Snow Balls

Current stalkee and esteemed GC of the Fabian society, (S. Katwala esq.) thinks he has spotted a doctrinal inconsistency in the snow …
“..worries about a grit shortage. The Conservative opposition is among those calling for more planning,….It would be strange if a bit of bad weather were to trump the laissez-faire instincts of the libertarians. .... we seem to hear so much less about Iceland from them these days).....”
I have opined- This is rather like a sermon is it not ? “I was coming to church today and I saw the snow , you know this set me thinking about god ../ socialism …”. I like it
You are confusing a desire for a big state with a desire that the necessary evil of some government, be run efficiently .When Conservatives criticise the record of this administration on military procurement ,we do not suggest a return to the jolly rogering entrepreneurial spirit of Raleigh and Drake .Still, I sympathise with the underlying theme. Some righty folk do seem to want it both ways ( way hay)
The left ignore the profound human cost inherent in taking decisions from us but equally the libertarian denies the dangers of free individual action .There is of course a Goldilocks position, which happens to be mine,Conservatism .Neither of its rivals counts long term values ,easily destroyed by clumsy state or violent market assaults on the nation’s body. Communities , deep mines , farming, the natural beauty of the country the diffuse knowledge coded in customs. Both big state and atomised anarchy are threats , an unholy alliance of these two demons is the story of the last ten years.
Conservatism is also pragmatic. A good old slab of planning periodically has a place after all .Take state insurance at tariff terms . This is clearly inefficient expensive usually corrupt and glacially slow . It does however provide a guaranteed risk support system for emerging economies. Without the guarantee of soil , enterprise cannot grow . Similarly, the provision of housing after the war ,albeit sub contracted after Labour’s failure to launch , the ‘safety net! ,the NHS , the BBC …. In each case, for some period , a guaranteed universal level was, perceived as job one.
As the nation “emerges”,this primtive kick start is no longer required , sadly the scaffolder has grown to love his scaffold .Big state acolytes ,invent faux emergencies. We need the EU because of …The Environment ” ..uhuh , and who are we at war with next week , ?
Today The Labour Party faces a country which needing less government lacking the resources to adjust. It retreats only in violent jerks , each new line in the sand is washed away leaving damp collectivist planners . The SDP episode and now the post defeat de-fenestration of Brown .
PS ICELAND- I take your point but our current travails come from the Passporting system within the EU and affiliates. UK institutional checks have been hollowed out and replaced by a spurious rubber stamp, giving the green light to investors .No surprise that Councils that took the boldest leaps ..innocents abroad.There is much more of this to come. Your fault , top down planning `s fault, the EU`s fault .Own up to it
The fate a wealthy people slightly less numerous than the denizens of Croydon is hardly a burning issue