Constructive Conservatism
Skelton was a talented journalist and wrote frequently for The Spectator, including four articles in April and May 1923 under the heading 'Constructive Conservatism'. These lively articles set out Skelton's political philosophy - chiefly the pursuit of a 'property-owning democracy', the division of land into small-holdings, co-partnership and share options to improve industrial relations, and finally, the use of referendums to resolve disputes between the House of Commons and House of Lords - as well as urge the Unionists to compete with Labour on more typically Socialist issues like pensions and housing. The four Spectator articles were republished as a pamphlet in 1924 which had a lasting influence, particularly among younger Tory MPs.
Read more about this topic: Noel Skelton
Famous quotes containing the words constructive and/or conservatism:
“Once we begin to appreciate that the apparent destructiveness of the toddler in taking apart a flower or knocking down sand castles is in fact a constructive effort to understand unity, we are able to revise our view of the situation, moving from reprimand and prohibition to the intelligent channeling of his efforts and the fostering of discovery.”
—Polly Berrien Berends (20th century)
“The world is burdened with young fogies. Old men with ossified minds are easily dealt with. But men who look young, act young and everlastingly harp on the fact that they are young, but who nevertheless think and act with a degree of caution that would be excessive in their grandfathers, are the curse of the world. Their very conservatism is secondhand, and they don’t know what they are conserving.”
—Robertson Davies (b. 1913)