It is pleasing to see one piece of Nanny nonsense, the ID Card scheme, is destined for the dustbin of history under our brave new coalition government (also HIP's).
However, I am more than a tad concerned to see that the rules for terminating parliament via a vote of confidence have been altered, from a simple majority of one MP to a majority of 55%.
The coalition (or do we simply call them the Tory government?) propose to put forward a motion naming 7th May 2015, as the date of the next general election. There could be an earlier election only if more than 55% of MPs vote to dissolve parliament.
However, the fact that Lord Adonis (the unelected mouthpiece of last days of the dying Labour administration) is so vocally against the idea makes me not yet too hot under the collar over it.
A dead parliament that is forced to continue on life support until the end of a fixed term is of no use to man nor beast, and indeed can be very dangerous.
We shall see.
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I still do not believe we shall see the end of ID cards and the ID database, as I understand it, it is a EUSSR diktat.....But let's hope.
ReplyDeleteHIPs are a complete and utter waste of time and my cynical side believes they are more about Nanny gathering data, as all HIPs were stored on a database, as well as a nice little earner....Kerching....because there were licensing of HIP providers, fees for searches and of course, VAT (No Ken not vodka and tonic) on the cost of the HIP....As I say....Kerching.
I thought it was only Messers Brown and Blair that held our constitution and tradition in contempt, how wrong I was....The real question is this; How long will the marriage last? or perhaps I should say, how long will the civil partnership last, as that was more what it looked like as the pair of them stood on the steps of number ten.
The problem with this arrangement is that no one got anything they wanted; despite what the media and politicians tell us, we did not vote for a hung parliament, everyone that voted Conservative wanted a Conservative government, everyone that voted Labour wanted a Labour government and so on, I never saw a box on my ballot paper for a hung parliament.....The real problems will come during the next GE, activists will not be able to sell their manifesto if the leaders(sic) will just tear it up once in power....I feel the FibDems will fade into nothingness because of the actions of the Harlot of Sheffield....To be fair, only LieBore stuck to its principles and I suspect, that will benefit them next time around....Time will tell.
The ID card database had nothing to do with Europe, and was entirely the brain child of the Labour government... Although they would have liked you to THINK it was an international requirement. Good riddance to it, I say!
ReplyDeleteThe existing machine readable passports are adequate for our international obligations.
As for the issue of dissolving parliament. I was also alarmed at first about the 55% issue.
But this proposal is to replace the Prime Minister's exclusive ability to call an election at his/her own convenience. Currently a Prime Minister has the power to dissolve parliament and force an election whenever they like. This new law proposes that this can only be done with the support of 55% of the House of Commons. Seems sensible to me.
The existing "no confidence" motion remains unchanged. The house can vote my a simple majority for a no confidence motion and force an election.
I'm quite happy with that as a system.
Of course... That should read "by a simple majority"... Not "my a simple majority". Doh!
ReplyDeleteToy Trumpet;
ReplyDeleteHere is a quote taken from a national newspaper back in 2002.;
Quote;
"The card revealed by Home Secretary Jacqui Smith yesterday features a picture of a bull above EU- style golden stars, while the coloured background is made up of hundreds of tiny letters spelling 'EU'. The bull is a European Union symbol drawn from Greek mythology.
Last night the Home Office admitted that British ID cards had to follow a common design as set out in a Brussels directive to ensure that every card issued by EU states looks similar."
Read more: http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-1061761/British-identity-cards-covered-EU-symbols.html#ixzz0nu7gj7Am
Hope this helps.
Aha! I see what you're saying Tonk.
ReplyDeleteBut the quote you've posted shows that IF you have ID cards, they have to match a European Standard.
It doesn't say that Europe mandates ID cards.
Cheers for the info.
Mmmmmmmm... that sarnie looks delicious. I might just have to make one of those over the weekend.
ReplyDeleteLabour bitching over the 55% is a bit rum, when they themselves set the 66% required for the dissolution of the Scottish or Welsh parliaments. Sour grapes.
And while we are on "sour" - what about Alex Salmond, did anyone see him on the TV yesterday? Having ummed and aahed since the Gillian Duffy affair, I now fully understand the word bigot.
From WIKI' :-
ReplyDeleteA bigot is a person obstinately or intolerantly devoted to his or her own opinions and prejudices. The correct use of the term requires the elements of obstinacy, irrationality, and animosity toward those of differing opinion.
Yup, that about covers it...
I am in two minds about these proposals. On the one hand, I am in favour of there being fixed dates for general elections: it will stop prime ministers, of whatever persuasion, from cutting and running early, to avoid telling the electorate 'bad news' at election time. On the other hand, I am not sure about this 55 percent rule: I just hope it isn't the thin end of the wedge, and in due course will be extended to 60, 70 or even 75 percent. If the government of the day is defeated in a confidence motion, I do not see why a simple majority cannot suffice, as it has done in the past.
ReplyDelete(Slightly of topic: I attempted to post the above yesterday morning, but there was a 'gremlin' in the works which not only refused to post my comments, but deleted them as well)!