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
October
25, 2005 (909 days since war ended)
Death Toll: 2,001 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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December
1, 2005 (946 days since Iraq war ended)
Death Toll: 2,114 US - 98UK - >>6,164?
Iraqi - >>17,300? civilians - 25 media
SECRET
AMNESTY ON IMMIGRATION - Home Office memo orders
staff to turn blind eye to illegal immigrants By
Stephen Wright, Chief Crime Correspondent, Daily Mail, December
5, 2005
Immigration
officers have been ordered not to detain any suspected illegal
entrants they find. A secret memo told them space in detention
centres is needed for failed asylum seekers on their way to be
deported. Officers have been told to concentrate on rounding up
and sending home people whose asylum claims have been rejected.
The
confidential instruction, seen by the Daily Mail, comes as Ministers
face embarrassment over the growing backlog of failed asylum seekers.
Tony Blair promised to reduce it by the end of the year, but Immigration
Minister Tony McNulty admitted last month that the pledge would
not be met until February at the earliest.
Angry
immigration officers say they have been told to turn blind eye
to new immigrants arriving in the back of lorries or on ferries
and Eurostar trains. They say it is inconceivable such an edict
would have been issued without Government approval. In some cases,
they say, officers have felt under pressure to encourage immigrants
to disappear even while they are queueing to claim asylum. That
way they will not add to the ranks of those who fail to meet the
criteria for being allowed to stay.
When
a group of officers protested to their bosses, they were bluntly
told by a high-ranking official: "I pay your wages. Do as
you are told."
Fiddled
Figures Comment - Daily Mail, December
5, 2005
Even
by the sorry standards of Britain's current asylum and
immigration policy, this takes some beating. Tony Blair's
target of reducing the backlog of failed asylum seekers
by the end of the year won't be met.
The
Immigration Service's answer? Stop detaining illegal immigrants,
concentrate on deporting failed applicants. That way,
the backlog starts to diminish even if the number of new
applicants starts to rise.
The
edict, contained in a leaked memo obtained by the Mail,
displays breathtaking cynicism and has rightly appalled
immigration officers who claim this is simply fiddling
the figures. Nothing new there.
This
Government's abject handling of immigration and asylum
has been characterised by a cavalier approach to the truth
and a string of shattered promises. The depressing fact
is that even if Mr Blair's target had been met, it would
still take 20 years to clear the existing backlog of failed
asylum seekers. That's a figure that even this Government
will find it hard to fiddle.
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Figures
released last month showed 285,000 failed asylum seekers awaiting
deportation. But the number of asylum applications has also begun
to rise for the first time since 2002. Shadow Home Secretary David
Davis, said the memo showed Government was trying to fiddle the
figures. He said: "This is yet another stage in serial failure
of this Government's immigration policy. Instead of addressing
a very serious problem, they have chosen to ignore it by simply
fiddling the figures. We know there are over 250,000 failed asylum
seekers and over 500,000 illegal immigrants in this country -
how much higher would real figures be if the Government did its
job apprehending illegal immigrants as the law requires."
Sir
Andrew Green, chairman of Migrationwatch UK, said: "This
is clear evidence the government is yet again cooking the books
on the asylum issue. No wonder they are so thoroughly distrusted.
Successive polls have shown that between 75% and 80% of the public
do not agree that government is open and honest abut the scale
of immigration."
The
extraordinary initiative was revealed in leaked e-mail from Yvonne
Evans, senior Immigration Service official based in London. It
distinguishes between failed asylum seekers - FAS - and non-FAS.
The latter term refers to illegal immigrants not previously known
to the authorities, either people caught entering the country
or those who turn up to claim asylum having sneaked in.
The
November 10 memo told staff: "We are still exceeding our
allocation of ring-fenced beds and this is likely to mean the
lack of detention space for FAS. As a short-term solution I suggested
to the TCG (Tactical Coordination Group) yesterday that for the
rest of the month we should not detain any more non-FAS. This
was agreed and received the support of Jackie Luetchford (her
boss, deputy director of the Immigration Service in London). We
will review this decision at the next TCG."
The
e-mail was sent to investigators in the London area - but it is
understood similar ones have gone to staff in other regions. The
new policy was discussed at a highly-charged meeting of up to
150 immigration and police officers last week. After investigators
expressed concerns, Dave Roberts - head of Enforcement and Removals
in the Immigration Service - said: "I pay your wages. Do
as you are told."
Furious
immigration Officers said the order was an attempt to 'cook the
books' for the Government. One said: "We're effectively being
told to turn a blind eye when we come across new illegal immigrants.
There is a lot of unease about this policy. It is being done for
political reasons to help the Prime Minister." Immigration
sources said the order would have come down from the highest levels
of Government. Miss Evans would have had the blessing of a chain
of command extending all the way to Mr and Home Secretary Charles
Clarke."McNulty
The
Home Office said: "We do not comment on leaked documents.
Decisions as to whether any person will or will not be detained
are made on a case by case basis."
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