Tunisia, Egypt, Bahrain, Nigeria, Britain – if you've been following the news from these countries in the last few months, you've probably also been following updates on some pretty serious pro-democracy organising. It is perhaps this apparently voracious appetite for democratic participation that the average person has that the UK government is hoping to capitalise on with its Red Tape Challenge project.So quoth Zohra Moosa, women's rights adviser at ActionAid UK. So she's in favour?
Well, only when it goes so far, and no further:
In addition to the regulations on hallmarking, weights and measures and "trading with the enemy" (really), which all sit under the category of "retail challenge", the Equality Act has also been identified for this "red-tape cutting" under the category of "general regulations".NOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO!!!!!
The five other contenders in this category similarly relate to people's wellbeing and the law and are considered to apply to all sectors. But the approach taken towards the Equality Act is slightly different to all the others. Instead of referring to specific regulations on how the act is implemented, Red Tape Challenge poses the consultation questions exclusively about the act itself.OMG!! Disaster!!!!
This distinction between regulation and act is important. What would it mean if the answer to the very first Red Tape Challenge question, "Should they be scrapped altogether?", is an overwhelming "yes"?It'd mean a hell of a lot of businesses would suddenly find themselves free of stifling and pointless regulation. It'd mean that some small limited amount of sanity reigned in the world of the public sector. It'd mean that, for once, 'the people have spoken!' would be more than just a phrase.
Oh, and it'd mean that people like you wouldn't have a cozy sinecure for life.
What's not to like?
8 comments:
I've been urging anyone who will listen to go along to the Red Tape Challenge website and explain why the Equality Act needs to be seriously downsized. From what I've seen, the consultation has been 99% dominated by bleats from the diversity and equality brigade.
Who voted this lot into power as they seem to run the Scottish Government.
http://f2cscotland.blogspot.com/2011/04/more-on-ash-scotlands-alliances.html
We don't seem to collectively coko that 'red tape' has almost nothing to do with legislation. What we do is try to make things look fool-proof whilst building in loop-holes for lawyers and jobsworths to exploit so nothing gets done except what no one wants.
Sky News has a story running today about an engine replacement garage that clearly should be surrounded by cops, with the owners strung up and any liquidation money given to victims. We have lost proper attitudes towards justice and caught ourselves up in ideas that ... ad nauseum.
We need a new politics and new justice system stripped of tons of the foul crap of lordly privilege and open to public scrutiny. Thed question is what is the Catch 22 that stops us.
Only fear stops us, it is as if we are hypnotised or drugged. Election time comes around and the Lib-Lab-Con coalition gets in again and we are squeezed and bled and abused some more......
Would this be the same ActionAid who demonstrated the utter evilness of the intellectual property system by announcing that they had filed a patent application for salted chips? And that a patent resulting from this would allow them to sue chip shop owners for royalties?
Except that they didn't actually file an application for salting chips, but for a somewhat different salt/chip combination that would not have been infringed by chip shops. And that their application was promptly rejected by the Patent Office.
But of course they admitted to all of this...? Errr, no, they only updated their website to acknowledge half of this, and then only after I had pointed out that their page was misleading and that requesting royalties under their invalid application would have exposed them to claims under section 70 of the Patents Act.
Ah, yes, the same ActionAid. I guess we can safely ignore them, then.
"Action" in any organisation title usually means the opposite. Inaction and subdiffusion usually applies.
"From what I've seen, the consultation has been 99% dominated by bleats from the diversity and equality brigade."
It does seem as though the left are better organised at that sort of thing, and can marshal huge numbers to the fray very quickly, all on topic and in lockstep.
"We need a new politics and new justice system stripped of tons of the foul crap of lordly privilege and open to public scrutiny."
Agreed!
"Ah, yes, the same ActionAid. I guess we can safely ignore them, then."
It's what I plan to do! :)
""Action" in any organisation title usually means the opposite. Inaction and subdiffusion usually applies."
Good point...
The Red Tape Challenge website has been targetted by people who seem to be employed generally in the public sector in an attempt to rubbish any ideas put forward which might reduce their number or importance. Public sector lefties are organised and on the attack. Just as they are on the Taxpayers Alliance website. Be warned !
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