Britain has never had such an engaged or educated public. All of us are living lives which would be unimaginable to our grandparents. This should be the most extraordinary opportunity for democracy, and as a Member of Parliament I began an exercise in tapping some of the energy and ideas of Cumbria, and Britain at large. So I began to invite policy suggestions from the public, and posted them below, for readers to consider and vote upon. People were encouraged to send in suggestions here.
I was keen for this page to serve as space in particular for readers to make some of the more simple and practical suggestions that arise out of their everyday lives and experiences. These were the small policy changes, often overlooked by advisers and specialists in Whitehall, which otherwise hold real significance and meaning to many across Britain.
My aim was to ensure the most popular and credible suggestions were put to government, and to see some of them included in the platform for the next election as well. I kept updating the list as suggestions came through.
Computers are every bit as useful, sometimes more so, for elderly people than the young. Yet many are not yet online, because of lack of help, or nervousness, or lack of funds. Elderly people who are not on-line are starting to be quite disadvantaged. There are so many areas where the digital world is important, […]
Photographers should not be allowed to take photographs of mourners at a funeral, without the family’s express permission. I don’t think this is an unreasonable restriction on press freedom. And I think it would be universally popular. Why should the most tragic day in people’s lives be desecrated by reptiles.
If, for instance, you try to buy a single rail ticket from Oxenholme to London (or vice versa) , especially on the same day, the cost of the single rail ticket is almost exactly the same as a return ticket. This is rapacious pricing, and should be reformed by the regulator. We should be getting […]
In the United States, the fracking companies refuse to reveal which chemicals they use in fracking. They make the usual, sometimes shady, claim of ‘Commercial Confidentiality’. In the UK, the companies should be required to make a full disclosure of which chemicals they use. The chemicals may not be damaging, and in well regulated drilling […]
There should be considerably increased regulation about the use of premium telephone lines. A great many people do not realize that they are calling a premium line, which can cost up to 40p a minute. And they are especially expensive from mobiles. What is particularly awful about many of these premium lines is that it […]
The government should encourage and facilitate increased storage of gas. We have a very low amount of storage compared to other countries. Something like 5%, compared to about 18% in other countries. Our gas storage has not significantly increased since the heady days when most of our gas was domestic, and did not have to […]
There is nothing intrinsically wrong with bonuses. Even very large bonuses – a bonus of, say 20 million pounds – might be justifiable if a unique and outstanding executive had bought huge added-value to a company. But the truth is that in recent years bonuses have become a racket, and snouts have been deep in […]
As a result of quite recent legislation, the guarantee for the Universal Delivery Service comes to an end in 2021. I reckon Britain was probably the first country to provide this magnificent service; and it has been very much part of our civilisation and culture. It is no longer guaranteed after 2021. Now that the […]
Alarmingly, despite several years of dreadful publicity, the ethics of our banks have not changed. There is still an unethical culture in the way they administer their savings accounts, and in their promotion of them. This is a particularly important issue at a time when the interest rates on all bank savings accounts don’t even […]
It is very difficult to get accurate statistics about dog theft, because dogs are accounted merely as property, and not listed separately. But, by all accounts there has been a very considerable increase in dog kidnapping. This is in part attributable to the internet, because there are websites where you can go to find a missing […]