If I were PM...
Discussion
Have been thinking about this alot lately. It's easy enough to sit on here and moan but if you were PM, what would you actually do to turn the country around? Post a few of your top ideas, followed by an election maybe?
A few of my ideas; They are radical and might not work and you might not agree but there's reasoning behind them and I'm looking for an extreme alternative to the extreme reality that we currently live in.
Edited for V8Mate. Has to be this long to include the reasoning behind my decisions!
A few of my ideas; They are radical and might not work and you might not agree but there's reasoning behind them and I'm looking for an extreme alternative to the extreme reality that we currently live in.
- Personally, I'd invest heavily in Social Services, making it easier to take children into care and ensuring that they get the right care that they need and deserve. The amount of houses you see and hear about with parents whose sole reason for having the kids is so that they can get a free house to live and then subsequently treat that house as one big rubbish bin that hasn't been cleaned since they got it, letting the Staffy/Pitbull s
t all over the place without cleaning it up and leaving their kids to run riot around the house and the street at all hours. But hey, as long as they've got a 50" Plasma TV it's OK, right? These kids need to be taken away from these "parents" and put into proper care. Otherwise they will grow up to be exactly like their parents contributing nothing to society for the rest of their lives.
- Staying on the subject; benefits for children would only be granted for one year and one year only. After that they can continue to recieve support should the Mother get a job. NO free houses. Maybe that will make these people think and realise that they should only have children if they can actually support them.
- Onto scroungers - ensure that every claim for being 'on the sick' is looked at individually and scrutinised on its own merits. Make people work for the dole. Unemployment benefits - why should there be any benefit to being unemployed? I'd only grant the dole to people who have done paid work in the past year for at least 6 months. This allows for people who have genuinely been working but have been made redundant. Also, people on the dole should be made to work for it. They have no sense of purpose at the moment and are sitting around doing nothing. Make these people remove graffiti/chewing gum/litter from public places. Anything to make the country a nicer place to be.
- I'd also build more prisons, big f*** off ones at that. No TV. No Playstation. Nothing. A cell with a bed. Simple as that. Harsher sentences. Cut down on people being given fines - this only fuels the problem when it comes to crimes such as shoplifting. I'd consider releasing propaganda stating that 50% of the country's drugs supply has been poisoned. Carry on if you want to risk it.
- As for immigration, tougher laws I think we all agree need to be imposed. I've no problem with people coming to the country if they can support themselves and contribute to the country. If not, turn round and go home. The colonies seem to have got it right with Visas etc so why should we just allow any Tom, Dick and Harry in to scrounge taxpayers money.
- And lastly, I'd build the world's biggest race track with exclusive access to PHers!
Edited for V8Mate. Has to be this long to include the reasoning behind my decisions!
Edited by phr33k on Tuesday 2nd June 16:05
1. Cut benefits for anyone who can work.
2. Re-assess all those who can't work and (lo and behold!) find out that quite a lot of them can. Put them with the lot from 1.
3. Make prisoners work. Roads, mines, I don't care. Take away anything that's not a basic human right.
4. Cut defence spending. Keep the nukes, and focus the military on providing smaller, mobile task forces suitable for peace-keeping and smaller conflicts.
5. Make it illegal to own a caravan if you do not own somewhere to keep it. New law : illegal encampment = instant removal and destruction (or donation to e.g. the red-cross) of "dwelling".
6. Reduce subsidies for "green" energy that blatantly isn't. First - biofuels.
7. Ban advertising for "no win no fee" "lawyers".
8. Put proper nursing sisters and consultant doctors back in charge of the hospital wards.
9. More will follow. Get that done for now.
ETA
10. Immigrants can and should be good for the UK. Assess them rank them, and bring in the best ones. We need fresh blood. The UK should be a meritocracy. They are on probabtion though, and have ID cards. Maybe data chips too. Any transgressions then they are back out.
Cheers,
FT
2. Re-assess all those who can't work and (lo and behold!) find out that quite a lot of them can. Put them with the lot from 1.
3. Make prisoners work. Roads, mines, I don't care. Take away anything that's not a basic human right.
4. Cut defence spending. Keep the nukes, and focus the military on providing smaller, mobile task forces suitable for peace-keeping and smaller conflicts.
5. Make it illegal to own a caravan if you do not own somewhere to keep it. New law : illegal encampment = instant removal and destruction (or donation to e.g. the red-cross) of "dwelling".
6. Reduce subsidies for "green" energy that blatantly isn't. First - biofuels.
7. Ban advertising for "no win no fee" "lawyers".
8. Put proper nursing sisters and consultant doctors back in charge of the hospital wards.
9. More will follow. Get that done for now.
ETA
10. Immigrants can and should be good for the UK. Assess them rank them, and bring in the best ones. We need fresh blood. The UK should be a meritocracy. They are on probabtion though, and have ID cards. Maybe data chips too. Any transgressions then they are back out.
Cheers,
FT
Edited by Fume troll on Tuesday 2nd June 16:17
Slash spending on government.
Find out WTF the money's gone in the NHS and sort the waiting list crap out.
Get rid of job seekers, pay people that money to fill pot holes, etc. instead.
Change the first past the post system to something more directly democratic.
So many things... it's not hard to find things to fix in this country.
Find out WTF the money's gone in the NHS and sort the waiting list crap out.
Get rid of job seekers, pay people that money to fill pot holes, etc. instead.
Change the first past the post system to something more directly democratic.
So many things... it's not hard to find things to fix in this country.
phr33k said:
I'd invest heavily in Social Services, making it easier to take children into care and ensuring that they get the right care that they need and deserve.
(This is from memory so the details are a little sketchy) - There was a case recently where a child was taken into care because the parents were suspected of abuse and convicted. The child was adopted away. The parents were cleared on appeal. Since adoptions cannot be undone they lost the child and can have no contact until it is 18. The person in charge of the social services department did not seem to be able to understand how horrifying this is and kept on insisting they had done nothing wrong. I can think of little more cruel.I do not want social services to have any more power than they already have. I do want the secrecy removed from the family courts. It is ostensibly to protect children but seems to do more to protect social services from having their mistakes exposed.
I appreciate that social workers are in a "damned if they do, damned if they don't" position but there must be a better way.
If I were PM:
1. Work for benefits; repairing potholes, cleaning streets, painting old people's houses, sorting rubbish etc.
2. Prisons made harder; no playstations, forced to work, shared cells, weekly drug testing.
3. Minimum ten year sentence for possession of a knife/weapon, 20 year sentence if used.
4. Return to traditional education with spelling and grammar taught properly.
5. Pay the Afghan farmers for their opium crop, withdraw troops from Afghanistan.
6. Legalise heroin/cocaine usage and tax their sale.
7. Build nuclear power stations to reduce dependence on gas.
8. Raise motorway speed limit to 85 and derestrict where appropriate.
9. Reduce the number of MPs to 500.
10. Pay rise for PM to £1,000,000 per year plus choice of three cars to keep forever.
1. Work for benefits; repairing potholes, cleaning streets, painting old people's houses, sorting rubbish etc.
2. Prisons made harder; no playstations, forced to work, shared cells, weekly drug testing.
3. Minimum ten year sentence for possession of a knife/weapon, 20 year sentence if used.
4. Return to traditional education with spelling and grammar taught properly.
5. Pay the Afghan farmers for their opium crop, withdraw troops from Afghanistan.
6. Legalise heroin/cocaine usage and tax their sale.
7. Build nuclear power stations to reduce dependence on gas.
8. Raise motorway speed limit to 85 and derestrict where appropriate.
9. Reduce the number of MPs to 500.
10. Pay rise for PM to £1,000,000 per year plus choice of three cars to keep forever.
Mr POD said:
phr33k said:
Right wing 'fascist' oppinions
EFA. Edited by phr33k on Tuesday 2nd June 16:05
You are very blinkered me thinks
Onomatopoeia said:
phr33k said:
phr33k said:
I'd invest heavily in Social Services, making it easier to take children into care and ensuring that they get the right care that they need and deserve.
(This is from memory so the details are a little sketchy) - There was a case recently where a child was taken into care because the parents were suspected of abuse and convicted. The child was adopted away. The parents were cleared on appeal. Since adoptions cannot be undone they lost the child and can have no contact until it is 18. The person in charge of the social services department did not seem to be able to understand how horrifying this is and kept on insisting they had done nothing wrong. I can think of little more cruel.
I do not want social services to have any more power than they already have. I do want the secrecy removed from the family courts. It is ostensibly to protect children but seems to do more to protect social services from having their mistakes exposed.
I appreciate that social workers are in a "damned if they do, damned if they don't" position but there must be a better way.
I appreciate what you're saying which is why I believe that it is necessary to invest heavily ie. ensure that these people are correctly trained. Surely to get to the stage of having their kids taken off them they must have been doing something wrong?I'd invest heavily in Social Services, making it easier to take children into care and ensuring that they get the right care that they need and deserve.
(This is from memory so the details are a little sketchy) - There was a case recently where a child was taken into care because the parents were suspected of abuse and convicted. The child was adopted away. The parents were cleared on appeal. Since adoptions cannot be undone they lost the child and can have no contact until it is 18. The person in charge of the social services department did not seem to be able to understand how horrifying this is and kept on insisting they had done nothing wrong. I can think of little more cruel.
I do not want social services to have any more power than they already have. I do want the secrecy removed from the family courts. It is ostensibly to protect children but seems to do more to protect social services from having their mistakes exposed.
I appreciate that social workers are in a "damned if they do, damned if they don't" position but there must be a better way.
I agree with peoples' comments regarding speed limits - something I'd forgotten about. Agree with the derestriction on Motorways between midnight and approx. 5.30am. Speed cameras abolished in the most part other than through villages, outside schools etc.
Remove the welfare state.
Remove all funding to education authorities. A parent gets a voucher for each child which can be spent at the school of their choice. If they wish they can add their own money to the voucher to purchase more expensive education. Competition between schools for pupils/cash would drive up standards.
Remove all funding to education authorities. A parent gets a voucher for each child which can be spent at the school of their choice. If they wish they can add their own money to the voucher to purchase more expensive education. Competition between schools for pupils/cash would drive up standards.
Get rid of the silly laws like NSL, Drink Driving, owning a firearm, etc.
Make the serious laws carry enormous penalties.
Case:-
Drive back from the pub pissed at 2am in the countryside and stuff the car into the hedge. Policeman gives a ticking off.
Drive back from the pub at 2am in the countryside pissed and injure someone. 12 years inside.
People have to be made responsible again. That way it encourages them to actually be proactive in their choices and not a bunch of reactions to nanny state.
Same with a knife. Carry as big a blade as you want in suitable circumstances.
Take one out in town with you. 5 years in prison/hard labour/awfulness (delete as appropriate).
If you ask me, these silly laws are merely fuel for legal wranglings and wasting police time. People need to realise that if they CHOOSE (as they had the choice) to take a risk, these are the penalties.
There are literally thousands of examples. Get petty offenders out of prison, get the serious ones in there. Also make it a proper deterrant by being a horrid place.
Make the serious laws carry enormous penalties.
Case:-
Drive back from the pub pissed at 2am in the countryside and stuff the car into the hedge. Policeman gives a ticking off.
Drive back from the pub at 2am in the countryside pissed and injure someone. 12 years inside.
People have to be made responsible again. That way it encourages them to actually be proactive in their choices and not a bunch of reactions to nanny state.
Same with a knife. Carry as big a blade as you want in suitable circumstances.
Take one out in town with you. 5 years in prison/hard labour/awfulness (delete as appropriate).
If you ask me, these silly laws are merely fuel for legal wranglings and wasting police time. People need to realise that if they CHOOSE (as they had the choice) to take a risk, these are the penalties.
There are literally thousands of examples. Get petty offenders out of prison, get the serious ones in there. Also make it a proper deterrant by being a horrid place.
Well well well, the cornish mini driver is back!
Being serious for a minute (not really my style) - if I was PM then the first couple of things I'd do would be to de-politicise the civil service and the BBC. Not sure how I'd achieve this of course, as the rot has set in from 'Nu Labour' in a big way, and the BBC especially won't give up their kingmaker powers willingly, but one of the reasons why politics is so fecked in this country is down to the political manipulation of the press (and the BBC in particular) and the packing of the civil service with partisan job-for-life employees.
It's difficult to have any transparency, and thus the general population are unlikely to maintain any trust in the government, when all news is 'spun' by unelected media quasi-government officials. People like Mandelson should never have been able to get in the positions they have, and the old-fashioned concept of the civil service was a good one, now sadly ruined by years of politicisation.
Let's face it, regardless of the people here spouting what they think are sound policies (whether they're sound or not!
) - it all means little if the hoi polloi (yeah, I know the 'hoi' is greek for 'the' and I've got a double 'the' there...) continue their disenfranchisement and complete distrust of politicians. Policies are ignored as the expectation is that the manifesto will be broken. Before there's going to be any change in this country, the people are going to have to trust the elected officials again. That means clear, accountable elections (WTF was the last one about - I couldn't see how Labour won given the regional chart, presumably a 'technicality' or some other opaque mechanism), accountable MPs, and an independent civil service (to encourage continuity when governments change), and an independent media (to hold *all* politicians to their word, regardless of party - and above all not to spin news according to government diktat).
However, as with all 'real' solutions to political problems, this is MUCH easier said than done. Other than the election rules clarification (which would obviously come up against huge opposition from Labour since their support is most certainly not representative of the country as a whole...), the de-politicisation of the civil service, the dissolution of quangos, and making the BBC politically independent again sound like impossible tasks... Sad isn't it
Being serious for a minute (not really my style) - if I was PM then the first couple of things I'd do would be to de-politicise the civil service and the BBC. Not sure how I'd achieve this of course, as the rot has set in from 'Nu Labour' in a big way, and the BBC especially won't give up their kingmaker powers willingly, but one of the reasons why politics is so fecked in this country is down to the political manipulation of the press (and the BBC in particular) and the packing of the civil service with partisan job-for-life employees.
It's difficult to have any transparency, and thus the general population are unlikely to maintain any trust in the government, when all news is 'spun' by unelected media quasi-government officials. People like Mandelson should never have been able to get in the positions they have, and the old-fashioned concept of the civil service was a good one, now sadly ruined by years of politicisation.
Let's face it, regardless of the people here spouting what they think are sound policies (whether they're sound or not!
) - it all means little if the hoi polloi (yeah, I know the 'hoi' is greek for 'the' and I've got a double 'the' there...) continue their disenfranchisement and complete distrust of politicians. Policies are ignored as the expectation is that the manifesto will be broken. Before there's going to be any change in this country, the people are going to have to trust the elected officials again. That means clear, accountable elections (WTF was the last one about - I couldn't see how Labour won given the regional chart, presumably a 'technicality' or some other opaque mechanism), accountable MPs, and an independent civil service (to encourage continuity when governments change), and an independent media (to hold *all* politicians to their word, regardless of party - and above all not to spin news according to government diktat).However, as with all 'real' solutions to political problems, this is MUCH easier said than done. Other than the election rules clarification (which would obviously come up against huge opposition from Labour since their support is most certainly not representative of the country as a whole...), the de-politicisation of the civil service, the dissolution of quangos, and making the BBC politically independent again sound like impossible tasks... Sad isn't it
Gassing Station | News, Politics & Economics | Top of Page | What's New | My Stuff