The wholesale and widespread rejection of Marxism-Leninism is a testament to how thoroughly he and his comrades won the argument.
By Paul GoodmanFollow Paul on Twitter I didn't know Mr Wicks well, though he was certainly a Minister at the Department of Work and Pensions when I was on the Select Committee whcih scrutinised his work. Conservative MPs are tweeting about the sad news this evening, including his Croydon constituency neighbour Gavin Barwell (see below) […]
Lord Gilmour, former Spectator Editor and Cabinet minister, will be best remembered for being a leading Tory critic of Margaret Thatcher. The Metro has a first report | BBC Saturday morning: Telegraph: "The former Conservative Cabinet minister Lord Gilmour of Craigmillar died. He was 81. Lord Gilmour, a staunch opponent of Thatcherism and a pro-European, […]
Lord Biffen, as he became in 1997, served Prime Minister Margaret Thatcher as Chief Secretary to the Treasury, Secretary of State for Trade, and as Leader of the House of Commons. As Secretary of State for Trade he controversially declined to refer Rupert Murdoch’s purchase of Times newspapers to the competition authorities. He was dropped […]
BBC: "Although Lord Weatherill was a Tory MP, in the Lords he was convenor of the crossbench peers and his father was a member of the Independent Labour Party. Tributes were being paid to him on Monday from across the political spectrum. Lord Heseltine, the former Tory deputy prime minister, said: "He was a popular […]
Gerald Ford, US President from 1974 to 1976, has died aged 93, his widow Betty has announced. Ford became America’s leader in the exceptional circumstances after Richard Nixon’s resignation and his presidency was always overshadowed by Nixon. He chose ‘A return to honesty’ as the theme of his presidency although his decision to pardon his […]
"He may be a sonofabitch but he’s our sonofabitch" was a favourite soundbite of the Cold War era. As the west attempted to ‘contain communism‘ we formed alliances with regimes that had dubious human rights records. One of those regimes was that of General Pinochet of Chile, who has died today. Pinochet’s admirers recognise his […]
MILTON FRIEDMAN – ONE OF THE MOST ARTICULATE DEFENDERS OF FREE MARKET CAPITALISM – HAS DIED. His wisdom is captured in some of the quotations pasted below: "Nothing is so permanent as a temporary government program." "Inflation is the one form of taxation that can be imposed without legislation." "Many people want the government to […]
John Blundell of the Institute of Economic Affairs has issued the following statement: "I am very sorry indeed to inform you that Lord (Ralph) Harris died suddenly at his home in north London this morning. An ambulance was called at 8am but he could not be revived at hospital and a heart attack is suspected. […]
Produced by Paul Osborn.
Rt Hon Eric Forth died last night. The MP for Bromley & Chislehurst was in the Commons last week and reported stomach pains to colleagues. He looked unwell and sought medical advice after dislocating his shoulder. It was revealed to him that he had advanced and inoperable bone cancer. Mr Forth, born in 1944 and […]
Caspar Weinberger – a great warrior friend of Britain during the Falkands and Cold Wars – has died. Times Online: "Caspar Weinberger, the former US Defence Secretary awarded an honourary knighthood by Margaret Thatcher for persuading Ronald Reagan to support the Falklands conflict, died [today] aged 88. His wife of 63 years, Jane, was at […]
Sean Gabb, Director of the Libertarian Alliance, has distributed this email message this morning: "It is with the deepest regret that I must announce the death of Dr Chris R. Tame, Founder and President of the Libertarian Alliance. Chris founded the Libertarian Alliance in the early 1970s. During the next 30 years, he worked tirelessly […]
Iain Duncan Smith has written a tribute to John Profumo on the day of his funeral: "Toynbee Hall is one of the jewels in the crown of this nation’s charitable sector. It is the kind of caring institution that commands the love and respect of the British people, an institution that never walks away from […]
The last surviving Dambuster pilot has died, aged 96.