Eamonn Butler's alternative manifesto

So, Gordon Brown has finally called the election. Call this an educated guess, but I shall be surprised if there is a single party that warrants my vote other than to remove the present incumbents from office.

If only there was a party prepared to adopt the policies featured in The Alternative Manifesto by Dr Eamonn Butler of the Adam Smith Institute. Reviewed by Simon Hills (associate editor of The Times Magazine) for The Free Society, the book offers a "12-step programme to remake Britain". There are chapters on bureaucracy, education, healthcare, welfare, regulation, crime and justice - even the bully state.

Simon writes:

You could sum up the book, and the manifesto, thus: ‘Stop taking our money and wasting it’. And it should be waved under the nose of every self-important, spendthrift politician, whose pay should be docked until he has proved he has read and understood it.

Full review HERE.

Comments

[Lyn]

Oh that it were possible for this to actually happen.

Wonder if Paul McKenna is available to hypnotise a whole party to see things this way and then the country to vote for them?

[Mr A]

Hannan and Carswell's "Great Repeal Act" as outlined in "The Plan"is also interesting (basically nullifying most of the 3000+ new laws Labour have introduced).

They don't mention the Smoking Ban specifically in this, but interestingly on Carswell's wiki (which he set up to discuss what laws needed to be repealed) the repeal of the Smoking Ban had by far (by three or four times the last time I looked) the most supporters and was the biggest thread on the whole thing.

[Mark Butcher]

Mr A - can you supply a link to Carswell's blog re smoking. Can't find it.

Simon - the smoking ban needs to be added to this. But I suppose if Forest did it - it would be disallowed. How about Chris Snowden? He'll write an intelligent and devastating reason for the ban's repeal.

Thanks all

Mark

[Dave Atherton]

@Mark

You can view it here and here.

http://en.wikiversity.org/wiki/Great_Repeal_Bill

http://ourlaw.wikispaces.com/

[Mr A]

Thanks Dave.

Looks like they have added it to it, but as the Smoking Ban is one element of the Health Act 2006 it's under "Civic Legislation" (or somesuch) rather than being a whole Bill that needs to be rescinded.

This is all plainly academic, of course, but Hannan and Carswell are rising stars in the Tories with a big following amongst the younger, more Libertarian members of the Party so their highlighting that it's a bad piece of legislation can only be a good thing.

[Mark Butcher]

@ Mr A and Dave, thanks both. Although Carswell's not my MP - I'll be rooting for him (and fellow libertarian potential MP's).

[Martin V]

I should like to echo the sentiments of Mr A above regarding 'The Plan' - by Hannan and Carswell.

It contains fresh, original, and practical ideas about how to remake our once-proud nation.

In the meantime, a battered and bemused electorate is offered the 'choice' between a Scottified Bush and an Anglicised Obama.

Thanks - but, no thanks...................

[Martin V]

And from 'The Guardian' recently:

"In a London marginal constituency, CAMERON will say: "We're fighting this election for the great ignored. Young, old, rich, poor, black, white, gay, straight..............""

Not to say: crippled, fit, ugly, beautiful, fair-haired, dark, fat, thin, tall, short, left-handed, right-handed, Christian, Jew, Muslim, Wiccan, intelligent, thick, cat-lovers, dog-lovers, bald men, the hirsute, motorists, pedestrians, cannibals, vegans, spotty people, the clear-skinned....

Everybody, in fact.........

Hurrah !!!

'Smoking' and 'non-smoking', David ?

Umm...........er.................well.......