I am appearing at an event next month which is open to the public. It is being hosted by the Institute of Economic Affairs and is being advertised thus:

The launch of the revised and updated paperback edition of James Bartholomew's best-seller "The Welfare State We're In" at which the author confronts his critics:

Date: Tuesday 13 June 2006

Time: 6.40pm book signing; 7.00pm James confronts his critics; 8.00pm reception & book signing

Venue: The Royal Institution of Chartered Surveyors, 12 Great George Street, Parliament Square, London SW1P 3AD

The critics:

Niall Dickson, Chief Executive, King's Fund

Rt Hon Peter Lilley MP, Conservative MP for Hitchin and Harpenden

Prof Patricia Thane, Leverhulme Professor of Contemporary British History, School of Advanced Study, University of London

Moderator: John Blundell, Director General, IEA

RSVP (Acceptances only) to IEA Reception either by email to: iea@iea.org.uk or by fax (020 7799 2137) or phone (020 7799 8900.

What the advertisement does not mention is that Peter Lilley was, of course, Secretary of State for Social Security when the Conservatives were in power. He was in that position for far longer than most and became very knowledgeable about the subject. He instituted some valuable research, did a great deal to reform welfare benefits and tried to get the public and, even more difficult, members of parliament to understand how the system was going wrong.

Posted by James Bartholomew • Indexed in General

Comments (2) TrackBack (7)

Comments

Add a Comment