Tuesday, September 16, 2008

How 'radical' is radical?

Think-tank Demos have today released a survey of 'radicalism' in British politics, according to a ranking by 100 PoliticsHome contributors based around their willingness to 'challenge the goals of society', to challenge 'incremental approaches' and to challenge 'entrenched interests and power bases'.

The survey, which only includes politicians from Labour, Conservatives and Lib Dems, concludes that Conservative Shadow Secretary of State for Children, Schools and Families, Michael Gove, one of the founders of right wing think-tank Policy Exchange, is the most radical politician, followed by Lib Dem Treasury spokesman, Vince Cable, and Labour's Welfare-to-work minister, Jame Purnell.

Of course, if Demos wanted to be genuinely radical, then they could remove their Westminster-based blinkers, look around the rest of the UK and see for themselves the radical and original thinking that's a mainstay of Welsh and Scottish politics. Adam Price, anyone?

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