damning judgement by a UK court on a government's flouting of democracy

By Dr Éoin Clarke (PhD)
Court rules that Tory NHS Bill was a violation of 2010 Manifesto
I have never read a more damning judgement by a UK court on a government's flouting of democracy. Below is the full judgement of the Information Tribunal into the Lansley's appeal of the Information Commissioner's November order to publish the NHS Risk Register after Labour MP & former Shadow Health Secretary John Healey's initial requests to do so back in June 2011. In this case the court unanimously decided that the NHS Bill was contrary to the Tory manifesto, unexpected, rushed, far reaching, pre-judged and without proper consultation. In effect, the judgement implies that the Tories cynically hid their plans to carve up the NHS prior to the 2010 election. You and I knew that of course, but to read it in black & white from a court judgement is truly unprecedented. This document below is a devastating indictment of the Tory handling of our democratic process. The judges unanimously ruled the Tory government should release the full contents of the NHS Risk Register.
Read paragraph 85, I did, and I am still numb with shock. Historians now have the black and white evidence from our own judicial system that the Tory party have betrayed the trust of the nation in the way they introduced and passed this bill. History will not forget this utterly shameful deed, and I sincerely hope that the voters do not either.
The exact wording of paragraph 85 is shown below.
“From the evidence it is clear that the NHS reforms were introduced in an exceptional way. There was no indication prior to the White Paper that such wide-ranging reforms were being considered. The White Paper was published without prior consultation. It was published within a very short period after the Coalition Government came into power. It was unexpected. Consultation took place afterwards over what appears to us a very short period considering the extent of the proposed reforms. The consultation hardly changed policy but dealt largely with implementation. Even more significantly the Government decided to press ahead with some of the policies even before laying a Bill before Parliament. The whole process had to be paused because of the general alarm at what was happening”

http://eoin-clarke.blogspot.co.uk/2012/04/wow-court-rules-that-tory-nhs-bill-was.html?spref=tw

Tax relief for giving to charity.

If the government are to limit the amount of monies donated to charities in order to stop big money spinners from escaping paying tax, then the government must ensure, and show that all extra monies taken from these companies in tax will be used to directly aid charities.

History of privatization

The Thatcher government was able to carry out a privatization program far bigger than anyone would have expected at the start, and one that pushed back the frontiers of the state. In 1982 and 1984, the government's ownership share in North Sea oil and gas was privatized, creating among other things Enterprise Oil, today one of the world's largest independent oil companies. The government disposed of its share in British Petroleum -- acquired by Winston Churchill on the eve of the First World War. Ports and airports were privatized. Heathrow and other airports are now owned and operated by a private company, BAA, which also operates airports in the United States.
The first truly massive privatization was the hiving off of the state telephone system into British Telecom.... British Gas, British Airways, and British Steel followed. Later became British Coal and British Rail. The state-owned water system was privatized in the form of a series of regional water companies. Most massive of all was the breakup of the state-owned electric power monopoly into twelve regional distribution companies,* three generating companies, and one open-access grid company

On a +ve note;

Each one of us can make a difference. Together we make change.

- Barbara Mikulski. –