Tories Apologise to the North? No Way!

ConservativeHome, the leading grass roots Conservative website, has an interesting post today:

Should the Conservative Party apologise to the North?

It's interesting that Michael Gove and Alan Duncan believe that we should say 'sorry for the pain that was caused' to the North due to Thatcher's economic policies.

As a Northern Tory activist I welcome most Conservative Party efforts to make headway in the North, but this suggestion by ConservativeHome and the Southern MPs mentioned above is patronising and absurd. Thatcher turned the North from a state-dependent, inefficient industrial area into a shining beacon of redevelopment. And, I mean that; Manchester, Liverpool, Leeds, York and Newcastle are all world-class cities; centres of business and culture. That was the result of Thatcher's economic policies in the North - not some left-wing babble summed up in Billy Elliot. Yes, the mining communities suffered high unemployment and social problems, but it's time to understand that those effects were necessary in order to make way for today's prosperity (they were, of course, exacerbated by the Unions themselves).

The greatest gift the Conservatives can give to the North now is not a feeble apology - but real conservatism. By that, I mean grammar schools, respect (for the police) and a wealth-inducing economy. The North has suffered for too long under the iron grip of socialism - it's time for the Conservatives to look back at their treatment of the North with pride. There should be no apology.

RMT and London Underground Strikes

Generally speaking I have little sympathy with strikers; particularly, teachers and people who provide public services (such as the Royal Mail workers who refused to process BNP election leaflets). I have even less sympathy with the lazy, pathetic, selfish London Underground members of the RMT, led by the arch-militant Bob Crow, who have this week gone on strike.

I'm not fully aware of the reasons of the strike, so I apologise for my ignorance. But, I do know it only takes 6 weeks' training to become an Underground driver and you end up with a salary of £40,000 per annum! Ridiculous, especially compared with the wage of our soldiers, nurses and carers. For that reason, I see absolutely no moral basis for a strike from these over-paid train drivers in the middle of the nation's worst recession in over two decades!

They should all be sacked. Simple, and fair.

Devolution

It's a historical fact that Scotland, and in some lesser respects Wales, has always been a little different to England. For example, ever since the Act of Union Scotland has retained its unique legal system and its own cultural distinction. However, under this Labour government the hideous idea of devolution has accelerated and this has proved to be a huge blow for the strength of the United Kingdom of Great Britian and Northern Ireland. In that sense, I object to devolution and Scottish and Welsh legislatures on a patriotic and sentimental ground.

However, as a conservative, I am more ideologically opposed to devolution. It's nothing more than an extra layer of bureaucracy . I believe in small government. Devolution is the antithesis to that sacred conservative belief. As such, I believe that the Scottish Parliament, Welsh Assembly and Northern Ireland Assembly should be scrapped - the people of those nations are not different to the English; they are as British as someone from the Home Counties (to use a stereotype) and they should be governed by the British legislature - the Westminster Parliament.

Since the Euro elections are today, we have seen huge debates about whether or not we should be in Europe. The argument spouted by the Eurosceptics is that giving more power to the EU is a loss of parliamentary sovereignty and is undermining the British sense of identity. Why then, do many conservatives support the present system in the UK of multilayered, wasteful, inefficient government? It's sheer hypocrisy from conservatives and the whole issue needs to be confronted by the main representative body of UK conservatives - the Conservative Party. However, I predict they will bow to pressure for keeping the status quo.