So, tying it all together, we seem to have a meeting which was 'inappropriate' during a public consultation; which was hidden from public record until a journalist found it had taken place; and which featured MPs and ASH arguably attempting to hijack a public consultation with a view to excluding dissent.But, guys and gals, might we have seen this corrupting of a government public consultation before?
You see, it does kinda explain what could have happened behind the scenes prior to the tobacco display ban back in 2008.
"We are not listed as one of the respondents although our response was submitted by email and also sent by post, so we can be certain it was received. For some reason the views of 25,000 shopkeepers just seem to have been air-brushed out of the consultation report."
"Part of our response included a very detailed econometric study into the impact a display ban would have on small shops. None of that data was included in the report. Yet this should have been a transparent process where the views of all interested parties were represented - particularly those who will be directly affected by these proposals."
It all makes sense now, doesn't it? And this is without mentioning the wilful misleading of politicians when it came time to the vote, which you can read all about here or, if you have more time, here.
Expect more of the same if government decides to ignore the biggest objection to a public consultation in our country's history and moves to legislate. There'll be so much bullshit being spouted in the back rooms of Westminster that the Environment Agency might have to be called in.
2 comments:
Doesn't it go further back that that DP? The SCOTH report 'grand jury' of the totally lopsided tobacco control panellists? Using that screwball Jamroziks 1+1=11 theory to conjure up millions of possible deaths from a singler wisp of SHS.
They are now showing themselves up nicely as the corruptness thickens and surfaces. Arnott & Bauld (the SheDevils) haven't given two hoots what they did in the course of indoctrinating so many ignorant MPs so as to get the law they wanted-and they certainly won't stop now!
When a country purports to be a democracy, and then flagrantly and deliberately violates the properly set up and agreed upon democratic procedures in enacting its laws and regulations (which seems to have been the case at several points in the UK antismoking campaign, most notably in response to ban feedback and this current "airbrushing" of the 25,000 shopkeepers' input), then I'd say that that country has sacrificed any obligations its citizens should ordinarily feel to respect those laws and regulations. The shopkeepers, pub-goers, any general members of such affected groups should pay no more attention to the illegally instituted laws than they would pay to the pronouncements of a mafia don dictating some aspect of their lives and businesses.
Just as with the mafia don, you're basically unarmed and facing "the men with the guns: there's a price to pay for ignoring the dictates -- but just as with the mafia don there's a strong and compelling reason to pay that price in order to affirm one's status as a free citizen of a proper democracy or to declare that its rule has become illegal and illegitimate.
Because if you don't stop it early, it's only going to get worse. And that's a historical lesson no one can deny.
- MJM
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