Red swiggle ? Red Square more like...
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Of all the many facets of the State’s creeping expansion into the everyday lives of ordinary people, one of the most insidious is the way in which councils treat people who want to foster or adopt children.
Hot on the heels of the story that Dundee City Council have banned two couples who smoke from fostering children comes another tale of totalitarianism, this time from east London.
Newham Council have denied a couple the right to adopt a baby girl because, on just one occasion, the father smacked another child for swearing. This decision comes in spite of the fact that:
..the couple have been raising the half-brother of this baby for the last five years;
..the father openly admitted the smacking incident;
..the Council have already had their decision overturned once a by a High Court judge.
What these stories demonstrate is a desire on the part of councils effectively to outlaw completely lawful and legitimate behaviour amongst people whose destiny they have control over. You wouldn’t bet on it staying this way (especially if ZaNuLabour remain in power after the next election) but right now it is perfectly legal to smoke in a house where children live, and to administer reasonable chastisement on children who misbehave. Doubtless the Stalinist administrations in Newham and Dundee wish it were not so, and rather than wait for the Politburo in Downing Street to catch up, they decide to impose tyranny via the back door.
The Newham couple are going back to court to challenge their council’s decision. I wish them luck. But sadly this will not be the last time we hear of councils waging war on foster carers and adopters who refuse to surrender what little freedom they have left in bringing up children as they see fit.
Hot on the heels of the story that Dundee City Council have banned two couples who smoke from fostering children comes another tale of totalitarianism, this time from east London.
Newham Council have denied a couple the right to adopt a baby girl because, on just one occasion, the father smacked another child for swearing. This decision comes in spite of the fact that:
..the couple have been raising the half-brother of this baby for the last five years;
..the father openly admitted the smacking incident;
..the Council have already had their decision overturned once a by a High Court judge.
What these stories demonstrate is a desire on the part of councils effectively to outlaw completely lawful and legitimate behaviour amongst people whose destiny they have control over. You wouldn’t bet on it staying this way (especially if ZaNuLabour remain in power after the next election) but right now it is perfectly legal to smoke in a house where children live, and to administer reasonable chastisement on children who misbehave. Doubtless the Stalinist administrations in Newham and Dundee wish it were not so, and rather than wait for the Politburo in Downing Street to catch up, they decide to impose tyranny via the back door.
The Newham couple are going back to court to challenge their council’s decision. I wish them luck. But sadly this will not be the last time we hear of councils waging war on foster carers and adopters who refuse to surrender what little freedom they have left in bringing up children as they see fit.
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