Thank you. I've gone to great lengths to emphasise, whether successfully or not, that I'm not here describing the political beliefs of any specific person, since I generally try not to assume I know them; I'm talking about the underlying principle or principles of conservatism, to which I would imagine all conservatives would in reason subscribe, and to which the actions of government in my own country have amply demonstrated their slavish loyalty, but I'm not making the assumption in regard to anyone else.

It would be rather easy to be progressive on social issues if one's fiscal conservatism could be relied upon to kick in and avert the danger of spending any money on addressing them. Equally, one can be as progressive as one likes on fiscal issues in the knowledge that social conservatism means there's nothing you have to do with the money you save.

But I am not making the assumption that anyone actually thinks like that.

I'm sure there are conservatives whose depth of engagement with their chosen ideology extends no further than ensuring that anyone who gets voted into office in a given election is also identifiably a conservative. Again, though, I don't assume such superficiality of anyone I know.

Thanks again!