The appetite of the British people for a long-term involvement in another Middle Eastern conflict could not be weaker. There is no wish to have any further long-term obligations of a military kind that do not affect the most direct national interest.

The experience in Iraq has taken away the essential trust which political leaders need before embarking on military action. It was meant to be about weapons of mass destruction rather than regime change. Unfortunately, the nation was misled, and secret service information was misused.

Assad is unquestionably guilty of the most grievous fault and has inflicted horrors upon his people.

One of the great constraints on economic growth and employment is that the tax and benefits system has grown up over generations and does not give the right incentives. Increasing the minimum wage does not solve this problem.

Employers' national income is a particular disincentive to employ because it is an expense without benefit.

Before the government decides to raise the minimum wage, it must consider the effects of the tax and benefits merry-go-round that affects the low-paid.

In the 2010s, it is not the price of bread that is falsely and unnecessarily inflated by obstinate politicians but that of energy. There are cheap sources of energy either available or possible, but there is a reluctance to use them.

There is sometimes an almost vindictive streak in politics whereby governments follow policies which they know will harm the electorate, but nonetheless, they keep them, sometimes for years. The Corn Laws are a classic example.

The state ought not to intervene to prevent individuals from doing things that not only are no risk to others but are of no risk to themselves either.

Electorally, the number of women who want to wear a burka is insignificant, yet it is important to defend such a minority against the tyranny of the majority.

It is easy to defend the right of people to do things that fit in with the cultural norms of the majority. This includes practices that give personal pleasure but may be harmful, such as smoking or drinking. It is harder to argue for minority activities, especially those which stand out and may be obviously unsuitable in certain contexts.

The arguments over the limits that may be put on individuals suspected of sympathising with the enemy have occurred over the centuries. Habeas corpus was suspended during the Napoleonic wars, and Defence Regulation 18b was applied during the Second World War.

The promise of welfare and welfare regulation mean that there is no incentive to accept jobs that do not meet basic standards.

It is in all our interests that the government, when buying goods or services, pays the lowest price.

I like to have one car that I can be certain will go. The thing about classic cars is you can't always assume they will go.

We are the Conservative and Unionist party. No Conservative would do anything to harm the union, and that crucially includes Northern Ireland.

Constitutionally, a revising chamber is useful and important. The first occasion I know of in history when the Lords fulfilled this role was in 1539 when Henry VIII's act of proclamations was neutered by their lordships so effectively that the Act was repealed in 1547.

Although nannies who cover more than one generation are rare, those like Veronica Crook - who looked after me and now looks after my four children - are pearls of great price. They provide a continuity and stability for a family that is of inestimable value for the child and, indeed, the man.

The requirement upon the sovereign to 'advise, encourage, and warn' means that the Queen must be well informed. The weekly audience with the Prime Minister is not to discuss the weather but to talk about the most pressing problems facing the nation. An ill-informed monarch cannot do that and would fail in a key constitutional task.

If we say to the E.U. our backstop position is that we will be the vassal state, why should the E.U. make any effort to make any arrangement other than us to be a vassal state?

'Ever closer union' is one of the totemically controversial phrases in the European Union's Treaties. It seems to give weight to the view that the scheme is designed to end in a single state and that those who agreed the texts have long know this, even if they have been unwilling to admit it to the British people.

Governments want to control information. To do this, they have elaborate systems for promoting themselves via propaganda departments and for ensuring confidentiality with official-secrets laws. There are good reasons for these: people need information, and national security deserves secrecy.

Meeting someone does not mean you're endorsing them.

Fundamental protections, the assumption of innocence, trial by jury, and the right to appear before a court have all been sacrificed on the altar of the E.U. superstate.