LOCATION... Tooting, South London
SELF-DESCRIPTION... I was born in 1972 in Edinburgh. I grew up in Northern Ireland during the Troubles, went to University in England and have lived here ever since. I teach Law, mostly to Postgraduates. I've been married to an American from Tennessee since 1997, and I follow US politics as well as UK.
POLITICAL BELIEFS... On American-based Internet quizzes I come out as a mild Libertarian, around 60% liberal on both social and economic issues. In American politics I'm generally a moderate Centrist/Democrat, and I supported the Democrat John Edwards for President in 2004. This seems to put me somewhere on the right of the modern Conservative party. Conversely I find that among American Republicans it's often now the "paleocons" who talk a lot of sense, the neocons having apparently abandoned empirical assessment of ascertainable reality. I have a strong commitment to the scientific method, to empiricism and the truth generally, I don't believe in lies, even 'nice' ones, though telling the truth doesn't mean you have to be nasty about it! I joined the Conservative party after David Cameron was elected. I'm enthused by his fresh and positive attitude and the possibility of renewal in Britain, whose Constitution and legal system have been seriously damaged under Labour rule. My fundamental belief is in Liberty and the Rule of Law. This requires an inherently limited State, not an all-powerful State constrained only by bubbles of 'Human Rights' around individuals. I believe people should be equal under the law, and I believe in judging people by the content of their character. I believe that the English and British common-law legal system as it has evolved is in most respects superior to the Continental systems based on the Codex of Justinian and the Napoleonic Code. I believe that the European Union is not compatible with this system. I believe in free speech.
POLITICAL HERO... Winston Churchill would have to be my greatest hero.
FAVOURITE BLOGS... My wife's, and Steve Sailer's controversial human biodiversity blog.
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