Re-post: My political manifesto - June 05
From Friday, June 10, 2005
It's been suggested, after several interesting political conversations along the lines of "But how can things be solved?" that I blog my political manifesto, so here it is. These thoughts and comments are all elsewhere in this blog as well (I think) but not all together under the same title until now.
If I was PM (which I never would be, because I wouldn't want the job even if it wanted me, which is highly questionable) I would try to implement the following changes to the law and the economy:
1. Immediately scrap compulsory education. There will no longer be any legal requirement for children to attend school at all, ever, if they prefer not to. It will be assumed that appropriate learning will take place without legislation or checks being necessary, due to our species' instinctive and unstoppable need to learn all the time anyway. Schools would become completely independent, self-governing and voluntary.
2. Hugely scale down the NHS. Medical care to be community-based for the most part, with people being cared for in their homes wherever possible. Hospitals and medical personnel to become completely independent and self-governing.
3. Scale back spending on defence. Withdraw our troops from other countries and work on the basis that if we're threatened with unwarranted invasion then of course people will fight for their property.
4. Reduce the Civil Service infrastructure by about 90%, leaving a skeleton staff who will have much less work to do due to the measures outlined above. There will no longer be any Food Hygiene Inspectors, Traffic Wardens, Smoking Cessation Officers, nor any other time-wasting, interfering paper-shuffling positions paid for out of the public purse.
5. All tax payments to be voluntary. If my government is not sufficiently popular, people should have the right to refuse to fund it. Similarly, there is to be full transparency. Every meeting, decision and discussion to be posted on the Internet, with comments invited from any member of the public.
6. 90% of property currently owned by the Crown, the National Trust and the Churches to be confiscated, divided up and given as half-acre plots to anyone who wants one, on a one-per-family, first-come first-served basis. Families need more space and freedom and I think a lot of our problems are caused by too many people living on too little land. People should have the option to design and build their own houses (without planning constraints) and be self-sufficient if they want to be. 70% of working women would rather be at home with their families - now they can be.
7. My Government will use the remaining public money to erect wind turbines and solar power stations on as many street-corners as possible, these to be run and maintained voluntarily by local residents. It's not rocket science.
8. By the end of our first term in office, my Government will endeavour to have effected at least a 90% reduction of laws currently on Statute, working towards 100%. We are confident that if people are trusted to behave well, they eventually will.
posted by Gill at 9:24 AM 11 comments
It's been suggested, after several interesting political conversations along the lines of "But how can things be solved?" that I blog my political manifesto, so here it is. These thoughts and comments are all elsewhere in this blog as well (I think) but not all together under the same title until now.
If I was PM (which I never would be, because I wouldn't want the job even if it wanted me, which is highly questionable) I would try to implement the following changes to the law and the economy:
1. Immediately scrap compulsory education. There will no longer be any legal requirement for children to attend school at all, ever, if they prefer not to. It will be assumed that appropriate learning will take place without legislation or checks being necessary, due to our species' instinctive and unstoppable need to learn all the time anyway. Schools would become completely independent, self-governing and voluntary.
2. Hugely scale down the NHS. Medical care to be community-based for the most part, with people being cared for in their homes wherever possible. Hospitals and medical personnel to become completely independent and self-governing.
3. Scale back spending on defence. Withdraw our troops from other countries and work on the basis that if we're threatened with unwarranted invasion then of course people will fight for their property.
4. Reduce the Civil Service infrastructure by about 90%, leaving a skeleton staff who will have much less work to do due to the measures outlined above. There will no longer be any Food Hygiene Inspectors, Traffic Wardens, Smoking Cessation Officers, nor any other time-wasting, interfering paper-shuffling positions paid for out of the public purse.
5. All tax payments to be voluntary. If my government is not sufficiently popular, people should have the right to refuse to fund it. Similarly, there is to be full transparency. Every meeting, decision and discussion to be posted on the Internet, with comments invited from any member of the public.
6. 90% of property currently owned by the Crown, the National Trust and the Churches to be confiscated, divided up and given as half-acre plots to anyone who wants one, on a one-per-family, first-come first-served basis. Families need more space and freedom and I think a lot of our problems are caused by too many people living on too little land. People should have the option to design and build their own houses (without planning constraints) and be self-sufficient if they want to be. 70% of working women would rather be at home with their families - now they can be.
7. My Government will use the remaining public money to erect wind turbines and solar power stations on as many street-corners as possible, these to be run and maintained voluntarily by local residents. It's not rocket science.
8. By the end of our first term in office, my Government will endeavour to have effected at least a 90% reduction of laws currently on Statute, working towards 100%. We are confident that if people are trusted to behave well, they eventually will.
posted by Gill at 9:24 AM 11 comments
posted by Gill at 9:09 am
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