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.

June 16 , 2006 (1133 days since war ended)

Death Toll: 2500 US - 113 UK - >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 The Chancellor's single greatest act of vandalism in almost nine years in office has been his wanton destruction of Britain's private retirement industry. By slapping a massive tax on pension funds, now worth £7.3billion a year, he has helped to turn the best private retirement industry in Europe into a basket-case in perpetual crisis. Together with the adoption of European accounting rules - which make it much riskier to operate a company pension scheme - hundreds of firms have shut their final salary plans to new employees and slashed benefits to existing staff. From Allister Heath: "I've seen the future and its grey" in THE SPECTATOR - April 15, 2006 Nine years ago the British people were sold a fantasy of clean and competent government of principle and honesty. Its shiny wrappings stripped away, the product now reveals its true nature: Personal greed, arrogance, incompetence, shamelessness, rash warmongering and an inability to accept - as is clear to almost everyone else - that it is time to go. Editorial - The Mail on Sunday, May 28, 2006

STOP PRESS

1,000 wrongly set free likely to stay

By Tim Shipman - Political Correspondent - Daily Mail, June 16, 2006

More than 1,000 foreign prisoners who were wrongly set free in Britain may never be deported, immigration service officials have warned. Only 255 of the convicts have been traced since details of the scandal came to light, according to internal figures, which the Home Office has refused to make public.

But at a meeting of the Immigration and Nationality Directorate in Liverpool, senior officials expressed fears that they may never manage to deport the vast majority of the prisoners - even if they are caught.

Lin Homer, director general of the IND, admitted last week that more than 200 foreign convicts out of the 1,019 who were set free have already been told they will not be sent home. Only 778 have been listed for deportation. But most of those are now appealing against deportation, claiming asylum in Britain, or cannot be returned because their home countries are too dangerous and attempts to deport them are likely to fall foul of human rights legislation.

One senior immigration official told the meeting: "It looks unlikely any will ever be deported. If any do go, it will be a handful." The official added: "If the Press ask how many have been found and deported, we will have a huge amount of egg on our faces."

The Home Office insisted it would fight to deport the majority of foreign prisoners. But a Whitehall official said: "Some of these cases could take years because of the lengthy appeals process. They can appeal against deportation. If they lose that, they can then claim asylum. Some of them cannot be deported to countries because the UK does not have a memorandum of understanding with those countries to prevent them being tortured if we send them back."

The claims are a new blow to Home Secretary John Reid, whose five-week tenure has been beset by one blunder after another over the foreign prisoners issue. It also undermines Tony Blair's claims that the foreign prisoners would be tracked down and deported.

Tory immigration spokesman Damian Green said: "When John Reid took this job we warned him that he should ditch the bluster and concentrate on doing the job. He has patently ignored that advice and is now being found out. Mr Reid needs to realise that the Home Office is one of the toughest departments in Government. It's actions directly affect the safety and well being of every citizen in this country. It needs care and attention to detail, not bold promises that meet the next day's headlines but do not deliver results."

The Home Office refused to say how many of the 1,019 foreign prisoners have been caught. A spokesman said: "The director general of the Immigration and Nationality Directorate has told the Home Affairs Select Committee that she will supply them with the correct figures before the end of June. The Home Secretary has made clear these matters will be pursued vigorously and robustly through the courts and the appeals process."

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