Being Right

The Daily Telegraph is running a list of the top 100 of the Right's most influential people.

Much to our genuine surprise, we find ourselves listed in 91st place, ahead of such luminaries as Edward Leigh, Chairman of the Public Accounts Committee, Desmond Swayne, Conservative MP for New Forest West and PPS to David Cameron, and Tim Congdon, Founder of Lombard Street Research, "one of the few Thatcherite economists."

Joy of joys, we also find ourselves well ahead of Zac Goldmith, who just makes it to the list in the 100th place.

The list, compiled by Iain Dale and Brian Brivati is, of course, highly subjective (how do you measure influence?), but we are not going to argue. Many others will.

Coincidentally, today, Janet Daly makes the case for being Right and, although she is not our favourite writer, we have no problems with much of what she says.

We (actually, Helen) set out our own manifesto in March 2003 and, while some parts of it have been overtaken by events, the core tenet stands unchanged: "we believe that to the greatest possible extent, people should make their own decisions and take responsibility for their actions."

If that is being Right, we are proud of it, and pleased that we find our way into the list of the "influential", however valid or not it might be. We might be impostors, but Helen's words are not.

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