“A takeaway? You want a takeaway? You can’t handle a takeaway!”

A couple of days ago, while blogging about the decision taken to ban Welsh students from having sugar with their tea, I said:

And if enough of you take that route, how long before the parasites that infest the Welsh Assembly are clamouring for business restrictions within walking distances of schools? Not long, I’d bet…

Well, it wasn’t long. It just wasn’t in Wales:

Plans to ban new fast-food shops opening close to schools, parks and youth centres in east London are to be unveiled in a public consultation.

And if the public consultation says ‘You must be joking!’..? They’ll probably either do it anyway, or ask again and again until they get the answer they obviously want.

Because it’s ‘for the children’:

The council said the move was designed to tackle child obesity and littering.

Their view is that we are just sheep – we can’t help eating fatty food and throwing the litter on the floor because it’s available, so make it unavailable (or at the least, inconvenient), and the problem will be ‘solved’. The fact that for many, an occasional takeaway is a treat, and they can happily dispose of their waste appropriately, is of no consequence; everyone’s choices must be restricted to ensure that the lowest common denominator (so lovingly nurtured by NuLab’s policies) doesn’t foul their own nest.

And if you happen to live near a park, school or youth centre and would like a nearby takeaway open near you, tough!

Council leader councillor Clyde Loakes said: "There are more than enough fast food outlets in this borough and we want to stop any more from opening.

"The bottom line is that residents simply don't have enough choice because of the number of fast food takeaways….

Eh…? I want some of what he’s smoking, if he thinks having too many takeaways somehow restricts choice…

Businesses go where they can get business, and if people wanted something other than takeaways, then they’d be springing up to serve the demand. That they aren’t tells you something…

”…we don't want to tell them how to live their lives but we do want to give them the widest possible choice in what they can eat.”

Sorry, councillor Loakes, but this is utter nonsense - you patently do want to tell them how to live their lives.

And if you (and your ilk) can’t do it by business regulation, you’ll do it by making people’s lives and everyday decisions more and more difficult.

And it’ll all be ‘for their own good’….