I was on The Moral Maze on Radio 4 last night on an episode about class. In the unlikely event that you want to listen to it, it's available here or as a podcast here.
I got to speak with Michael Portillo and to meet Owen Jones, both of which are very fine things to have done. Sadly James Delingpole, who was also appearing on the show, wasn't physically present, but was in a studio in Oxford. Which is a shame because I rather wanted to meet him - he once gave my book Rejoice! Rejoice! a five-star review in the Mail on Sunday.
The problem with the show is that it's a very short conversation, and there's an assumption that everyone is trying to be as provocatively opinionated as Mr Delingpole. So Melanie Phillips concluded that I was arguing against the concept of meritocracy, which isn't what I was saying at all - I was just pointing out that meritocracy is another form of elitism.
But it was fun. And I was particularly pleased that the man who got in touch with me from the show was Peter Everett, who made the fabulous radio series You'll Never Be Sixteen Again back in the 1980s. The book of that series is one of the volumes that I find myself going back to again and again, and I'm very happy to find out that the full text is available online. It's wonderful. My thanks to him and to Chris Burrows.
Showing posts with label Michael Portillo. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Michael Portillo. Show all posts
Thursday, 27 March 2014
Monday, 19 November 2012
Top Ten: European sleepwalkers
Ed Miliband is making a speech today to warn us against Britain 'sleepwalking' out of the European Union. What is about Europe that induces sleepwalking?
1. ‘Because we won’t debate it [the Maastricht Treaty] we’re going to sleepwalk our way into it and we will handicap ourselves as a party thereby.’ – Bryan Gould, 1992
2. ‘[A Labour government] would sleepwalk us into a federal union.’ – John Redwood, 1995
3. ‘There are those in the Labour Party and across Europe sleepwalking their way along the dreamy road to a European superstate.’ – Michael Portillo, 1995
4. ‘England must have the right to vote on things that will change the destiny of the nation. To insist that these changes can come about without debate, and without a vote, is madness. It is sleepwalking into an electric saw.’ – James Goldsmith, 1996
5. ‘[Euro-fanatics] were hoping we would sleepwalk into their brave new world.’ – Richard Littlejohn, 1998
6. ‘If battle is not joined, and we sleepwalk into a single currency and a federal Europe, we will be taking the biggest gamble of all.’ – Michael Gove, 1998
7. ‘The idea that we simply sleepwalk into something as important as this would be an outrage from any government.’ – Richard Marsh, 1998
8. ‘[Tony Blair] has to confront the newspapers, he cannot sleepwalk to victory.’ – Simon Buckby, director of Britain in Europe, 2004
9. ‘Brussels appears to be happy to sleepwalk into this nightmare.’ – John Cridland, deputy director-general of CBI, 2007
10. ‘We must not sleepwalk into another crisis.’ – Jose Manuel Barroso, president European Commission, 2009
1. ‘Because we won’t debate it [the Maastricht Treaty] we’re going to sleepwalk our way into it and we will handicap ourselves as a party thereby.’ – Bryan Gould, 1992
2. ‘[A Labour government] would sleepwalk us into a federal union.’ – John Redwood, 1995
3. ‘There are those in the Labour Party and across Europe sleepwalking their way along the dreamy road to a European superstate.’ – Michael Portillo, 1995
4. ‘England must have the right to vote on things that will change the destiny of the nation. To insist that these changes can come about without debate, and without a vote, is madness. It is sleepwalking into an electric saw.’ – James Goldsmith, 1996
5. ‘[Euro-fanatics] were hoping we would sleepwalk into their brave new world.’ – Richard Littlejohn, 1998
6. ‘If battle is not joined, and we sleepwalk into a single currency and a federal Europe, we will be taking the biggest gamble of all.’ – Michael Gove, 1998
7. ‘The idea that we simply sleepwalk into something as important as this would be an outrage from any government.’ – Richard Marsh, 1998
8. ‘[Tony Blair] has to confront the newspapers, he cannot sleepwalk to victory.’ – Simon Buckby, director of Britain in Europe, 2004
9. ‘Brussels appears to be happy to sleepwalk into this nightmare.’ – John Cridland, deputy director-general of CBI, 2007
10. ‘We must not sleepwalk into another crisis.’ – Jose Manuel Barroso, president European Commission, 2009
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