Civil Liberties

Sun, 28 Jun 2009 18:37:45 +0100

I think as a nation we are behaving like a lobster in the pan. The cold water was added and then the heat increased slowly and we have not noticed what is going on. If all the legislation of the last 15 years were to be contained in one bill and presented to parliament and the people it would be rejected out of hand. And yet we have allowed the salami slicing of our rights under this labour government.

The idea that the state always knows best is flawed. The idea that the state should dominate and control every aspect of our lives is frightening. I am sure sometimes benefits have been gained but at what cost. The anti terror laws being used inappropriately by a range of organisations for non terror related matters. Compulsory ID cards in the wings providing a perfect way for criminals to outwit us. I wonder how many terrorists and major criminals will apply for and get a genuine ID card or perhaps they might pay for a fake one - shock horror.

I found out the other day, at the police authority, that a law was past in recent history that allows chief constables, without recourse to the police authority to accredit certain uniformed organisations. That sounds a good idea. It would be nice to know that the bouncers to a club were trained correctly and working in the best interests of the customers. But wait a minute, the same regulation also confirmed on these accredited organisations some of the police powers similar to PCSOs. This is likely to blur the lines further between police constables PCSO, and now bouncers. I know which two of the three I would prefer to be detained by.

Regulation

Sun, 28 Jun 2009 18:18:51 +0100

There is too much of it in many areas and not enough in others. It is clear, from recent events, that the regulation of banking has been too light. I happen to believe that Gordon Brown declaring the end of boom and bust was a huge contributing factor. People were told it would never bust so they kept on borrowing. So I would not advocate too much regulation, most peoples standard of living has increased year on year for many years.

I sense the tide is turning. People are getting fed up with ‘elf and safety’ rules preventing normal behaviour and work practices. In my own company I was reduced to changing light bulbs myself for fear of contravening some regulation or other if I had a staff member do it. This was in an ordinary office.

Not being allowed to give a staff member a couple of tablets for a headache in case it might mask some terrible illness or they might overdose on both the tablets makes no sense to me. My staff were grown ups, most with good degrees and a mind of their own.

And don’t get me on the subject of employment law !!!!!!!!!!!!! I will save that for another day.

Public sector

Sun, 28 Jun 2009 18:03:23 +0100

Is toooooooooooooooooooooooo big. I have seen bloated public sectors in other countries. They are normally called the social democratice republic of ........... and are normally not socialist, democratic or run well.

All this talk of spend, spend, spend to help a recovery sounds to me, as a businessman, ridiculous. If I have got this right we are all in trouble because there has been too much borrowing, much of it against a dodgy asset base, by government and individuals, not enough real output in real industries, a prolonged history of spending too much of government money on non revenue generating activities and the answer to all this is to ..................... borrow lots more money, if there is not enough to borrow print it and then spend it on .......... more public services.

On top of the government debt that is officially recognised there is also the smoke and mirror borrowing of the Private Finance Initiative (PFI). This allows public organisations to get the private sector to borrow money to build hospitals etc and then charge the tax payer for it over many years. So its like buying lots of houses with mortgages - but the mortgage payments have to be met. Oh, and I forgot to mention this sort of borrowing is somehow not include in the borrowing figures declared by government.

However painful it may be it is now long overdue to match spending with revenue, not spending with political social engineering.

A bit of the old Thatcher handbag swinging required to the budget.

Europe

Sun, 28 Jun 2009 17:43:33 +0100

I have travelled extensively, owned a company in Sri Lanka and believe in free trade. I welcome open trade borders and regulated flow of economic migrants both into and out of the country.

And here come the but ....... I do not wish to be governed by Europe or be subjected to European law and regulation. We have seen the differences between the political ambitions of other European leaders. I do not want to be part of a socialist dominated federal state of Europe. Our system of government, legislation and law have served us well for a very long time with only minor hiccups. Free trade with Europe YES - governed by Europe NO.

What we need are the correct skills, from individuals from all over the world, not just Europe, in the number we need and can absorb.