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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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.
|
April 9, 2006 (1065 days since war ended)
Death
Toll: 2349US - 103UK - >60,000? civilians - 25 media
| Tony
Blair should know that respect comes by example - from the
top. If a country's leader has no respect for the rule of
international law and no respect for the truth, how can he
expect anyone to have respect. Letter
from P.J.Atkinson, Ashford, Kent - Daily Mail, January 12,
2006 |
Tough
on crime?
Murder
of a good citizen
Repeatedly,
family man Raymond Gange wrote to his local paper warning about
Britain's soft stance on crime. Yesterday, a court heard how a
gang kicked him to death
By
David Wilkes - Daily Mail, April 13, 2006
A
grandfather who wrote a string of letters complaining abut the
Government's soft line on crime was stamped to death by thugs,
a victim of the very culture he despaired of. With sickening irony,
Raymond Gange was set upon in the street by a teenager freed from
prison two days earlier and an accomplice who had been in court
the day before.
They
chose him simply because he crossed their path, beating him with
such ferocity that his head repeatedly 'rebounded off the floor',
breaking his neck. In one of his last letters to a local newspaper,
69-year-old Mr Gange had called for tougher sentencing 'before
it too late'.
He
wrote: "Criminals given soft sentences
often re-offend time and time again, and yet the victims' families
get a life a life sentence. Labour, tough on crime? What a joke!
Build as many prisons as need be and let life be life, with no
remission on any serious crime. Come on, England - get sorted
before it's too late."
In
four letters to his local paper, the prophetic words of
Raymond Gange
January
2002
I
feel I must respond to the news that the public are 'satisfied'
with police foot patrols. Who is kidding whom? The Audit
Commission report says that 49% of people surveyed were
satisfied by the level of foot patrols. Could we be told
where it was surveyed and by whom? Foot patrols are as
scarce as Lottery winnings in Derby.
26
March, 2003
Anti-Social
Behaviour Orders are issued mainly for excessive noise,
yobs and people who don't care about anything decent.
But to work they need to be partnered with more bobbies
on the beat and a strong justice system. I am sure people
wouldn't mind paying council tax rises if we got our priorities
in order. We need money ploughing into more police and
a good justice system - instead of grass-cutting, for
example."
21
June, 2005
What
a shambles the judicial system is. Criminals given soft
sentences often reoffend time and time again, and yet
the victims' families get a life sentence. Labour tough
on crime? What a joke!
Build
as many prisons as need be and let life be life, with
no remission on any serious crime, and show them who's
in charge. The governor of HMP Sudbury (an open prison
in Derbyshire) said he was surprised only 77 prisoners
had absconded - he expected more like 95. Come on England
- get sorted as soon as possible, before it's too late.
25
July, 2005
What
a breath of fresh air to hear the Chief Constable of Essex,
Ron Baker, pledge to be 'tough on crime.' It must bring
relief to Essex people after 800 arrests were made in
one day. If he can do it, so should other Chief constables
- and sack them if they can't.
So
come on, Derbyshire Chief constable David Coleman, show
this county the law and order we all want to see. The
country also needs action and a better justice system
to back the police up.
No
more soft sentences - and sentences should fit the crime
- before it's too late.
The
letter he never sent
Part
of an unpublished draft of his last letter, which was
never posted because he was murdered
Dear
Opinion,
Whatever
Government is in power one word seems to be lacking -
not just unbelievable punishment for all crimes, rape,
murder, drug dealers, burglary etc - it's called 'common
sense'. Simple, isn't it?
We
are lacking in a country's backbone for success. Not enough
police and poor justice for crimes committed, poor judges
etc. They say jail is no deterrent. Could it be because
they are no more than Holiday Camps?
If
they continue to reoffend, give them longer sentences
and no remission then they will learn, show them who's
in charge. We seem to find money for plenty of other things
ie the Dome, asylum seekers ... I would write a book,
but I will write a follow-up letter as it would take too
much of your opinion page. I am sure it's COMMON SENSE
I am writing, isn't it? ...
Come
on MPs, do what the majority want.
Thank
you,
Yours
sincerely,
Mr
R. Gange
|
Last
August 19, the father of two, grandfather of six and great-grandfather
of seven, was walking back to his sister's home in Chellaston,
Derby, after celebrating a family birthday at a pub. He was confronted
by Jak Jones, 18, Shaun Johns, 18, and Calvin Grant, 17, who were
roaming the streets looking for a car to steal.
Ringleader
Jones had been released from prison two days earlier after securing
bail while awaiting a court appearance on violence charges. Jones
had walked out of court with a conditional discharge the day before
after being convicted of criminal damage.
The
trio, punched, kicked and stamped on Mr Gange, then robbed him
of his car keys and cash, and threw him over a 5ft hedge. His
battered body lay undiscovered for more than 24 hours. A post-mortem
examination revealed that he had been assaulted with such force
that two vertebrae in his neck had fractured.
Yesterday
Johns, of Chaddesden, Derby, was convicted of murder at Nottingham
Crown Court. Grant, of Normanton, Derby, was cleared of murder,
but found guilty of manslaughter. Homeless Jones had previously
admitted murder. Sentencing was adjourned for reports.
Jones
and Johns also admitted attacking a man out walking his dog the
day before the murder. They tied him up, stabbed him, and robbed
him of his mobile phone. Jones pleaded guilty to the attempted
robbery of a man at knifepoint four days after the murder, which
he told the jury he carried out because he was on 'an emotional
downer' after attacking Mr Gange. He told police: "I knew
I would probably be arrested some time soon. We just robbed him.
I thought: 'Why not?' "
Detectives
said the gang modelled themselves on American-style street gangs,
routinely carrying knives and prowling Derby looking for prey,
day and night. They would boast about their conquests when they
returned with mobile phones, credit cards and cash.
The
man who led the inquiry said the killers were members of a gang
of around half a dozen responsible for up to ten robberies. Former
Detective Superintendent John Briggs, of Derbyshire police, now
retired, said: "These are very dangerous, shocking people
who deserve no sympathy. The violence used was extremely excessive
and gratuitous and, we think, done for kicks. It was a blood-curdling
case, even for experienced detectives. When we asked them in interview
if they wondered whether Mr Gange was still alive they just nonchalantly
said they supposed he could have been."
He
said the teenagers had become part of a gang culture in which
they committed crimes to impress each other. "The week around
poor Ray's death, each was trying to out-do the other in the extreme.
The phrase people use sometimes is 'life is cheap these days'.
The proved it."
Many
residents knew what the youths were doing but were too scared
to come forward, say detectives, until the death of Mr Gange shocked
them into contacting the police. "One of the worst things
for me was that a number of people seemed to know that they were
going out robbing and coming back and bragging," said Mr
Briggs. "But the police had no real knowledge that it was
this group, otherwise this could have been stopped earlier."
Many
of their traumatised victims were not able to give accurate descriptions
of their attackers, he added. Mr Gange, a retired fork-lift truck
driver who lived with his wife June in Stone, Staffordshire, began
writing to his local paper in January 2002 about his concern at
the Government's weak response to the breakdown of law and order.
His campaign continued until just before his death.
In
his many letters to the Derby Evening Telegraph, he called for
tougher sentences to deter yobs from terrorising the streets.
In one he wrote: "No more soft sentences
- and sentences should fit the crime."
He
also criticised the lack of a visible police presence, saying:
"Who is kidding whom? Foot patrols
are as scarce as Lottery winners in Derby."
In
another he wrote: "What a breath
of fresh air to hear the Chief Constable of Essex, Ron Baker,
pledge to be 'tough on crime'. It must bring relief to Essex people
after 800 arrests were made
in one day. If he can do it, so should other chief constables
- and sack them if they can't."
After
the hearing Mr Gange's granddaughter Tammy Thompson, 29, called
for the trio's sentence to reflect their crime. She said: "Everyone
will feel safer at night now that these criminals are off the
streets. They are absolute hooligans who need to be locked up.
This should send a message out to the youths - the young boys
and girls that think they can go around and get what they want,
when they want. This should be a sign to them that they can't
do that and that they will be punished."
Tough
on crime?
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