Out of step?

In various of yesterday's UK national papers, Tony Blair's remarks on risk taking were reported. With the notable exception of the FT, this wasn't front-page news, but coverage extended as far as the Sun as well as the weighter press.

Taking the ill-named Independent, for example, the headline is PM - we must accept risks. This was actually a piece of factual reporting. It does seem that Blair is indeed making a stand for rationality and evidence-based decision making. To take one quote:
"It is time to have a proper dialogue about how science and its risks are evaluated and reported. Biotechnology is probably the coming industry of the world," Mr Blair said in a speech in London to the Institute of Public Policy Research.

"Britain and Europe should be world leaders. We are in grave danger of blowing our chance. If we do, we will rue it bitterly."

The speech also criticised the compensation culture, and this is the main tack taken by the Times (Blair attacks compensation culture). The theme was still sensible risk taking: in this case, don't spoil the enjoyment of millions of schoolchildren on outings because of one tragedy.

Let's now see how this translates into real policy and action. We might, just might, be seeing a shift towards rational decision making in government. Whatever we may think of some of their decisions, we elect politicians to lead, not to cave in to whichever pressure group makes the most fuss.