Stable and Principled

Donkeywatch

Alex — Sun, 02 Oct 2011 13:06:53 +0000

Seeing like a Belgian province

Alex — Sun, 28 Aug 2011 17:55:49 +0000

A common argument for the Conservative-Liberal coalition back in May, 2010 was that any alternative government would be hopelessly weak and unstable. Oddly, the coalition itself tended to argue both that the country needed a balanced parliament that would represent a broad consensus of opinion, and also that the country needed a strong government that would be able to do what it saw fit. Taken together, this suggested that they wanted sweeping powers to do nothing that would be at all controversial.

Look how that turned out. Another European country that has had some trouble forming a coalition government is Belgium. They took a very different solution, which was not to bother and just to muddle through without really having a government. Duncan Weldon points out that the Belgian economy is doing rather well.

But this is no libertarian fairy tale. Without a strong government, the Belgians have simply not been able to do anything controversial. So they've spent the economic crisis under a mildly Keynesian automatic pilot. So dreadful have the policies adopted all around Belgium, and recommended by the European Union from its headquarters in Brussels, been that doing nothing and letting the automatic stabilisers function has been much better.

In many ways this is a comment on the rest of us rather than Belgium. Of course, Belgium is only missing a central government. It is otherwise practically overrun with policy-making institutions, with its three regional and three communal subgovernments and powerful mayors below them. Being closer to the electorate, though, the temptation to rebuild society on one's very logical plan is reduced.

Similarly, I think we'd be happier watching Labour and Plaid Cymru bickering over the Central Wales Line or whatever than we are.

Twat Madrassa Latest - Uniform Mediocrity

Tom — Mon, 15 Aug 2011 21:09:13 +0000

From the West London Free School Prospectus (full of suspiciously clean well uniformed kids in WLFS school uniform, which is a bit odd considering there aren't any WLFS pupils yet, so one concludes it's a straight PR job):

* These items must be purchased from our uniform supplier.

Billings & Edmonds Website www.billingsandedmonds.co.uk

Shop 112 Chiswick High Road, Chiswick, London W4 1PU

T 020 8742 0201

E chiswick@billingsandedmonds.co.uk

Other schools supplied by this establishment include Eton, Harrow and St. Mary's Primary School, Chiswick (the state Catholic one, actually, and rather a rarity amongst the grammars and private schools on the list).

My son's school need not apply, and I suspect if you asked for a uniform for Acton High or Chiswick Community they'd set dogs on you.

From the Office of Fair Trading report on uniform policy:

The OFT has received complaints from parents regarding lack of choice and high prices / poor quality when schools restrict the supply of uniform to particular retailers through exclusive contracts, as well as from other retailers claiming that these arrangements foreclose the market to them

...

Restrictive arrangements are most prevalent among schools which do not offer assistance to parents to buy uniform.

So why is a confirmed free marketeer like Toby Young content to force consumers into the arms of a single supplier? Is a secret Communist? I think we should be told why the hidden hand of the market is giving us the finger.