Silent Majority Speaks

Rescuing Democracy in the United Kingdom from our current Elected Dictatorship

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

STOP PRESS

60% of muggings 'not reported as we lose faith in police'

By James Slack - Home Affairs Editor - Daily Mail, April 6, 2006

Six out of ten muggings are never reported because the public have lost faith in the police to do anything, it emerged last night. The devastating verdict is delivered in a report by Demos, one of Tony Blair's favourite think-tanks.

It reveals plummeting public confidence in the police is leading to tens of thousands of offences never being reported. If, as research cited by Demos suggests, police are not told of 58% of muggings, the 80,780 offences recorded last year would in reality be closer to 192,000.

Some justice Name and address supplied - Daily Mail, April 6, 2006 As a retired magistrate, I know domestic burglary once carried a higher tariff then commercial burglary. Now both are to be treated with equal lenience. Has the Home Office no inkling of the trauma, devastation at the loss of irreplaceable sentimental items, the increased security needed to prevent a repeated break-in, the hike in insurance premiums and ongoing fear of it all happening again? I live in what I thought was secure sheltered housing, but have recently been burgled while at home. It took two days for the police to come and a further three weeks for the local beat officer to visit. The items stolen were of great value, hut were no doubt sold or pawned for a few pounds. Such thieves should be sent to prison. Why should the police try to catch criminals only to give them a caution? MPs are responsible for these changes which magistrates and judges must uphold whether or not they agree. The majority of work being done by magistrates' courts these days is on motoring cases. How many of those get off with a caution?

The list of crimes which go unreported also includes 35% of violent attacks by strangers, 38% of burglaries and 42% of thefts from vehicles. The reason they are not being reported is the belief that 'the police are either unwilling or unable to do anything about them.'

Tory Home Affairs spokesman Nick Herbert said: "When such large numbers of people aren't even reporting offences, the true level of crime is far higher than official figures suggest. It is essential that the public feel confident that crimes will be investigated properly and offenders brought to justice."

Demos, a centre-Left think-tank, warns that the public's experience of dealing with the police is 'very gloomy'. It adds: "The police were more likely to be rated as doing a good job by people who had no contact with them over the previous year than by those who had."

The report says the number of victims very or fairly satisfied with the police's response fell from 68% in 1994 to 58% in 2003-04. Victims believe police are so tied down by bureaucracy they will be unable to provide a quick response. There is also concern that - if police are able to catch the offender - he or she will get only a soft punishment, so there is little point in giving evidence.

LibDem Home Affairs spokesman Nick Clegg said: "It is difficult for the police to meet public expectations when they're struggling under the weight of central targets and bureaucracy. The Government must accept the blame for this loss of public confidence."

The report makes a raft of recommendations to combat the problem. These include the abolition of of police authorities and privatisation of some functions carried out by the police. It also suggests the Government's plans for police mergers do not go far enough, arguing that the 43 forces should be merged to 12. Ministers are planning 17.

Jan Berry, chairman of the Police Federation, which represents rank-and-file officers, said: "It is important to remember that police officers often face confrontational or unpleasant situations and therefore the person's interaction with them may not always be perceived as positive. Police officers share the public frustration of a criminal justice system which has numerous bureaucratic processes to overcome to ensure a crime can be successfully investigated and then prosecuted."

The research on crimes which go unreported is based on a new study of figures from 2001. It was carried out by the Policy Exchange The number of unrecorded crimes was compiled from a survey of members of the public. Each was asked if they had been a victim of certain types of crime, if they had reported it, and, if not, why not.

Responding to the report, a Home Office spokesman said: "Clearly, we need to ensure the service is equipped to deal with future challenges. This is why we have established a Serious Organised Crime Agency. We are delivering neighbourhood policing in every community and are creating strategic forces with the capacity to protect people against terrorism extremism and other serious crimes."

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