Reform published a document which they called a 'contract' but appears to be a draft manifesto. They asked for people's views on it but when I responded within 4 hours they said they had closed the process. So here's my response on most of their points I've added extra letters in some cases since Reform don't appear to be able to count properly. The original document can be found online at https://assets.nationbuilder.com/reformuk/pages/253/attachments/original/1708781032/Reform_UK_Contract_With_The_People.pdf
Reform Manifesto? Contract
==========================
Can Reform count?
2, 3, 4, 5, 5, 8, 9, 11, 13, 15, 16, 17, 18, 19, 20, 21, 22,
243, 26, 27, 28, 29 Were these meant to be page numbers? In which case put them
right aligned and check they go to the right pages.
Certainly, this is a trivial point but it doesn't inspire
confidence when the first thing people see is an 'odd' count. Employ a
proofreader!
2. Government waste - Certainly a good idea. (But make sure
the PDF text can be read over the background) Proofreader again.
3. Economy - Personal (a) Acceptable. Certainly, tax should not be paid by
those on basic pension and benefits.
(b) Taxing energy is an evil tax. It's particularly hard on
those with low income. Perhaps this could be done on a sliding scale?
(c) If you've made the effort to buy a home why pay extra
tax on this? Seems wrong.
(d) I wasn't even aware of this but I don't think it will
have much effect.
(e) I approve. This death tax hits particularly hard in the
South.
5. Immigration. Reform seems particularly fixated on this. It may be
your, racist priority but it's not the priority of most of the UK. Kind of
reminds me of that quote "If you tell a lie, and tell it often enough then
people will believe it." From Roman times the UK has benefited from
immigration.
5 (again) NHS. (a. Cut basic tax of all frontline NHS staff for 3 years as an incentive) An excellent idea.
(b Use Independent Healthcare capacity) Again worthwhile considering provided that the cost is
not increased.
(c. Tax relief of 20% on all private health insurance) No - bad idea and unfair to those without
the means. But a discount of what is paid in National Insurance might be
appropriate.
(d.Write off student fees pro rata per year over
10 years of NHS service for all doctors, nurses & medical staff) I would go further and scrap tuition fees for all UK
doctors and nurses. Plus give them bursaries to cover housing costs while
training.
(e.New NHS Voucher Scheme) Could prove expensive - Try to reduce waiting times by
other methods first and consider introducing vouchers over time. (And a proofreader will tell you an ellipsis is three dots not two btw.)
(f) Cut waste and bureaucracy? Always desirable.
(g. Save A&E) I think this sounds an obvious step, but many A&E
are being closed at night. Reconsider this.
(h) I'd like to see this. An investigation into vaccine harm
would be useful even if is found that more lives were saved than deaths caused
by the vaccines.
8. Energy (a) DON'T scrap Net Zero. It's a target to work towards.
We can't afford to burn the finite fuels we need as chemical feedstock.
BUT
Put much greater emphasis on insulation and efficiency. For
example, EVERY home in the UK could have its exterior walls insulated with a
1.5 mm layer of aerogel insulation which, in the worst quality housing, could
save up to 35% of energy costs. It would cost less than three of those nuclear
power stations and wouldn't take 10 years to complete.
(b renewable energy subsidies cancellation) Bad idea. We are not doing enough to promote renewables
but building huge windmills may not be the answer. We need to put extra effort
into wave and tidal power, vortex windmills in cities especially on dual
carriageway central reservations, geothermal power, gravity power storage. By
all means encourage solar power but not on agricultural land. Sheep are quite
happy to graze under solar panels.
(c) Shale gas and fracking. Fine be aware of these resources
but the time for them is not now. Leave them until we are desperate.
(d) Caution is needed for some 'clean energy' such as
hydrogen. It has a potential to cause disaster from accidents during
transport or refuelling. It might have a use in aircraft. Nuclear power, unless
fusion power becomes available, stores up problems we have no right to leave to
our descendants.
9. Policing - I suspect this is another 'Tell a lie often
enough' issue. Crime is low with the possible exception of Internet fraud.
Violent crime is decreasing and will be lower still as lead works its way out
of our environment. We do need to do something about police numbers though. The
Conservatives lied by omission when they said "We've employed an extra
20,000 police (but omit to say 25,000 police left in the same period)"
11. Justice - We do need more prisons and prison officers.
The criminal justice budget does need updating. Hate crime needs public shame
and you stressing this is much a case of the pot calling the kettle black.
Public demonstrations need no new legislation. 'Life means life' can't be a
general rule and needs interpretation on an individual basis. Organised crime?
Yes - throw the book at them. Perhaps those trafficking illegal immigrants
should spend 5 years working for subsistence pay before being deported if they
are not British citizens.
Child grooming gangs? Is this as common as made out?
Certainly a 'throw the book at them' crime on conviction.
Youth crime is a failure of society; fix that first.
12 Education. The function of government here is to provide
the funding needed and to stop interfering so as to reduce the stress on
teachers. Teaching, especially in STEM subjects, doesn't need the input of
politicians who only seem to have made matters more difficult.
Transgender ideology in primary school? I doubt if many
would disagree here apart from a few who give 'woke' a bad name.
Critical race theory should be a part of the history
curriculum so that students can learn from the mistakes of the past.
Labour has got it wrong on charging VAT on private
education. It's likely to cause the closure of some schools and increase the
load on public sector schools.
Student loans? I'd rather we brought back grants to those
who have the ability to make use of a University Education.
Life skills classes? Yes this is a common sense idea and
tremendously helpful
Smartphones? I personally wouldn't give a child under 14 a
phone. Their developing skull doesn't need the radiation and their maturity
lags behind in the responsible use.
Benefits - Sounds good but I suspect you would make a deeper
mess of this. Not everyone is capable of working. Investigate Universal Basic
Income first before tampering with the benefit system.
Two strike rule for job offers - Should a person with a
degree in a STEM subject be forced to take a job flipping burgers?
PIP face to face assessment? Have you any idea how stressful
this would be to an autistic person?
Brexit - a complete and utter disaster. A 37% minority made
this decision based on lies and misinformation. A government elected by 29.1%
forced it through. You are WRONG about this! The majority of the electorate now
thinks this was a mistake. We should hold another referendum on re-joining BUT
count those who don't bother voting as a half vote for the status quo choice
which in this case would be remaining outside the EU. No decision by less than
50% of the electorate should be final. Less than 50% indicates we should
investigate why people were unhappy with the EU and attempt to fix it.
Housing. Suggesting that immigration is the cause of housing
shortages is questionable. The idea that immigrants should go to the back of
the queue for housing is wrong. Each case, immigrant or not, should be judged on
its merit.
Children and families. I approve of supporting marriage
through the tax system and allowing mums to stay at home with young
children but what about family partnerships? They exist.
Single sex spaces? Isn't this making a mountain out of a
molehill? Are you going to have people at single sex spaces to determine if
entrants are the right sex?
Transport & Utilities
Scrapping HS2 and focusing on the North are
contradictory.
ULEZ does need further investigation. Perhaps making drivers
more aware if their vehicle is not compliant.
We do need a national water grid but I would remind
you of the extensive tunnels dug from Northumberland to Teesside and then never
used.
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