Peter Hitchens

Peter Jonathan Hitchens (born 28 October 1951 in Sliema, Malta) is a British journalist, author and broadcaster. A reporter for the Daily Express for most of his career, he left the paper in 2001 and currently writes for the Mail on Sunday. He is the brother of fellow journalist and author Christopher Hitchens. Image File history File links PeterHitchens. ... is the 301st day of the year (302nd in leap years) in the Gregorian calendar. ... Year 1951 (MCMLI) was a common year starting on Monday (link will display the full calendar) of the Gregorian calendar. ... Water front of Sliema, with the Portomaso tower in the background Sliema (or Tas-Sliema) is a town located on the northeast coast of Malta. ... For other uses, see Journalist (disambiguation). ... For other uses, see Author (disambiguation). ... Broadcasting is the distribution of audio and/or video signals which transmit programs to an audience. ... For other uses, see Daily Express (disambiguation). ... The Daily Mail is a British newspaper and the oldest tabloid, first published in 1896. ... Peter Hitchens Peter Jonathan Hitchens (born 28 October 1951 in Sliema, Malta) is a British journalist, author and broadcaster. ... Christopher Eric Hitchens (born April 13, 1949) is a British-American author, journalist and literary critic. ...

Early Life

Peter Hitchens was educated at The Leys School, Oxford College of Further Education, and the University of York. He married Eve Ross in 1983; they have three children. Although raised as an Anglican, Hitchens learned soon after his marriage that his mother, who had committed suicide when he was in his twenties, was of partly Jewish ancestry^[1]. Hitchens is a confirmed and communicant member of the Church of England. The Leys School Stamp Building (formerly East House) (right) and Headmasters house(left) with the school chapel behind The Leys School is a co-educational British public school (privately funded and independent) - it is a boarding and day school for over 520 pupils aged between 11 and 18 years. ... This article is about the British university. ... The term Anglican describes those people and churches following the religious traditions of the Church of England, especially following the Reformation. ... For other uses, see Jew (disambiguation). ... The Church of England logo since 1998 The Church of England is the officially established Christian church[1] in England, and acts as the mother and senior branch of the worldwide Anglican Communion, as well as a founding member of the Porvoo Communion. ...

Career in journalism

Hitchens was a reporter on the Daily Express for 24 years, specialising successively in education, industrial and labour affairs, before his appointment as deputy political editor. Leaving Westminster to cover defence and diplomatic affairs, he reported on the evolution and ultimate collapse of the Communist regimes in several Warsaw Pact countries, leading to Hitchens being his then paper's Moscow Correspondent during the conclusion of the Communist era in 1990 and 1991. For other uses, see Daily Express (disambiguation). ... For other uses, see Moscow (disambiguation). ...

After an interval as a roving foreign reporter, he became the Express's Washington correspondent, returning to London in 1995 to become a commentator and, eventually, a regular columnist. He continued as a conservative voice despite the paper's choice in 1997 to support for the Labour Party under Tony Blair. For other uses, see Washington, D.C. (disambiguation). ... The Labour Party is a political party in the United Kingdom. ... For other people of the same name, see Tony Blair (disambiguation) Anthony Charles Lynton Blair (born May 6, 1953)[1] is the Prime Minister of the United Kingdom, First Lord of the Treasury, Minister for the Civil Service, Leader of the Labour Party, and Member of Parliament for the constituency...

In 2001, when the Express was bought by Richard Desmond, a publisher of pornographic magazines, Hitchens joined the Mail on Sunday; his strong anti-pornography views had made his previous affiliation untenable he argued.^[2]. He currently writes a Mail on Sunday column, in addition to occasional reportage, including from Iraq, China, India, Iran, Israel, North Korea, Pakistan, Cuba, Russia, Norway and the USA, for the newspaper. Private Eye cover depicting Desmond following his purchase of the Daily Express newspaper Richard Clive Desmond (born December 8, 1951) is a British publisher, current owner of Express Newspapers and founder of Northern and Shell plc. ... Porn redirects here. ... The Daily Mail and its Sunday edition the Mail on Sunday are British newspapers, first published in 1896. ...

Hitchens is featured in the British broadcast media, often sparring with his opponents, though he has diversified in recent years by authoring documentaries on Channel 4 and BBC Four. In the past, he co-presented a programme on Talk Radio with Labour pundits including Derek Draper and Austin Mitchell. He says he was offered the chance to present the programme on his own by the station's boss, Kelvin MacKenzie, but preferred, and suggested, an adversarial programme with a left-wing co-presenter, believing that this was the best way to achieve broadcast fairness and balance.^{[citation needed]} Documentary film is a broad category of visual expression that is based on the attempt, in one fashion or another, to document reality. ... This article is about the British television station. ... For the BBC radio station, see BBC Radio 4. ... The title given to this article is incorrect due to technical limitations. ... Derek Draper was a New Labour insider and lobbyist who was at the centre of a scandal about political lobbying known as Lobbygate, the Cash for Access scandal, or Drapergate. Derek attended the University of Manchester, where he was first spotted by Peter Mandelson, and employed by the latter as... Austin Vernon Mitchell (born 19 September 1934[]) is the Labour Member of Parliament for Great Grimsby in England. ... Kelvin Calder MacKenzie (born October 22, 1946) is a British media executive and former newspaper editor. ...

Personal political history

Hitchens was once a Trotskyist who was a member of the International Socialists from 1969 to 1975, and later a member of the British Labour Party from 1979 to 1983. He studied politics at York University from 1970 to 1973. He dismisses as untrue a story that he arrived late at a lecture with the excuse that he had been "too busy starting the revolution", on the grounds that he seldom attended any lectures at all.^{[citation needed]} Trotskyism is the theory of Marxism as advocated by Leon Trotsky. ... The Socialist Workers Party (SWP) is a political party of the far left in England It sees itself as standing in the revolutionary socialist tradition. ... The Labour Party is a political party in the United Kingdom. ... This article is about the British university. ...

He joined the Conservative Party in 1997, but concluded that the Party had no idea what it was facing and would never be able to challenge New Labour, and subsequently left in 2003. He is now politically independent, and believes that no party he could support will be created until the Conservative Party disintegrates. The Conservative Party (officially the Conservative and Unionist Party) is currently the second largest political party in the United Kingdom in terms of sitting Members of Parliament (MPs), the largest in terms of public membership, and the oldest political party in the United Kingdom. ...

He challenged Michael Portillo for the Conservative Party nomination in the Kensington and Chelsea seat in 1999. Some critics suggest that his failure to secure the nomination explains much of his antipathy towards the Conservative Party, a claim Hitchens rejects on the basis of his having had no serious expectation of being chosen, putting himself forward only to criticise Portillo and his plan to "modernise" the Party. Michael Denzil Xavier Portillo (born 26 May 1953) is an English journalist, broadcaster, and former Conservative party politician and Cabinet Minister. ... Kensington and Chelsea is a constituency represented in the House of Commons of the Parliament of the United Kingdom. ...

Core beliefs

Hitchens' political views are not easily classified according to conventional categories, and he rejects the standard divisions between Left and Right, maintaining that old divisions - over state control of the economy - are obsolete and that the most significant divisions nowadays concern cultural and moral issues, and the importance of national sovereignty. Some of his views resemble the paleoconservative tradition in the United States. This article does not cite any references or sources. ...

Unlike the conventional right, Hitchens is critical of neoconservatism, and for this reason was opposed to the Kosovo and Iraq wars. He argues that a dogmatic allegiance to unfettered free-market liberalism is no substitute for Christian morality, and that the free market, pursued dogmatically, can often damage institutions which conservatives should value. He points out that state ownership and control are not invariably bad, giving the Royal Navy as an example of an excellent state-owned and controlled institution. He also supports railway renationalisation, and mocks Tories for their irrational belief that road transport, heavily state subsidised, is in some way more conservative than railways. He has said that he wishes the motor car had never been invented because of the damage it has done to society. He has frequently criticised Thatcherism for ignoring the value of institutions and traditions, and has said the left are not entirely wrong when they accuse the Thatcher government of having damaged British society. This article is about neoconservatism in the United States, for neoconservatism in other regions, see Neoconservatism (disambiguation). ... This article or section does not adequately cite its references or sources. ... Margaret Thatcher Thatcherism is the system of political thought attributed to the governments of Margaret Thatcher, British Prime Minister from 1979 to 1990. ...

Hitchens believes that the English, and later British achievement of limited government under the rule of law is a unique and valuable possession which must be defended and handed on to future generations. This view informs his opposition to identity cards, and his support for the right to jury trials. Enabling legislation for the British national identity card was passed under the Identity Cards Act 2006. ... For the 1980s television show, see Trial by Jury. ...

In propounding his social conservative views, Hitchens frequently criticises political correctness, which he considers to be a manifestation of Cultural Marxism. He thinks it important to acknowledge that the Left has been correct in its long opposition to racial bigotry. He describes the word "nigger" as immoral and obscene. He argues, however, in opposition to the Left, that genuine good manners, tolerance and decency are impossible, in the long term, without the foundation of traditional morality and religious faith. But he argues that opponents of political correctness will fail unless they accept that it has some good elements and that it is attractive to many because of its promotion of simple good manners. Social conservatism is a belief in traditional morality and social mores and the desire to preserve these in present day society, often through civil law or regulation. ... Political correctness is the alteration of language to redress real or alleged injustices and discrimination or to avoid offense. ... Cultural Marxism is a form of Marxism that adds an analysis of the role of the media, art, theatre, film and other cultural institutions in a society, often with an added emphasis on race and gender in addition to class. ... // Nigger is a racial slur used to refer to dark-skinned people, especially those of African ancestry. ...

On liberty, security, and crime

Hitchens advocates a society governed by conscience and the rule of law, which he sees as the best guarantee of liberty. He warns that the decline of conscience and morality will inevitably lead to a strong state. He is especially concerned about the use of "security" as a pretext for diluting and eroding the liberties of the individual. He argues that increased "security" destroys freedom without necessarily increasing safety, and says that there is no contradiction between maintaining liberty and protecting the realm. François Chifflart (1825-1901), La Conscience (daprès Victor Hugo) Conscience is an ability or faculty or sense that leads to feelings of remorse when we do things that go against our moral values, or which informs our moral judgment before performing such an action. ... The Politics series Politics Portal This box:      The rule of law, in its most basic form, is the principle that no one is above the law. ... For other uses, see Liberty (disambiguation). ... For other uses, see Security (disambiguation). ...

Hitchens is critical of moves towards authoritarian government and the erosion of civil liberties, whether they come from the Right or the Left of the political spectrum. Accordingly, he has been highly critical of the British government's desire for identity cards, its attempts to abolish jury trial, to centralise the police, and its creation of a national law enforcement body in the form of the Serious Organised Crime Agency (SOCA). He describes these things as facets of governmental desire for permanent, irreversible constitutional revolution, and an "attack on English liberty" in general. In his newspaper columns, Hitchens referred to the then-Home Secretary, David Blunkett, as "Minister of the Interior", on the grounds that the title, reminiscent of police states, better reflected Blunkett's illiberal policies than the traditional British title of "Home Secretary". The term authoritarian is used to describe an organization or a state which enforces strong and sometimes oppressive measures against the population, generally without attempts at gaining the consent of the population. ... Enabling legislation for the British national identity card was passed under the Identity Cards Act 2006. ... It has been suggested that this article or section be merged with Jury. ... The Serious Organised Crime Agency (SOCA) is a policing agency in the United Kingdom that acts against organised crime, including the illegal drugs trade, money laundering, and people smuggling. ... The modern concept of Small Office and Home Office or SoHo , or Small or Home Office deals with the category of business which can be from 1 to 10 workers. ... David Blunkett (born 6 June 1947) is a British Labour Party politician and has been Member of Parliament for Sheffield Brightside since 1987. ... A police state is a political condition where the government maintains strict control over society, particularly through suspension of civil rights and often with the use of a force of secret police. ...

Hitchens is opposed to the relaxation of laws against the possession of illegal recreational drugs. He argues that the law's active disapproval of drug taking is an essential counterweight to the "pro-drug propaganda" of popular culture. He considers attempts to combat drug use by restricting supply and persecuting dealers, futile, if possession and use are not punished as well. He answers claims that the "War on Drugs" has failed by suggesting that there has been no serious war on drugs for many years. Hitchens believes that the approach, known as "harm reduction", is defeatist and counter-productive. He was among the earliest commentators to argue that cannabis was a major mental health danger to some users. Panamanian motor vessel Gatun during the largest cocaine bust in United States Coast Guard history (20 tons), off the coast of Panama. ... This article does not cite its references or sources. ... Popular culture, sometimes abbreviated to pop culture, consists of widespread cultural elements in any given society. ... Massive mark-ups for drugs, areas/drugs/index. ... This article is about the plant genus Cannabis. ...

On foreign policy

Hitchens opposed the Iraq War on the grounds that it was not in the interests of either Britain or of the United States, but he does not associate himself with anti-war campaigns, and he remains a strong supporter of the State of Israel. He is critical of neoconservatism, which he considers to be globalist, destructively interventionist and utopian, and adopts a view of foreign policy similar to the American paleoconservatism movement. This article is about the 2003 invasion of Iraq. ... This article is about neoconservatism in the United States, for neoconservatism in other regions, see Neoconservatism (disambiguation). ... This article does not cite any references or sources. ...

Hitchens condemned the 1998 Belfast Agreement as a surrender to the Provisional IRA and a violation of the rule of law. He believes that the best approach to solving Northern Ireland's problems would have been the full integration of Northern Ireland into the United Kingdom, arguing that creating a Northern Irish Parliament at Stormont was mistaken because it prevented the integration of the six counties of Northern Ireland into the United Kingdom. He believes that the achievements of direct rule over Northern Ireland, in removing discrimination against Roman Catholics, have been greatly underestimated. He maintains that Northern Ireland is now only a provisional part of the UK, since, under the 1998 Belfast Agreement it can be transferred to Irish sovereignty by a single irreversible referendum. The Belfast Agreement (also known as the Good Friday Agreement and, more rarely, as the Stormont Agreement) was a major political development in the Northern Ireland peace process. ... The Provisional Irish Republican Army (Irish: Óglaigh na hÉireann) (IRA; also referred to as the PIRA, the Provos, or by some of its supporters as the Army or the RA.[2]) is an Irish Republican, left wing[3] paramilitary organisation that, until the Belfast Agreement, sought to end Northern... Northern Ireland (Irish: , Ulster Scots: Norlin Airlann) is a constituent country of the United Kingdom lying in the northeast of the island of Ireland, covering 5,459 square miles (14,139 km², about a sixth of the islands total area). ... The Parliament of Northern Ireland was the home rule legislature created under the Government of Ireland Act 1920, which existed from June 7, 1921 to March 30, 1972, when it was suspended. ...

On Europe, Hitchens argues that the United Kingdom should negotiate an amicable departure from the European Union, whose laws and traditions he regards as incompatible with the laws and liberties of England and with the national independence of the United Kingdom as a whole. He also believes that the interests of the European Union are often different from—and in many cases hostile to—those of the United Kingdom. Hitchens also opposes devolution in Scotland and Wales, regarding these changes not as steps towards real independence, but as part of a European Union-inspired strategy to dissolve Great Britain into statelets and regions, a preliminary to its complete absorption in a European state. For the same reason, he opposes plans to divide England itself into regions. Look up Devolution in Wiktionary, the free dictionary. ... This article is about the country. ... This article is about the country. ...

On morality, culture, and religion

Hitchens is an advocate of absolute moral virtues founded on religious (particularly Christian) faith. He argues that these have been undermined and eroded by Cultural Marxists and Social Liberals since the 1960s, a theory he explores in the book The Abolition of Britain. Cultural Marxism is a form of Marxism that adds an analysis of the role of the media, art, theatre, film and other cultural institutions in a society, often with an added emphasis on race and gender in addition to class. ... Social liberalism is either a synonym for new liberalism or a label used by progressive liberal parties in order to differentiate themselves from the more conservative liberal parties, especially when there are two or more liberal parties in a country. ... Cover of The Abolition of Britain, revised UK edition Cover of The Abolition of Britain, US edition The Abolition of Britain (subtitled From Lady Chatterley to Tony Blair in its British editions and From Winston Churchill to Princess Diana in the USA) is a book by Peter Hitchens, first published...

In support of this thesis, Hitchens cites, among other things, what he describes as serial attacks on the institution of marriage by the State. He identifies these attacks as the introduction of no-fault divorce, the removal or redistribution of what were formerly the exclusive privileges of marriage, and its resultant loss of status and regard, the abolition of the Christian Sunday and the growing economic and cultural pressure on wives and mothers to go out to work. He believes that without faith and without strong families, the development of conscience is stunted, private life is diminished, and the power of the state increased. No-fault divorce is the dissolution of a marriage, upon petition to the court by either party, without the requirement that the petitioner show fault on the part of the other party. ...

He believes that many of the measures which created the "permissive society" were mistaken or excessive and need to be re-examined, and he believes that homosexual relationships should not be granted legal parity with heterosexual marriage. However, Hitchens maintains that he has nothing against homosexual individuals, and rejects the term "homophobia" in this context as an epithet which he feels is increasingly used to stifle legitimate debate on social policy. The permissive society is a label given to a society where social norms are becoming increasingly liberal. ... Homosexuality refers to sexual interaction and / or romantic attraction between individuals of the same sex. ... One of four newly wedded same-sex couples in a public wedding at Taiwan Pride 2006. ... A protest by The Westboro Baptist Church, a group identified by the Anti-Defamation League as virulently homophobic. ... An epithet (Greek - επιθετον and Latin - epitheton; literally meaning imposed) is a descriptive word or phrase. ...

Hitchens opposes the compulsory metrication of Britain's weights and measures, which he believes are both beautiful and practical, rooted in experience and an important part of the English language. He is an Anglican, and he defends the use of the Church of England's 1662 Book of Common Prayer and the Authorised or King James Version of the Bible, not only because he believes they are beautiful and memorable, but also because he feels that they are the indispensable foundations of Anglicanism's "powerful combination of scripture, tradition and reason". He is also sceptical of human-caused global warming. Metrication is the process of introduction of metric units for measurement. ... This box:      Anglicanism most commonly refers to the beliefs and practices of the Anglican Communion, a world-wide affiliation of Christian Churches, most of which have historical connections with the Church of England. ... The Church of England logo since 1998 The Church of England is the officially established Christian church[1] in England, and acts as the mother and senior branch of the worldwide Anglican Communion, as well as a founding member of the Porvoo Communion. ... For the novel, see A Book of Common Prayer. ... The King James or Authorized Version of the Bible is an English translation of the Christian Bible first published in 1611. ... Global warming refers to the increase in the average temperature of the Earths near-surface air and oceans in recent decades and its projected continuation. ...

On education

Hitchens condemns comprehensive education, the Plowden reforms of primary schooling, and modern child-centred teaching methods, seeing them as egalitarian political projects with no educational justification and many educational disadvantages. Hitchens asserts that comprehensive education has brought about a general dilution of examination standards which threatens to leave Britain lagging behind emerging giants like China and India. As a means of improving standards in the UK, Hitchens supports a return to the grammar school system which has been gradually dismantled by successive British governments since the issuing of Circular 10/65 by Anthony Crosland in 1965. A comprehensive school is a secondary school that does not select children on the basis of academic attainment or aptitude. ... The Plowden Report is the unofficial name for the 1967 report of the Central Advisory Council For Education (England) into Primary education in England. ... Egalitarianism (derived from the French word égal, meaning equal or level) is a political doctrine that holds that all people should be treated as equals from birth. ... A grammar school is a school that may, depending on regional usage as exemplified below, provide either secondary education or, a much less common usage, primary education (also known as elementary). Grammar schools trace their origins back to medieval Europe, as schools in which university preparatory subjects, such as Latin... Circular 10/65, also known as the Crosland Circular, was a document issued by the Ministry of Education requesting local authorities in England and Wales to begin converting their secondary schools to the Comprehensive System. ... Charles Anthony Raven Crosland (29 August 1918 - 19 February 1977) was a member of the Labour Party and an important socialist theorist. ...

As a supporter of orthodox Christian morality, Hitchens opposes sex education in schools. He points out that the general introduction of sex education in schools has been accompanied by an increase in sexual activity among the young, with a resultant rise in pregnancies, abortions and instances of sexually transmitted diseases, the very things that sex education is intended to discourage. He suggests that the two may be connected, and that in any case the argument that sex education protects the young against early pregnancy or disease is false. “Orthodox” redirects here. ... An early 20th century post card documents the problem of unwanted pregnancy. ... A sexually transmitted disease (STD), a. ...

On evolution

Hitchens sees evolution as a speculative and unfalsifiable theory which cannot be observed in progress. He reasons that if it took place in the past it did so before there were any human witnesses, and that if it is taking place now it is operating so slowly that our civilisation is likely to perish long before it has been able to record it in action. He maintains that enthusiasts for Darwinism often mistake adaptation of existing species for a far more ambitious process required for evolution. He therefore contends that the theory of evolution is wholly unlike other scientific theories with which it is often compared. He regularly likens belief in evolution to belief in a religion, on the basis that religious claims also cannot be tested and similarly have their origins not in certain knowledge but in the preferences of the believer. This article is about evolution in biology. ... Falsifiability (or refutability or testability) is the logical possibility that an assertion can be shown false by an observation or a physical experiment. ... The word theory has a number of distinct meanings in different fields of knowledge, depending on their methodologies and the context of discussion. ...

Hitchens argues that neither he nor anyone else knows how life began or how the realm of nature assumed its present form. He says he is quite happy to accept the possibility that the evolutionists may be right, and asks that they will extend the same courtesy to theists. He agrees with evolutionary biologist Richard Dawkins that a belief in the truth of evolutionary theory, properly understood, is incompatible with a theist position. He maintains that the question remains a matter of choice, and that intelligent people should be free to decide for themselves which explanation they prefer. He does not criticise evolutionary theory, believing it to be an ingenious possible explanation of the origins of species, but one which he himself prefers not to embrace.^[3] Clinton Richard Dawkins, FRS (born March 26, 1941) is a British ethologist, evolutionary biologist and popular science writer who holds the Charles Simonyi Chair for the Public Understanding of Science at the University of Oxford. ...

While Hitchens has described belief in evolution as a speculative theory, he does not subscribe to a literal interpretation of the book of Genesis either. In a review of God is not Great he stated that, "many decades have passed since I fancied the story of Adam and Eve was literal truth, if I ever did."^[4]

On Tony Blair and the Labour Party

Hitchens has described Prime Minister Tony Blair's constitutional reforms as a "slow-motion coup d'état". He is critical of Labour for what he describes as "attacks on the constitution", and critical of the previous Conservative government for its perceived role in facilitating these changes through "rash and unconstitutional acts". The huge expansion of the role of "special advisers", which Hitchens describes as "political commissars" in the civil service, was based, in his view, on similar but smaller-scale appointments by the Conservatives. The Prime Minister of the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland is, in practice, the political leader of the United Kingdom. ... For other people of the same name, see Tony Blair (disambiguation) Anthony Charles Lynton Blair (born May 6, 1953)[1] is the Prime Minister of the United Kingdom, First Lord of the Treasury, Minister for the Civil Service, Leader of the Labour Party, and Member of Parliament for the constituency... Coup redirects here. ...

Hitchens contends that the most profound changes brought about by the Labour Party have been designed to concentrate power in the hands of the executive, to debauch civil service neutrality, and to turn Parliament into a tool of Downing Street. In Hitchens' view, the most significant single action in this programme was the passing of Orders in Council allowing Alastair Campbell and Jonathan Powell, both political appointees, to give orders to civil servants. It signalled, in his view, a general attempt to politicise Whitehall which has continued ever since. He claims to have detected a parallel effort to appropriate some of the trappings of monarchy and to diminish the Crown's significance and standing, which he sees as embryonic presidentialism. Downing Street Downing Street gates Downing Street is the street in London which contains the buildings that have been, for over two hundred years, the official residences of two of the most senior British cabinet ministers, the First Lord of the Treasury, an office held by the Prime Minister of... This article does not cite any references or sources. ... This article or section does not cite its references or sources. ... A presidential system, also called a congressional system, is a system of government where an executive branch exists and presides (hence the term) separately from the legislature, to which it is not accountable and which cannot in normal circumstances dismiss it. ...

Hitchens has also often caricatured Blair as "Princess Tony". This is a reference to Blair's use of the expression "The People's Princess" to euologise Diana, Princess of Wales, after her death. His general characterisation of Blair is that he is a charming nonentity, without knowledge or convictions, hired by the Labour Party to provide a reassuring face behind which it could pursue its radical agenda. He recently wrote that Blair's great talent was to be "all things to himself", able to appear to be sincere at all times because he is unaware of his own profound shallowness. Princess Diana redirects here. ...

On the Conservative Party

Hitchens is dismissive of the modern British Conservative Party, frequently deriding the party's leadership as the "useless Tories". He has often been at odds with fellow conservatives, and argues that the Conservative Party has a consistent record of ill-considered parliamentary acts and policies that cannot be dismissed as accidents or mistakes. He cites as examples: the reorganisation of local government in 1974; the Police and Criminal Evidence Act of 1984; the introduction of the GCSE exam; the Criminal Justice Act of 1991; the agreement to the Single European Act; and the signing of the Maastricht Treaty ; the severe reduction in defence spending at the end of the Cold War; the privatisation of the UK's railways; the Iraq War and the abandonment of re-introducing grammar schools,^[5] though Hitchens prefers the German system of selection^[6] to the Eleven Plus examination. The Conservative Party (officially the Conservative and Unionist Party) is currently the second largest political party in the United Kingdom in terms of sitting Members of Parliament (MPs), the largest in terms of public membership, and the oldest political party in the United Kingdom. ... The Local Government Act 1972 (1972 c. ... The Police and Criminal Evidence Act 1984 (PACE) (1984 c. ... “GCSE” redirects here. ... The Single European Act (SEA) was the first major revision of the Treaty of Rome. ... The Maastricht treaty (formally, the Treaty on European Union) was signed on 7 February 1992 in Maastricht between the members of the European Community and entered into force on 1 November 1993. ... This article does not adequately cite its references or sources. ... A grammar school is one of several different types of school in the history of education in the United Kingdom. ... The Eleven Plus or Transfer Test was an examination given to students in their last year of primary education in the United Kingdom under the Tripartite System. ...

He is also critical of what he considers to be a continuing idolatry of Margaret Thatcher, who, in his view, weakened Britain's institutions and failed to address moral or cultural questions. Hitchens has expressed contempt for David Cameron, the current Conservative Party leader, regarding him as a member of the "liberal elite" with little conception of the challenges facing modern Britain. He argues that the Conservatives have, indiscriminately, adopted the policies of their opponents over the last century out of an unprincipled desire for office at all costs. The Adoration of the Golden Calf by Nicolas Poussin Idolatry is a major sin in the Abrahamic religions regarding image. ... Margaret Hilda Thatcher, Baroness Thatcher, LG, OM, PC, FRS (née Roberts; born 13 October 1925) served as British Prime Minister from 1979 to 1990 and leader of the Conservative Party from 1975 until 1990, being the first and to date only woman to hold either post. ... For the Canadian ice hockey player, see Dave Cameron. ... Liberal elite and liberal elitist are terms used by some ideological opponents of liberalism to refer pejoratively to affluent liberals, who, their opponents claim, are elitist and disconnected from the rest of society (note also the US term limousine liberal, the Irish term smoked salmon liberal, or latte liberal as...

In March 2007 Hitchens wrote and presented a television programme for Channel 4, "Toff at the Top", in which he argued this view. Hitchens views Cameron's social, educational, and foreign policies as being indistinguishable from those of Tony Blair. To further emphasize this point, he often refers to the two men in tandem as "Mr. Clair and Mr. Blameron". Cameron, having declined previous interview requests from Hitchens, also declined to be interviewed for this programme, and has since described Hitchens (at a public meeting) as a 'maniac'. This article is about the British television station. ... For other people of the same name, see Tony Blair (disambiguation) Anthony Charles Lynton Blair (born May 6, 1953)[1] is the Prime Minister of the United Kingdom, First Lord of the Treasury, Minister for the Civil Service, Leader of the Labour Party, and Member of Parliament for the constituency...

Hitchens has called for the establishment of a new political party in the UK, representing the traditionalist conservative strand of opinion that he espouses, and which would, in his own words, be "neither bigoted nor politically correct". He believes that such a movement cannot come into being until the Conservative Party collapses, arguing that many millions of Britons habitually vote for this and other political parties out of tribal loyalty, from which they cannot be detached by reasoned argument. Political Parties redirects here. ...

Publications

Hitchens is the author of The Abolition of Britain (1999, ISBN 0-7043-8140-0) and A Brief History of Crime (2003, ISBN 1-84354-148-3), both critical of changes in British society since the 1960s. A compendium of his Daily Express columns was published under the title Monday Morning Blues in 2000. An updated edition of A Brief History of Crime, re-titled The Abolition of Liberty (ISBN 1-84354-149-1) and featuring a new chapter on identity cards, was published in April 2004. Cover of The Abolition of Britain, revised UK edition Cover of The Abolition of Britain, US edition The Abolition of Britain (subtitled From Lady Chatterley to Tony Blair in its British editions and From Winston Churchill to Princess Diana in the USA) is a book by Peter Hitchens, first published... Monday Morning Blues by the conservative journalist Peter Hitchens is a collection of articles reprinted from The Daily Express, which were originally published during the mid to late nineties. ... Enabling legislation for the British national identity card was passed under the Identity Cards Act 2006. ...

Personal life

Hitchens' older brother, Christopher Hitchens, is also a prominent journalist, author and critic. Christopher's views on at least religious issues are to the left of Peter's. Christopher is a strong defender of the intervention in Iraq--he supports it asserting that it is an inherently moral endeavor. But both brothers would argue that this is not a conservative position. Peter has described it as a 'left-wing war' motivated by liberal idealism, and Christopher views it as a radical enterprise, not a conservative imperialist one. Christopher has said that "The real difference between Peter and myself is the belief in the supernatural. I'm a materialist and he attributes his presence here to a divine plan. I can't stand anyone who believes in God, who invokes the divinity or who is a person of faith."^[7] Christopher Eric Hitchens (born April 13, 1949) is a British-American author, journalist and literary critic. ...

The brothers were estranged for several years, following a 2001 article in The Spectator in which Peter alleged his brother had said he "didn't care if the Red Army watered its horses at Hendon", which Christopher said was used "in the reactionary press in the US" to imply that he was a "communist sympathiser".^[7] However, after the birth of Peter's third child, Christopher expressed a willingness to reconcile and to meet his new nephew. Shortly thereafter the brothers gave several interviews together in which they said their personal disagreements had been resolved, the most notable being their meeting at the Hay Festival in 2005^[7]. Christopher has recently clarified this in an interview in 2006 ' "There is no longer any official froideur", he says of their relationship. "But there's no official — what's the word? — chaleur, either." '^[8] Peter's recent review of Christopher's book God is Not Great: How Religion Poisons Everything led to public argument between the brothers but not to any renewed estrangement. ^[9] On 21 June 2007, both Hitchens brothers appeared on BBC TV's Question Time, where they clashed over the intervention in Afghanistan (and other issues), with Christopher remarking that he was "ashamed to hear a member of the Hitchens family sounding like Harold Pinter on a bad day". Cover of the Nov 12, 2005 issue of The Spectator magazine. ... The Hay Festival of Literature & Arts is an annual literature festival held in Hay-on-Wye, Wales for ten days from May to June. ... For other uses, see BBC (disambiguation). ... Question Time is a topical debate television programme in the United Kingdom, based on Any Questions?. It is currently shown on BBC One at 22:35 on Thursdays, and typically features politicians from the three major political parties and other public figures who answer questions put to them by the... Harold Pinter, CH, CBE (born 10 October 1930) is an English playwright, screenwriter, poet, actor, director, author, and political activist. ...

References

Wikipedia does not yet have an article with this exact name. ... Year 2000 (MM) was a leap year starting on Saturday (link will display full 2000 Gregorian calendar). ... is the 343rd day of the year (344th in leap years) in the Gregorian calendar. ... Year 2006 (MMVI) was a common year starting on Sunday of the Gregorian calendar. ... is the 306th day of the year (307th in leap years) in the Gregorian calendar. ... For other uses, see Guardian. ... For other uses, see Guardian. ... Christopher Eric Hitchens (born April 13, 1949) is a British-American author, journalist and literary critic. ... is the 288th day of the year (289th in leap years) in the Gregorian calendar. ... This article is about the year. ... is the 308th day of the year (309th in leap years) in the Gregorian calendar. ... Also see: 2002 (number). ... is the 263rd day of the year (264th in leap years) in the Gregorian calendar. ... This article is about the year. ...

See also

• Christopher Hitchens
• Conservatism
• Paleoconservatism
• Pro-life
• Social conservatism

Christopher Eric Hitchens (born April 13, 1949) is a British-American author, journalist and literary critic. ... Conservatism is a term used to describe political philosophies that favor tradition and gradual change, where tradition refers to religious, cultural, or nationally defined beliefs and customs. ... This article does not cite any references or sources. ... This article is about the social movement. ... Social conservatism generally refers to a political ideology or personal belief system that advocates the conservation or resurrection of what one, or ones community, considers to be traditional morality and social structure. ...

External links

Regular features

• Weekly column in the Mail on Sunday newspaper
• Peter Hitchens's Mail on Sunday blog

Book Reviews

Reviews of A Brief History of Crime in the: The Sunday Telegraph, The Daily Telegraph, New Statesman and The Observer

TV Reviews

Reviews of Toff at the Top in: The Times and The Telegraph.

• Description of Toff at the Top on the Channel 4 website
• Description of Stealing Freedom on the Channel 4 website

Video

• Interview about the The Abolition of Britain for the Booknotes series Pop-up window with embedded RealPlayer plugin