A Coffee House challenge

Bernard from Horsham

Read the comments on the winners thread again SVP. I think one of the winners said he would pass on the prize

Ted Tedford

Within 12 months, deliver a National Security Strategy that defines our national security agenda in clear terms of ends, ways and means. This should not include action on global warming, poverty in Africa or resource scarcity in a thinly-veiled attempt to define security so widely as to dilute the resources given to Defence and our intelligence and security services.

Thereafter, conduct a properly-focused Defence Review that resources the means appropriate to deliver our stated ends.

Tom

Reduce/scrap VAT on food. A hugely regressive tax that affects the poorest in society the most.

Mark Heenan

One small measure that would be welcome and would fit in seamlessly with Cameron's drive to invigorate the third sector would be to make CRB checks free for all voluntary and not-for-profit organisations such as junior football clubs, scout branches and the like

Tim Hedges

Taxation of foreigners living overseas

Alan Phillips

I would like to see a commitment to introduce both insurance and mot discs to align with the current tax disc. When applying on light, documents don't need to be shown, so the information is with the DVLA. Anybody not displaying valid documents get their cars removed and crush within a cirtain time span. It would reduce the number of illegal road users, through being able to ID them at a glance...

Alan Phillips - please rid the last post sent by me

I would like to see a commitment to introduce both insurance and mot discs to align with the current tax disc. When applying on-line, documents don't need to be shown, so the information is with the DVLA. Anybody not displaying valid documents get their cars removed and crush within a certain time span. It would reduce the number of illegal road users, through being able to ID them at a glance...

mckenzie

Allow the adult minimum wage for 18 year olds. Why should anyone have to wait until they are 22 before they can earn a fair wage.

What are the current rates of the national minimum wage?
There are three levels of minimum wage, and the rates from 1st October 2007 are:

£5.52 per hour for workers aged 22 years and older
A development rate of £4.60 per hour for workers aged 18-21 inclusive
£3.40 per hour for all workers under the age of 18, who are no longer of compulsory school age.

This is highly discriminating against young people, and sends out a clear message about what their worth is deemed to be by the government.

Giving all 18 year olds the maximum minimum wage would encourage more work ethic amongst young people, and would also boost the economy.

David Lindsay

And still the dreaming goes on.

At least Old Labour had the wit to despise Blair back. Whereas you seem dtermined to love Cameron for no reason at all, and determined to believe, despite all the evidence, that he might ever do anything of which you approve.

Why? Why won't you face facts?

Max Kaye

A pledge to remove 10 laws from the statute book for every new law passed.

David

David Lindsay seems to have a rare gift for extracting facts from his own hypotheticals.

Civil Service reform to remove the Labour wonks would be the first thing on the list for me. You can't expect such an organisation to make your plans a reality if everyone in it voted for the other guys.

Andrew Scadding

A written constitution which would defend our liberties as citizens against encroachment by the state, and similarly limit EU mission creep by ensuring the people's right to vote on all treaty changes. (Might model that part of the excellent Irish example.)

Richard Shackleton

Dropping the requirement to have a TV licence. Instead the BBC should be funded by the sale of subscriptions - this move from 'broad' cast to 'narrow' cast is made theoretically possible by the shutting down of the analogue signal and would also force the BBC to adopt a more commercial approach to its programming. In all likelihood this would force it to cut back on its activities and move its mainstream program making upmarket.

Ian C

I favour a written constitution and fixed 4 year terms for a Parliament with a maximum 2 terms for any PM, and 4 terms for a sitting MP and no MP can become such without 5 years as self/employed in the private 'for profit' sector.

But you mentioned a small item - ban caravans on the roads between 7 am and 7 pm.

Water

Increase jail penalties for peadophiles.

Nicholas

I'm with Max Kaye and Andrew Scadding but regarding the constitution I'd like to see a reaffirmation of some our old and passed over laws and rights.

I also agree with David that de-contaminating the Civil Service of the socialist-fascist marxists is going to be a challenge. Hopefully with that will come a common sense end to the world of PC and thought/speech policing of the type blighting Canada and creeping in here.

The obliteration of Quangos high on the list too.

Root and branch reform of the police and dissolution of ACPO please. Back to basics (and blue) for the boys in black - they should be uniformed members of the public as originally envisaged not an arm of the state.

Chris

Referendum on EU membership

Tiberius

Ban Gatso speed cameras and speed traps.

Known accident blackspots should have physical speed reducing measures such as a chicane, and other locations have the neon, flashing speed warning devices, which have the instant effect of making the driver brake.

After all, we're trying to prevent accidents, not raise revenue - aren't we?

Desperate Dan

1. A Bill to stop rich crooks/oligarchs from buying our land and property. Kings College having to compete for premises with an Israeli property developer was obscene.
2. A Bill to stop imports of fruit and veg from outside the UK/EU. Support British farmers not foreign ones.
3. A promise never to allow GM crops to be grown in the UK.
4. An immediate stop to the building of the Palace of Justice. The unelected law lords have already caused untold damage to our society since they decided to weight the scales of justice heavily in favour of criminals. The new govt. shouldn't pander to their delusions of omnipotence.
5. Make all school desks face the front; reintroduce morning assembly and times tables. Ignore the resultant left-wing clamour.
6. Reintroduce foxhunting just to annoy Labour and the antis.
7. Remove Peter Mandelson from Brussels. He's an embarrassment.
8. Arrest Tony Blair for war crimes - lying to take the country to war is much worse than Geoffrey Archer's perjury and his punishment should be 100 times worse.
9. State owned property, if it must be sold, should be sold loudly and publicly on the open market not in some hole and corner deal with party donors.
10. Get rid of the quangoes.
11.........to be continued.

Short the UK

Put up the winter fuel allowance and pump more money into Warmfront.

Chris Gilmour

Use fuel duty more flexibly to help the motorist, so that there's more parity with other European countries at the petrol pumps.

PoliticiansStink

Remove income tax from the pay of servicemen on duty in Iraq and Afghanistan.

Anan

The reversal of every single law and change made by this bunch of incompetent, corrupt, fools.

Verity

Forget all these fiddly little requests. Regarding Cameron, I won't be satisfied by anything other than an absolute iron-clad promise to repeal every law put on the books by the Labour fascists over the past 11 years (and up until election day).

Don't mess around. Everything Labour has hammered into our legislation has wounded democracy and wounded our ancient rights. Every one of them must be scrapped.

I he promised irrevocably that they would all go down the pan at one stroke of the pen, I would vote for him.

And, obviously, a referendum on his spiritual home and one he will be seeking to dwell in when his premiership (if there is one) folds, the EU.

Neil Turner

Eradicate political correctness (but need to leave the EU first otherwise the courts will overturn)

Richard

Increase the personal allowance to £10,000 per annum. Allow schools to teach practical and vocational skills such as bricklaying, instead of fobbing off the less academic with tokenistic tosh such as Records of Achievement.

DW

Adoption: take race out of it. Place the child with a loving family, full stop.
Fostering: encourage more people to volunteer, and give them more recognition and support for their work. Allow fostering to be extended beyond the age of 18 if necessary.
And I support Mark Heenan's comment above re paying for CRB checks.

TGF UKIP

I doubt it will take actual legislation but the first undertaking of a Tory Government, if there is to be one, should be to reinstate military hospitals.

In the meantime, with no ifs, buts and caveats from the Dept of Health, all military personnel to be treated in an entirely different wing from civilians. No more Selly Oaks - and an appropriate sum (£5bn comes to mind) to be hypothecated from the Health Budget to fund an expedited programme of establishing new military hospitals.

The Tories to make a full and proper apology to the Armed Forces for their error in starting the closure of military hospitals under Pillock Major, a policy unsurprisingly pursued with gusto by the post 97 Labour Government.

daniel1979

Obivioulsy a referendum on the EU, and a workable solution for the House of Lords. But also...

Local councils should change the way they approach waste and recycling. For starters househoulds should get their rubish collected at least once a week.

But with recycling, Local Councils (recently gutted of unneeded bureaucrats by the newly elected Tories!) should put collection bins in car parks, schools, community centers etc. Then the new scheme should seek to sell the recyclable material for a profit. The scheme should be audited annually and if there is a profit on the scheme (locally), it should be returned directly in the form of a council tax cut for the following year.

The Tories should set out to issue grants to new & existing businesses that seek to trade in such (UK Sourced) recyclable materials.

I would wager current re-cycling targets would be smashed using a positive incentive (rather than fines and punishments) and people would not only recycle for a financial return, but it would become a community activity. Additionally, if recyclable material becomes an asset, people will be encouraged to buy products in recyclable packaging and thus business will automatically be more environmentally concerned (again without the need of fines and regulations).

Companies should be included to and recieve rebates on their local taxes, from local pubs right up to big supermarkets.

Hysteria

- flat tax
- repeal 10 laws for each one enacted
- renegotiate EU membership
- no ID cards
- elected chiefs of police

in the second month - free pilates classes for all

daniel1979

Obivioulsy a referendum on the EU, and a workable solution for the House of Lords. But also...

Local councils should change the way they approach waste and recycling. For starters househoulds should get their rubish collected at least once a week.

But with recycling, Local Councils (recently gutted of unneeded bureaucrats by the newly elected Tories!) should put collection bins in car parks, schools, community centers etc. Then the new scheme should seek to sell the recyclable material for a profit. The scheme should be audited annually and if there is a profit on the scheme (locally), it should be returned directly in the form of a council tax cut for the following year.

The Tories should set out to issue grants to new & existing businesses that seek to trade in such (UK Sourced) recyclable materials.

I would wager current re-cycling targets would be smashed using a positive incentive (rather than fines and punishments) and people would not only recycle for a financial return, but it would become a community activity. Additionally, if recyclable material becomes an asset, people will be encouraged to buy products in recyclable packaging and thus business will automatically be more environmentally concerned (again without the need of fines and regulations).

Companies should be included to and recieve rebates on their local taxes, from local pubs right up to big supermarkets.

max

repeal the ban on Fox hunting.

Fergus Pickering

McKenzie, paying youngpeople less is a very good idea. Who would ever employ them if they weren't cheap. After all, they know nothing and, being teenagers, need to sleep at least ten hours a day, a good deal of it while ostensibly working. And one of the good things about being young, besides all the other good things like being up for sex ALL THE TIME, is that you grow out of it.

Ben Elford

Improve road utilisation by getting rid of most bus lanes, and all 2+ lanes.

Make speed humps and (dangerous)chicanes illegal.

Chris Gilmour

Tax breaks for non-petrol based taxi fleets.
Reduce the national speed limit to 50mph
Pedestrianise more city centres

Patrick, London

A massive programme of repealing the huge number of bullshit laws passed by Labour; and

AN EU REFERENDUM!

gerry

Stop paying the fecund idle to reproduce.

Aidan

1. Complete reform of local government, to create one single tier of local government in England and Wales with responsibility for all local services including police, health, planning and education with no interference from Whitehall. This to be funded entirely out of locally raised taxation with no Treasury subsidy.

2. All civil service pension schemes, including local government schemes, which are based on final salary to be closed to new entrants and closed to further accrual of benefits. These to be replaced by money purchase schemes based on best practice in private sector.

Aidan

Have just re-read the intro and realise that you are looking for a small piece of legislation with a big impact. So here goes:

Businesses not to be allowed to recover VAT on their payments unless they can prove that they paid them within 30 days of the invoice date. The effect of this would be an immediate enhancement in the cashflow of small businesses, who are too often screwed by bigger businesses who order goods and services but fail to pay for them within a reasonable period.

oldtimer

Improve tax incentives for personal savings to re-create/restore the savings ratio to the 8-10% where it should be. This will help fund investment in the private sector (vs the state sector) of the economy and help provide for future retirement income.

Trafalgar

Increase personal allowance to £10,000 and at the same time freeze all public sector pay increases for two years - lower and middle-earners would still benefit enormously and this will keep infation in check.

Announce plans to only replace 2 in every 3 new public sector jobs that come up for grabs a la Sarkozy.

Withdraw from Iraq and Afghanistan, cancel plans for ID cards, freeze all planned super-computer contracts.

Force all welfare claimants to reapply for benefit. This will reduce the number of under 30s who are claiming benefit but can clearly work and end the number of fraudulent claiments.

Use any money saved to pay off government borrowing.

MartSharm

Vouchers for schools.

This would give a clear demonstration of the difference between Labour and Conservative thinking and attitudes:

Balls - we will shut down your local school if they don't meet our arbitrary targets

Cameron - parents have the power to open a new school if current provision doesn't meet local needs.

Goverment knows best or parents know best? You decide.

Ann

Abolish the BBC.

"a referendum on his spiritual home and one he will be seeking to dwell in when his premiership (if there is one) folds, the EU" - more silly fantasy from Verity, as seen in her little crystal ball.

Tom

Small changes people, small changes. How about establishing a convention that MPs wages can only rise by the same amount as the smallest public sector pay rise in any given year.

James

Hi this is James who won the previous post.

My surname is Wildbore (apologies -forgot to include)

Richard

Abolish the TV licence fee - popular with everyone who doesn't live in GuardianWorld; puts some money directly in people's pockets, and deals with the Brown Broadcasting Corporation.

Craig Strachan

I would like to see legislation that obliged local education authorities to complete the assesment and statementing of special needs pupils within 90 days.

maxgood

I would like to see local rates to be funded 100% from national government.It would help those on low incomes.

hysteria

screw the small change joke approach - lets hit the big issues and rescue our country!

Trafalgar

Ban the burqa. This would signal that multi-culturalism should go hand-in-hand with accepting the norms of our Christian society in a Tory government.

Would also think that this would prove popular with Labour (who have indicated a willingness to ban burqas) and also with the women who have the wear the damn things.

James

I think there is no doubt that the Tory government has to make cuts in public expenditure and try to ensure a sense of fairness.

My policy would be to take up the reform of public sector pensions that Labour shied away from. They should link the reforms to reversing Brown's disgusting tax grab on private sector pensions.

The economics wouldn't be one-for-one and the impact of reforming the private pensions would take a couple of decades to appreciate compared to the upfront expense of reducing the tax on private pensions. However at least you would have most of the public on the Government's side as they stand up to the civil servants and their unions.