Life and Physics

This post is life, not physics. I claim no special expertise in this field.

I have always been anti-Tory. Some of this comes from growing up in Manchester in the 1980’s and seeing the human consequences of Tory economic policy. However, I respect the honestly held opinion of some that the overall effect of some of Thatcher’s policies was good, in the ruthlessly Benthamite “greatest happiness to the greatest number” sense. Economics is complex and I really don’t have much expertise. Certainly Manchester was already a much improved place in 1997, and is even better now, as far as I can see (my family still live there).

The visceral loathing I have of Conservatism doesn’t really come from their economic policies (though I disagree with most of these). It comes from the mood music of social intolerance which still surrounds them. Various signs in the election campaign and before showed that the crowing, homophobic, xenophobic, borderline racist wing of the party is still around and Cameron did not convincingly repudiate them. Decent Tories I know hold their noses on this stuff and vote Tory for economic reasons. But I think if Cameron wanted to take advantage of the widespread discontent with the Brown government, and offer a real, acceptable alternative to more than the core Tory vote, he had to do more to show that the Tories had changed, that he was different, and that he was in control and not just a smooth gloss on the same old Tories. I guess Blair had to do the same to win over those with a visceral hatred of Old Labour. But where was Cameron’s Clause 4 moment?

Continue reading →