I think that was good, the knock on effect of the necessity for early release was not. The shame being the shocking shortage of prison availability which has been known for years.
The rioting by idiots had to be stopped, i suppose it neede draconian measures.. Better than martial law. ?
But that very approach resulted in two tier justice. Draconian measures is not something I'd welcome in the justice system - isn't that what the democratic west constantly lectures the rest of the world about?!
What about the impact on others on long term bail, nowhere near a charging decision, yet alone a day in court to enter a plea, just repeatedly extended bail to the extent that for those who eventually plead guilty, or are found guilty, the courts now take the extent of time held on bail as significant cause for mitigation of sentence. I wonder how the people who have been mugged/robbed/burgled feel about that, from a victim of crime perspective?
My concern is crimes might creep up with the knowing knowledge that you won't be given a jail sentence to the length they used to be . Come on lads we might not get much give us yer bar Alf . I have been robbed twice in my time both from my workshop, tools mainly ...locked up with security lights they will smash and grab even with cameras . I was particularly peed off when the also smashed the windows on my Foden timber tractor unit .
I agree with what you say. I do however think that rioting and the possibility of it extending had to be stamped in firmly and quickly. I was working in Liverpool at the time and had to travel through Toxteth during the riots. The ability for such unrest to spread rapidly via social media is scary.
I think anyone remotely in the business of crime has known this for years. Not wishing to get political, years of cuts to the Ministry of Justice and privatisation, with no infrastructure investment has left the justice system from front line policing, through those working in the courts, lawyers, prisons and probation on its knees. These are the same people apparently mystified as to why taxes need to go up.
Party politics is so dull. Say it again Sam, nobody was listening the first million times and nobody ever will. Please ban politics again @hailfrank and be ruthless.
There are no tax, VAT or NI rises for people - those rates have all stayed the same. If you happen to get a payrise then you pay more tax based on your earnings and the respective tax band you are in/move to. It's always been that way, tax increases with earnings, but that's not been affected at all by the budget. If people really are that anal/stupid about it then they can always decline the pay rise.........
You either increase tax to pay for service or cuts. Did people vote Labour due to that pledge? Really?
If Labour start to get slammed on here too much , i dare say political threads will get banned . And yes Steve it is dull because most of the time no one really knows accurately what they are talking about ...shall we say a little bit like politicians
Politics is interesting, but impossible to discuss without narrow-minded self interested twerps trying to score points and wind each other up. If nobody rises to provocation we're left with idiot posts stating untruths. Better not to bother at all. It's just my opinion.
No. Not in real life, well not in mine anyway. I find plenty of people willing to sit back and consider things from a wider perspective, putting self interest aside without fearing they'll somehow loose something merely from discussion.
I suppose it depends on who is in the circle of discussion and how militant they are . one to one is easy enough or even two times two . I have had decent political discussions and ones that have flared up . But dare i say it alcohol was involved always ruins discussions . It's knowing when to back down and respect other opinions .