The fourth part of our series on reducing demand for government, in which we set out a programme for change – focused on families, civil society and government.
The demographic tide can’t be turned back, but its advance can be slowed – by the self-reinforcing triangle of stronger families, better schools, good jobs, and the stronger society that these help to build.
Couples are waiting later and later to have children due to the cost of living in many areas of the country – of which housing plays such a massive part. It is certainly encouraging to see action is being taken to reduce some barriers to building, but this should be done with more haste.
“We must not fall into this trap: the trap of pushing policies which seem to be politically possible but which we know won’t actually solve the country’s problems.”
We kick off a ConservativeHome project on strong families, better schools and good jobs today – indispensable means of achieving a smaller state and a stronger society.
Dealing with mental health issues or traffic violations leaves our forces with less time to tackle the crimes we rightly expect them to solve.
For starters, a leader with integrity, a reasonably competent Cabinet, a less divisive tone, a new seriousness of purpose on policy and, in particular, some pragmatism on Europe.
The auditorium may be dull but the fringe is not – as questions from our past haunt the future, such as: will the productivity gains come?
My view is that the only way to help square this circle is to rediscover our concern for public service reform.
A careful reading of Hayek and Adam Smith will confirm that neither was invariably opposed to state action.
The State continues to restrict personal freedom in a bid, it claims, to save life, while trying to avoid spelling out the risks to life caused by excess weight.
If it were the critical factor, Belgium should have been superbly prepared for the pandemic. Alas, it was not.
It’s striking that the countries that did best during Covid are those, like Taiwan and South Korea, which live under threat of annihilation by their neighbours.
At my selection meeting I was asked to choose, without doing the question, between building houses and protecting green spaces. I said houses, and got selected.