UKIP Eastern Counties
Whose side are they on? How Big Brother government is ruining Britain
Saturday, 20th February 2010
"It all began when I realised I was shouting aloud at the television," writes Alan Pearce in his book Whose Side Are They On? "I would discover for myself just whose side New Labour is on and it certainly isn't mine."
"At first, I didn't know whether to laugh or cry ... I realised this government has also done terrible damage to our democracy."
"I wanted to know why a government that has introduced many thousands of new laws could fail so badly to solve the concerns of voters."
"I was staggered by the sheer number of new laws that have never been debated in Parliament and how many of them do little or nothing to improve our lives but rather criminalise the law-abiding majority and put most of us on edge."
"Some of the new laws are plain bonkers. Why should it be an offence to 'distrb a pack of eggs when instructed not to by an authorised officer'?"
"In 2007 alone, 3071 new offences were added to the statute book; which works out at around eight new laws a day."
"We now have so many laws it's impossible to say just how many we do have. As a result, the average Briton is committing an offence a day. Forget 'nothing to hide, nothing to fear'."
"But who is going to read a book where I just rant about the injustice of it all? I needed to demonstrate the appalling and callous act of this government by showing how real people are being affected."
"Take for example Gareth Corkhill, a bus driver and father of four from Whitehaven in Cumbria. He was arrested at his home by officers in body armour. Now he can't take the kids to Disney World in Florida because he has a criminal conviction. And what had Gareth done? He had left the lid of his wheelie bin open four inches (10.16 cm); and he is just one of 20,000 homeowners fined for 'bin crimes' in a 12 month period."
"Or how about the man who fell into a coma on a bus and was then blasted twice with police Tasers because he would not 'obey' instructions?"
"Or 82-year-old Frank Gibson, a former mayor of Gravesend, governor of two schools, trustee on two charities, holder of an OBE, and arthritis sufferer who walks with a stick? He was found guilty of assaulting two young police officers who dragged him out of his car after Midnight Mass. Magistrates ordered him to pay costs of £910, and gave him a six-month conditional discharge."
"In the government's fight against crime, these are success stories."
"And then there is the sandwich-maker arrested for having a bread knife in her car and the gardener dragged through courts for harbouring an axe, secateurs and a scythe in the back of his van."
"Most of this would be hilarious if it wasn't so frightening ... It's only when you add up 12 years of ill-thought out legislation that you see the sheer scale of the mess New Labour has made of Britain."
Alan Pearce was the BBC's Kabul correspondent when the Taliban over-ran Afghanistan. Born in London and has worked as a journalist, broadcaster and author for the past 30 years.
