An Irritation

In the days before we were swamped with being PC, the army at least had a good expression to describe those who, like today’s media gurus, want only to “stir” an obnoxious substance. Secretly, I think the moniker which I have in mind, is apt.

Independent Sovereign Democratic Britain

Happily, we will now get an Independent Sovereign Democratic Britain, delivered by Brexit.

British sovereignty should no longer be shared and we should be represented abroad by only the British Government; the Sovereign-in-Parliament should be the final arbiter over British Subjects; and we should be Democratic not Bureaucratic.

I stood fast for this—I even had to leave Cameron’s Conservatives—but now the Referendum has delivered our British Will on this, even though the Liberal Democrats do not understand that. I want to be in Parliament to see that this is delivered.

I want to see stronger Defence—it has been cut too far; by definition,  no crystal ball can forecast when we may face an unforeseen danger.

I also want to see better use of the Armed Services abroad, used together with a Civilian Overseas Aid Service, to deliver Foreign Aid in kind on scene (no money handed over); and to be ready to help when Humanitarian and Natural Disasters occur. We need some change in Force structures and some new ships—Logistics, Humanitarian and Military Command and Support ships.  We should consider National Citizenship Service to augment Defence and Humanitarian Aid capabilities.

A Strategic Defence Review should look again at Force roles across the Globe, at Home Based Quick Reaction Mobile Regular Forces and at establishing Commonwealth Naval Task Groups, not least to share meeting Disaster Relief scenarios.

Security, Intelligence and Surveillance must be fully funded.

UK Border Controls and Immigration, post Brexit, should be wholly subject to the sovereign will of Parliament which alone should set and alter these laws and rules as required from time to time. 

Parliament should establish new criteria for British Citizenship, Immigration and Visa entry policies. 

I consider that we should avoid setting Migration level targets—the numbers are always arbitrary—but rely instead on sensible and balanced criteria.

For example, except for security reasons, tourists and visitors should be able to enter with minimal fuss, albeit with an insistence on the visitor being self sufficient and holding health cover insurance for the duration of the agreed length of stay.  Work Visas should be issued when jobs have been secured and health cover insurance provided by the visitor or employer. The employer might need to show that local recruitment was impractical.  A variety of visas would be needed -to cover students, for example.

Refugees should always be given exactly that— safe refuge—where there is a genuine need and usually where a proper approach has been made to the first British Authority with whom the refugee can make contact.  Refugees should be brought to Britain under proper control and suitably accommodated; their aim should be to return home when safe; otherwise, after a period set by Parliament, they should apply for citizenship and full residential status.

As I would like to introduce National Citizenship Service after the age of 18, I would like so see  all applicants for citizenship having to undertake such service, and to pass an English test.

Our Commonwealth Links have sadly diminished since we joined the EC/EU and we must revitalise those relationships in terms of free trade, cultural exchange and strengthen Defence co-operation. I’d propose a Commonwealth Free Trade Agreement.

Small Business: I have a solution to Late Payment Problem: HMRC should penalise late payers, via VAT returns. And I think the Business Rates system across the UK must be radically simplified to be based only on premises size (square footage), regardless of  site location or use, etc, in two bands: one for PLCs and a capped lower rate for SMEs.

National Lottery Ticket’s should include five option boxes so we can direct what benefits:  Research, NHS, Defence, Art & Culture and Community.

 Farming and Fishing should continue to receive, directly from the British Government, the subsidies currently received via Brussels.  Parliament should then, consulting with those industries, change  policies so that both CFP and the CAP fits our circumstances.

Universities  need a guarantee that there will be no non-security restrictions on visas for foreign staff or students.  Attracting foreign investment should be encouraged.

The NHS is vital but a thorough review is needed to get the available money more directly to the point of need.

Food and Fuel Poverty is best combatted by a good economy but we should immediately defy EU restraints and stop VAT on domestic energy.

Space Exploration:  Create a tax free unsubsidized regime to build the British Space Industry.

No more Onshore Wind Turbines unless directly owned, unsubsidized and run by local communities themselves.

Housing needs should be supported with any available public monies primarily being injected to support start up private home ownership.

The Caribbean et al

In  my Election Address for 8th June 2017, I said:

"I 

want to see stronger Defence—it has been cut too far; by definition,  no crystal ball can forecast when we may face an unforeseen danger.

So I also want to see better use of the Armed Services abroad, used together with a Civilian Overseas Aid Service, to deliver Foreign Aid in kind on scene (no money handed over); and to be ready to help when Humanitarian and Natural Disasters– we need some change in Force structures and some new ships—Logistics, Humanitarian and Military Command and Support ships.  We should consider National Citizenship Service to augment Defence and Humanitarian Aid capabilities.

A Strategic Defence Review should look at Force roles across the Globe, at Home Based Quick Reaction Mobile Regular Forces and at establishing Commonwealth Naval Task Groups, not least to share meeting Disaster Relief scenarios."

That view was rejected by North East Fife but I still maintain the concept is a good one.

Why do Police Scotland not budge on voluntary civil aviation help?

In 2013, Willie Rennie MSP (Mid Scotland and Fife) (Scottish Liberal Democrats) asked the Scottish Government what the position was on the role of the civil air patrol service in carrying out extended searches and about what discussions it had had with the service regarding its future role. (S4W-18227).

 Kenny MacAskill replied that the Scottish Government valued the contributions of volunteers, including Civil Air Patrol members to resilience and emergency response work, and that it had been in discussion with Civil Air Patrol, Police Scotland and the Civil Aviation Authority on the issue.

The Scottish Government and Police Scotland had asked the Civil Aviation Authority to determine measures necessary to be taken to remove any regulatory barriers to Police Scotland tasking Civil Air Patrol to assist in search operations.

Mr Rennie also asked the Scottish Government what its position was on Police Scotland’s then decision to no longer use the civil air patrol service and what discussions it had had with Police Scotland regarding that. (S4W-18228).

Mr MacAskill replied that tasking decisions on the use of particular assets are operational matters for Police Scotland. The Scottish Government and Police Scotland had asked the Civil Aviation Authority to determine what measures could be taken to remove any existing regulatory barriers to Police Scotland working with the Civil Air Patrol service.

Since then not much progress appears to have been reported and just this week we have had the horrible news of a crashed car going unnoticed for 3 days despite at least one report to a control room.  Mr Rennie has commented on the tragedy but even he has failed to connect the matter with his his earlier questions, which he does not appear since to have pursued anyway.

Now, lines of sight are an interesting topic - I can quite see why someone sitting in a car, a police patrol car for example, might not see a crashed vehicle lying below his line of vision  below a bank.

But I also know that the perspective chances quite considerable from a more elevated position - from an aircraft flying overhead, for example.   In the case in point, woodland may have obscured even that line of sight.

None of this is a good reason for Police Scotland to not work with the Civil Air Patrol. The  Police do so in England.

Unionist Strategy for Scotland's Holyrood Elections.

The SNP won 56 seats out of 59 on the first past the post vote - the Unionist vote was as good, about equal to the nationalist vote, but divided between Labour, Conservatives and Lib Dems. 

Had the Unionist held open primaries to select a Unionist Candidate per seat, the Unionist side might have taken half the seats.

In late summer 2014, after the referendum , I suggested Unionist should discuss this - the Conservatives replied the next day stating they would do no deals. 

In North East Fife (NEF), the Lib Dems really believed that they would get more than the SNP even when Ashcroft polls showed the SNP on 40/45% with Lib Dems on 30% and Tories on 14% - and the result was on those lines.

The Tories, likewise, told all who would listen that they were going to win. 

Party came before common sense and statistics. That was clear, as even the NO campaign saw each party trying to get credit for being the backbone of Unionism. 

Tories here (NEF) would not concede that a single Unionist would be better, as they wanted the satisfaction of Tories beating the Lib Dems, which they thought they'd do as Ming Campbell had stood down.

It is now past time for Unionists in Scotland to reform - they need a broad coalition or at least a deal to stop the SNP clean-sweeping at Holyrood in 2016. 

I suggest they hold cross party open primaries to select the single Unionist candidate for in each constituency.  The parties should still put forward full party list for the Additional Members contest.

The alternative way to put the full glare on the SNP in power in Holyrood is for Cameron to give Holyrood full fiscal autonomy now.

The SNP, Sturgeon and Swiney, should immediatley have to carry the full the can for a Scottish Budget from the Autumn statement onwards.  That would remove any case the SNP could make to blame Westmintser as usual, and dodge those realities already evident  - such as the poorer showing of the NHS and Education in Scotland compared to England, etc.

Let Unionist parties in Scotland now develop a joint selfless strategy.

UN is not fit - it must get a peace-maker role

The UN needs to mandate action (I have written about the drag of a single veto - it should not stop an 80% mandate of the General Assembly) for the best and most effective forces in the world to implement - the British Armed Forces. No dodgy Blairite dossiers, no wishy-washy bomb from a safe distance USA sorties - any soldier knows one must take and hold ground to neutralize an opponent.

http://www.telegraph.co.uk/…/South-African-mercenaries-secr…

The MP for North East Fife will serve at Westminster, not Holyrood.

There are important local matters that an MP can fight on: For example, our landscape is changing, with wind turbines becoming an increasingly obvious and mostly unwelcome feature. That happens because Westminster has accepted EU renewable energy targets and carbon footprint thresholds. And sanctions paying subsidies for uneconomic wind energy systems which the people who are now setting them up know that they would not pursue if they had to pay foot the bill. Instead, energy users have their bills loaded with a surcharge to bung the wind industry - FITs or Feed In Tariffs cost all of us and benefit the few. Westminster should stop that nonsense.

Defence too, matters locally. Changes at Leuchars will be sorted out in the medium term as the Army replaces the RAF as the main unit there but the change was a mistake. Ming Campbell said it was a strategic mistake. In a way, but not as he meant it, he was right. The strategic error is in the dangerous cut in defences, the reduced size of the RAF fast jet fleet, not so much where the vestiges of the RAF as we knew it are based.

But even on his own measure, that closing RAF Leuchars was a strategic error, the Liberal Democrat's past Leader and Defence Spokesman, rolled with the decision and continued to support the coalition which made, in Ming's terms, the disastrous mistake. He should have really stood up for us and resigned the whip, not back off on a matter of principle. He must have known he was going to retire, so he had little to loose, surely? The impact of a senior resignation would have rattled a cage or two.

We have to restore defence spending to at least meet the agreed NATO targets; it does many things beyond the obvious necessary restoration of defence capacity. It is one of the few real ways in which a government can create real jobs, in the armed services, and in the defence industry. My manifesto, written in March, also advanced my view that we need to strengthen the RFA (Royal Fleet Auxiliary) with hospital ships - in fact with purpose built hospital, rescue and support ships. They would be roled to do what the Prime Minister has now tasked HMS Bulwark to do - a humanitarian mission to rescue and help people in distress; they'd be able also to deploy Field Hospitals ashore (useful for Refugee situations, or for survivors of Natural Disasters), produce water and supply energy, whilst still having the ability to carry out their normal role of RAS (Resupply At Sea).

There are many issues for your MP to address, like those above. It is, now, for your MSP and councillors to try to get the NHS and Education right in Scotland: I assume all the other candidates do accept the existence of the Scottish Parliament.

What is going on?

An interesting slant of politics in Scotland.  I was asked to comment on the apparent status of the Kirkcaldy and Cowdenbeath seat.

What on earth is our focus now in Scotland?  

In my view, Kirkcaldy and Cowdenbeath cannot be regarded as Labour’s safest seat – Gordon Brown is the reason it had that status.

No other Labour figure left in Scotland matches up to his reputation. 

The same lesson holds now for the other parties – the Conservatives, for example, field Ruth Davidson as their asset – perhaps that is true – but who is their top slot leading light actually standing for Westminster?  And that question also applies to the Liberal Democrats.  Of course, Salmond has been outshone by Nicola as well.

None of this is surprising – even the media seem only to be capable of raising Scottish Parliament and Council issues. 

The whole devolution exercise has caused a schism in politics with a loss of focus here of what matters outside of Scotland; it all plays into the hands of the SNP. 

I do not believe that all of the electorate are taken in by this drift – after all is said and done, the SNP lost the referendum.  All Scottish Parties need to remember that.

Make the Big Breaks for Small Business

Small and Medium Enterprises (SMEs), small business to you and me, are the true creators of real, productive jobs in the United Kingdom.   They provide more jobs than do the PLCs.

David Cameron has promised to create 2 million jobs – promised – that word again.   Hard to believe particularly as the only jobs government creates are those in the public tax payer funded sector.   That is not entirely nugatory of course, we sell medical training to overseas student through NHS teaching hospitals, for example, and employing armed forces leads to creation of jobs in industry, manufacturing equipment and building ships.  That said, it is really the private sector which has the potential  to create jobs.

The business environment, however, can kill small business.   We now have EU procurement rules that makes selling to the public sector a game for the multi-nationals, we have all too tight restrictions, often unnecessary, in the work place and restrictions like the working time directive. 

But I consider that the biggest problems for Small Business to overcome are rates and slow or late payers.   We can tackle both.

Business Rates need to be simplified, and divided into two bands; a band for PLCs, which the chancellor can see as a reasonable source of revenue, and a band for SMEs.  Given that we have a large SME sector, it is acceptable for them to pay rates as a resource for the common good, but the system must not weigh against them in favour of PLCss as now. A corner shop pays more in proportion than does a supermarket.  Those hit thus, will know that.

I propose a simpler system based on a straight forward levy per square foot for both PLCs and SMEs, regardless of location. That will help city centre businesses and encourage revitalising small traders in town centre etc.  Secondly, the rate set for SMEs would be in a band factors lower than the PLC band.    I support local responsibility local authorities should be the rate setters for their areas.

Now the big one – dealing with late payers, by whom I mean PLCs, and even local authorities, who keep SMEs waiting for payment.  Indeed, bigger SMEs might well be guilty too.  

The man with the power and tools to sort this out is our dear friend the VAT man.  VAT registered businesses have to render their dues to the VAT man on a regular basis and can be hammered if they do not pay.  All the VAT mand needs to do, is to require VAT payers to include in their returns on VAT , the additional information of how much they owe their creditors beyond a 30 day limit.  There would be an automatic fine by the VAT man on that figure (helping his public pot) and inducing the slow payers to pay on time.   Being a slow payer would be highly uneconomic, and would probably dry up.

To Barnett or not to Barnett?

The Barnett Formula works for the UK - if Scotland gets FA (Fiscal Autonomy) as well, as they all seem hell bent on, Scots will have extra taxes to pay.

Any pleas by Scots for a reduction in UK taxes to balance our personal budgets would mean less spent in Scotland from UK taxes - a reduced slice of Barnett being the most obvious option. Before any tinkering with Barnett, we MUST be told what Full Fiscal Autonomy entails.

How many tax bills is Scotland asking to have levied here?

Is FA so much smoke and mirrors? Sturgeon, Murphy and Davidson MUST clarify this if they want an honest ballot result.

AN INDEPENDENT’S MANIFESTO

Mike Scott-Hayward

AN INDEPENDENT’S  MANIFESTO FOR AN

Independent Sovereign Democratic Britain

26 March 2015

OVERARCHING PRINCIPLES

Independent Britain

                Independent, to emphasise that British sovereignty shall no longer be shared or surrendered.

Britain Governing herself, not governed by any supra national authority – and therefore not in the EU.

Britain represented only by the British Government abroad and in all international organisations – such as the UNO, IMF, IMO, NATO, EFTA, et al.

Sovereign Britain

                The Sovereign-in-Parliament final arbiter over British Citizens

Democratic Britain

Democratic not Bureaucratic

POLICY GUIDELINES

·         Defence

o   SLBM based Nuclear Deterrent.

o   Carrier Force – cover roles across Atlantic/Mediterranean, Asian and Pacific regions.

o   Home Based and Quick Reaction Mobile Regular Forces.

o   National Service including Civilian Overseas Service and Volunteers.

o   Reserve Forces for Emergencies and to provide a Resilience Corps.

o   Commonwealth Links – establish Commonwealth Naval Task Groups/Squadrons etc

o   East of Suez Base/s

o   Strengthen the Royal fleet Auxiliary – emphasise on new additional Disaster Relief role, including hospital ships.

·         Overseas Aid and Development: 

o    Switch to predominance of assistance provided through Armed Forces, National Service, RFA and Civilian Overseas Service and Volunteers on development and aid  projects coordinated by FCO and MOD.

o   Minimal Financial Support through partial funding of projects delivered by British Companies

·         Security, Intelligence and Surveillance – better resources.

·         Immigration

o   Principle that the UK Border Controls and Immigration are wholly subject to the sovereign will of Parliament which alone sets and alters law and rules as required from time to time.

o   Immigration Quotas will be set when and if necessary based on impact on UK infrastructure and needs.

o   Refugees – People seeking Asylum will always be treated as special case with decisions taken under the Royal Prerogative.

o   Immigrants

§  People seeking permanent British Residential Status and Citizenship, either: 

·         Having British Roots:  Will become British Subjects and Citizens of UK and Colonies upon proof of connection which meets  criteria set by Parliament from time to time, or

·         Not having British roots but seeking full British Citizenship:  May become British Subjects and Citizens of UK and Colonies on application and meeting criteria set by Parliament from time to time, after 5 year qualification and contribution period during which time they must have held an appropriate Entry Visa.

§  People seeking Limited Residential Status (Renewable periodically), for the purpose of work, study or investment:

·         Entry Visa conditional upon holding proof, and continued applicability, of full medical insurance cover and proof of:

o   Employment Position covered by Employers Certificate of necessity and  remunerated sufficiently so as to ensure the entrant will be fully self-financing in respect of all own living, accommodation needs and of any admissible accompanying dependents; or

o   Fully funded University (or other approved establishment) place including full living and accommodation expenses or

o   Fully Self Financing in all respect, including medical insurance and ability to maintain investment or bank deposit holdings at level set from time to time by Parliament.

o   Tourists – Time limited Visas subject to proof of Medical Care Insurance and sufficient holding of funds for intended visit activities.

·         The Commonwealth. 

o   Renew emphasis on cooperation with Commonwealth in international affairs

o   Renew and encourage trade with and within the Commonwealth.  Propose a Commonwealth Free Trade Agreement.

·         Small Business:

o   Solution to Late Payment Problem – HMRC penalise late payers, via VAT returns.

o   Business Rates – based directly on premises size (area/square footage), not location, use, etc, in two bands: PLCs and SMEs

·         NHS: 

o   NHS UK – stronger Hospital Based structure with autonomous GP practices

o   Care Homes – sourced by Hospitals, from Council, Social, Charity and Private Sector (Nanny cannot do it all)

·         Democracy

o   Parliament

§  Cohesive Parliamentary Structure 

§  Westminster integrated with four National Parliaments – MPs sit at Westminster and in National Parliaments, with additional National Members for PR balance.

§  Repeal the Coalition clamp on motions of confidence and the fixed term restriction of democracy.

o   Recall - Simple system of by election called when 30% of registered voters sign petition.          

o   Binding Local Referenda: Council Decisions, including Planning Consents, overturned by referendum of voters in affected wards when appeal called by 20% of the relevant voters.

·         Smaller Government – Guiding Principle should be to not legislate unless doing so is only solution.

·         Housing – Remit of the National Parliaments but need for a UK regime encouraging first/single home ownership.

·         International Trade –Engage in full trading relationships worldwide with an emphasis on trade with the Commonwealth, EFTA and the USA.

·         Energy

o   Full mix led by nuclear with clean oil, gas and coal technology, fracking, tidal, solar and riparian power.

o   No subsidy, support or targets for intermittent wind or wave power but no bar to private development if Planning Consent, decided “in county”, is agreed. (See Planning).

·         Railways

o   HS2 becomes United Kingdom High Speed Railway (UK HSR):  Floated for public and private investment, build from both ends (and even the middle outwards), including Scotland and Wales.  Must have high freight capacity.

o   Encourage investment in new rail links using fiscal leniency.

o   Review Rail Franchises- longer term investments 

·         Personal Taxation and Welfare Support

o   Properly establish system as advocated by the tax Payers Alliance, whereby a choice between a Citizen Benefit and a Tax free Allowance, removes benefit trap and encourages people to take employment without facing claw-backs.

·         Space Exploration:  Tax free unsubsidized environment to encourage British ventures.

·         Human Trafficking:   Human trafficking has increased; it is abhorrent and a prime cause involves prostitution.    Prostitution cannot be stopped but a safer environment can be created to protect for sex workers as well and creating a disincentive, taking the profit out of human trafficking. 

o   Regulation a preferred,  safer and better route than unenforceable wholesale prohibition

o   License sex workers’ register, approved and held by local authority.

o   Human Trafficking (for any purpose) to carry minimum sentence of 10 years imprisonment without parole

·         Coalition- in extremis only – supply and confidence support

Dumb, not smart

An IoD report highlights a number of key concerns about Smart Meters:

Despite the EU Directive, 11 nations have ruled out electricity smart meters and only 5 are pushing ahead with the 2020 target for gas meters. 

In contrast, as is so often is the case, the UK has gold-plated the Directive.

The government refuses to publish any of the reports on the programme by the Major Projects Authority.

The cost-benefit analysis conducted by the Department for Energy and Climate Change is so heavily redacted as to be almost unreadable.

The Smart Meter network would be vulnerable to cyber-attack and disruption.
Introducing time-of-day pricing to shift consumer demand will only work with price increases that are not politically realistic. 

Retail consumers really can’t change their energy consumption that much.

AN INDEPENDENT’S MANIFESTO

Mike Scott-Hayward

AN INDEPENDENT’S  MANIFESTO FOR AN

Independent Sovereign Democratic Britain

26 March 2015

OVERARCHING PRINCIPLES

Independent Britain

                Independent, to emphasise that British sovereignty shall no longer be shared or surrendered.

Britain Governing herself, not governed by any supra national authority – and therefore not in the EU.

Britain represented only by the British Government abroad and in all international organisations – such as the UNO, IMF, IMO, NATO, EFTA, et al.

Sovereign Britain

                The Sovereign-in-Parliament final arbiter over British Citizens

Democratic Britain

Democratic not Bureaucratic

POLICY GUIDELINES

·         Defence

o   SLBM based Nuclear Deterrent.

o   Carrier Force – cover roles across Atlantic/Mediterranean, Asian and Pacific regions.

o   Home Based and Quick Reaction Mobile Regular Forces.

o   National Service including Civilian Overseas Service and Volunteers.

o   Reserve Forces for Emergencies and to provide a Resilience Corps.

o   Commonwealth Links – establish Commonwealth Naval Task Groups/Squadrons etc

o   East of Suez Base/s

o   Strengthen the Royal fleet Auxiliary – emphasise on new additional Disaster Relief role, including hospital ships.

·         Overseas Aid and Development: 

o    Switch to predominance of assistance provided through Armed Forces, National Service, RFA and Civilian Overseas Service and Volunteers on development and aid  projects coordinated by FCO and MOD.

o   Minimal Financial Support through partial funding of projects delivered by British Companies

·         Security, Intelligence and Surveillance – better resources.

·         Immigration

o   Principle that the UK Border Controls and Immigration are wholly subject to the sovereign will of Parliament which alone sets and alters law and rules as required from time to time.

o   Immigration Quotas will be set when and if necessary based on impact on UK infrastructure and needs.

o   Refugees – People seeking Asylum will always be treated as special case with decisions taken under the Royal Prerogative.

o   Immigrants

§  People seeking permanent British Residential Status and Citizenship, either: 

·         Having British Roots:  Will become British Subjects and Citizens of UK and Colonies upon proof of connection which meets  criteria set by Parliament from time to time, or

·         Not having British roots but seeking full British Citizenship:  May become British Subjects and Citizens of UK and Colonies on application and meeting criteria set by Parliament from time to time, after 5 year qualification and contribution period during which time they must have held an appropriate Entry Visa.

§  People seeking Limited Residential Status (Renewable periodically), for the purpose of work, study or investment:

·         Entry Visa conditional upon holding proof, and continued applicability, of full medical insurance cover and proof of:

o   Employment Position covered by Employers Certificate of necessity and  remunerated sufficiently so as to ensure the entrant will be fully self-financing in respect of all own living, accommodation needs and of any admissible accompanying dependents; or

o   Fully funded University (or other approved establishment) place including full living and accommodation expenses or

o   Fully Self Financing in all respect, including medical insurance and ability to maintain investment or bank deposit holdings at level set from time to time by Parliament.

o   Tourists – Time limited Visas subject to proof of Medical Care Insurance and sufficient holding of funds for intended visit activities.

·         The Commonwealth. 

o   Renew emphasis on cooperation with Commonwealth in international affairs

o   Renew and encourage trade with and within the Commonwealth.  Propose a Commonwealth Free Trade Agreement.

·         Small Business:

o   Solution to Late Payment Problem – HMRC penalise late payers, via VAT returns.

o   Business Rates – based directly on premises size (area/square footage), not location, use, etc, in two bands: PLCs and SMEs

·         NHS: 

o   NHS UK – stronger Hospital Based structure with autonomous GP practices

o   Care Homes – sourced by Hospitals, from Council, Social, Charity and Private Sector (Nanny cannot do it all)

·         Democracy

o   Parliament

§  Cohesive Parliamentary Structure 

§  Westminster integrated with four National Parliaments – MPs sit at Westminster and in National Parliaments, with additional National Members for PR balance.

§  Repeal the Coalition clamp on motions of confidence and the fixed term restriction of democracy.

o   Recall - Simple system of by election called when 30% of registered voters sign petition.          

o   Binding Local Referenda: Council Decisions, including Planning Consents, overturned by referendum of voters in affected wards when appeal called by 20% of the relevant voters.

·         Smaller Government – Guiding Principle should be to not legislate unless doing so is only solution.

·         Housing – Remit of the National Parliaments but need for a UK regime encouraging first/single home ownership.

·         International Trade –Engage in full trading relationships worldwide with an emphasis on trade with the Commonwealth, EFTA and the USA.

·         Energy

o   Full mix led by nuclear with clean oil, gas and coal technology, fracking, tidal, solar and riparian power.

o   No subsidy, support or targets for intermittent wind or wave power but no bar to private development if Planning Consent, decided “in county”, is agreed. (See Planning).

·         Railways

o   HS2 becomes United Kingdom High Speed Railway (UK HSR):  Floated for public and private investment, build from both ends (and even the middle outwards), including Scotland and Wales.  Must have high freight capacity.

o   Encourage investment in new rail links using fiscal leniency.

o   Review Rail Franchises- longer term investments 

·         Personal Taxation and Welfare Support

o   Properly establish system as advocated by the tax Payers Alliance, whereby a choice between a Citizen Benefit and a Tax free Allowance, removes benefit trap and encourages people to take employment without facing claw-backs.

·         Space Exploration:  Tax free unsubsidized environment to encourage British ventures.

·         Human Trafficking:   Human trafficking has increased; it is abhorrent and a prime cause involves prostitution.    Prostitution cannot be stopped but a safer environment can be created to protect for sex workers as well and creating a disincentive, taking the profit out of human trafficking. 

o   Regulation a preferred,  safer and better route than unenforceable wholesale prohibition

o   License sex workers’ register, approved and held by local authority.

o   Human Trafficking (for any purpose) to carry minimum sentence of 10 years imprisonment without parole

·         Coalition- in extremis only – supply and confidence support

Mike Scott-Hayward

Independent Sovereign Democratic Britain

I simply cannot find a party for which to vote which adequately covers all the bases I consider necessary; moreover, those that come close on some points have gained track records of breaking promises.

All I want is an Independent Sovereign Democratic Britain:

Independent Britain

Independent, to emphasize that British sovereignty should no longer be shared or surrendered: Britain governing herself, not governed by any supra national authority – and therefore not in the EU. Britain represented only by the British Government abroad and in all international organisations – such as the UNO, IMF, IMO, NATO, EFTA, et al.

Sovereign Britain

The Sovereign-in-Parliament - the constitutional framework which should be final arbiter over British Citizens

Democratic Britain

Democratic not Bureaucratic: Decision making should wherever possible require or be subject to the endorsement of the people most affected. Our Parliament, as our supreme sovereign authority, subject as it has always meant to be, subject to the democratic will of the British People; its members, our MPs, sitting subject to the goodwill and support of their electing constituents, and hence liable to recall if that goodwill is lost.

It seems to me that my only choice is  to stand again; to stand for North East Fife at the General Election on 7th May 2015.

So today I am launching my appeal to raise money for a deposit and for leaflets if possible.  

Moreover, I have submitted a registration application to the Electoral Commission though they are unlikely to clear it as a "party registration" in time. 

If registered, I will be able to use the description "Independent Sovereign Democratic Britain" on the ballot paper - otherwise I will simply be an Independent.

I will publish a Manifesto here soon. 

Views or comments etc to me via email: independentsovereigndemocraticbritain@outlook.com

Mike Scott-Hayward