I haven't been inspired during the election campaign. I care about the outcome, mainly because the idea of another five years of Gordon Brown fills me with nothing short of despair. But no one has grabbed me and instilled enthusiasm in me.
If there was a Libertarian Party candidate in my area, I'd vote for them. I do think they're a bit wacky, and I haven't quite reconciled myself to the abolition of gun control or even the decriminisalisation of all drugs. But I believe the country needs a wholesale reversal of the assualt on liberty that 13 years of scoailism has inflicted upon us. And until now, I haven't seen anyone else who really "gets it". Until now, perhaps ?
But this story did get hold of me. Any party which launches an attack on the "Big Brother State" will do for me. I simply love the idea of a "Great Repeal Bill", in which the worst excesses of ZaNu Labour's nanny, intrusive, "thou shalt not", DNA-retaining, free-speech hating, ever-spying Stasi are rolled back in one go. No ID cards, no HIPs, more limited power of entry of the State into your house. What a truly fantastic thing. If it happens.
Cameron has, at times, touched on civil liberties and just suggested, from time-to-time, that he hates what Labour have done in government and is genuinley concerned by the extenstions in State power at the expense of the individual. But never, as far as I'm aware, has he articulated something as concrete as a single Act of Parliament as a means of starting the fightback.
The best thing about this is that it really should survive a hung parliament. The Liberals, if they are as good as their word (yeah, OK, point taken) really should back it to the hilt. It ought to be the easiest single bill for Cameron to push through. And that being the case, Dave shouldn't stop at HIPs and ID cards. He should carry on, and deal too with imprisonment without trial, restrictions on free speech, the outrageous smoking bans, the rise of the Food Police, the need to carry out CRB checks on all and sundry, child curfews, the increased likelihood of arrest if you take a photograph in the street, the right to run round town in one's underpants, the exponential rise in the number of CCTV cameras, attacks on peple trying to practice Christianity, right through to the practice of teachers to impound our children's Mars Bars.
That should be enough for him to be going on with.
Looking Forward To A Labour Conference
16 years ago
3 comments:
I agree. It really hasnt been an inspirational campaign. From my point of view this is primarily because although he's a Conservative Cameron really isnt conservative at all. He's some sort of social democrate sheep in a Conservative wolf's clothing.
It's a shame that Cameron doesnt give some credit for the undoubted influence of Hannan and Carswell's "The Plan" on his thinking. As you say he hasnt previously "articulated anything as concrete as an Act of Parliament", however this is a key step in "The Plan" and one that Douglas Carswell has been crowd sourcing for some time on his blog to produce the wording of such a Bill. Hopefully Cameron will take advantage of the work that has been done to ensure this bill goes through its Parliamentary stage as quickly as possible.
The big difference between the Cameron and "Plan" versions will be the complete lack of any attempt to apply some restraint on the EU's imperialist ambitions in the Cameron bill. Another example of Cameron's non-conservatism.
Re Cameron and the EU - I wonder if his reluctant to restate his opposition to the EU is part of a strategy.
I mean, If one intends to kill a turkey for Christmas Dinner, you wouldn't tell the turkeys well ahead of time would you? Some turkeys can get very nasty!!!
And I never heard of a turkey voting for Christmas :)
Talking of Gun Control, Stossel is very good on it, really blew away my fuggy misconceptions and vague fear of gun ownership I had hungover from public schooling.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qyoLuTjguJA
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