I grew up in a true-blue Tory home in Surrey that was a Daily Mail stronghold. Luckily, I didn’t adopt the same beliefs or prejudices. Politically, you could say my views are essentially centre-left, and generally liberal. The concepts of “left-wing” and “right-wing” mean absolutely nothing to me and won’t ever for the remaining time I have on this planet. And the reason is simple:

There is only effectiveness. A policy is effective, or it is not. If either achieves a given aim, or it does not.

Politicians all over the world waste time debating their own allegiances and positions whilst children starve, negligence flourishes and corruption pollutes. Public life is about making decisions that are in the interests of the people you serve and finding solutions to community problems. To measure a solution to a problem as “left” or “right” is not only stupid, its very dangerous. As you get older you see more and more grey area, and less black and white. There are few absolutes.

Freedom of love
Nobody, including the state or religious institution, has any right whatsoever to tell consenting adults who they may fall in love with, who they can marry or what they may do in the privacy of their own home, so long as it harms no-one else (e.g. in the case of abuse or obsessive behaviour). Nobody has any right to judge anyone over the same. Love is a private and beautiful thing – we need more of that and less war. Very simple equation.

Freedom of speech
I believe everyone has the absolute right to free speech, and I absolutely oppose its suppression wherever and whenever it occurs. I may not like what you have to say, but I’ll defend to the death your right to say it. Everyone should be free to say whatever they like (even hate speech) without compromise. We are not robots, and so-called “incitement” is not an excuse to behave in a way without thinking about it first.

Freedom of travel
In the Nazi era, the expression “papers, please” became infamous as the calling card of dictat. I believe everyone has the absolute right to travel freely as they wish, provided they are not in the process of an act that would harm others. I object in the strongest terms to road tolls, speed cameras, satellite monitoring, number plate recognition, congestion charging, RFID/biometric passports and Oyster cards for the simple fact that the potential for abuse is much greater than the practical benefits.

Freedom of expression
I believe anyone should have the absolute right to express themselves in any way they desire, so long as it harms no-one else (again unless in the case of abuse et al.). Art is the purest form of self-expression and entirely arbitrary/subjective – it cannot reasonably be judged, classified or given awards.

Freedom of religion
I believe the any consenting adult should have the absolute right to follow their own choice of spirituality and/or religion, so far as the expression of it harms no-one else. Religion is a personal choice and should be respected as such, without judgement or ridicule.

Privacy & Big Brother
I am passionate about privacy and the erosion of it. The worrying thing is the spiralling loss over the last few years without anyone complaining. The trite old argument of “if you have nothing to hide you have nothing to worry about” is revolting and asinine. If you have nothing to hide, you won’t mine me putting a camera in your bedroom and filming what you do with you partner in the night. I reject the traditional argument that civil rights need to be compromised for the benefits of security – I believe we need to accept that catching people will be harder when we safeguard out right to privacy. Secrecy is important and many things require privacy. Its ok to hide things – you are allowed to. Everyone has an absolute right to it, without exception.

Censorship
Disgusting. I hate censorship in all its forms as I believe freedom of speech and expression are absolutes. It’s used to hide embarrassment, stop uprising and maintain the integrity of vested interests. If you practice censorship for whatever reason, I will not work with you. The only justifiable time would in war, but if your military is so insecure that the press are so easily get access to your operational secrets or act to “preserve morale”, there is a much bigger problem at hand. If you presume to prevent my own freedom of speech and/or expression, I will not deal with you and hold you in the contempt you deserve. The end.

Extremism/bigotry
Life is simply too complicated to be able to classify it into categories of black and white – it is a mass of grey that looks different from a million different angles and is very hard to come out with absolutes. Moderation and multilateralism is wise. Extremism for me is at best an intellectual laziness, and at worst, a mental disability. Ignorance signifies apathy and an inability to think for yourself. Extremists need to be allowed to express themselves so we can laugh at them for the fools they are.

Homosexuality
I have an issue with people’s definition of “unnatural”, as due to the fact that acts of homosexuality occur in over 1500 animal species. Ergo, it can’t be unnatural if it happens in nature. Evidence shows us that homosexuality is part of the natural order (larger populations through overcrowding etc) and only man maintains cultural taboos about it. I completely support full absolute rights for gay and lesbian people in every regard and believe they should be 100% equal in all things, with no exceptions.

Isms – sexism, racism, extremism
I believe all people have equal potential and value, and I totally, utterly oppose any form of discrimination that results from any half-formed intellectual “ism” laziness. Women still not have full absolute rights and equality in the world, neither do people of different races (normally classic tribalism) or those who appear “different” somehow to the mainstream. We need diversity to evolve and flourish. Nothing but 100% equality is acceptable where it is reasonably possible (e.g. a quadriplegic can’t exactly take on a building job with heavy lifting).

Game Playing
Children play to learn about the world at large, and they mimic what they see in their environment; they bring the games they learn from their home into their adult life. All games offer a fallacy of short-term gratification inevitably followed by long-term loss. People play games to manipulate others – either for a reaction, attention, or to further their own interests. Doing so indicates a lack of emotional maturity and inability to identify and deal with past problems and baggage.

Procrastination
This is an insidious disease, and I hate it. It’s a mechanism for avoiding the anxiety over something you don’t like, are worried about or don’t want to do. Its short-term relief that creates or worsens long-term problems. Once you realise that, you can start to flush it out your life like cancerous habit it is. The first step is admitting you are avoiding it, understanding why, and then biting the bullet by doing it right away.

Abortion
I am absolutely, categorically in favour of a woman’s right to have the option of terminating their pregnancy. Abortion is a very distressing, but necessary part of life that has been practiced for millennia. I do not believe a mass of cells or an embryo should be classified as a life until it is able to survive outside the womb (otherwise we need to to start issuing national insurance numbers to them). Nor do I believe it is murder, or that it is used as a form of contraception (for the simple reason that it is too expensive), or that any woman ever genuinely wants an artificial miscarriage. The procedure and trauma itself is punishment enough, without insensitive fanatics waving placards outside clinics or murdering doctors (sorry, “abortionists” as they degraded to). I do believe greater sensitivity is needed inside the clinics, more after-support, and greater access for emergency cases less than 12 weeks.

Religion
I am a Christian, but I can’t stand church. Man is a spiritual creature with an intrinsic link to his Creator. Religion has been with us since the beginning of time and has been necessary for social structure, morality, the preservation of order and the understanding of our own existence and purpose. My own beliefs are highly liberal and I simply can’t stand fundamentalism or extremism. Religion doesn’t cause war, man does – it is simply a handy excuse to hide behind.

Death Penalty
I am totally against the death penalty out of principle. Absolutely no-one at all has the right to take life, even in war, unless to protect their own or loved ones’ lives. Executions are sick, and almost all who experience them agree they are as traumatic to the audience as to the victim. We cannot justify mechanically killing a human on the basis they have killed one, as we end up breaking our own principle that life is sacred. It is hypocrisy in its purest form. I do however support the physical disablement (i.e. surgical amputation of limbs to prevent movement) of those whose crimes are so irreconcilably evil that they may never be released back into the community.

Rape
I hold rape as worse than murder, and absolutely support automatic life sentencing without parole for anyone who is convicted of it, and heavy prison sentences for those who falsely accuse others of it. A victim of rape suffers for their entire life so the proponent should also equally be deprived of his life liberty in return. I also believe that those convicted of serial rape (2 or more incidents) should be chemically and/or medically castrated if the community decides they are too dangerous to be released as they are.

Euthanasia
I believe an individual has the absolute right to decide whether their life should continue or end. The process must be entirely voluntary and accountable through a court application process with the support of medical personnel and immediate family, and they must be confirmed as entirely coherent and fully able to make a rational and reasonable decision, without any doubt whatsoever. I do not believe anyone has the right to make such a profound choice for anyone else on their behalf, or decide who should or should not live.

War
Countries go to war for two reasons, and two reasons only. The first is to enhance their interests; the second is to protect them. News and history cannot be trusted to tell the truth about why they occurred or were perpetrated. War is a driver of technological innovation, some might even say its mother – a large percentage of commercial products are derived from military technologies. There is very rarely a war that can be justified as “righteous” but some are necessary, and it is foolish and naïve to assume that the world can live in peace.

Rebellious kids
I was a particularly nasty teenager who reacted to his unhappiness at home by taking it out on society at large. A child’s brain is under-developed, and most major religions believe the human brain is not fully matured until 30 – the greatest fear of any teenager is rejection or humiliation by his/her peer group. Most kids are acting out natural urges in a destructive/unproductive way (e.g. for learning skills, pecking order, boundary/limitation testing), with very little support. My belief is that we should embrace those urges and find ways to satisfy them productively. The classic example is of providing racing tracks and mechanical training for boy racers, rather than just building a skate ramp and hoping they’ll quieten down.

European Integration
I have to admit, I haven’t entirely made up my mind about UK involvement in the EU. The plan unfolding is easy to see – counter-balance the power of the USA and China/India with a united states of Europe, and do it over a nice long period so it’s comfortable for people to accept and insulates against the threat of another European war. 55% of our trade is done with our neighbours, and a single currency is very convenient. However, we are a bridge for the USA into the rest of the world and the way the parent organisation hands down law is insidious and eroding our sovereignty. For now, let’s trade but not integrate.

Immigration
I believe people are against uncontrolled and incompetently-managed immigration, not immigration itself. The key word being control. Economic migration is absolutely essential to national growth and diversity key to richness of culture. I can’t stand people who read the tabloids and ignorantly misrepresent the issue as an undesirable nuisance. Asylum is a moral responsibility placed on all countries, and its abuse is the problem. Those granted asylum need to be given the right to work, as the majority fleeing repressive regimes have education and qualities that mean dictators are threatened by them.

Prisons
I have a radical view of prisons, and I want to see the whole system changed. Prisons are evil crime universities where criminals are locked out to learn new ways of committing crime from other criminals – a hopeless pit of despair that serves no aim other than to keep undesirables out of sight and out of mind. The vast majority of inmates are illiterate and innumerate. Nobody hires an ex-con. I want to see a new division of the army created that trains and exercises inmates 23.5 hours a day and uses them for work on community projects. Release and parole should be dependent on passing educational and vocational qualifications.

Drug Abuse
As much as we’d like to, we can’t legalise drugs. No country can as international treaties prevent it. When one country does (e.g. Holland), then it becomes a hub for trafficking and crime. Drugs are a medical and economic problem, not a social or criminal one. If they felt bad, no-one would ever take them. Growing opium or coca is more profitable for poor farmers than corn. Addicts commit crime to satiate the symptoms of a disease. The worst two are completely legal and kill more people than any of the others combined. I favour the unconditional decriminalisation of marijuana.

ID cards
I am passionately against ID cards in the UK. If you want to get me very angry very quickly, all you have to do is spin out the same crap about not having anything to worry about if you have nothing to hide. The cards themselves are useless, and the identify database behind it is Orwellian and extremely worrying. They will not stop terrorism, limit immigration or be cost-effective in the slightest. They are simply a political expediency.

Low-tier tax
I believe we need a new tier for taxation – not for the highest earnest individuals, but for the lowest. Currently standard tax is charged at around 23%, which on a pay check lower than £1000 is a massive dent and conveys very little overall difference to the national collection total. We should set a new tier of 12.5% for those earning under 25k. Multi-year tax breaks should be given to small businesses, environment-friendly initiatives and companies investing heavily in local communities.

Small business register
The biggest killer of small business is cash flow. Large clients always want credit terms that are unfeasibly long for small companies to bear. I believe we should follow Germany’s lead and create a register of small businesses, and pass legislation that would require anyone on the register to be paid in full in less than 10 working days, regardless of any contractual terms.

Education
The system we have today is Victorian and ineffective. I believe school hours should be increased to be synchronised with working hours from 8am to 6pm and the demands of the curriculum increased to require multiple languages, computer literacy, personal financial management, emotional development and vocational training. Uniforms should be abandoned and radical teaching methods employed for account for 21st century life (e.g. video gaming). I completely oppose top-up fees and burdening students with debt before they start their careers – the £15k P.A. repayment ceiling is smoke and mirrors when you consider the average graduate salary is in the early 20s.

DRM/piracy
Piracy has always existed (usually as an activity of major organised crime), and most industries recognise that 20% of consumers will obtain illegal copies of their products whilst the remaining 80% will buy legally. Some tolerate it as the most widely spread products become the market leader. The market for digital distribution already exists, but in inverse proportions. Digital rights management negates the most powerful characteristic of the web – its viral nature. A fundamental re-working of the intellectual property model is desperately needed, as file transfer can’t be prevented, even if access can.

Constitution & royalty
The Queen gives Royal Ascent to law but is virtually powerless, politically speaking. I’m ultimately in favour of royalty as it’s a rich UK tradition that gives our country character and generates extension tourism that our economy benefits from. Devolution appears to be toothless appeasement to me rather than any real political progress, and becoming a republic is far too much upheaval for the potential upside. I am interested in speeding up the process by which laws are created, extending parliamentary terms and introducing a senate to replace the House of Lords.

Marriage
My parents had a loveless marriage that ended in divorce decades too late when I was 18 so I’ve always maintained a cynicism about marriage. I particularly hate women who romanticise it as a wonderful public declaration of love but conveniently forget about the 50 years of work that follow it. I’ve always been a very vocal opponent of marriage and the silly minutiae that accompany it (e.g. why do you need a licence?). I believe marriage should be completely secularised with religious ceremonies being only symbolic.

Children
I never understood kids until my nephew Kristian (Zair/Bebo) was born a few years ago. I always knew I wanted them though. I always say I want 10 or more, but realistically I couldn’t quite handle more than 5 and wouldn’t have them unless the appropriate financial arrangements were in place to provide the best for them. Its massively important to me to be personal matured and cleansed of all emotional baggage before the first one arrives.

NHS
Our health system is chronically mis-managed and suffers from perpetual interference from politicians and pointless bureaucracy. I often ask the question: would you agree to legalising cannabis if all the tax revenue derived from it was transparently pumped into health facilities? The figures are fiddled every time. It’s always under-funded. Doctors and medical professionals should run hospitals and clinical services. If they are smart enough to train in disciplines as complex as medicine, they are smart enough to run an organisation like the NHS.

Railways
Almost all of our rail franchises operating today would be insolvent without public subsidies. The train services in this country are woefully inadequate and technologically lacklustre, not to mention massively over-priced and badly managed. I travel by train all the time and I’m not a big fan, particularly of the jobsworth personnel and unimaginative furnishings. I need power sockets, reliable broadband Internet access, TV and video on-demand, fresh coffee and first class seating all the way through at economy prices.

Driving laws
I believe that in addition to passing a theory and practical test, all new drivers should have to be certified in basic mechanics (e.g. tyre-changing, oil measuring etc), and that the penalties for driving under the influence of drink and/or drugs should be completely outlawed, being punishable by a irrevocable life time ban. Motorways should have an increased speed limit of 100mph and speeding allowable if the driver was keeping up with the pace of traffic rather than acting unilaterally.