While there are good reasons for liberal populists to be disillusioned, the solution is not to abandon representative democracy but to reinforce it. The liberal populism of Grillo and his ilk must be confronted before it's too late.

How do we promote tolerance and protect free speech in a time where organised groups openly, and others clandestinely, exploit our liberal values to oppose our aims, sometimes with the deadliest of means?

I recently wrote on this site that, in reference to the recently published photos of the Duchess of Cambridge, pregnant and on holiday, that '...our morbid fascination with this bizarre, ordinary family invests them with a sort of inverted dignity just by them doing and saying nothing of real consequence.' I didn't expect such a vivid illustration to present itself so soon.

Sexual orientation is, I think, a complex thing and not reducible to the facile and outdated categories of nature or nurture. Likewise, rights can be complex. But the case here is simple, whether that way by chance or choice, gays and lesbians deserve the right to marry. Granting that right in the UK is a good choice, let's make it now.

The nation could go the way of the parish and Great Britain could become a prototype for states across the world.

At the forthcoming UK Liberal Democrat conference, a tax on soda drinks will be proposed. Predictably the reason given was that they wish to promote a "healthier and more sustainable diet" through taxation

The overriding ideology which drives the Republican Party today is not conservatism. In fact, it's more radical than anything a prudent, cautious, skeptical conservative would support.

It's been a busy year for identity politics in Britain. Most recently, millions have watched the woman of My Tram Experience express her opinion on who is and isn't British in the UK today.

During the Credit Crunch there was one UK national politician who knew his onions. Was it George Osborne? No, he was busily panicking as millions went...