Richard Lack's Blog

We're all just being silly

A while back the EU Commission began their counter-attack against all our nasty tabloids who'd been making up stories about petty directives emanating from Brussels.

You might recall the headlines regarding Cucumber Curvature Directives and Bendy Banana Legislation. Well the Commission wasn't going to stand for this ridicule any longer and spent time and money issuing FAQ documents with titles like "Europe - The 10 biggest myths" to organisations such as Britain In Europe. They stated categorically that that there was no such thing as banana legislation being drafted and that we're all just being very silly. For a while the battle was beginning to be won and those of us who continued to bleat about excessive bureaucracy started to look a bit reactionary. "Check your facts next time!" was what we'd hear as we droned on about the pointy-headed drones in Brussels.

Funny then, hilarious in fact, that I've just found this document on Defra's own website. EU Directive 1677/88, clearly states that the maximum curvature of a class 1 cucumber must be no more than 10mm for each 10cm of length. In other words - cucumbers, like Italian Ministers, are allowed to be 10% bent. Those of us with a penchant for bananas should be glad to know that we're taken care of under EU Directive 2557/94, ruling that bananas may not be of "excessive curvature"

Surprised? As you splutter into your beer down at the Dog and Duck tonight you might also reflect on the old fallacy that the British pint itself would be outlawed and re-christened '0.57 of a litre'. The original author of the article in the Daily Telegraph, Daniel Hannan MEP received a terse call from an official at the UK Office of the Commission. "Of course it won't be illegal to sell pints" he was told. "Just as long as it isn't called a pint."
Whatever the case for or against Britain moving towards ever closer union, we should all reflect on the utter waste that is involved in drafting a 4 page directive on banana curvature and tranlating it into 25 languages. The mind boggles at the tens of thousands of Euros of taxpayers money being spent on this endless stream of nonsense.

EU Survey from www.yourparty.org

As many of you know, I sit on the interim board of an organisation called Your Party (www.yourparty.org). Your Party's aim is to promote greater democracy and public participation in the political process. To give everyone a real say in the decisions (local, national and international) that affect their lives.

To mark the European elections (on June 10th) we have just launched a survey on Europe : http://www.yougov.com/asp_bespollprojects/ypr/ypr040101009/1.asp

The survey asks the question no-one else seems to be asking : what do YOU want from Europe and the EU ?

I know the EU isn't everyone's favourite topic of conversation but PLEASE don't ignore this. I'm assured by people who've taken the survey that it's both enjoyable and thought-provoking ! And it hardly takes any time - there's a short (1 minute) and a long (3 minutes) version.

It's also important. Everyone will have different views on the EU but, with 70% of new UK law coming from the EU, it affects all of us. There's also a huge debate going on about the future of the EU and Britain's role in it. But how can we decide on the best way forward, on what an appropriate constitution (if any) should look like, if we don't know what kind of Europe we want in the first place? This survey looks to answer that fundamental question.

Once we have the results we're going to lobby the EU and the politicians to address the views expressed in the survey - and the more people who take the survey the stronger our voice will be. So please take it - and please tell your friends and contacts about it by forwarding this survey to them.

Direct Democracy in California - a primer

California has the sixth largest economy in the world and still relies on it's citizens to make up policy as they go along. That's like....totally crazy!

Picture for a moment: Governor Arnold Schwarzenneger sat at the grown-ups' table of the G8 summit with Italy's Berlusconi gesticulating wildly at the impudence of Numero Otto's exclusion from the uber-club of world politics. That's not such a strange thought when you consider that California's GDP is bigger than Italy's.

Say what you like about California. That it's populated in equal part by crazies, hippies and groupies. That its film industry has deflowered our language and depraved our children, or that its 'playful' Governor is an international joke. But don't underestimate this bunch of 35m weirdos with a combined GDP of $1.4 trillion. Theirs is a strip of land that has been a haven for the disenchanted, the oppressed and the hopeful for over 150 years. Ask Californians what their State stands for, and somewhere in their reply you'll hear "Freedom".....or "Dude"

I lived in San Francisco during the late 90's and saw that freedom best expressed in California's Direct Initiatives system. If you think this is unique to California then look again. A total of 10 U.S states now use voter initiatives as a method of partly or completely by-passing the legislature and enabling voter backed 'propositions' to be written into state law. Drive route 101 out of San Francisco at election time and you'll see building sized billboards asking you to "Vote No on prop 77". To the uninitiated this all looks a lot like Government-by-Numbers. I have a picture in my mind's eye of George Bush - tongue out and green crayon at the ready.

California's own system has been in place since 1911 and allows any voter to circulate a petition directly to the electorate for 150 days in all California counties. If the outcome of the petition is intended to revise a state statute then a number of signatures equal to 5% of the turnout of the last Gubernatorial election in each county will suffice. If it involves overturning the Californian constitution then 8% in each county is necessary to get to the next stage of random signature verification and a ballot by voters.

Critics of the system point to its vulnerability as a stalking horse for special interest groups and lobbying organisations. I'd say that depends on your definition of a special interest group. Lately the term has been hijacked by the establishment and taken to mean anybody who disagrees with them. Certainly it's normal for any group of aggrieved people to form themselves into a group before taking action - isn't the rest up to democracy? Were the suffragettes a 'lobby'? Did Luther-King start a 'special interest group'? I don't think these labels forward the debate. What we're talking about here are just plain issues. There are always lobbies on both sides of the ballot paper. A reading of proposition 22 passed in 2000 and outlawing the recognition of gay marriage suggests that despite a huge gay population in liberal San Francisco - the rest of California is yet to be persuaded, even in the face of an organised, solvent and formidable 'pink lobby'. Last month saw the Supreme Court come down on the side of the people who helped enact this Statute when it ordered a defiant San Francisco Mayor, Gavin Newsom to revoke thousands of unlawful marriage licenses.

With more than 1,100 propositions that made the cut over the years, the now almost legendary Proposition 13 in 1978 leads them all. Some say it heralded in the Reagan era of lower taxes and less government. Don't ya'll be forgetting now that Reagan, also an ex film star with a populist knack was Governor of the Golden State in the 1970's. Few expected proposition 13 to survive in the wake of two previous failed attempts. But by 1978 the time was right with high inflation, and property taxes running at 30% of home values. Some families were forced to sell their homes to fill Sacramento's coffers and were moving out of state. Proposition 13 was passed by a two-thirds majority and slashed property taxes by 30% while imposing restrictions on annual rises, which survive to this day, and triggering a nationwide tax revolt that unseated Jimmy Carter. Family friendly taxes brought Californians a second gold rush throughout the 80's and made them the envy of all America.

The electorate's wish for change isn't just reflected in an admittedly "I've got mine and you ain't gonna get none!" message to the tax man. The list of propositions includes everything from the repeal of liquor prohibition (passed 64%), abolition of the death penalty (failed), the end of positive discrimination by the state (passed 54%), limits to congressional terms (passed 52.93%), increased sentencing for repeat offenders (passed 72%) and before and after school programs (passed 56.7%). Take a look here for the full list and a brief history lesson.

It's true that the ability of normal Californians to keep State Government in check is a source of frustration, even for Governors as popular in the public imagination as 'Ahhnuld'. The People Who Know Best tell us that it's vital for Schwarzenegger to impose restrictions on this costly and pesky direct initiative system if he's going to repair the Golden State. The truth is that direct initiative propositions aren't part of the problem - they have become part of the solution. Arnie recently won proposition 57, authorising him to issue a $15bn debt bond which he described as "clearing the state's credit card debts". He did this by parcelling it alongside the more palatable proposition 58, which obliges... politicians to balance state budgets in the future. How novel. Early signs are that California is now coming out of the flat spin that it's been in since 2001. It's leading the way in America's recovery and is proof positive that direct democracy can deliver results - and commonsense policy, with the people telling their Governor- "Hey Big Guy. We'll bail you out....ONCE!
If you could start a proposition today that would be signed by 5% of the turnout in each of your local electoral wards - what would it be? Abolition of wheelie bins? Cuts in council tax? Removal of speed humps?
It's your choice ...and it starts here.

Abusive Parking Wardens - Tunbridge Wells

Dear Sir/Madam,

Further to my phone conversation with the parking controller this morning I am making a written complaint regarding an incident which occurred at 10:55am on Wednesday 5th May at the junction of London Rd and Tunbridge Wells Old High Street outside Crown Appliances.

I had parked my vehicle on the kerb for 5 minutes whilst intending to load a newly purchased vacuum cleaner into the car. It is my understanding that it is legal to park in such a manner, provided it is safe to do so and that other vehicles are not inconvenienced. In this instance it was the only safe or convenient place to park my vehicle and did not in my opinion interfere with the flow of traffic turning into the High Street.

Having walked into the shop I glanced out and saw TW108 stood at my vehicle and making notes. I made clear to him that I was simply loading my vehicle and would be on my way. He replied that the car was illegally parked and that I could have done a better job parking.

At this stage I stepped back into my vehicle and politely offered to move it. As I closed the door of my vehicle TW108 was heard to say: "I don't give a shit if someone comes round that corner and smashes up your fucking car". Taken aback - I asked TW108 to repeat what he had said - thinking that I might be mistaken. He repeated the above words verbatim at which point I took his badge number and made clear to him that I would not tolerate being spoken to in this manner.

I would be grateful if you could explain this incident to me and reprimand the staff member concerned. I can think of no reason on earth why I should be subject to verbal abuse by a public servant - especially considering that I had cooperated with the gentleman and not raised my voice or provoked him into this outburst.

Kind Regards