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Michael Howard, leader of the Tories and a man I have frequently gone on record by identifying him as "a lying sack of jackal ****", is attempting to surpass his own impressive record of raging, callous hypocrisy and soullessness. This time it's about Gypsies, and their presence on unofficial campsites.
Background info- Gypsies have led nomadic lifestyles in Britain for around 800 years. It hasn't always been easy going, and it appears to be getting worse. To a large extent, it looks like Gypsies are the last ethnic grouping it's widely considered to be socially acceptable to be bigoted about. My opinions on them are coloured by experience- I grew up in the rural West Country where Gypsies were a common sight. They rarely bothered anybody, so I was bewildered to discover, later in my life, the extent of prejudice widely held against them.
Michael Howard wants to do several things. Firstly- he wants to ensure councils do not feel obliged to provide planning permission for Gypsy sites under the Human Rights Act. Secondly, he opposes Gypsies applying for retrospective planning permission on existing unauthorised sites. Thirdly, he wants to make trespass a criminal offence.
Let's look at that third one first. It's a biggie, involving massive legal and social implications. Most damagingly, it could remove the powers of squatter's rights and adverse possession. There is a serious housing shortage in this country, coupled with insane house prices- with nearly a million empty/abandoned properties in this country, squatting has provided an essential social solution since the 1960's. Threaten squatters with criminal charges and you create a massive social problem.
On a side note, you can probably wave bye-bye to the Rambler's Association and the Right to Roam. They'll all be locked up and great swathes of our countryside will remain behind barbed wire.
On the other points- let's look at the history. Why is there a "Gypsy problem" these days? There are two main reasons.
1- There are more Gypsies in recent years. This is largely because Ireland passed strict trespass laws, making a nomadic lifestyle very difficult for Irish Gypsies. Consequently thousands of them moved to Britain. Mr Howard has got a real stiffie about those Irish laws and wants to copy them.
2- There are fewer official Gypsy sites. This is because in 1994 Michael Howard (the Home Secretary at the time) overturned the 1968 Caravan Site Act, which required local authorities to provide sites for Gypsies. This was part of the general raft of violent strikes against Gypsies and Travellers that the Tory regime carried out- most notoriously "The Battle of the Beanfield".
At that time, Home Office Circular 1/94 was issued, encouraging local authorities to identify plots of land that gypsies could buy for themselves. It is those very plots of land that Gypsies are now being evicted from, for not having planning permission. Yup- he shafted them good and proper.
You can't make this stuff up. This man is either breathtakingly stupid or deeply ****ing evil. He isn't fit to run a tombola at a village fete, let alone a nation of 60 million people of mixed ethnic identities. In fact, if it would encourage them to ditch this cadaverous old leech, I might even vote Tory. But only if they replaced him with a more worthy leader, like a mop or something. In fact, a good honest mop would be the greatest Tory leader since Churchill became too senile to keep up.
Background info- Gypsies have led nomadic lifestyles in Britain for around 800 years. It hasn't always been easy going, and it appears to be getting worse. To a large extent, it looks like Gypsies are the last ethnic grouping it's widely considered to be socially acceptable to be bigoted about. My opinions on them are coloured by experience- I grew up in the rural West Country where Gypsies were a common sight. They rarely bothered anybody, so I was bewildered to discover, later in my life, the extent of prejudice widely held against them.
Michael Howard wants to do several things. Firstly- he wants to ensure councils do not feel obliged to provide planning permission for Gypsy sites under the Human Rights Act. Secondly, he opposes Gypsies applying for retrospective planning permission on existing unauthorised sites. Thirdly, he wants to make trespass a criminal offence.
Let's look at that third one first. It's a biggie, involving massive legal and social implications. Most damagingly, it could remove the powers of squatter's rights and adverse possession. There is a serious housing shortage in this country, coupled with insane house prices- with nearly a million empty/abandoned properties in this country, squatting has provided an essential social solution since the 1960's. Threaten squatters with criminal charges and you create a massive social problem.
On a side note, you can probably wave bye-bye to the Rambler's Association and the Right to Roam. They'll all be locked up and great swathes of our countryside will remain behind barbed wire.
On the other points- let's look at the history. Why is there a "Gypsy problem" these days? There are two main reasons.
1- There are more Gypsies in recent years. This is largely because Ireland passed strict trespass laws, making a nomadic lifestyle very difficult for Irish Gypsies. Consequently thousands of them moved to Britain. Mr Howard has got a real stiffie about those Irish laws and wants to copy them.
2- There are fewer official Gypsy sites. This is because in 1994 Michael Howard (the Home Secretary at the time) overturned the 1968 Caravan Site Act, which required local authorities to provide sites for Gypsies. This was part of the general raft of violent strikes against Gypsies and Travellers that the Tory regime carried out- most notoriously "The Battle of the Beanfield".
At that time, Home Office Circular 1/94 was issued, encouraging local authorities to identify plots of land that gypsies could buy for themselves. It is those very plots of land that Gypsies are now being evicted from, for not having planning permission. Yup- he shafted them good and proper.
You can't make this stuff up. This man is either breathtakingly stupid or deeply ****ing evil. He isn't fit to run a tombola at a village fete, let alone a nation of 60 million people of mixed ethnic identities. In fact, if it would encourage them to ditch this cadaverous old leech, I might even vote Tory. But only if they replaced him with a more worthy leader, like a mop or something. In fact, a good honest mop would be the greatest Tory leader since Churchill became too senile to keep up.
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