kadima Party, “I believe that the world and we know how to deal with the present threat, but, please, we need to stop instilling fear of an existential threat just to grab the headlines.    There is no need to make the present threat worse than it is.”

Is Canada or Denmark the ideal country?

The other evening I was giving an after dinner talk to an investment club.  I was asked which country I would advise a young British student to choose if he, or she, had decided to emigrate.  I had to answer without much time for reflection, and found that I was saying “Canada”.   A member of the audience commented:  “I thought you would say that.”   I then listed the attractions:  “A stable society, access to the U.S. market, good educational and health systems, nice people, a just system of law, economy based on strong raw material supplies, including oil.  Low crime rates.”  Afterwards I reflected that it would be hard to find a country with so many positives and so few negatives – apart of course from the Canadian winter, and even that may benefit from global warming.

The European Court of Inhuman Discrimination

The two old ladies from Marlborough who have lived together all their lives have lost their case in front of the European Court of Human Rights.  They feel that it is an unfair discrimination which relieves the surviving partner in a marriage or a civil partnership of inheritance tax, but levies inheritance tax on the survivor of a long family partnership, such as theirs.   The result would be that the survivor of the Marlborough Two will have to sell the house to pay the tax, and that their generation will have to pay inheritance tax twice, once on the death of the first partner and then again on the death of the survivor.

Will blogs enter the long term of memory of history?

I rather enjoy blogging as a relative new means of communication.  However, I do not use blogs as a way of expressing my own opinions, but more often as a way of giving wider circulation to questions to which I do not know the answer.  It is clear, from American experience that blogging can – in certain circumstances – have considerable political impact.

What is the estimated cash flow of a political party?

The Electoral Commission has reported the very large debts of the major political parties.  Collectively they owe £58 million.  The Conservatives, however, have plans to sell their old head office building in Smith Square, worth about £30 million, so it is Labour which is under the greatest pressure.

If the London Stock Exchange is for sale, why not the Bank of England?

The London Stock Exchange is now the object of a bidding battle, with Nasdaq, a New York stock exchange, making an unsolicited bid into a final offer, and all sorts of speculative financiers buying their shares.  This is all very exciting for the City, but is it good for Britain?

Cricketers get burnout as well as bankers

The greatest batsman known to history, Don Bradman, ended his test career more than fifty years ago with an average only fractionally below 100.   The great batsmen of recent years, such as the West India Viv Richards, have had career averages nowhere near that.   If someone of Bradman’s genius were to appear, it seems almost certain that their average in test cricket would be relatively low, perhaps close to 70.  This is not because wickets have got worse – they have got better.  Nor is it because bowlers are more skilful – the average standard of bowling in test cricket may well be lower.  The problem – for batsmen and bowlers alike – is that far too much international cricket is being played.  Both batsmen and bowlers are suffering from burnout, usually in mid career.

How the online community votes (in the U.S.)

At least one can be sure, or almost sure, that people who read The Times online are online themselves.  On November 1st, only a week before the U.S. elections, Nielsen/Net Ratings published its findings of the political loyalties of online Americans.  36.6 per cent of U.S. adults online are Republican, 30.8 per cent are Democrats and 17.3 per cent are Independents.

Are we trying to fight two wars on the cheap?

The House of Lords has much more experience of defence issues than the House of Commons.  As our average age is older, we have still a number of peers who served in the Second World War.  A fair proportion of us did our national service after the War.  In addition a number of very senior officers, Chiefs of Staff and so on, have been given life peerages.  The result is that House of Lords debates are based on experience, going up to the highest ranks.  It is largely non-political;  retired Generals do not make party points, but they do care about the welfare of the troops.

Should our infants pay French farmers £12 a week?

Europe has become a deeply unpopular issue in British politics.   The Conservatives do not mention it because the leadership thinks that the subject makes the party look old fashioned.  The Lib Dems do not mention it because their seats in the South West are largely eurosceptic.  They know that the Lib Dem policy on the European Union is not popular with the voters.  The Blair Government does not mention it, because they have totally failed to protect British interests.

The November 7th vote will decide the Iraq strategy

On November 7th, the Americans will be holding their mid-tem elections.  The Democrats need to pick up 15 seats in the House of Representatives, or six in the Senate, to win a majority in each House.   The opinion polls suggest that the Democrats will win in the House of Representatives, and may also carry the Senate.

But what about the Iranian bomb?

Israel is deeply concerned about the possibility that Iran will develop nuclear weapons, and that concern has been raised to a higher level by the test carried out by North Korea, a much less formidable power.  There are Israeli advocates of an attack on Iran to destroy the nuclear threat before it has been fully developed.