Comments on: Legislation – just a longer press release?

By: Jackie Danicki » British legislation “an extended press release”

Tue, 15 Jul 2008 05:21:22 +0000

[...] I never thought I would approvingly quote John Redwood (not in public, anyway), but he definitely nails it here. (I think exactly the same could be said of US legislation.) Thanks to Brian Micklethwait for the [...]

By: pennine cottage

pennine cottage — Mon, 30 Jun 2008 23:23:58 +0000

And of course it's far easier ( and expedient too, raking in carbon-taxes, and jobs for the boys and girls within The Beaucracy) to blame "Global-Warming" for the increased flooding than to even think that much of the cause could be due to the fact that we don't seem to be seeing ditches being cleaned out anymore.
I don't know about other parts of the UK, but up here in the North-East of England – where we firmly rejected Mr Prescott's ( and the Eurocratic Empire) -plans to turn us into a Regional Assembly; they seem hell-bent on closing public loos, as if people didn't need them any longer!! In view of this, methinks maybe this is another reason for so much extra flooding also.
Kindest from pennine

By: TrevorH

TrevorH — Sun, 29 Jun 2008 21:52:40 +0000

"Comrade Napoleon" … we all know who that is. How utterly perceptive Orwell was. (Well said Mr Phillips)

As for Honest John – he also quoted Churchill who apparently said something along the lines of " Taxing a nation into prosperity is like standing in a bucket and trying to lift yourself up by the handles"

By: Henry S

Henry S — Sat, 28 Jun 2008 10:06:18 +0000

I thought you might like this..See Saturday's Telegraph, motoring, Honest John…

"The worse the state, the more laws it has", Cornelius Tacitus cAD55-116

By: Bazman

Bazman — Fri, 27 Jun 2008 18:48:17 +0000

Legislation is needed to enable any employee of a company or organisation to be able to find out what any other person in that organisation earns. For to long the employers have used this as a device for unequal pay and lowering the wage bill whilst hiding behind excuses of privacy. This would be practical action.

By: DonnyB

DonnyB — Fri, 27 Jun 2008 16:39:09 +0000

Can't you recognise the sound of a dog whistle by now? The nonsensical new positive discrimination laws are never designed to be enforceable or even put into law , they are a Nu Labour ploy to speak to previously loyal supporters. You only have to listen to how in any interview they pay lip service to all the bases – the aged , female rights , ethnic minorities and the disabled – nothing specific for them you understand but they talk about them and these groups of voters can therefore believe they care about them , unlike the (so-called nasty ed)Tories.

By: William B.

William B. — Fri, 27 Jun 2008 03:12:42 +0000

I wonder how long it will take to restore some order to the appalling mess resulting from 11 years of unnecessary legislation.

There is probably too much for just one repealing measure. I suggest three – the Repeal of Knee-Jerk Reactions Act, the Repeal of Unnecessary Panic Act and the Repeal of Destructive Regulations Act.

By: Freeborn John

Freeborn John — Thu, 26 Jun 2008 23:00:40 +0000

It would be nice if the government really did keep its finger on the public mood through polling and focus groups. Brown will probably go down in the history books for the singular â€œachievementâ€ of ratifying the Lisbon treaty in the face of public opposition by marching his MPs into the lobby to vote against their manifesto commitment. Never-the-less your point is sound. This government seems to identify issues it feels are salient with the public and then immediately leaps to announce legalisation, often of an illiberal nature. There seems to be a dirigiste assumption that all problems can be best be solved by government action, and that legislative changes can fix administrative failings.

It is true that public planning takes a very long time in this country but the quality of the planning decision is far more important than the time it takes to reach that decision. It should not be forgotten that despite the high population density this is still an attractive country compared to others that face similar development pressures. Our towns and cities do not degenerate into the depressing urban sprawls that one sees in America or France. Who would prefer the legoland of Tokyo to the character and heritage of London or the allotment-like look of the Japanese â€œcountrysideâ€ to our green and pleasant countryside? So yes, letâ€™s come to the right public planning decisions as efficiently as possible, but letâ€™s not forget that the hidden cost of quick-fire planning approvals is likely to be a long-term legacy of ugly public spaces and dysfunctional infrastructure that would a few decades to appear but centuries to get rid of.

By: Matthew Reynolds

Matthew Reynolds — Thu, 26 Jun 2008 22:52:52 +0000

I agree with the proposition that the state needs rolling back via many rules being axed or streamlined . The aim should be to have a convincing narrative linking a reduction in the scope of the public sector as a means to improve society and the economy . Any area you look at such as farming & fisheries , health & safety , the bans on grammar school expansions & self pay in healthcare , mortgage market regulation , planning laws , QUANGO's having too much power & councils too little , excess form filling for the police and the mad over-regulation of small & medium sized business suggests that things have gone too far as has the vetting of volunteers . Too many rules just makes adults childish as you cannot legislate risk out of the real life and we need to get rid of as many laws as possible – bin taxes & bin snoopers need to go for a start along with rules that turn Universities into tools of social engineering rather than centres of excellence . The Human Rights Act can go so that we can secure our borders and kick out terrorists and their cheer leaders . David Cameron needs to show how a roll back of the regulatory state will make the lives of voters better . The aim should be to cut the paperwork burden on business by 5% net year on year while halving the cost of QUANGO's overall within six years while freezing civil service recruitment for ten years would help if it produced a balanced budget and lower taxes . It works in Eire – why not in the UK ? Pledging an economic recovery on the back of 10% flat rate corporation tax would revive the Tories in Scotland & Ulster by promising the kind of prosperity enjoyed in the Irish Republic . You never know it might be popular in Wales too…

By: Man in a Shed

Man in a Shed — Thu, 26 Jun 2008 22:26:44 +0000

I suspect the reason they do this is a fundamental misunderstanding of reality. They believe that by saying something is true it happens, without any unforeseen consequences and just because they wish it so.

If they were not so deeply confused and/or dishonest they would not be socialists.

The sooner they are handed their P45s the better.