Foreword
By David Cameron and Nick Clegg
This is an historic document in British politics: the first time in over half a century two parties have come together to put forward a programme for partnership government.
As our parties have worked together it has become increasingly clear to us that, although there are differences, there is also common ground. We share a conviction that the days of big government are over; that centralisation and top-down control have proved a failure. We believe that the time has come to disperse power more widely in Britain today; to recognise that we will only make progress if we help people to come together to make life better. In short, it is our ambition to distribute power and opportunity to people rather than hoarding authority within government. That way, we can build the free, fair and responsible society we want to see.
We are agreed that the first duty of government is to safeguard our national security and support our troops in Afghanistan and elsewhere – and we will fulfil that duty. We are also agreed that the most urgent task facing this coalition is to tackle our record debts, because without sound finances, none of our ambitions will be deliverable. Difficult decisions will have to be taken in the months and years ahead, but we will ensure that fairness is at the heart of those decisions so that all those most in need are protected. Working together, we are confident that we can take the country through difficult times to better days ahead.
Tackling the deficit is essential, but it is not what we came into politics to achieve. We stood for Parliament – and for the leadership of our parties – with visions of a Britain better in every way. And we have found in this coalition that our visions are not compromised by working together; they are strengthened and enhanced. That is why this coalition has the potential for era-changing, convention-challenging, radical reform.
For example, we both want to build a new economy from the rubble of the old. We will support sustainable growth and enterprise, balanced across all regions and all industries, and promote the green industries that are so essential for our future. This document shows how, with radical plans to reform our broken banking system and new incentives for green growth.
We both want a Britain where social mobility is unlocked; where everyone, regardless of background, has the chance to rise as high as their talents and ambition allow them. To pave the way, we have both agreed to sweeping reform of welfare, taxes and, most of all, our schools – with a breaking open of the state monopoly and extra money following the poorest pupils so that they, at last, get to go to the best schools, not the worst.
We both want a Britain where our political system is looked at with admiration, not anger. We have a shared ambition to clean up Westminster and a determination to oversee a radical redistribution of power away from Westminster and Whitehall to councils, communities and homes across the nation. Wherever possible, we want people to call the shots over the decisions that affect their lives.
And we are both committed to turning old thinking on its head and developing new approaches to government. For years, politicians could argue that because they held all the information, they needed more power. But today, technological innovation has – with astonishing speed – developed the opportunity to spread information and decentralise power in a way we have never seen before. So we will extend transparency to every area of public life. Similarly, there has been the assumption that central government can only change people’s behaviour through rules and regulations. Our government will be a much smarter one, shunning the bureaucratic levers of the past and finding intelligent ways to encourage, support and enable people to make better choices for themselves.
In every part of this agreement, we have gone further than simply adopting those policies where we previously overlapped. We have found that a combination of our parties’ best ideas and attitudes has produced a programme for government that is more radical and comprehensive than our individual manifestos.
For example, when you take Conservative plans to strengthen families and encourage social responsibility, and add to them the Liberal Democrat passion for protecting our civil liberties and stopping the relentless incursion of the state into the lives of individuals, you create a Big Society matched by big citizens. This offers the potential to completely recast the relationship between people and the state: citizens empowered; individual opportunity extended; communities coming together to make lives better. We believe that the combination of our ideas will help us to create a much stronger society: one where those who can, do; and those who cannot, we always help.
And in the crucial area of public service reform, we have found that Liberal Democrat and Conservative ideas are stronger combined. For example, in the NHS, take Conservative thinking on markets, choice and competition and add to it the Liberal Democrat belief in advancing democracy at a much more local level, and you have a united vision for the NHS that is truly radical: GPs with authority over commissioning; patients with much more control; elections for your local NHS health board. Together, our ideas will bring an emphatic end to the bureaucracy, top-down control and centralisation that has so diminished our NHS.
Three weeks ago we could never have predicted the publication of this document. After the election, of course, there was the option of minority government – but we were uninspired by it. Instead, there was the option of a coalition in the national interest – and we seized it. When we set off on this journey we were two parties with some policies in common and a shared desire to work in the national interest. We arrive at this programme for government a strong, progressive coalition inspired by the values of freedom, fairness and responsibility. This programme is for five years of partnership government driven by those values. We believe that it can deliver radical, reforming government, a stronger society, a smaller state, and power and responsibility in the hands of every citizen. Great change and real progress lie ahead.
David Cameron |
 Nick CleggDeputy Prime Minister |
So we have a coalition government,history in the making!
Now to the point,what do you intend on doing to the banking system on a whole?You have the Bank Of England publishing their Quarterly reviews,and in these reviews,namely 2008 Q1 | Volume 48 No. 1,they freely admit that they(BoE)create money from nothing.With this being the case,can you please tell me what yourself and Mr Clegg intend to do about the ‘taxpayers’ money that has helped to prop up these banks that can create money from nothing?Are any of these bankers going to be facing any charges of fraud and theft?,as this is clearly what has happened.Is the ‘taxpayer’ going to receive some form of damages for the fraud with interest?What is a coalition government prepared to do to tackle this bare-faced corruption?My solution would be to take back the power from the Bankers to create money from nothing,and only have the government create money.Simple.That way there would be no need for interest to pay back on any loans that the government create,and then use the labour of the people to pay back debts they DID NOT create.
Now to the justice system.
Where is there ‘justice’ in the ‘United Kingdom’?
We have local councils issuing summons to people who have not paid ‘council tax’,this is illegal.As stated in Britsh Law,only a JP,Magistrate or Sherrif(Scotland) have the ‘power’ to issue such a document.So why are councils getting away with putting people into financial hardship,fraud by false representation,misfeasance/malfeasance or imprisoning them,when the money they are asking for is worth nothing?I’ve asked on numerous occasions if I am lawfully obliged to pay ‘Council Tax’,and I keep being referred to the ‘Local Government Finance Act 1992,a statute,a legislative rule given the force of law,whilst there is consent.This not the LAW.
What is your coalition government intending on doing surrounding the illegal wars in Iraq and Afghanistan?Many hundreds of thousands of men,women and children have been illegally killed(MURDERED) in these countries,in OUR name,as you should know ALL WAR IS ILLEGAL,just refer to the Kellog-Briandt pact back in 1928 and the many more laws/legislation that were put in place,so are you preparing a case or cases against those politicians who voted to take our soldiers into an illegal war?I do not condone genocide,but sadly this is what our soldiers are TOLD to do,day in day out in these sovereign states.Will Blair and Goldsmith be taken to the Hague like Slobodan Milosevic and be tried for war crimes?Does the ‘taxpayer’ know that this is the way his/her money is being spent,and that by paying said taxes they(the taxpayer) are complicit in the genocide?I doubt it!Does your coalition government intend to address the people regarding these issues,or will the media continue to ‘black out’ this kind of coverage,therefore keeping the general populous ill-informed?The ‘money’ that could be saved by pulling out of these countries would be immense,but sadly I cant see your government doing this,as there is too much Heroin and Oil to miss out on,correct me if i am wrong?What does the coalition intend on doing to get justice for Holly Grieg,a Downs Syndrome woman who was horrifically abused by Social Workers,Police Officers and even a Sheriff for 15 years of her life.Her mother Anne has fought for the last 10 years to try and get justice for her daughter,but cannot get anywhere because of the complicit ‘cover-up’ of the ‘powers that be’.The corruption goes as far to the Lord Advocate of Scotland,who has also been complicit in the cover up.Government and Public Officers complicit in the cover up of paedophiles,why wasn’t that part of your election campaign?Justice eh?
It also seems that Government is also complicit in treason.
How can any Government dictate to the people that it has the right to hand over OUR sovereignty to a foreign power?(the EU) Where was democracy when Gordon Brown signed the Lisbon Treaty?Why is it now that a foreign power has the right to dictate legislation to OUR people/country,going against everything in the Coronation Oath Act?
Lets be totally honest about this Mr Cameron and Mr Clegg,what do you guys intend on doing to address these very serious matters in regards to the Rule of Law?Or is big business interest of a more pressing concern?
The chances of this being left on this site for people to view is about 0%,but whoever reads this,can you prove my points of law to be wrong?
Conrad:Diraham
This is the best election outcome in the UK that I can remember. Absolutely fantastic that we have a coalition of parties who are prepared to debate with each other, weed out each other’s worse ideas, and push forward on those things on which all can agree. With a few exceptions, the Programme for Government is really heartening and cheering document, which stands a real chance of restoring interest in politics in this country.
Mr Cameron and Mr Clegg, can i firstly commend you for opening up this channel of communication, although the period allowed for recommendations is rather short (you should give people the weekend as well, at least) and it is not clear how you will be able to draw the main messages coming out of all this information.
I certainly hope nonetheless that your statement that the purpose of this dialogue is ‘to bring the country with you’ by allowing the people to voice their opinions is genuine, and is not just another scam from the recent era of spin. I have only too often sat in workshops which were intended to ‘bring the people with the change’ only to realise a few months down the line that our opinions (most very common sense and rational) were largely ignored and the management and their consultants went ahead with their original plans regardless; the ‘dialogue’ was merely a PR exercise. This was a reflection of the era of spin instituted by Tony Blair and his spindoctors – big words, little value delivered in practice. Please do not take the country for fools as we will be able to tell if we were taken for a ride – yet again.
Assuming that you have indeed the intention to listen and act on what we say, I guess there a few main principles coming out of the recommnedations provided by everyone here so far. And one of the main principles becoming evident is FAIRNESS – without this it is unlikely that you wil secure the support the country. Labour have allowed big business to rule the country. Not only were they subsidised and protected to the brim, but they were also the ones that were bailed out when things turned sour. It is true that some of us also took a page from their book and borrowed beyond our means of repay. It is fair for all those concerned to now support the consequences – but in proportion! However, whilst the little people are scrambling to survive, the big thieves have taken the money and ran; or some even had the cheek to stay on. So how are you going to reinstitute the balance of fairness and bring justice? We have not forgotten how we got in this mess in the first place. It is only fair that those that have amassed huge fortunes through what can be described as illegal activities and / or gross negligence should also be made to pay-up to cover the debt and deficit. We need to see justice made so that we can carry on with the hard task of getting the country back on its feet.
For such a ‘historic document’, where are the details for the public to write in with their comments or phone in?? I received this link through a friend’s email message and have seen no links in the major papers or on TV. All very well saying ‘we will listen to you’ but you need to do more than have a website to comment on – a large number of the public (especially more vulnerable members of society) do not have easily accessible internet access or are not particularly ‘web savvy’. A full address and a full phone line should be on this front page.
I would like to see management consultants removed from the Public Sector as these seem to be an expensive waste of money. I know of cases of staff leaving posts and returning on twice the salary as a consultant in the same organisation on a long term basis, this is frankly ridiculous. Please don’t just adopt a hack and slash of the NHS to appease the media, although front line services are important, preventative services are crucial too. In terms of benefit reform I fully agree that people need to be encouraged back to work rather than to be encouraged to sit at home. Incapacity Benefit needs reviewing urgently so that those who need it still receive it whereas those who use it as an excuse to avoid work are denied. I fully support your proposals to stop benefits for those who refuse to take a job. Good luck with sorting out the mess left behind. I would also request that you do not cap tax credits and child benefit too low. I feel the Conservative suggestion of reduction in tax credit after £40k to be much fairer than that suggested by the Liberal Democrats.
I really do hope (and pray) that this “document” is not going to representative of the democratic process that this coalition government is ushering in. Three days to comment, perhaps even contribute! Well that is if you know about the consultation document and where to find it, it is hardly well sign posted and the fanfare for the launch of this groundbreaking historic attempt of public involvment, well the mice in my wall cavity made more of an announcment.
If this is the way of things to come then lets hope that the coalition is short lived.
Suggestions: If you really have a serious desire to engage with, represent and lead the public, be representative of the public and the departments that you represent, eg an industrialist representing industry, a former military person-MOD, people with a passion and experience, not just over privilidged public school boys (they can do the education department). Education department? Is there going to be much of one left after you have finished, please remember, education is not just a privilidge, it is a right. Dont price the hard working but poorlly payed out of University, you say its a burden on the tax payer, it is one of the few burdens I honestly dont mind paying. In that respect I am rather biased, I am hoping to put my own children through higher education and therfore dont see that as a burden, but then again neither are the NHS, Emergency Services and Armed Forces. Perhaps the only real burdens our society shouldnt have to shoulder are the burdens of incompetence from a clueless out of touch Whitehall.
To quote (of all people) Ali G “Keep it real”, and get rid of elitism.
More money into public health – less money spent on procurement proceedures in the NHS and local government (for example let people buy from the cheapest supplier not through a lot of red tape and only from selected places).
More people on the ground rather than managers. Half the time the admin / secretraries are running the show anyway – pay them a little bit more and get rid of all the managers / consultants who barely go into work anyway and you’ll save loads of money.
Less meetings! Everyone I know in the Local Authority / NHS has meetings about meetings about meetings.
Less money spent in Local Authorities paying for mangerial qualifications whilst those on the ground who do all the work have to pay for their own – why should we be paying for them??
Stricter immigration policies – we need to sort this country out before we start taking care of people from other places – which we should do but only once we have sorted out our debt,etc.
Stricter control over what Local Authorties are doing with money!
Stop Local Authorities and NHS trusts knocking down buildings that could be repaired, esp schools just so they can look fancy – money should be spent on nurses, equipment and teachers not buildings!
MPs to have more accountability. MPs t should have to spend a certain amount of time actually living in the places they are MP for – they don’t really know what’s going on (look at Grimsby’s MPs behaviour on that programme about deprived areas on TV – what an ignorant horrible little man he looks like!)
Also, make affordable housing that’s actually affordable for first time buyers – if we had capped prices on sustainable housing the prices of housing would lower and less people would be living beyond their means.
Also, ensure relationship education classes in primary schools gradually incorporating sexual health education (kids need to know about love and relationships and respecting themselves). Bring aspiration programmes into schools at young ages (such as The pacific institutes one for kids).
Stricter punishments on criminals – who SHOULD NOT BE ALLOWED TO VOTE BTW – they have committed a crime and should not have a say in how the country is run when they are committing acts against it! Harsher conditions in prison – being allowed phones / tvs / computer access is ridiculous and a waste of public money.
Less tax on British produce to encourage everyone to buy British products!
Please do not cut budgets for preventative work on health etc. The benefits are often longer-term and so will not be seen within the term of this Government’s reign. But prevention is for the benefit of society and people’s future not political advantage.
I also strongly believe that retail and investment banking should be separated so that investment banks can be left to go bust if they’re unprofitable.
The country is heading towards £1 Trillion of debt. Potentially the government may be able to cost-save £10 Billion over the next 1-3 years. But that may still leave us with a debt of around £1 Trillion in 3 years time.
So isn’t it time that Universities such as Oxford and Cambridge became commercial engines for new ideas to create growth in the economy – since they have the nation’s brightest students. These universities cost us all 4 times more than a typical university but we’re all still waiting for that payback.
Countries can’t keep cutting back. We need some new growth.
The slogan Freedom, Fairness and Responsibility echoes Liberte, Egalite, Fraternite, the slogan of the French Revolution. Is this intentional or a revealing insight into the mentality of the Coalition?
It was written 3000 years ago – it is still true today: “Righteousness exalts a nation, but sin is a reproach to any people.” Your success in government will be determined by the extent to which you promote righteousness or you promote sin. You have not started off very well by promoting homosexuality abroad. I hope you make better choices in the future.
Thank you – you have started to restore my belief that this is a democratic country and that we can have our say. I wish you luck for the next 5 years as there will be many who do not wish you to succeed and will do anything to see you fail. It will be a hard job but I have the belief that you both want to do what is best for our country I only hope others will let you try.
Please start with RDA’s. They are unable to reflect local need and the services provided would be more cost effective at LA level (Yorkshire Forward wasted £000’s on the Hull Clipper with no demonstrable benefit)
Government Departments should concentrate on the things that are essential and cannot be provided via the Vol/Com sector or private enterprise e.g. NHS and Defence
Please avoid huge outsourcing activities – not cost effective in the long term – lower standards etc. e.g. hospital cleaning – better managed internally by ward managers
Cut all large IT projects – they don’t work and many of the public are suspicious of the “big brother” approach
Stop all consultancy activities at both local and national level – if managers and department heads are employed to do a job they should have the knowledge and skills to do them and not hide behind “consultant advice” – alternatively sack incompetent managers
Use the Tax Payers Alliance to identify sources of waste
Ensure MP’s know what the local councils are spending in their consitiuency and give them the power to question over-manning, over-paying, waste and incompetency.
Finally “look after the pennies and the pounds will look after themselves” – old adage but how true
Good Luck and Good Management.
Most of the people out here beyond Westminster do want a society that promotes genuine fairness and personal and corporate responsibility, but it has to be seen to be fair too.
We want those really in need to be supported and the benefit cheats and feckless to contribute to society rather than sponging.
We want red tape and unecessary bureaucratic layers cut and more of the frontline services maintained.
I am encouraged by the intentions of the government – but your actions will speak louder than words to us.
I was astonished to read the civil service is to be dramatically reduced to cut the deficit. Lower grades will be made unemployed with little opportunities to gain future employment. How can we reduce the UKBA by 7000 posts and expect the staff to protect the border. A refocused SOCA will not take place until after the 2012 Olympic Games therefore middle market drugs will again be missed with various other restrictions? The general perception that Civil Servant reduction can solve the deficit is mis-guided afterall the mistakes from the banks and the bailout will haunt us all for years to come.
Firstly I’d like to thank yourselves in opening up this channel of communication to the general public after what I feel has been essentially a ‘closed shop’ for many years now. There are many areas that have to be addressed, many as important as each other and I fully sympathise with the task at hand that you have to deal with.
For my pennies worth I would like to deal with the way in which Government Contracts or Services and Contracts for Public bodies are dealt with at the tendering or procurement stage. My company specialises in Human Resources and Electronic attendance and human capital based systems and was astounded (but not surprised) that the Metropolitan Police had overspent £10m on an electronic Human Resources system, which is considerably late and in which from what I gather there is still no definite completion date. The system appears to be a ‘bespoke’ computer solution from an IT Services company (and a non-UK one at that) and knowing that there are many reputable UK manufacturers and specialist companies that can offer off the shelf products that could be modified to handle what I am sure are most of the special requirements that the Met Police require. Surely for IT based projects such as this it makes sense to use tried and tested solutions that are already developed and budget for modifications as opposed to completely new ones written from scratch which will always cost considerably more and may not necessarily bring any additional benefits. This must follow suit in all areas of Government and Public service expenditure on IT so that progress can be made without the huge financial burden to the Country or the taxpayer.
In my opinion, based on the large numbers of projects of this size that are in progress, this approach would surely save many £millions (if not £billions) over the coming years???
“Freedom, Fairness and Responsibility” – How about sticking to some of the policies on your manifesto.
Mr Clegg – Legalise cannabis instead of criminalising users. It’s been on your manifesto for years and it’s why I (and I suspect a great number of others) voted for your party, 1-in-10 of the adult population use it so prohibition isn’t working.
Mr Cameron – Tax cannabis, its a huge untapped source of revenue where the tax payer is not going to complain (They’ll probably be very happy). & If it backfires you can always blame Mr Clegg.
If you want someone to liase with the Police, ACMD, Doctors etc – I’d do it for free, no need for expensive consultants.
Just take a good look at the Dutch model (its not perfect but it works) they have lower drug usage than we do, their economy earns millions of Euros from tourists that go there because cannabis is legal, the industry has created jobs. It could create jobs and tax revenue for the government here.
All it needs is a little faith in what the experts say, “it is less dangerous than alcohol” and that for most users the worst side effect is being caught. If there wasn’t big money in it the criminals wouldn’t bother, so take the money out of the black market and put it into the economy.
This is an extremely vacuous document, highlighting the dearth of substance at the heart of the Coalition project. Built around PR aspiration-speak and slogans (No ‘Big Government’ was something of a favourite of particularly unpleasant U.S. right-wingers, I seem to recall). The aspirations of working towards social mobility and improving the educational opportunities for the worst off have already been undermined by Michael Gove’s academies expansion plan (which will give improved status to those ‘outstanding’ schools which are disproportionately in higher-income catchment areas. The wish to ‘clean up politics’ has been undermined in the response of the Prime Minister and Deputy Prime Minister to David Laws’ expenses wrongdoing. The one thing which can be said for this introduction is that at least it is not quite so full of the blaming of Labour for the world’s financial ills as most of the other statements which have come from Mr Cameron and Mr Clegg since the election. I hope that the British public will not be taken in for much longer by this display of vacuous bonhomie. Under the Coalition, government is becoming smaller in more ways than one.
This is not public consultation. It is a shameful attempt to fool the public into accepting radical change by getting them to psychologically ‘buy-into’ a perceived need for the harshest cuts ever. It is fake consultation, revealed by the complete lack of publicity and the ridiculously short timeframe. Do not be fooled. Do not take part. Do not allow them to say ‘the public told us to do it’.
I do hope that this coalition Government do really look after the people on low and middle income families and protect the public sector jobs as much as possible. Past experience of Conversative Govt normally they look after the rich by taking more from poor low and middle income families. Stop complaining about the Labour Govt because far as I am concerned, the Labour Govt did their best to protect UK Jobs and they done a good job
If we are so short of money, why are we giving £19m, to a terrorist country?
If this money is given away, you loose all credibility.
Thanks for the chance to submit ideas;
1. Would like to see those people on benifits having to report for community work each day before paying them money. They are part of our country and should contribute along with the rest of us.
2. Make prostitution legal make the girls pay tax on what they earn and charge men VAT at 25% let everyone contributre to the deficit.
3. Stop paying Immigrants benifits until they have payed into the system for at least 3 years.
4. Reduce cost to make small business more competitive ie slash the cost of fuel!!
5. Stop giving our money away to other countries let them earn their place in the World.
Yes we are up to our knees in debt, but I’m not convinced the new government have a clue about the world the majority of us have to live in. One example- The UK has one of the best workplace safety records in the world, saving the economy/NHS/private companies millions of pounds per year since 1974. All new H&S legislation has a regulatory impact assessments carried out to ensure there is more gain than pain. We have a seriously corrupt banking systems but Cameron wants to focus his attack on “Red Tape” e.g. let stupid employers go back to killing people because they can’t be bothered to spend 5 minutes putting basic safety controls in place. Well I’m reply No. 109 I think ,so the other 50 odd million were not taking part in this I guess. Ho Hum!
We are given a short time to make thoughtful comments on over 30 difficult and widespread subjects. It is impossible for many normal working people to make a meaningful response with such a constrained time scale. (Many government departmnts take four times as long to answer just one straightforward query.) The result will, no doubt, be that when unpopular decisions are made the excuse will be offered that there were no comments about the matter in the consultation.
I hope you will remember the needs of informal carers in your deliberations. They provide such a saving to the tax-payer but must have their basics. Please don’t cut any of their resources.
You must think that we are stupid. This will put us into a worse position than we were before. You seem to work on a policy that if it was existing it was wrong. Totally incompetent!
WASTE NOT, WANT NOT
Make this the motto of every single department, and make sure it is adhered to and nobody buys expensive “professional” looking bins when normal – and cheaper – ones will do (as DEFRA seems to have done)
Thanks to the BBC for reminding me about this
Herewith my little manifesto:
Legalise all drugs and tax them.
Legalise all conventional firearms, ordnance, and military vehicles and tax them. Yes, you can buy a tank; no you can’t buy a Trident submarine. Laws against private armies still apply, so while you can buy a battleship, you can’t crew it.
Abolish inheritance tax and replace it by making inheritances subject to Capital Gains Tax. Permit an annual Inheritance Tax Allowance of £500,000 against CGT. This will encourage the spreading of wealth. Because there’s no IHT, all the loopholes associated with it disappear.
Harmonise CGT in particular and as many taxes as possible in general with Income Tax.
Reduce VAT to 5%. VAT hits the poor the hardest.
Drop the EU subsidy. If Brussels wants money, let it tax.
Abolish Stamp Duty. Apply the 5% VAT instead.
Abolish as many subsidies as possible. They’re an invitation to fraud. Replace them with taxes on their competitors.
Abolish as many benefits as possible. It’s all too complex at the moment. Replace with tax allowances and a lot wider discretion by Social Services. It’s cheaper to grant a tax allowance than supply a benefit.
Make local councils more responsible: apply the principle of subsidiarity.
Orthoganalise police forces to local council boundaries. Have elected Sheriffs.
Admit that speed cameras are fund-raising devices and drop the points penalty.
Free local government from central government funding; let local government raise its funding however it wishes.
Encourage those on the dole to earn by not chopping JSA on a 1:1 basis. Make it a 1:3 basis – you lose £1 of JSA for every £3 you earn.
Those on the dole get winter fuel payments. Just because they’re younger doesn’t mean that they don’t get just as cold.
Everyone, from cradle to grave, gets an annual tax allowance equal to National Minimum Wage. That tax allowance can be transferred between those within the bounds of consanguinity or law who live in the same house. So you get a tax benefit for the sister or great-granny looking after the children during the day. This replaces Child Benefit. A family of two wage earners, a child carer, and two children, could earn 5x NMW before being liable for tax.
Allow tax-efficient means for family members to support each other outside the same house in the short (< 6 month) term, so there's less claim on the state. Remember that it's cheaper pound-for-pound to grant an allowance than give a benefit.
Allow civil partnerships between anyone, as long as both parties are over 65. So one brother sharing a house with his sister doesn't get hit for CGT / IHT when his sister dies.
Pull our troops out of Iraq and Afghanistan.
Pull our troops out of Germany.
Top up pensions to National Minimum Wage. Raise the retirement age to 70; sorry, everyone, but we're living so much longer these days.
Reduce vehicle tax – it's a tax that prevents people and businesses from finding profitable work.
Reduce petrol duty to American levels. As above.
Fully fund the NHS.
Abolish the state school sector and provide a standard funding per pupil. All schools are now private, but any school that charges more than the standard must offer full (less the standard funding) scholarships pro rata. And such scholarships must be full rides and include the costs of all those hidden extras, like school uniforms and school trips. Somewhere as expensive as Eton should be 1/3 full scholarships. The school inspectorate is still run by the State. Allow schools to expel troublesome pupils more easily. It is no longer the State's duty to educate the child; rather it is the State's duty to ensure that the child is educated. So you can home-school, subject to inspections. Equally, if your child is so disruptive that no school will have him or her, then it is your responsibility to home-school the child, and you have the funding to do this.
Fund second degrees, as long as the prospective student has been out of university for 10 years.
Elections are now held on Fridays, and the day of a General Election or the Council Election is a holiday. Postal votes are only allowed for those who have to be overseas – embassy officials, military, research scientists in Antarctica and the like. If you are abroad and want to vote, your company must provide you funding and time off work to return to the U.K. to do so. They are not allowed to ask or make you use contracted holiday time. Failure in this regard or otherwise preventing a citizen from voting will be a criminal offence for the manager responsible and a civil offence for the company. If you're not working for a U.K. company, then that's tough.
Political parties may only accept donations from UK passport holders. No corporate subsidies, no union funds.
All MPs salary and expenses are published. In fact, if you're employed by the state, in whatever capacity, your salary and expenses are published. Secrecy rules may over-ride this, of course. You're a public servant; get over it.
Crowdsource the State sector. If someone can run something the state does better, let them. But don't privatise; grant retractable licenses like the National Lottery. And profit-share.
Cut police paperwork. Follow the Canadian model. Abolish the RIPA and replace it with something more closely defined. Similarly the HRA.
There are too many people in prison. Work on non-custodial sentences. Cleaning streets would be a good start. Make public humiliation a large part of non-prison punishments.
The police cannot be everywhere. Magistrates should be encouraged to routinely reward civic-minded citizens.
We need to be both harder and softer on immigration. Britain has long welcomed immigrants from around the world, and should open its arms to the wealth of talent that is out there. But immigrants must assimilate: they have 2 years in which to become fully fluent in one of the national languages (including sign language) and pass a citizenship test. And we must be tough on those who abuse the privilege of being in the U.K. Any non-citizen convicted of a criminal offence will be expelled on completion of their sentence. And we should work on agreements so they spend their sentence in their home country. The assets of criminals will be seized and sold and the money, less costs returned. Genuine asylum seekers should be immediately granted work permits, rather than keeping them on benefits. Asylum seekers must seek asylum reasonably immediately after the event which causes them to seek asylum – no waiting until just before your student visa is about to expire. An onus of preventing illegal immigration will be put on the transport companies, with stiff fines. Those convicted of illegal immigration will be expelled immediately. They can appeal at the local British embassy or High Commission. Citizenship will no longer be conferred by marriage.
Allow contingency lawsuits. BUT if the lawsuit fails, the plaintiff's solicitor and their firm are liable for the costs of the defendant. This should allow bona fide lawsuits to go ahead while preventing the nuisance suits that plague America.
Ruthlessly prune the BBC – there's lots that it does that it doesn't need to – and cut the license fee accordingly. For example, there are commercial alternatives to Radio 1, Radio 2, and Radio 3. On the TV side, we could chop BBC 3, and BBC 4. Just leave BBC 1, 2, News 24, and Parliament, and their HD versions. Again, the BBC license fee is a disproportionate expense for the poor. Move the un-subsidised bits to the BBC's commercial arm. The BBC must be allowed to broadcast all events involving the U.K. national teams.
I am still in College education and believe I do not look backwards to the old days of Britain, but to its future. The House of Peers helped make this Great Country; with all the members experience and devotion, with some of them having aquired it from running their own estates, which can then be translated into helping further this Nation. I do not agree with any elections to the House of Lords, but I see that it is inevitable that it will happen.
But I ask that there should at the very least be a a guarenteed place for current Lords alongside the elected ‘Senators’ in the mentioned Grandfather style. I do not see how having a secound fully elected Chamber can be of any benifit to this countries future, unless the people in it are experts in different fields, have experience and maturity. As the current Archbishop of York has said, some of the legislation which comes from the House of Commons if poor in quality, and it is often the experienced Lords who can help develope and amend it to a high standard. In my opinion, the current model of the two houses of Parliament and the role of the Monarchy work perfectly well, and little change is needed.
So i ask that: the proportion of elected members in kept to a minimum, they are elected by PR, there is still a place for the current twenty six bishoprics of the Established Anglican Church and that there is still a place for appointed Lords (under more scrutiny of appointments than before). I wholly believe this country does not need a secound fully elected chamber, as we already have a fully elected chamber, but that we need a mature place, where experience and stability are key.
May I also say, I admire your work in the cutting of the deficit, and really do hope that the public do not punish this current coalition for its cuts, as it is evident to those who research, it was the previous administrations mistakes, over spending and lies that has made the recession have such a negative effect on the country.
Still not sure where to place comments about IT issues. Broadband access for isolated rural properties have no chance.
Dial up is incredibly expensive compared to the deals to be had in urban areas.
Equalities in provision, no chance not sufficiently lucrative for the phone companies / providers!
Thank you for providing this opportunity to give feedback. I hope that you set up a permanent website where people can get in touch with you about how they think the government is doing, and with any ideas they may have.
That said, please remember that politics is YOUR job, and that views expressed on the internet are often more ‘black and white’ than views expressed in the street.
Good luck for the next five years!