Boosting Britain
`I think we have too high expectations of what government can offer and too little knowledge of what we have done for ourselves.’
Louise believes that the humanitarian and cultural record of the UK, combined with its status as the seventh most powerful economy, means we may once again be a super-influencer in global affairs, albeit in a different manner to ninety years ago when Britain was at its global peak.
`As the inventor of most of the outstanding technologies of the modern age, many of which are completely taken for granted, what we do best is science and engineering. Government investment should focus on our strengths, particularly those in new-Century growth areas such as low carbon technology. If it means inflating the status of professional engineers with financial incentives, so be it. Or subsidising the cost of a science or engineering degree This would influence a move away from the current round-robin obsession with sales and marketing and its knock on effects to something with true long term potential to compete and provide for ourselves in world markets of the future. This message alone of `giving the nation something to be proud of’ would raise morale, while maybe not as showy, but perform the same trick as a Eurocup win, Jubilee celebration or Olympic bid in motivating young talent.
Our record for tolerant behaviour towards all and being a very pleasant place to live and do business in, is one which is real and should be a source of great pride. However, the combination of the global financial crisis, population growth, the emergence of a new world order and the demands of addressing climate change has meant that our innate compassion must now flow in a slightly different direction. Coming up with some of the practical solutions to the problems of the planet through research and deveopment is just one example of how we can influence a better world and benefit UK citizens at the same time.
From an age of abundance we now enter a period of austerity, but a social climate that the UK has embraced before and emerged from with stoicism and a clean record. However, times have changed dramatically since the Great Depression and even since the post World Wars in that the expectations of what Government finance can provide for have grown exponentially and at the expense of the type of investment we need for prosperity. Much has brought improvement and beneficial social and culutral changes, but the negative effects of bureaucracy and lunacy legislation are also clear. As Mathew Flinders points out in `Defending Politics’ `The public are unlikely to vote for a party that seeks to emphasize more responsible public behaviour, especially when other parties are promising to deliver `more with less’. At some point we have to break out of that cycle before democracy itself loses its effectivity. ’
Louise has been a supporter of a wide range of regional and national campaigns. She is the founder of the think tank Boosting Britain which aims to collect and debate new ideas and proposals for a resurgent Britain.
She is currently on the List of Approved Candidates for the Conservative Party for the next election.
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