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I don't consider abortion a sin. It is undesirable, obviously, and should not be done for trivial reasons, but I believe it should be allowed in extreme circumstances.
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If killing the unborn is not a sin, then what is?
We have abortion on demand in this country. The state should punish the guilty and protect the innocent. In Britain it is the other way round.
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Invited terrorists? "Are you a terrorist, good sir? Yes? Please sign here, then, and come right in!"
Somehow I find that difficult to believe.
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I find it difficult to believe as well. The only reason we have 'power sharing' in Northern Ireland is to reward terrorism. Do you dispute that?
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As for devolution, I do not think that it should be up to the majority of British people to decide on the issue, but instead up to the majority of the sub-group in question; the Scottish, Welsh, Northern Irish or English deciding on Scottish, Welsh, Northern Irish or English Parliaments respectively.
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Devolution affects the way that the whole country is governed (for example in England it has created the 'West Lothian Question'). It therefore requires the agreement of the whole country. If a Scottish parliament fails to get the backing of the majority of the British people then it should not happen. That is democracy. Are you in favour of democracy?
Of course I would agree that an independence vote should be purely a matter for the country concerned. But that is a completely different issue.
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As for making the breakup of the UK inevitable, I think that in fifty years time the UK will still be here, as united a kingdom as ever.
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It isn't united now.
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I see nothing wrong with the European Union, and I certainly contest the allegation that it is bad for the economy. What of the money we save on trade now? What of the European funds poured into British projects?
We give a lot, but I believe we take a lot as well.
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I presume that you are being serious? How can creating unnecessary regulation be good for the economy? How can draining £billions out of the economy to subsidise other European states be good for the economy? How is the expensive to collect and complicated VAT good for the economy? How is the Common Agricultural Policy good for the economy? How is giving away the fishing grounds good for the economy? I urge you to read up on the EU (There are some good books in the 'recommended reading' section of this forum).
Why not replace all this with a simple free trade agreement (which was what we thought we were signing up for in the first place)?
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New laws and regulations are not inherently bad.
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A good law is one that solves a problem. New Labour creates laws that don't solve any problems. This just creates expense and hassle (but it is good for lawyers!)
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Was the 'appalling crime rate' there before?
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Yes. Is that an excuse to do nothing?
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Was the NHS in a bad way before (indeed, can it be in anything but a bad way nowadays? Consider what it must cater for!)?
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Yes it was, but for the money that New Labour is spending, we should have an NHS without waiting lists, and survival rates at least as good as the European average. We do not.
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Reducing taxation is not always good.
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It is not good if taxes are so low that the government doesn't have the revenue to do the basics (eg maintain the transport infrastructure), but in Britain the government is wasting money and spending it inappropriate things. it has a moral duty to cut taxation.
Extracting money from the productive economy and wasting it slows economic growth. Evidence from around the world shows that low tax economies have faster growth rates than high tax ones.
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Also, is it not a little unrealistic to expect that they should reduce taxes AND sort out the crime rate AND the NHS AND control the borders AND sort out education AND do anything else you wish them to do?
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Why is it unrealistic to expect British politicians to do the things that we pay them to do?
To get results governments need: 1. money 2. ideas 3. political will. The British government has more than enough of our money to do ALL these things, what it hasn't got is any ideas or political will.
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I can't contest the dependency culture claim. Do you have any figures to back it up?
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Not off hand no. But I would urge you to read 'The Welfare State We're In' (on the reading list)
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Failed on education? How so?
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I don't have any direct dealings with the British educational system, so the evidence is all circumstantial, but it is compelling:
*Children unable to locate London on a map of the British Isles.
*Record 'A'Level pass-rates, but university admissions tutors complain that students are not qualified to cope with the first year.
* Employers complaining that they cannot get skilled staff.
* Caribbean parents sending their children back to the Caribbean to get a traditional British education
* The lack of basic knowledge of history and geography amongst people I encounter day-to-day.
* Record numbers of people buying private education
* More than a million East Europeans effortlessly finding jobs in Britain, even though we have a million unemployed (this is at least partly due to the dependency culture, but poor educational standards must be a factor)