Richard D. North

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Richard D. North is a UK conservative commentator. He worked for The Independent newspaper as its first environment correspondent (1986-1990) and then as environmental columnist for The Sunday Times (1990-1992). His book, "Life On a Modern Planet: A manifesto for progress" (Manchester University Press, 1995) was widely regarded - for instance by Fiona Fox, writing in The Tablet [1]- as a renunciation of his earlier "green" credentials. He now works with the free-market thinktank, the Institute of Economic Affairs (as media fellow) and with the conservative Social Affairs Unit, where he blogs on art, film and social issues.

The Social Affairs Unit has published North's "Rich Is Beautiful: A very personal defence of Mass Affluence" (2005) and his "Mr Blair's Messiah Politics: Or what happened when Bambi tried to save the world" (2006). His "'Scrap the BBC!': Ten years to set broadcasters free" will be published by the SAU in January, 2007.

During a speech at Methodist College, Belfast in 2006 when he was addressing pupils from all over the United Kingdom at a Model United Nations conference North, to considerable applause, described chadors as "binliners", called disabled babies "bent", referred to working class people as "stupid", and displayed a number of offensive views. Some students were indeed very offended. He later explained himself at his personal website [2], and visited Hampstead School (which probably had the most complainants) for a lively discussion. North is a regular speaker at schools.

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