Douglas Carswell & UCL Libertarians

I missed the NW London drinks night as I had 'one of those days' at work and only managed to get to the UCL Libertarians' event with Doug Carswell.

I am very much a Classic Liberal/ Libertarian Tory and believe the political battle for our generation will be over issues of freedom, liberty and privacy, which are all intrinsically linked.

The fiasco regarding the negligent loss of data proves how dangerous a large, pervasive database state can be. We are heading into a true information age yet have a Government and administration that is clueless when it comes to protecting our privacy.

By reducing the influence of the state, as we Conservatives should instinctively encourage, I believe we will deliver a more prosperous, affluent and happier society.

UCL Question Time

Mark Coote, PPC for Cheltenham and Fund Raising Director for Cancer Research UK, and Nick Webb, Gloucestershire and Bristol CF Area Chairman, were both on the panel with me at UCL's Question Time.

A huge range of questions were asked over the hour and half, from conscription to the EU treaty to the BNP. No questions on tax, oddly enough!

Nick reviews the night here and the UCL post is here. I thought the evening was a tremendous success! The responses from the panel were similar but had some points of divergence...we're a broad church, remember!

I was particularly pleased with the questions from the floor: some serious, wide-ranging questions were pitched and it was good to reply with some opinions that aren't always voiced at Conservative events!

UCL and Greg Hands

Greg Hands came to UCL and gave an open and interesting speech on his career, his political opinions and the present fortunes of the Conservative Party. Greg has had a varied career which always makes for an interesting talk.

As has been for many years, the UCL Conservative Society is a popular and large society. It is always good to visit my old stomping ground and meet people I don't recognise! Their website has been freshened up and the latest edition of The Caerulean has just been published. Some very impressive authors in there..... ;)