Contributors to The Spectator Manifesto
Sir Antony Jay is the co-author, with Jonathan Lynn, of Yes Minister and Yes, Prime Minister; a stage adaptation of the latter appears at the Chichester
Festival Theatre in May. He is the author of, among other works, The Oxford Dictionary of Political Quotations and, on pages 8 and 9, makes an impassioned case against bureaucratic tyranny.
Matthew Parris is a columnist for The Spectator, author, and columnist for the Times. On page 15 he points out that all too often politicians ask ‘why not?’
instead of the more rigorous question: ‘why?’ And he advocates a single bill which would undo the damage caused by Labour — by repealing all the laws they have passed since 1997.
Rupert Darwall is a corporate strategist, economist and author. He was special adviser to the Chancellor of the Exchequer in 1993, and also worked at the Conservative Research Department. His latest book,
Global Warming: A Short History will be published by Quartet shortly. On page 12 he describes how to abolish Labour’s energy stealth tax.
Allister Heath is the editor of City AM and an associate editor of The Spectator. He is the author of Flat Tax: Towards a British Model and,
on page 5, he writes, on behalf of the next Chancellor, to the Permanent Secretary at the Treasury urging him to transform the way that department reviews and applies tax.
Douglas Carswell is the MP for Harwich & Clacton and, last year, was voted Parliamentarian of the Year by Spectator readers. He co-authored the bestselling book The Plan: 12 Months to Renew Britain and, on pages 14 and 15, he explains how to rebuild our trust in parliament — by making it accountable to the voters.
Julian Glover is the chief leader writer of the Guardian, a columnist and author of The Guardian
Guide to Parliament. On page 18 he describes an agenda which the Conservative and Liberal Democrat leaders David Cameron and Nick Clegg might work on together in the increasingly likely event of a hung parliament.
Frank Field is the Labour MP for Birkenhead and was Minister for Welfare Reform in Tony Blair’s first Cabinet. The author of more than 50 publications, Mr Field has campaigned against poverty for most of his life. On page 16 he explains how a simple but dramatic reform could end Britain’s pensioner poverty for good.
Charlie Elphicke is the Conservative party’s parliamentary candidate for Dover & Deal and a leading City tax and pension lawyer. He is also a research fellow of the Centre for Policy Studies. On page 10 he summarises the priorities of the new intake of Tory MPs who are determined to be radical from day one.
Ross Clark is a regular contributor to The Spectator and the co-author of The Renewal of Government: A Manifesto for Whoever Wins the Election, published this week by the think tank Policy Exchange. On page 11 he explains how to overhaul the government machine to squeeze higher productivity from the public sector.
Matthew Sinclair is research director of the TaxPayers’ Alliance. He studied economics and economic history at the London School of Economics and is the editor of How to Cut Public Spending (and Still Win an Election), published later this month. He puts forward a plan to abolish Britain’s unelected and unaccountable quangos on page 17.
Chris Mullin has been the Labour MP for Sunderland South since 1987. He is the author of the thriller A Very British Coup, and A View from the Foothills, a memoir of his time in parliament. On page 7 he offers advice to new ministers on how to survive and thrive in the perilous world of Whitehall.
Dr Stephen Brien is chairman of Iain Duncan Smith’s Centre for Social Justice working group on economic dependency and a partner at the management consultancy firm Oliver Wyman. On page 13 he sets out simple reforms which could revolutionise Britain’s welfare system, freeing millions from the benefits trap.
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