The Joy of Six 1014

"Thatcher ... would often pepper her speeches with talk of Hayek, Popper or Friedman. And that wasn’t mere showboating: such men formed her worldview. It is not at all clear that Johnson has any equivalents (at least not since Juvenal) or even that he and his colleagues are interested in acquiring any." Rutland's own Chris Dillow exposes the intellectual decline of the right.

Nick Cohen warns of the curbs on free speech contained in the government's draft online harms bill.

"He is part of an establishment that operates on the blithe assumption that all skills are transferable, that an aptitude for political schmoozing magically confers any number of lesser competences on its owner - and that the Right Sort of Chap is the right person for the job, even if they’ve proved otherwise, time and again." Sam Leith explains the rise and rise of George Osborne.

Helen Stace on the tragic state of the River Wye and the impact on our wildlife.

"Local resident Gillian Vesey recalled how, as a young barmaid at the Olde Hob Inn, she stood up for African American soldiers against attempts by white Americans to impose discriminatory practices in the pub, insisting that the American white soldiers wait their turn rather than expecting to be served before their black colleagues." Alan Rice says that Black troops were welcome in Britain during the second world war but Jim Crow wasn’t.

Lin Benley looks at the history of 10cc.