If You Could Be Prime Minister Of

[emmie]

the UK for one year what would you do, no interference from EU, other parties, your own party. no holds barred as it were.
what laws, statutes changes to Britain would you enable, make happen.

seeing as how many of us are armchair politicians, and think we know what we would do if in power, am interested.

[jackthehat]

I'd move Parliament out of 'the capital' and in that way illustrate to the law-makers that the vast majority of the population do not live in London. It might help them give full consideration to the impact their London-centric decisions have on the remainder of the country.

[jackthehat]

*vast majority of the population of the UK

[emmie]

whilst i rather go along with that, as a life long Londoner we pick up every bit of flotsam and jetsam, alongside mass tourism, and mass immigration, illegal and other. plus have no say in what gets built, currently the boom is to build 230 or so skyscrapers, putting paid to a once lovely skyline from any number of our bridges, most notably Westminster and Waterloo.

as PM this building works would cease, and a more moderate plan for lower buildings, and not for rich folk to buy but ordinary Londoners, called affordable homes, not office space.

[emmie]

where would you put Parliament by the way ?

[jackthehat]

Many, many places suffer the same problems you ascribe to London, Emmie. Unfortunately, they aren't so lucky to receive the same sort of financial boosts that find their way to London and the South-east as a whole.

Parliament could be a 'roving institution'.....modern technology, conference calling, etc. could do away with the need for all the MPs to gather under a single roof for deabtes, etc.

[McMouse]

Anyone in the public sector convicted of defrauding UK tax payers would lose their job, pension and also receive a 5 year prison sentence.

[emmie]

so no central Parliament, perhaps, what do with do with the building, its a massive tourist draw.
McMouse, good

[emmie]

what financial boosts by the way, we have the highest cost of living, highest rents, or to buy a home in the country, more and more 1 million homes, which might get you a two bed flat.. so many downsides.

[jackthehat]

Lease it to any companies who'd like the prestige of using it.....that would save the skyline a skyscraper or two.

[ChillDoubt]

Re-introduce the death penalty for the likes of Ian Huntley, Roy Whiting, Mark Bridger et al.

[jackthehat]

London, as a city, receives all sorts of funding/grants for all sorts of initiatives from all sorts of departments......including European ones.

London also benefits from the best transport infrastructure; 2 and a half times per capita spent as you'll find in many areas, the North-west certainly.

[emmie]

they aren't building that way, but nearer Canary Wharf, i don't think they would get the go ahead to mass build skyscrapers that oblitetate the view of The Houses of Parliament.
i would make a ruling that all foreign criminals, and i mean all, once their jail term is up, are booted out with a persona non grata stamped on their passports, and if they end up back here, get booted out again, till they get the message,

[emmie]

have you travelled on the tube lately, or the bus, hell on wheels comes to mind, we are also set to be 10m in the next number of years,
great

[emmie]

chill, much as i want to agree, i simply can't. life should mean life though.

[jno]

declare independence for London. The rest of the country is an albatross around its neck. London generates over a fifth of the country's income from 15% of the workforce; productivity per hour is 29% higher in London than the UK average.

Anyone moaning about London will be invited either to shut up or to emigrate the the ***-heap that is the rest of the UK.

[jno]

goodness... that is s.l.a.g.-heap, obviously. The AB censors are obviously prejudiced against mining towns.

[emmie]

London won't be cut loose, its too valuable, as already pointed out.
it gets criticism rightly so, for overcrowding, cost of living,

[jackthehat]

As I've tried to say......the UK is more, far more than London and her issues, whatever they may be.

Far too many decisions are taken in a city which sees itself in isolation and they seem to be taken on a 'How will this affect/benefit London?' first with the remainder of the country running a not very close second....

[emmie]

the rest of the UK is not a s l a g heap, i have travelled around much of it over time - some parts needs modernising, some need pulling down and starting again, investment is needed and not just in the North.

[jno]

it can cut loose of its own accord, the same as Scotland. It doesn't need the rest of the country, though it has always hospitably accommodated them.