BEYOND THE THERAPUETIC SOCIETY

According to a report in the Observer, almost one person in five in the UK has consulted a counsellor or psychotherapist (Observer 1st August 2010). This is a remarkable transformation in a country which until very recently was renowned for it’s stoical bearing characterised by the stiff upper lip and disavowal of emotions. How did […]

THE DRUG LAWS AND THE RUSH TO REFORM

There is a growing impetus to reform and liberalise the UK and international drug laws; these being widely regarded as ineffectual in terms of combating drug use. Those arguing for reform make several points. The first is that the existing drug laws are grossly hypocritical in that tobacco which kills a minimum of a quarter-of-a-million […]

THE BIG SOCIETY AND THE THIRD SECTOR

Over the next few months as public spending cuts really start to take effect expect to hear much about services currently being run by the public sector being ‘handed’ over to the voluntary or ‘third’ sector. This idea is also in line with the government’s current rhetoric about the “Big Society” in which people and […]

THE NEED FOR FOCUSED REGULATION

It is widely agreed that if there are to be cuts in the public sector they should be focused on reducing the huge levels of bureaucracy premised on regulation and compliance. But, it is important that not all regulation and compliance is discarded. The converse of heavily bureaucratised regulation is the facade of spurious ‘self-regulation’, […]

THREE DECADES OF RESTRAINING PUBLIC SPENDING AND STILL RISING

Since 1979, successive governments have robustly committed themselves either to reduce public spending and ‘roll back the state’ (Conservative) or be ‘prudent’ with regard to the public finances (Labour). In spite of this total government debt is now approximately £156 billion and the number of public sector employees is greater than ever. In Scotland, the […]

NEW LABOUR AND THE BI-POLAR SOCIETY: RIDING TWO HORSES AT ONCE

The demise of the New Labour government has perhaps witnessed the dawning of the end of an era in British politics. That era has been characterised by the attempt to systematically advance policies promoting social liberalism and economic conservatism simultaneously. Some commentators (notably Nick Cohen, particularly his What’s Left – How the left Lost its […]

DO THE DRUG LAWS WORK?

The bulk of left-liberal opinion (and some libertarian right viewpoints) both in this country and internationally, is that the current laws on drugs are ineffectual in terms of combating drug use. They are also seen as quite harmful in needlessly criminalising whole groups of people, particularly those from deprived backgrounds whose prospects (and addiction) are […]