Friday May 16

Blogs

5.30pm, Better Government
Matthew Sinclair:
Some esoteric benefits of a parent-controlled education system

A government official or minister, in Whitehall, will always see a child, to a certain extent, as a statistic and will miss their more esoteric talents.  Parents stand a better chance than any schools policy of identifying and encouraging the talents of their children... - Read More

3.30pm, West Midlands
Fiona McEvoy:
Golden oldies

This is just another costly muddle that could have been avoided by proper planning, but when planning isn’t paramount because costly mistakes have few consequences and the coffers can be boosted quite easily by the public purse, situations like this will arise time and time again... - Read More

11.55am, Campaign
Mark Wallace:
Good news! Commons authorities defeated in court

This verdict is a great victory for democracy, transparency and taxpayers. It should never have taken so long and cost so much, but at least the High Court have come out with right decision. Let us hope Mr Martin accepts he was in the wrong, acknowledges the public's right to know and publishes the information immediately. A further appeal would do even more damage to the people's faith in Parliament, and would be utterly unjustified - the Speaker should rule it out immediately... - Read More

Media Coverage

- Commons loses MPs' expenses fight

The House of Commons has lost its High Court battle against a decision to force disclosure of MPs' expenses. The Commons challenged the Information Tribunal's "unlawfully intrusive" demand that a detailed breakdown of second home allowances must be given. It also failed to overturn the tribunal's decision that MPs' addresses should be published...

It was also welcomed by pressure group The Taxpayers' Alliance. Chief executive Matthew Elliott said: "This is a victory for taxpayers and democracy in Britain." - Full story

- Britain needs US-style think tanks to counter the Left’s grip on universities

"A new generation of centre-right think tanks, such as Policy Exchange, the TaxPayers’ Alliance and the Centre for Social Justice, are currently thriving with the political momentum in our direction. But to stay relevant and vibrant, conservative thinking needs to be sustained throughout the political cycle: the case for conservatism needs to be made strongest when conservatism is least fashionable." - Full Article

Comments

[Acorn]

If you want to get a grip on the Lefties running our Universities, best start with an overhaul of the Higher Education Funding Council for England. That's where the problem starts.

http://www.hefce.ac.uk/pubs/hefce/2008/08_16/