Ducati Sporting Club UK > General > Idle Chat > Fines...ability to pay!

[Jools]

Now by inclination I'm a sort of 'live and let live' type of bloke. Politically, I suppose I'm just a bit left of centre because I don't see myself as part of the hang 'em and flog 'em little englander brigade that inhabit planet Daily Mail.

As well as that, Thatcher's government policies (with Lawson as chancellor) nearly made me bankrupt as the banks suddenly got cold feet with all the 80's entreprenurial spirit, pulling the plug on small businesses and with their poll tax and 15+% interest rates, increased my monthly outgoings by £300 when I was only just scraping by as it was (going to my employer and saying government policies have increased my monthly bills so I need an extra £500 before tax wasn't an option). I found myself deep in debt and like millions of others, deep in negative equity. So I can never, ever forgive the Tories (and Michael Howard was one of Thatchers government).

Having said all that, as I listen to the news there is hardly a day goes by without another announcement from the Home Office with yet more curbs on civil liberty. As Kwikbitch says, these are not laws designed to deter the real scum, they are and ever increasing set of draconian and petty laws that simply target people who are usually 100% law abiding. Blunkett was the most apalling authoritarian Home Secretary that I can ever remember and Clarke is just following in his footsteps.

Is it any wonder that people feel disenfranchised when the only political parties that they have to represent them are a bunch of old Colonel Blimp has beens (I think the average Conservative Club member is 60 and their MP's are pretty close behind), or the arrogance of Blair.

Rant over