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 31, 2005 (761 days since war
ended)
Death Toll: 1,657 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
July 6, 2005 (798 days since war
ended)
Death Toll: 1,751 US - 90 UK -
>6,164? Iraqi - >17,300? civilians - 25 media
August 24, 2005 (847 days since
war ended)
Death Toll: 1,869 US - 93 UK - >>6,164?
Iraqi - >>17,300? civilians - 25 media
September
29, 2005 (883 days since war ended)
Death Toll: 1,928 US - 96 UK - >>6,164?
Iraqi - >>17,300? civilians - 25 media
October
11, 2005 (895 days since war ended)
Death Toll: 1,956 US - 96UK - >>6,164?
Iraqi - >>17,300? civilians - 25 media
October
20, 2005 (904 days since war ended)
Death Toll: 1,986 US - 97UK - >>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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'Criminals
are the enemy. It's not rocket science. People in prison don't
commit offences,' says
the refreshingly no-nonsense
Roger
Baker, the Chief Constable of Essex
Simon
Heffer - Daily Mail, October 24,m 2005
Roger
Baker does not pussyfoot about. "Criminals are the enemy.
Yes, they've got rights, and we'll deal with them properly, but
if they're going to break the law, we'll bring them to justice."
Crime
slashed by zero tolerance police chief
By
Ben Taylor, Crime Correspondent of the Daily Mail, October
24, 2005
A
police chief who introduced a 'zero tolerance' policy
has cut crime with 3 months of taking office. Roger Baker,
chief constable of Essex, ordered the force to make hundreds
more arrests a week when he took over in July.
Yesterday,
figures for the last month appeared to show that his tough
approach is already working. Overall crime has been cut
by 5.2% compared to the same time last year. The number
of burglaries has fallen by 4.9%. Car theft is down 11.6%.
Arrest
rates, meanwhile, have risen by more than a half. Detection
rates, which reflect the number of crimes formally cleared
up by the police, have risen by a quarter.
Mr
Baker said last night the new technique, which aimed to
increase arrest rates by an average of 400 a week, is
now considered 'business as usual'. Called Operation Days
of Action, it includes a tougher approach to dealing with
serial burglars, drug dealers, bail jumpers and fine dodgers.
Mr
Baker admitted that when it was first tried in July and
August crime figures actually rose. But he said that was
due to the fact that more members of the public were reporting
crime because they felt there was a better chance that
police would do something about it.
"I
am completely confident that we are doing the right things
and that in medium to long term crime in Essex will continue
to fall," said Mr Baker. "Figures for September
are seeing crime down and this will be the long-term trend.
We are catching more criminals."
"They
are admitting more crimes and the public are reporting
more crimes because they know we will do something about
it," Mr Baker started implementing his policy
within days of taking over in July. Around 800 extra arrests
were made in his first week.
He
said at the time: "If you plan on committing crimes,
bring a toothbrush, because you won't be going home."
The
46-year-old also promised to concentrate on 'real' criminals,
saying he would not make up the numbers by picking on
easy targets such as motorists. Mr Baker, who is married
and has two young daughters, began his career at Derby-shire
constabulary in 1977, and rising to chief superintendent.
He became Staffordshire's assistant chief constable in
2001, before joining N. Yorkshire Police as deputy chief
constable in 2003. During his time there, he helped turn
the force around, increasing detection rates by a third.
When
he took over at Essex, the county had experienced a 5%
rise in the number of reported crimes since 2002. However,
during that period detection rates did not rise. The term
'zero-tolerance' originated in New York, where police
launched a crackdown on the low-level crime which had
been blighting the city.
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Nor
is he politically correct: "They're not the brightest
of individuals. The enemy has many common features. You can pick
them out very early on in life. I tell my officers that they can
outsmart these people very easily, and should not be intimidated."
A
slight, dapper man of 46 with a dry northern accent, Mr Baker
has been a policeman since he was 18 - and he speaks from experience.
"None of this is rocket science. It's about getting the basics
right. It's professionally embarrassing that we haven't perhaps
done it sooner. If people burgle, if they assault you, I would
not only have zero-tolerance, I'd have sub-zero tolerance."
He
argues that a zero-tolerance strategy works because most criminals
don't stick to one type of crime. "They don't just burgle.
They'll shoplift, they'll be abusive to their partners, they'll
take recreational drugs and get drunk on a Friday or Saturday
evening. If you check the people who park in disabled bays at
super-markets, 90% of them have criminal records. They have a
lifestyle that has a blatant disregard for the rest of us."
He
defends his attitude against accusations of political incorrectness."Zero-tolerance
is not about being unfair to people. It's about saying, 'We will
not tolerate this sort of behaviour.' We know who our core customers
are. I believe in some areas the police have become confused around
issues of human rights. They ask, 'Can I accuse people of doing
things wrong?' I say, 'Of course you can, that's what we're here
for, provided you do it properly and treat people with respect.'
It doesn't matter about colour of your skin, or if you're from
the travelling community. It about saying, 'We've got some evidence,
and there's some questions we would like you to answer'. That's
why the public fund the police. That's what they expect us to
do. And I get a sense that what they're tired of is all the talk
and no action. We're fighting toe-t0-toe with criminality. The
diversity debate has led to people getting confused."
He
believes that, in Essex, both the Crown Prosecution Service and
the courts are willing to take a hard line on criminals. He shows
me statistics that prove that the worst 20 offenders have between
them been responsible for 1113 crimes.
"They
don't always get sent to prison - at least, the first time - which
is an obvious cause of frustration," says Mr Baker. "All
I know is that people in prison aren't going to commit offences
against you and me. Forgive me for being blunt about that. But
it's true."
He
shows me a graph of one man's ever-climbing offending rate, and
how it suddenly plummets. I ask what stopped his offending behaviour.
"He went to prison," replies Mr Baker. "I'm
not saying prison's the only answer but in that case prison spared
hundreds of people from the trauma of being a victim, a member
of a victim's family, or a witness."
The
public are central to the Baker strategy. "They want fairly
straightforward things from the police," he explains.
"They want a point of contact, so they want police stations
open. They want more police officers on the ground, so they can
be reassured. If you go and see the public, in the areas you are
policing - which is what the police have often backed away from
- then you win because it reassures people. They will also tell
you everything you need to know. You don't need to be Hercule
Poirot to work out that they know who the troublemakers are in
their communities, and they're only too willing to tell us about
it. Essex is seen as predominantly safe by most of the residents.
But there are issues around nuisance youths, graffiti, disorder,
broken windows."
He
also condemns the 'irresponsible drinking culture' that
makes people afraid to go out after dark into town centres. "What
I have learned in policing is the quicker you engage, and put
the victims and witnesses first - because I believe that is a
big issue, about whose rights we are protecting here - the better
it is. We have wasted too much time and effort tinkering at edges
when the fundamentals of policing haven't changed. The more rigour
we apply, the more we intervene at an early stage, the more chance
there is of distracting young people from a life of crime."
I
ask him how he sees the role of the police. "It's about
protecting people's life and property, upholding the Queen's peace,
and bringing to justice those who offend. One of the best ways
of doing that is to engage quickly and robustly with criminality."
Modern
conditions do not make this easy. "Bureaucratic burdens
and some of the management claptrap that's abroad not just for
the police, but for most of us, in overwhelming. There's not enough
of us doing front-end duties. There's too many of us doing office
work. The public want a more visible presence from the police."
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