tax e petition

Regular readers will know I have a bee in my bonnet about tax avoidance and evasion. You can now view my e petititon and sign if you agree. You'll find it on the Downing Street e petition site. Just key my full name into the search box and you'll find it. Go on, you know it makes sense......

Eton Mess

The increasingly popular calorie-fest known as Eton Mess can seriously damage your health. The current mess confonting the Eton-dominated Cabinet, however, is more likely to damage the health of the coalition. The verging-on-farcical hoo hah over House of Lords reforn is certainly a right mess. First, let us dispense with one nonesensical argument by the reform dissidents.This is that Parliament, the Commons in particular, has 'more important things such as deficit reduction to concern itself with'. This is nonsense, of course. The House of Commons has no effective role to play in economic policy. MPs may bark and shout at minsiters as much as they like, but they have not one jot of influence over the country's financial arrangements. Similarly, now that welfare and health service reform have passed through Westminster, the key legislative priorities of this government have long since passed. The fox has gone to ground; the hunt is over and the hounds might as well return to their kennels. Lords reform is exactly what the impotent-yet-garrulous backbenchers should be concerning themselves with, leaving the running of the country to the government. A second nonsense is the so-called need for a 'good debate' on the issue. It has been debated for a century and more. Little purpose could be served by another protracted and ultimately frustrating run of debates on endless amendments. Oh for an American style Rules Committee that could present a bill with consensus support at this stage. Next we have the strange mongrel bill the coalition has come up with. This notion that peers elected for fisteen years with no re-election can possibly be accountable is plainly ridiculous. What self respecting liberal could possibly support such an idea? The plan would simply create a second chamber of party placemen totally unaccountable to anybody. What is wrong with five years terms ? Come to think of it what is wrong with an all appointed chamber, supervised by an independent appointments commission which will accept only small numbers of political appointees and will eleminate the practice of giving honours to political time servers. A chamber of about 300 professional legislators, with minimal political interference over apointments looks by far the best option. They could be made accountable by regular Ofsted-style inspections resulting in the removal of peers who have poor absence, speaking and voting records. But at the moment is remains as big a mess as the last time this dessert was served up to me in an East Finchley gatro pub. And I ate too much and naturally felt rather ill for the next twenty-four hours !