We are the Conservative and Unionist party. No Conservative would do anything to harm the union, and that crucially includes Northern Ireland.
My personal opinion is that life begins at the point of conception, and abortion is morally indefensible.
I have never been to IKEA, no.
I like to have one car that I can be certain will go. The thing about classic cars is you can't always assume they will go.
Obstacles to trade put up the cost both to consumers and businesses.
It is in all our interests that the government, when buying goods or services, pays the lowest price.
The promise of welfare and welfare regulation mean that there is no incentive to accept jobs that do not meet basic standards.
The arguments over the limits that may be put on individuals suspected of sympathising with the enemy have occurred over the centuries. Habeas corpus was suspended during the Napoleonic wars, and Defence Regulation 18b was applied during the Second World War.
It is easy to defend the right of people to do things that fit in with the cultural norms of the majority. This includes practices that give personal pleasure but may be harmful, such as smoking or drinking. It is harder to argue for minority activities, especially those which stand out and may be obviously unsuitable in certain contexts.
Electorally, the number of women who want to wear a burka is insignificant, yet it is important to defend such a minority against the tyranny of the majority.
The state ought not to intervene to prevent individuals from doing things that not only are no risk to others but are of no risk to themselves either.
There is sometimes an almost vindictive streak in politics whereby governments follow policies which they know will harm the electorate, but nonetheless, they keep them, sometimes for years. The Corn Laws are a classic example.
In the 2010s, it is not the price of bread that is falsely and unnecessarily inflated by obstinate politicians but that of energy. There are cheap sources of energy either available or possible, but there is a reluctance to use them.
Before the government decides to raise the minimum wage, it must consider the effects of the tax and benefits merry-go-round that affects the low-paid.
Employers' national income is a particular disincentive to employ because it is an expense without benefit.
One of the great constraints on economic growth and employment is that the tax and benefits system has grown up over generations and does not give the right incentives. Increasing the minimum wage does not solve this problem.
Assad is unquestionably guilty of the most grievous fault and has inflicted horrors upon his people.
It's widely accepted that it is reasonable for a government to use tax policy to change behaviour.
It is hard to see taxing plastic bags as one of the great issues of our time that merits the foremost place in our finest statesmen's minds. It is an absurd little issue, a picayune proportion of household waste, and a pointless inconvenience in people's lives.
It has never been the case that a peerage can be extinguished, even for the lifetime of a peer, by a motion of the Lords. This does not mean that there are not effective ways of penalising errant peers.
