Udders at it again…

This bit of disgusting news comes via Spy.So why does she back PETA, that wonderful bunch of animal right’s terrorists? Just as with fox-hunting she is wrong.

Ann Widdecombe is already known as one of those rare political beasts: a Conservative who supported the ban on foxhunting.

“Many people assume that these hats are now made from fake fur, but unfortunately they are still fashioned from the skins of Canadian black bears,” she fumes. “Whatever the circumstances, there is really no need in the 21st century for these hats to be made of animal fur.”

There is no need in the 21st century Conservative Party for paternalistic Europhile hags either. Has woman been sound on anything? Ever? Her retirement from the party could not come too soon. What a disgrace that woman is.

Boris defends the right to say silly things in a most sensible way

Fine piece in the Daily Telegraph today by columnist and Tory MP Boris Johnson on the subject of free speech and erosion thereof by Blair’s government. Nothing remotely new about this to LC readers of course, but even so, the more comments like Johnson’s, the better. My only query is whether his views are clearly shared by Conservative leader David Cameron. Does Cameron want to reverse the assaults on expression as have happened under the various terrorism acts, crime acts; does he propose to restore, in full, the right to trial by jury, restore the double jeopardy principle, the presumption of innocence principle? It is a long list, but would not it be great if Cameron could announce a repeal of all these things in one fell swoop. Maybe he should call it the “restoration of British liberties” bill. After all, Cameron seems to be clearly going after the liberal-minded middle classes as well as the less well-off. If he wants to be a genuinely liberal brand of Tory, what better than to associate modern Conservatism with civil, as well as economic, liberty in one magnificent gesture?

What has sex, drugs and rock ‘n roll come to?

I see that one of the organisers of the Glastonbury annual rock festival is insisting that folk who attend carry – wait for it! – identity cards with their photos on. Well, given that no-one is forced to attend the festival, I cannot see a principled stance on liberty grounds although it does appear symptomatic of a broader obsession with ID these days (as if we needed reminding, Ed).

Not very rebellious, is it? My kid brother, many years ago while a student, spent several happy, half-stoned days in the mud accompanied by the music of Van Morrison, the Undertones and many others, while all the time enjoying the ministrations of 6 lovely young female undergraduates of a similar outlook on life.

Now they want to turn the whole thing into what: a frickin’ traffic wardens’ convention?

Be there…for Freedom!

Will you? Found via Samizdata.

Forest burns it up at the Groucho

Forest held its annual awards bash at the Groucho Club last night. I attended, naturally, cigar in hand at this rally against the smoking ban. In attendance where Joe Jackson and several other celebs like Madsen Pirie of the ASI. There will be shots on their web-site soon I suspect; once their hangovers wear off. There was generous amounts of wine on offer, sponsored by the awesome restaurant Boisdale. The Groucho was S.R.O. for the affair. They may have lost the fight in Parliament; but Forest have not given up the fight; that is for damn sure.

Parliament and its annoying little habits

Lib-Dem member David Howarth has written a good piece about attempts by the government to further curtail Parliament’s powers in scrutinising and debating legislation. What is rather boringly called the Legislative and Regulatory Reform bill – I bet that got your attention – contains a controversial idea of letting ministers alter any law passed by Parliament. That’s right. You read that correctly. A law passed by Parliament can be tweaked by Ministers if they happen to think that is justified, although we are told that certain terribly important laws will not be affected. I am not in the least reassured and neither is David Howarth.

Some of we libertarians get a bit of stick for claiming that Blair & Co is trying to emasculate Parliament. Don’t be so paranoid, we are told. Well, this process has indeed been going on for decades. Well, the evidence keeps mounting up that Blair regards parliament as a frightful nuisance.

The broader issue for me is that Parliament is clearly not up to the job of scrutinising bills. Far too much legislation is rammed through, often badly drafted, and the law falls into disrepute. The recent law, for example, banning acts “glorifying” terrorism is only likely to prove a happy hunting ground for lawyers and various trouble makers. The actual process by which bills get turned into laws is broken. I have heard it said by a senior politician that a huge proportion of the laws that affect our lives are not even debated at all but put through on the nod via secondary legislation.

If David Cameron wants to restore any lingering hope that he believes in limited government, he could do a lot worse than push for a serious restoration of Parliamentary power and capability. It would be a good issue for him and play well with the public.

Another dubious bill

And Rightlinks has all the info on it; including a list of questions to write to your MP. It seems Blair is rather upset with too much meddling in the creation legislation.

Will you join the chain?

Quote of the week

Sir - If you carry a banner inciting the beheading of innocents and scare the police with your militancy, you’ll walk free. Peacefully read out a list of war dead by the Cenotaph, and they’ll arrive in force to arrest you. What cowardice.

Cyril Berkeley, Kuala Lumpur

This great letter on double-standards is from todays Telegraph.

A great satirical voice is stilled

Michael Wharton, who created the wonderful Peter Simple column running for decades in the Daily Telegraph, has died at the age of 92. He conjured up a world of mad colonels, trendy vicars, eccentric psychologists and race relations conmen. He tried to get a grip on the trends in British life through excellent satire and some of his lines, such as “We are all guilty!!!” stick in my mind. He was a Tory reactionary and not in sympathy, I suspect, with my own more libertarian views. But he was a wonderful thorn in the flesh of the left, a mocker of utopianism, a despiser of the worst of the modern movement in the arts and architecture, and above all, pricelessly funny.