Social
I fully support the call for a referendum on the EU constitution.
We should not sign up to any form of an EU constitution ( nor have one forced upon us ) or be subject to EU law. We should trade with, interact with, and co-operate with Europe and the rest of the world, I am in favour of a common market. (As a common market, not a political union which has powers to enact laws).
I think that we are too close to America in our dealings with the world
Other nations put their own interests first and Britain should do the same whilst still showing compassion to others.
We need to improve our police force and increase the number of front line officers, over the last 25 years the quality of our police force has gone down, that is not to suggest that there are no quality officers left, just that they are harder to find.
We need to reverse the trend of recent years whereby the law seems all to often to favour the criminal. We should build more prisons if that is what is needed. We must remove people from prison who are ill and whose offence is in fact a symptom of their illness, a secure hospital with an agreed treatment process that is monitored and reviewed regularly for effectiveness is a more suitable approach, with release upon recovery.
We must always help anyone who is running from danger.
I enjoy the diverse nature of modern Britain but we cannot take everyone. We need a points system to decide whom to allow in much like the Americans, Canadians and Australians use? We do need to allow a level of immigration. Don't forget that a very large number of British people go and live in other countries.
Understanding and interaction has never benefited from isolation and ignorance.
Sharia law in the UK ? NO We have a system of laws in this country and those are the ones that are to be obeyed. I am not suggesting that people should not be allowed to settle here but if they do they must obey our laws or leave.
We should look at the way in which we care ( or often fail to care ) for the older generation. The system of extended family as practiced in many other countries has real benefits, it is not good enough to just sideline people into a home. We should value our old folks far more highly than we do.
I fully support the move to make able people who park in the special disabled persons parking bays at supermarkets pay a charge for their thoughtless behaviour.
I am fed up of being ripped off by sales assistants who lie, guild the lily, make mistakes or whatever else you want to call it, it should be law that a copy of the handbook should be available with the equipment on display and that any salespersons "mistakes" should be enough to require a full refund.
It is vital that people are provided with the tools to build their own futures rather than looking to the state to provide, this does not mean calling people in need "Clients" and "Customers" rather than "People in need" and "Claimants" It means provision of a solid and high quality education, It means making sure that there are high quality jobs for people to do, It means putting in place dependable structures. "It's your choice" and "That's your fault based upon the choices you made" must no longer actually mean lack of state structure. Nobody chooses to be ill, nobody chooses a poor level of education, not many people choose to have no future.
We appear to have far too many incompetent people in charge of our lives.
I am not suggesting that all unemployed people do not want to work but we need to revisit the benefits paid to people who choose not to work. Before benefit is withdrawn the claimant should be offered 3 practical, viable and relevant job opportunities based upon their abilities and education (no I do not mean 3 rubbish jobs dictated by a benefits clerk) the choice should be working or high quality training (no more rubbish schemes just to massage the figures, we all have a right to dignity and a full place in society provided by a sense of self reliance).
I am not convinced about the arguments put forward for ID cards and therefore would wish to see this expensive idea scrapped.
I would like to see the drinking laws re evaluated, anytime, anyplace, anywhere is not working.
Whilst it is easy to point to the failings of our young people, it often seems to be forgotten that they are the product of the previous generation and therefore parents carry a great weight of responsibility for the actions of the young, in fact we all do! Fractures and failings within our society are seen right across the social spectrum regardless of age range.
I do not believe that the education that our children receive is adequate. I am not sure that our teachers are all competent.
Inclusion legislation is failing to deliver the results that disabled people have a right to expect, The "Are you disabled question" should not be a front line filter.
The development of 24 hour opening and 7 days a week trading is a mistake, We are destroying family life and social cohesion by using, night shifts, revolving shifts, split shifts, 0 hours contracts, casual staff, part time staff, temporary staff, short contracts, employment agencies, contracting out and off shoring.
I am keen to see our manufacturing base expanded so that we produce much more of the things that we need (we could even start to sell things to other nations), this would provide jobs for the 5 million unemployed (this would allow people to re-establish pride in their ability to provide for themselves, and raise tax revenue) and reduce the massive amount of carbon gas produced by moving goods round the world.
We must invest more in science and product development.
I would like to see junk mail and unsolicited commercial phone calls banned, opting out does not work (I have tried), therefore opting in (confirmed annually by letter ( NOT BY TICK BOX )) may be the answer.
I am a keen recycler ( re-using is even better ), recycling must be easy, available and standardised across the whole country so that people understand what is required. I am also in favour of (end of life return to supplier) recycle schemes, i.e. take your cans and packets back to the supermarket, your car back to the supplier, your TV back to the retailer. A return to supplier chain right back to the manufacturer who would have a duty to deconstruct and recycle. would dramatically and quickly reduce the amount of waste produced.
And now I would like to turn my attention to charities ! More often than not these days 'charities' look and behave like companies that are just set up to leach off the cause they purport to help, they have expensive offices and staff on fantastic salaries ( unless of course you are below the level of manager in which case it is your duty to give your time for free whilst being ordered about ). It is repugnant that so much is creamed off before the actual cause sees any benefit at all. People handing over sponsorship cash after expenses have been removed really annoy me, if you want to go on a foreign all expenses paid cycling holiday don't ask me to pay for it and call it charity fund raising !!!!!!!!!
Charity chuggers should be held guilty of a criminal offence.
I do think that if you move to a place where there is a church with bells, or a hall that is used for parties, or an airport with aeroplanes that it should not be possible for you to complain about the normal operation and tradition of such locations, nor have anyway of impeding, or disrupting the normal working of such a pre-existing facility. If you don't like it you should not have moved to the area.
I think that the way in which human rights law is abused to give rise to perverse decisions needs to be addressed.