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.
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December
28, 2005 (959 days since Iraq war ended)
Death Toll: 2,172 US - 98UK - >>30,000?
Iraqi - 25 media
Janyary
16, 2006 (978 days since Iraq war ended)
Death Toll: 2,219 US - 98UK - >>30,000?
Iraqi - 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
nternational 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 |
3,300
rise in staff who run Scotland's quangos
HAMISH
MACDONELL SCOTTISH POLITICAL EDITOR - The
Scotsman Sat 14 Jan 2006
The
number of staff employed by the public sector in Scotland has
increased by 7,000 in the last year and now stands at 487,000.
While
there are now 2,300 fewer civil servants in Scotland than there
were last year, there are 1,600 more people working for quangos.
Rather
than the "bonfire of the quangos" - first pledged by
Labour in 1995 and repeated by Henry McLeish, then first minister,
in 2001 - there are now 11,400 Scots working for quangos: an increase
of 3,300 or 40 per cent since 1999. In
the last year, the number of quango employees in Scotland has
increased by 16 per cent, a rise of 1,600.
While
the number of civil servants has actually fallen by 2 per cent
in the last 12 months, this is almost cancelled out by the rise
in the number employed by quangos.
Quangos
are organisations such as the Scottish Social Services Council,
the Crofters' Commission or the Scottish Arts Council, bodies
which are kept at "arm's length" from the government
but are staffed by state employees and are created and monitored
by the Executive.
Over
the same six-year period, the number of Scots in the armed forces
has gone down by 2,100 (14 per cent) while numbers in the fire
service have only risen by 1.5 per cent.
The
country's reliance on the public sector for employment is shown
by the fact that more than 23 per cent of employed Scots now work
for the state. Tom McCabe, the public services minister, applauded
the figures, claiming they showed the Executive's success in recruiting
more frontline teachers, nurses and police officers. But
analysis of statistics showed that while there has been a 5 per
cent increase in the number of teachers in Scotland since 1999,
there has been a 46 per cent rise in the number of "other
educational staff", including classroom assistants and administrators.
The
statistics also appear to call into question the Executive's high-profile
commitment to make efficiency savings in the civil service - saving
money in administration to fund investment in frontline services.
There are about 150 quangos in Scotland and, despite repeated
pledges by the Scottish Executive to light a "bonfire of
the quangos", this figure shows no sign of coming down.
Many
of these bodies are advisory and do not employ any staff; but
there are about 30 main Executive quangos and these are the ones
with the big staff numbers, and also the ones which have grown
over the past six years. A spokeswoman for the Scottish Executive
insisted that the efficiency savings were working and they were
"not just about reducing numbers".
She
said: "In terms of efficient government, the main objective
is to make sure things are more efficient and effective; it's
not just driven by cuts." And
defending the growth in quangos, she said: "NDPBs do have
a valuable function which is crucial to the Executive's priorities."
The
spokeswoman stressed that a number of quangos had been created
since 1999 out of other organisations and this had affected the
figures. Careers Scotland, she said, was now doing work previously
done by local authorities while VisitScotland had assumed the
role of the old area tourist boards.
Mr
McCabe was more bullish, insisting the figures represented good
news for Scotland. He said: "The rise in the number of teachers,
police and health service staff over the last few years is evidence
that our investment, coupled with a strong economy, is making
a real difference.
"Overall
employment in Scotland - both private and public sector - is at
an all time high and we have an economy that is stronger and more
stable than it has been for generations," Mr McCabe added.
But
this assessment of the situation was disputed by the opposition.
Murdo Fraser, the deputy leader of the Scottish Conservatives,
described the figures as "appalling" and warned that
the Executive's obsession with the public sector was "ruining
Scotland".
He
said: "The biggest growth industry in Scotland is in government.
No-one
minds more police-men, teachers and nurses, but too many of these
[other] jobs are non-productive. How is it that we have had a
12 per cent increase in Scottish government staff since 1999 and
a 40 per cent rise in the number of full-time staff employed by
quangos? The reason is that the Labour/Lib Dem Executive wants
to centralise, regulate and control every aspect of our lives."
And
he added: "Over 50 per cent of GDP is now spent by the state.
The Executive keeps on telling us that economic growth is its
top priority, but what it fails to understand is that the staggering
growth in the public sector over which it has presided is stifling
the ability of private business to generate wealth."
John
Swinney, for the SNP, said: "The Scottish Executive is growing
bigger and bigger by the day. "This is blatant hypocrisy,
considering the Executive is forcing local authorities to make
efficiencies but is not making the same level of efficiency itself.
In some cases, local authorities are making ten times the efficiencies
of government departments. This is completely unfair and clearly
shows the Executive is feather-bedding its own departments while
punishing local authorities."
The
Executive did find allies for its approach yesterday. Unison,
the public service union, and the Educational Institute of Scotland,
the biggest teaching union, rallied to give Mr McCabe support.
Dave Watson, for Unison, defended public sector employment, stating:
"The public sector provides the transport, education, training,
health and housing that enable private industry to continue."
A
spokesman for the EIS also backed the Executive, despite the huge
rise in educational support staff and the much more modest increase
in teacher numbers. He said: "The Executive is already committed
to growing teacher numbers in line with workforce planning and
we welcome the rise in the number of classroom assistants."
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