Chris Huhne on the politics of public behaviour

Our place to talk – an independent website for supporters of the Liberal Democrat party in the UK.

The most-read independent website by and for Lib Dem supporters. Not paid for by trade unions or millionaires.

Advert

Chris Huhne on the politics of public behaviour

By Stephen Tall | Thu 8th May 2008 - 7:12 pm

Follow @stephentall

Word reaches LDV from think-tank Demos that Chris Huhne, the Lib Dems’ shadow home secretary, has contributed an essay to a new publication out today, The Politics of Public Behaviour: how governments should respond to the public consequences of private decisions.

Pamphlet editor Duncan O’Leary explains more:

[It examines] the social effects of personal decisions on marriage, parenting, diet, exercise, smoking, flying, pensions savings etc). Nanny state vs ‘Pontius Pilot state’ as John Reid once put it.

Huhne’s basic argument is that community approaches and peer pressure should be the tools to address social policy goals without coercive intrusion into people’s personal lives. The comparisons between the three essays are instructive. Andy Burnham has a piece which argues that the time has come for the progressive Left to stand firm behind a role for government because it stands for the common good – very much in keeping with James Purnell’s speech on Tuesday to the Fabians.

You can download a PDF copy of The Politics of Public Behaviour by clicking here.

Read more by Stephen Tall or more about chris huhne or james purnell.
This entry was posted in News.

Advert

Post a Comment

Lib Dem Voice welcomes comments from everyone but we ask you to be polite, to be on topic and to be who you say you are. You can read our comments policy in full here. Please respect it and all readers of the site.

To have your photo next to your comment please signup your email address with Gravatar.

Your email is never published. Required fields are marked *

Name *

Email *

Website

Comment

Please complete the name of this site, Liberal Democrat ...?

Most Read

Op-eds

As a party we must be better defined for the 2029 general election (Chris Bowers)
From national averages to local realities: inequality in our communities (Tom Walker)
We do have a two tier system, Part 2 (Neil Hickman)
A Federal Britain: 3. Fiscal Federalism and a complete constitutional settlement (Iain Donaldson)
Tom Arms’ World Review (Tom Arms)

Advert

Recent Comments

Tom Reeve
I read Mike’s email with interest. It started well before sliding into more of the same. Strong analysis on the campaign model, and the point that demogra...
Tom Reeve
You can talk about Gini coefficients and wealth and income per decile until you’re blue in the face. The core issue exercising most voters is fairness and pow...
Peter Martin
@ Iain, There is common ground on the federal question insofar as we agree that it could work. A federal system works well in Australia. The Aus...
David Wright
Conviction of lying under election law can be more consequential, though prison was not involved: "Convicted Reform politician no longer councillor" https://w...
Iain Donaldson
Thanks Mim, That's fair as a description of the counting process, but I think it's worth separating the voter experience from the administrator experience. ...