Cameron Referendum Banner

Cameron Referendum Banner

Saturday, 25 January 2014

A Dummy Draft Manifesto For Discussion:

Below are forty possible manifesto promises that might form part of a Patriot's Charter if you will, in the unlikely event that the author was ever likely to be asked to have a go at writing a political parties list of future promises or aspirations. I'd be interested to know what people think about the proposed policies. Are they absurd, Unrealistic, too fantastic to contemplate? Or are they in fact something that people would consider voting for? 
 
1. Re-establish and reassert Britain's independence on international bodies, including the G8, G20, IMF, WTO, UN, Nato, World Bank and the Commonwealth
 
2. Restore the sovereignty and primacy of our national Parliament and our Law Courts
 
3. Undertake a massive reorganisation of the UK's Tax System, to bring simplicity back
 
4. Undertake a rational and medium to long term reduction of both the deficit and the national debt
 
5. Undertake a reduction in and simplification of the nation's Public Services sector
 
6. Scrapping of any unnecessary and burdensome regulations that inhibit economic activity
 
7. Increase capitalisation of our banks and make them answerable to the Bank of England
 
8. Ensure clear divisions between retail and investment bank operations
 
9. Encourage and stimulate private investment in new manufacturing industries
 
10. Promise a medium term investment strategy in the re-equipping of Britain's Armed Forces
 
11. Begin a medium to long term investment strategy in Britain's Nuclear Energy production, with the aim of generating 50% of the country's total energy needs through Nuclear by 2040
 
12. Undertake a 10 year coastal defence programme designed to protect the most "high risk" areas of the country.
 
13. A promise to invest in pre-existing rail networks, national road connections and new port and airport links, helping to speed up the delivery of both people and goods from A to B. Where possible, British based companies will derive the greatest benefit from these contracts.
 
14. Undertake a new prison building program, utilising existing sites and new developments
 
15. Create a number of new Enterprise Centres designed specifically for small to medium sized start-up businesses.
 
16. Enact legislation to prevent specifically sensitive industries, such as defence and energy from falling into foreign ownership
 
17. Bring an end to mass immigration into the country and introduce a pause on any new inward migration, until such time as more effective border controls can be introduced. Once such border controls were in place, immigration would be permitted but on a points based system, as seems to work in other Commonwealth nations like Australia, New Zealand and Canada. The aforementioned pause would also allow time for our newly reinforced Border Agency to begin the task of removing those illegal immigrants and persistent over-stayers, who have no legitimate right to be in the country. Where feasible, they would be returned to their home countries.
 
18. Once immigration is restarted, new migrants will be required to reside in the country for a minimum of five years before they are granted a permanent right to remain, during which time they will have been expected to contribute in the same way as any other citizen; and to have adhered to our nation's laws.
 
19. Immigrants who arrive, or are already here illegally will be held in secure accommodation, until such time as a legal decision is made as to their status
 
20. As Parliament and British Courts will have primacy over any and all legal matters, there will be no right of appeal to any other foreign body
 
21. Any and all legislation, or public funding that actively promotes the inherently divisive practice of multiculturalism will be ended.
 
22. There will be legislation, where necessary, to underpin a zero tolerance of crime, with stiffer custodial sentences, more prison places and juvenile boot camps being employed to actively discourage criminal and anti-social behaviour
 
23. All law enforcement and Judicial matters will automatically put the victims right first, rather than the rights of the offender
 
24. There will be a clear understanding that life means life with some of the worst offenders
 
25. A promise to withdraw from the European Arrest Warrant, thus ensuring that British citizens are only deported for trial abroad once sufficient evidence has been provided; and for a crime that is recognised by British Courts.
 
26. There will be a promise to abolish the Crown Prosecution Service and place decisions about charging suspects where it rightfully belongs, at a local level
 
27. Promise of an immediate increase in the national Defence budget, in order to rebuild both the full time and part-time Armed Forces numbers. In addition there will be an immediate strategic review of the nation's defence capabilities, in order to ensure that our forces are able to defend our country's national interests anywhere in the world.
 
28. There will be a guarantee to maintain Britain's independent nuclear deterrent, by maintaining the Trident missile system, but upgrading the nation's submarine capability, which will then carry a US built, but British controlled nuclear weapons system.
 
29. There will be an undertaking to significantly reduce bureaucratic waste within the NHS by stripping out layers of unnecessary administrative layers; and attempting to return healthcare to a more localised level. Rather than professional managers making decisions about how health budgets are spent, it seems to make far more sense for healthcare professionals to be deciding how money is spent on their patients and in their areas. As part of this program these local health boards would be expected to achieve the best economies of scale, as regards purchasing vital equipment and supplies, whilst at the same time liasing with other charitable, not-for-profit and for-profit organisations to achieve the best possible outcomes within a fixed financial budget.
 
30. Rather than continuing with the university based healthcare training that has become the norm, local health managers will be expected to eventually transfer all such training into a purely clinical environment, so that healthcares, nurses and doctors receive as much direct on-the-job training as is humanly possible.
 
31. The basis for any education system is the certainty that children have a basic understanding of reading and writing, basic literacy if you will. As a step towards that basic goal, it is desirable that every school must ensure that above all else they teach their pupils the three 'R's to a satisfactory standard.
 
32. Also, in recognising that not every child is as academically gifted as the next, our education system must try to offer something for everyone, be that in the shape of Grammar schools, Comprehensive schools, or even Vocational Colleges.
 
33. As with healthcare, often a national approach can be very non-specific, ensuring that local needs are often overlooked or insufficiently met. That being the case, it would seem to be far more sensible to allow local educational needs to be transferred to a more local level, always remembering of course that the statutory three 'R's are implemented by individual schools.
 
34. In recent years there has been a dramatic upsurge in the numbers of often scurrilous complaints made by pupils against teachers who have only been trying to maintain discipline in the classroom. As part of this manifesto pledge, it is hereby promised that we would prevent such spurious complaints being made, by restoring the rights of teachers to maintain discipline within the school environment.
 
35. In the event that particular pupils (for whatever reasons) eventually left full-time education without a job to go to, or without the necessary qualifications, an extended training or pathway to work scheme would be developed enabling such youngsters to find their way into full-time employment.
 
36. As well as repealing the Climate Change Act, which has been disastrous for the people of Britain, we would also ensure that no public monies were used to finance large scale wind farms, which would have to live or die through the provision of private capital investments. Where such wind farms are proposed, they would only receive the necessary permissions if they were being constructed offshore, thus ensuring that no more of Britain's beautiful landscape is bighted by these highly inefficient monstrosities.
 
37. There will be a promise to bring forward legislation to try and bring back into full -time occupation some of the estimated one million homes that are currently standing empty and unused in our country. It will also be policy to ensure that large scale housing developments must have local approval before they can begin; and appeals to national government must not override the decisions of local residents, a system that currently allows developers with deep pockets to circumvent local objections.
 
38. National scandals such as MP's Expenses highlighted the lack of oversight the people have over their elected representatives; and the lack of power the voters had in calling their MP to account for their wrongdoing. As a result, it is proposed that in future a local electorate that can gather 5% of their number together, can then demand the recall of their MP, who must answer for their actions.
 
39. We propose to create a ‘British Register’ of important UK companies, products and brands and amend the current trade legislation in order to safeguard these using set criteria, parliamentary approvals and/or conditions where necessary
 
40. We will insist that UK schools teach their pupil's about Britain’s contribution to the world, including British inventions and Britain’s role in fighting slavery and Nazism. All cultures, languages and traditions from around the British Isles will be celebrated.

No comments: