Author Archives: Fiona Melville

Banging vs balance

Posted on 15 December 2011 by Fiona Melville

Last night, David Cameron’s appearance before the 1922 committee was greeted with rapturous banging on desks. This is weird. Normal people do not do that. One of the disappointments I’ve had (it’s not a huge one in the wider scheme … Continue reading →

Posted in General | Tagged , , , , , | 3 Comments

Promises, the EU, the national interest and reality

Posted on 12 December 2011 by Fiona Melville

The European Union is by no means one of my favourite topics to write about. I find the endless shouting from both those who are vehemently anti and those who are vehemently pro deeply tiresome, but my basic position is … Continue reading →

Posted in Foreign Affairs | Tagged , , , , , , | 4 Comments

The good, the bad and the ugly

Posted on 29 November 2011 by Fiona Melville

A trite title but an apt one… Let’s go in reverse order as I’m an optimistic kind of person. The Ugly Our deficit and debt positions are ugly. Our economy is going to get uglier. Most peoples’ living standards are … Continue reading →

Posted in Economics | Tagged , , , | 2 Comments

What do we think is worth it?

Posted on 24 November 2011 by Fiona Melville

The Independent quotes a Department for Transport source as saying, “There is money around for things when we think they are worth it, such as [weekly] bin collections.” This caught my eye in Ben Brogan’s always excellent morning email (sign … Continue reading →

Posted in Big Society | Tagged , , , , | 1 Comment

Mods, trads and why we’re all Conservatives

Posted on 17 November 2011 by Fiona Melville

followed by followed by Then  As I wrote in the Conservative Way Forward magazine during the party conference, ‘modernising’ (which is ugly shorthand and not something I would ever talk about in that way directly with voters) is not about … Continue reading →

Posted in Party Politics | Tagged , , , , , | 2 Comments