Silent
Majority Speaks
Rescuing
Democracy in the United Kingdom from our current Elected
Dictatorship
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Spin,
not face-to-face confrontations with the voters, is the
Government's chosen method of communication. Ordinary people
are dangerous. Ordinary people might ask a question which
throws a politician 'off message'; the Cabinet member might
reveal himself or herself to be a human being like us, and
not a programmed android. Worse still, he or she might tell
the truth.
Ann
Leslie - Daily Mail, September 16, 2004
Blair
wants to leave his mark on history - looks more like a stain
to me.
Peter
Thorndyke, Diss, Norfolk - Daily Mail, May 23, 2005
I
know I'm me - why do I need an ID card?
"Sorry,
officers, I don't have an ID card. I never applied for one.
It seemed a bit steep at 300 quid. I do have my free passport,
my driving licence and my London freedom travel pass, each
with my photograph. I have my NHS medical card, with its
lengthy number, given me at birth, my RAF service book with
my Armed Forces number, and a chit authorising me to wear
a few gongs -including a General Service Medal with Malaya
bar, for fighting communist terrorists on behalf of my country,
or so they told me.
"I've
also got various credit cards and store cards, all with
my signature on the back, generally good for buying the
everyday requrements for life as well as the odd luxury.
If you decide to arrest me, I suppose I'll have to be photographed
and given another number, besides my PINs.
"I'm
afraid I haven't got a pension book; it was taken away."
"By
thieves, sir?"
"No
... well, not exactly. By the Government. By the way, may
I see your warrant cards please, gentlemen?"
Oh
dear, they've disappeared.
E. Harry Gumer, Romford, ESSEX - Daily Mail, June 1, 2005
NO
means NO
When
does NO mean MAYBE?
When it's not the answer the EU wants.
With
the courageous French NON resounding
in their ears, shabby, undemocratic self-interested leaders
of Europe propose ignoring the part of their precious constitution
that requires ratification by all members and continuing
without one of the biggest founder members to prevent derailing
the gravy train.
As
in Ireland, they refuse to accept any NO votes, ignoring
the will of the people, and re-stage votes until they can
engineer the 'correct' answer. Sadly, Foreign Secretary
Jack Straw dances to their tune like a puppet on a string.
With tactics such as these, how can anyone really believe
the EU has our interests at heart.
Letter from Steve Penny, Kingsnorth,
Kent - Daily Mail, June1, 2005
Surely
the French result makes the £1million the EU recently
spent on a treaty signing ceremony seem a trifle premature
and extravagant. Letter from
Keith Wiseman, Bury, Lancs. - Daily Mail, June1, 2005
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May
11, 2005 (741 days since war ended)
Death
Toll: 1,610 US - 88 UK - >6,164? Iraqi - >17,300 civilians
- 25 media
May
31, 2005 (761 days since war ended)
Death
Toll: 1,657 US - 89 UK - >6,164? Iraqi - >17,300 civilians
- 25 media
June
3 , 2005 (765 days since war ended)
Death
Toll: 1,670 US - 89 UK - >6,164? Iraqi - >17,300 civilians
- 25 media
June
17, 2005 (779 days since war ended)
Death
Toll: 1,716 US - 89 UK - >6,164? Iraqi - >17,300? civilians
- 25 media
June
26, 2005 (788 days since war ended)
Death
Toll: 1,737 US - 89 UK - >6,164? Iraqi - >17,300? civilians
- 25 media
Britain
has traditionally been one of the biggest net contributors
to the EU because we do not get as much money back from
Brussels in farm and regional subsidies as our rivals.
According
to Treasury figures, between 1995-2002, Britain's average
contribution taking the rebate into account, was £2.6billion,
or £43.55 per head of population.
The
French - the biggest recipient of farm subsidies - contributed
£1billion a year or £16.08 per head of their
population.
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In
one week, just 199 failed asylum seekers go home
By
Stephen Wright and James Slack - Daily Mail, July 5, 2005
Only
199 failed asylum seekers were removed in the past seven days
- the lowest number in two years - despite a backlog of 300,000
cases. If deportations continue at the same rate, it will take
the Government 21 years to complete the task.
The
figures, leaked to the Daily Mail, are a huge blow to Tony Blair's
General Election pledge to bring the asylum system under control.
There are about 570,000 illegal immigrants - 300,000 of them failed
asylum seekers - living in this country Mr Blair has promised
that, by the end of this year, Britain will remove more bogus
asylum seekers than there are new unfounded claims. But at the
moment there are almost 500 such claims each week.
An
earlier Labour pledge before the 2001 General Election, to remove
30,000 failed asylum seekers each year, had to be dropped as it
proved massively over ambitious. Unfounded claims include asylum
seekers whose applications have been turned down and those who've
lodged unsuccessful appeals. Insiders blame the 'shambles' on
staff shortages, a crackdown on overtime and a directive from
senior officials that officers should not chase suspects who run
away.
Shadow
Home Secretary David Davis, said: "Mr Blair's manifesto pledge
is in tatters. Rather than there being more removals, we now learn
there are fewer. This is proof that the asylum system remains
a shambles under Labour." The leaked figures will be an acute
embarrassment to the Home Office, which publishes asylum statistics
only once every three months.
The
latest, covering January to March this year, show that 3,000 failed
asylum seekers were removed - an average of 250 a week. This was
down 10% on the same period last year. There were 7.015 unfounded
claims.
Sir
Andrew Green, of MigrationWatch UK, said: "If asylum removals
have fallen still further, it means the illegal population of
Britain is growing at about 1,000 every month. Much greater focus
is required and the legal impediments to removal must be reduced."
Home
Secretary Charles Clarke has declared that improving the removal
rate is his top priority in sorting out the asylum system. Immigration
officers warned last month that they are having to cut back on
operations to track-down and deport illegals because budget cuts
mean that overtime and weekend work have mostly been banned. Officers
often finish work just as they are about to catch a suspect.
The
Government had repeatedly refused to put an estimate on the number
of illegal immigrants living here, including failed refugees.
But last week it published a study which admitted the total could
be as high as 570,000.
The
Home Office said the number of new asylum applications had been
falling steadily and was now at its lowest level since March 1997.
Immigration Minister Tony McNulty said: "Asylum applications
are continuing to fall significantly, and at a faster rate than
other European countries, as a result of Government action including
moving immigration controls across the Channel, securing the closure
of Sangatte, speeding up the asylum process and legislation to
target abuse.
"We
know there is more to do to tighten the system further and increase
the number of failed asylum seekers we remove. This is essential
is people are to have confidence that the system is robust and
fair."
The
temporary half on the deportation of Zimbabweans had very little
impact on the figures. Removals there had been running at only
8 per week. Dozens of Zimbabweans are on hunger strike in British
holding centres in protest at their planned deportation.
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