THE BISCUIT MANIFESTO

Biscuitman · 22-02-2005, 10:04 PM

' This is our contract with the people'

I believe in Britain. It is a great country with a great history. The British people are a great people. But I believe Britain can and must be better: better schools, better hospitals, better ways of tackling crime, of building a modern welfare state, of equipping ourselves for a new world economy.

I want a Britain that is one nation, with shared values and purpose, where merit comes before privilege, run for the many not the few, strong and sure of itself at home and abroad.

I want a Britain that does not shuffle INTO phpbb_a new age afraid of the future, but strides INTO phpbb_it with confidence.

I want to renew our country's faith in the ability of its government and politics to deliver this new Britain. I want to do it by making a limited set of important promises and achieving them. This is the purpose of the bond of trust I set out at the end of this introduction, in which ten specific commitments are put before you. Hold us to them. They are our covenant with you.

I want to renew faith in politics by being honest about the last 25 years. Some things the government got right. We will not change them. It is where they got things wrong that we will make change. We have no intention or desire to replace one set of dogmas by another.

I want to renew faith in politics through a government that will govern in the interest of the many, the broad majority of people who work hard, play by the rules, pay their dues and feel let down by a political system that gives the breaks to the few, to an elite at the top increasingly out of touch with the rest of us.

And I want, above all, to govern in a way that brings our country together, that unites our nation in facing the tough and dangerous challenges of the new economy and changed society in which we must live. I want a Britain which we all feel part of, in whose future we all have a stake, in which what I want for my own children I want for yours.

A new politics
We will meet the challenges of a different world. The millennium symbolises a new era opening up for Britain. I am confident about our future prosperity, even optimistic, if we have the courage to change and use it to build a better Britain.

To accomplish this means more than just a change of government. Our aim is no less than to set British political life on a new course for the future.

People are cynical about politics and distrustful of political promises. That is hardly surprising. The Exchange Rate Mechanism as the cornerstone of economic policy, Europe, health, crime, schools, sleaze - the broken promises are strewn across the country's memory.

The governments broken promises taint all politics. That is why we have made it our guiding rule not to promise what we cannot deliver; and to deliver what we promise. What follows is not the politics of a 100 days that dazzles for a time, then fizzles out. It is not the politics of a revolution, but of a fresh start, the patient rebuilding and renewing of this country - renewal that can take root and build over time.

That is one way in which politics in Britain will gain a new lease of life. But there is another. We aim to put behind us the bitter political struggles of left and right that have torn our country apart for too many decades. Many of these conflicts have no relevance whatsoever to the modern world - public versus private, bosses versus workers, middle class versus working class. It is time for this country to move on and move forward. We are proud of our history, proud of what we have achieved - but we must learn from our history, not be chained to it.

Our Purpose.
Our purpose is to give Britain a different political choice: We have rewritten our constitution, to put a commitment to enterprise alongside the commitment to justice. We have changed the way we make policy, and put our relations with the trade unions on a modern footing where they accept they can get fairness but no favours from government.

We are a national party, supported today by people from all walks of life, from the successful businessman or woman to the pensioner on a council estate. Young people have flooded in to join us.

The vision
We are a broad-based movement for progress and justice. We are the political arm of none other than the British people as a whole. Our values are the same: the equal worth of all, with no one cast aside; fairness and justice within strong communities.

But we have liberated these values from outdated dogma or doctrine, and we have applied these values to the modern world.

I want a country in which people get on, do well, make a success of their lives. I have no time for the politics of envy. We need more successful entrepreneurs, not fewer of them. But these life-chances should be for all the people. And I want a society in which ambition and compassion are seen as partners not opposites - where we value public service as well as material wealth.

We believe in a society where we do not simply pursue our own individual aims but where we hold many aims in common and work together to achieve them. How we build the industry and employment opportunities of the future; how we tackle the division and inequality in our society; how we care for and enhance our environment and quality of life; how we develop modern education and health services; how we create communities that are safe, where mutual respect and tolerance are the order of the day. These are things we must achieve together as a country.

The vision is one of national renewal, a country with drive, purpose and energy. A Britain equipped to prosper in a global economy of technological change; with a modern welfare state; its politics more accountable; and confident of its place in the world.

Programme: a new centre and centre-left politics
In each area of policy a new and distinctive approach has been mapped out, one that differs both from the solutions of the old left and those of the Conservative right. We believe in the strength of our values, but we recognise also that the policies of 2005 cannot be those of 1947 or 1967. More detailed policy has been produced by us than by any opposition in history. Our direction and destination are clear.

The old left would have sought state control of industry. The Conservative right is content to leave all to the market. We reject both approaches. Government and industry must work together to achieve key objectives aimed at enhancing the dynamism of the market, not undermining it.

There will be basic minimum rights for the individual at the workplace, where our aim is partnership not conflict between employers and employees.

In economic management, we accept the global economy as a reality and reject the isolationism and 'go-it-alone' policies of the extremes of right or left.

In education, we reject both the idea of a return to the 11-plus and the monolithic comprehensive schools that take no account of children's differing abilities. Instead we favour all-in schooling which identifies the distinct abilities of individual pupils and organises them in classes to maximise their progress in individual subjects. In this way we modernise the comprehensive principle, learning from the experience of its 30 years of application.

In health policy, we will safeguard the basic principles of the NHS, which we founded, but will not return to the top-down management of the 1970s. So we will keep the planning and provision of healthcare separate, but put planning on a longer-term, decentralised and more co-operative basis. The key is to root out unnecessary administrative cost, and to spend money on the right things - frontline care.

On crime, we believe in personal responsibility and in punishing crime, but also tackling its underlying causes - so, tough on crime, tough on the causes of crime, different from the Labour approach of the past and the Tory policy of today.

Over-centralisation of government and lack of accountability was a problem in governments of both left and right. Committed to the democratic renewal of our country through decentralisation and the elimination of excessive government secrecy.

In addition, we will face up to the new issues that confront us. We will be the party of welfare reform. In consultation and partnership with the people, we will design a modern welfare state based on rights and duties going together, fit for the modern world.

We will put concern for the environment at the heart of policy-making, so that it is not an add-on extra, but informs the whole of government, from housing and energy policy through to global warming and international agreements.

We will search out at every turn new ways and new ideas to tackle the new issues: how to encourage more flexible working hours and practices to suit employees and employers alike; how to harness the huge potential of the new information technology; how to simplify the processes of the government machine; how to put public and private sector together in partnership to give us the infrastructure and transport system we need.

We will be a radical government. But the definition of radicalism will not be that of doctrine, whether of left or right, but of achievement. We are a party of ideas and ideals but not of outdated ideology. What counts is what works. The objectives are radical. The means will be modern.

The vision is clear. And from that vision stems a modern programme of change and renewal for Britain. We understand that after 26 years of one-party rule, people want change, believe that it is necessary for the country and for democracy, but require faith to make the change.

We therefore set out in the manifesto that follows ten commitments, commitments that form our bond of trust with the people. They are specific. They are real. Judge us on them. Have trust in us and we will repay that trust.

Our mission in politics is to rebuild this bond of trust between government and the people. That is the only way democracy can flourish. I pledge to Britain a government which shares their hopes, which understands their fears, and which will work as partners with and for all our people, not just the privileged few. This is our contract with the people.

BISCUITMAN.

Biscuitman · 23-02-2005, 11:52 AM

I'm more than a little disapointed that nobody replied to this thread.

i was expecting a lot of reaction.

The above manifesto isn't actually mine, its Labour's from 1997!!

I took out the references to New Labour.

There's an excellent website that has their manifestos for the last 100 years.

I was checking to see what their pledges were in 1997 as the policies B-Liar laid out last week sounded familiar.

Yup they are the same, so what have they done in the 8 years between?

mkpdavies · 23-02-2005, 12:03 PM

I could smell the New Labour about it and thus didn't respond!

Truth is I missed it the first time somehow!

Quote:

People are cynical about politics and distrustful of political promises. That is hardly surprising. The Exchange Rate Mechanism as the cornerstone of economic policy, Europe, health, crime, schools, sleaze - the broken promises are strewn across the country's memory.

Add Iraq, fuel protests, fireman protests, mad cow disease, foot and mouth, errosion of civil liberties, and a billion other things!

B.A.Ware · 23-02-2005, 12:19 PM

I didn’t respond because I have just read it, I suppose then I have responded and my response is; where is the link for the website I would like to quote some of their anti-European stances of the 70s.

Biscuitman · 23-02-2005, 12:33 PM

http://www.labour-party.org.uk/manifestos/

Percy the Poodle · 23-02-2005, 04:42 PM

I got a bit scared that they were your ideas and was going to write a reply saying that it all sounded a bit New Labour!

It turns out that the policies were all far to vague and woolly to keep or break and that was precisely what they did again last week.

A tired and directionless gov't with no meaningful opposition - now is our chance :!:

Hartlepool · 23-02-2005, 05:17 PM

Percy,I hope you are right when you say"now is our chance",tomorrow at 7am in Hartlepool voting starts for the Council seat vacated by Mandy Mandelson's replacement,Ian Wright. Just spoken with UKIP Branch Press Officer in Hartlepool an hour ago and to say he is optomistic is an understatement.This Ward has been extensively Canvassed and leafleted over several weeks now.The feeling recieved when door knocking is very very encouraging and new Members are being picked up daily.We should know a result by midnight tomorrow,hopefully.The Candidate for UKIP is rock solid and from the ward,married,ex long term military/Navy/Falklands etc.... I wish him and UKIP luck for tomorrow.

Sarumano · 24-02-2005, 11:26 PM

Hey, good speech, Biscuitman.

I should go with it if I was you. You'll be party leader in no time. :wink:

Nick Moody · 25-02-2005, 09:14 AM

I've just read it as well. Thought it all sounded like rhetorical gobbledegook and was getting a bit worried I was in the wrong party! However when I saw the phrase 'tough on crime, tough on the causes of crime' the penny dropped, a famous (infamous) New Labour saying.

22-02-2005, 10:04 PM	#1 (permalink)
Biscuitman Uber Member Join Date: Oct 2004 Location: Reading Posts: 3,485	THE BISCUIT MANIFESTO ' This is our contract with the people' I believe in Britain. It is a great country with a great history. The British people are a great people. But I believe Britain can and must be better: better schools, better hospitals, better ways of tackling crime, of building a modern welfare state, of equipping ourselves for a new world economy. I want a Britain that is one nation, with shared values and purpose, where merit comes before privilege, run for the many not the few, strong and sure of itself at home and abroad. I want a Britain that does not shuffle INTO phpbb_a new age afraid of the future, but strides INTO phpbb_it with confidence. I want to renew our country's faith in the ability of its government and politics to deliver this new Britain. I want to do it by making a limited set of important promises and achieving them. This is the purpose of the bond of trust I set out at the end of this introduction, in which ten specific commitments are put before you. Hold us to them. They are our covenant with you. I want to renew faith in politics by being honest about the last 25 years. Some things the government got right. We will not change them. It is where they got things wrong that we will make change. We have no intention or desire to replace one set of dogmas by another. I want to renew faith in politics through a government that will govern in the interest of the many, the broad majority of people who work hard, play by the rules, pay their dues and feel let down by a political system that gives the breaks to the few, to an elite at the top increasingly out of touch with the rest of us. And I want, above all, to govern in a way that brings our country together, that unites our nation in facing the tough and dangerous challenges of the new economy and changed society in which we must live. I want a Britain which we all feel part of, in whose future we all have a stake, in which what I want for my own children I want for yours. A new politics We will meet the challenges of a different world. The millennium symbolises a new era opening up for Britain. I am confident about our future prosperity, even optimistic, if we have the courage to change and use it to build a better Britain. To accomplish this means more than just a change of government. Our aim is no less than to set British political life on a new course for the future. People are cynical about politics and distrustful of political promises. That is hardly surprising. The Exchange Rate Mechanism as the cornerstone of economic policy, Europe, health, crime, schools, sleaze - the broken promises are strewn across the country's memory. The governments broken promises taint all politics. That is why we have made it our guiding rule not to promise what we cannot deliver; and to deliver what we promise. What follows is not the politics of a 100 days that dazzles for a time, then fizzles out. It is not the politics of a revolution, but of a fresh start, the patient rebuilding and renewing of this country - renewal that can take root and build over time. That is one way in which politics in Britain will gain a new lease of life. But there is another. We aim to put behind us the bitter political struggles of left and right that have torn our country apart for too many decades. Many of these conflicts have no relevance whatsoever to the modern world - public versus private, bosses versus workers, middle class versus working class. It is time for this country to move on and move forward. We are proud of our history, proud of what we have achieved - but we must learn from our history, not be chained to it. Our Purpose. Our purpose is to give Britain a different political choice: We have rewritten our constitution, to put a commitment to enterprise alongside the commitment to justice. We have changed the way we make policy, and put our relations with the trade unions on a modern footing where they accept they can get fairness but no favours from government. We are a national party, supported today by people from all walks of life, from the successful businessman or woman to the pensioner on a council estate. Young people have flooded in to join us. The vision We are a broad-based movement for progress and justice. We are the political arm of none other than the British people as a whole. Our values are the same: the equal worth of all, with no one cast aside; fairness and justice within strong communities. But we have liberated these values from outdated dogma or doctrine, and we have applied these values to the modern world. I want a country in which people get on, do well, make a success of their lives. I have no time for the politics of envy. We need more successful entrepreneurs, not fewer of them. But these life-chances should be for all the people. And I want a society in which ambition and compassion are seen as partners not opposites - where we value public service as well as material wealth. We believe in a society where we do not simply pursue our own individual aims but where we hold many aims in common and work together to achieve them. How we build the industry and employment opportunities of the future; how we tackle the division and inequality in our society; how we care for and enhance our environment and quality of life; how we develop modern education and health services; how we create communities that are safe, where mutual respect and tolerance are the order of the day. These are things we must achieve together as a country. The vision is one of national renewal, a country with drive, purpose and energy. A Britain equipped to prosper in a global economy of technological change; with a modern welfare state; its politics more accountable; and confident of its place in the world. Programme: a new centre and centre-left politics In each area of policy a new and distinctive approach has been mapped out, one that differs both from the solutions of the old left and those of the Conservative right. We believe in the strength of our values, but we recognise also that the policies of 2005 cannot be those of 1947 or 1967. More detailed policy has been produced by us than by any opposition in history. Our direction and destination are clear. The old left would have sought state control of industry. The Conservative right is content to leave all to the market. We reject both approaches. Government and industry must work together to achieve key objectives aimed at enhancing the dynamism of the market, not undermining it. There will be basic minimum rights for the individual at the workplace, where our aim is partnership not conflict between employers and employees. In economic management, we accept the global economy as a reality and reject the isolationism and 'go-it-alone' policies of the extremes of right or left. In education, we reject both the idea of a return to the 11-plus and the monolithic comprehensive schools that take no account of children's differing abilities. Instead we favour all-in schooling which identifies the distinct abilities of individual pupils and organises them in classes to maximise their progress in individual subjects. In this way we modernise the comprehensive principle, learning from the experience of its 30 years of application. In health policy, we will safeguard the basic principles of the NHS, which we founded, but will not return to the top-down management of the 1970s. So we will keep the planning and provision of healthcare separate, but put planning on a longer-term, decentralised and more co-operative basis. The key is to root out unnecessary administrative cost, and to spend money on the right things - frontline care. On crime, we believe in personal responsibility and in punishing crime, but also tackling its underlying causes - so, tough on crime, tough on the causes of crime, different from the Labour approach of the past and the Tory policy of today. Over-centralisation of government and lack of accountability was a problem in governments of both left and right. Committed to the democratic renewal of our country through decentralisation and the elimination of excessive government secrecy. In addition, we will face up to the new issues that confront us. We will be the party of welfare reform. In consultation and partnership with the people, we will design a modern welfare state based on rights and duties going together, fit for the modern world. We will put concern for the environment at the heart of policy-making, so that it is not an add-on extra, but informs the whole of government, from housing and energy policy through to global warming and international agreements. We will search out at every turn new ways and new ideas to tackle the new issues: how to encourage more flexible working hours and practices to suit employees and employers alike; how to harness the huge potential of the new information technology; how to simplify the processes of the government machine; how to put public and private sector together in partnership to give us the infrastructure and transport system we need. We will be a radical government. But the definition of radicalism will not be that of doctrine, whether of left or right, but of achievement. We are a party of ideas and ideals but not of outdated ideology. What counts is what works. The objectives are radical. The means will be modern. The vision is clear. And from that vision stems a modern programme of change and renewal for Britain. We understand that after 26 years of one-party rule, people want change, believe that it is necessary for the country and for democracy, but require faith to make the change. We therefore set out in the manifesto that follows ten commitments, commitments that form our bond of trust with the people. They are specific. They are real. Judge us on them. Have trust in us and we will repay that trust. Our mission in politics is to rebuild this bond of trust between government and the people. That is the only way democracy can flourish. I pledge to Britain a government which shares their hopes, which understands their fears, and which will work as partners with and for all our people, not just the privileged few. This is our contract with the people. BISCUITMAN. __________________ IF THE EU WAS THE ANSWER, IT MUST HAVE BEEN A STUPID QUESTION!

23-02-2005, 11:52 AM	#2 (permalink)
Biscuitman Uber Member Join Date: Oct 2004 Location: Reading Posts: 3,485	I'm more than a little disapointed that nobody replied to this thread. i was expecting a lot of reaction. The above manifesto isn't actually mine, its Labour's from 1997!! I took out the references to New Labour. There's an excellent website that has their manifestos for the last 100 years. I was checking to see what their pledges were in 1997 as the policies B-Liar laid out last week sounded familiar. Yup they are the same, so what have they done in the 8 years between? __________________ IF THE EU WAS THE ANSWER, IT MUST HAVE BEEN A STUPID QUESTION!

23-02-2005, 12:33 PM	#5 (permalink)
Biscuitman Uber Member Join Date: Oct 2004 Location: Reading Posts: 3,485	http://www.labour-party.org.uk/manifestos/ __________________ IF THE EU WAS THE ANSWER, IT MUST HAVE BEEN A STUPID QUESTION!

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23-02-2005, 12:19 PM	#4 (permalink)
B.A.Ware Moderator Join Date: Jan 2005 Location: Birmingham Posts: 4,143 Party: UKIP	I didn’t respond because I have just read it, I suppose then I have responded and my response is; where is the link for the website I would like to quote some of their anti-European stances of the 70s.

23-02-2005, 04:42 PM	#6 (permalink)
Percy the Poodle Member Join Date: Feb 2005 Location: East Devon Posts: 362	I got a bit scared that they were your ideas and was going to write a reply saying that it all sounded a bit New Labour! It turns out that the policies were all far to vague and woolly to keep or break and that was precisely what they did again last week. A tired and directionless gov't with no meaningful opposition - now is our chance :!:

23-02-2005, 05:17 PM	#7 (permalink)
Hartlepool Uber Member Join Date: Jan 2005 Location: North East England Posts: 6,605 Party: Free England Party	Percy,I hope you are right when you say"now is our chance",tomorrow at 7am in Hartlepool voting starts for the Council seat vacated by Mandy Mandelson's replacement,Ian Wright. Just spoken with UKIP Branch Press Officer in Hartlepool an hour ago and to say he is optomistic is an understatement.This Ward has been extensively Canvassed and leafleted over several weeks now.The feeling recieved when door knocking is very very encouraging and new Members are being picked up daily.We should know a result by midnight tomorrow,hopefully.The Candidate for UKIP is rock solid and from the ward,married,ex long term military/Navy/Falklands etc.... I wish him and UKIP luck for tomorrow.

24-02-2005, 11:26 PM	#8 (permalink)
Sarumano Member Join Date: Dec 2004 Location: Salisbury Posts: 309	Hey, good speech, Biscuitman. I should go with it if I was you. You'll be party leader in no time. :wink:

25-02-2005, 09:14 AM	#9 (permalink)
Nick Moody Member Join Date: Jan 2005 Location: North Yorkshire Posts: 100	I've just read it as well. Thought it all sounded like rhetorical gobbledegook and was getting a bit worried I was in the wrong party! However when I saw the phrase 'tough on crime, tough on the causes of crime' the penny dropped, a famous (infamous) New Labour saying.