Forum:The Great Repeal Bill (UK)

So the UK government has asked for suggestions about what laws should be repealed. What are your suggestions? You can vote or suggest your own at Your Freedom.

18:36, 1 July 2010 (UTC)
 * Overturn/rewrite current libel laws
 * Reduce duration of copyright to life of author or fifty years (whichever is longer), allow fair use, permit public use of Crown Copyright material subject to safeguards
 * Disestablish Church of England
 * Eliminate Sunday trading laws
 * Support 1, 3 & 4 of the above. Duration of copyright after death could be shortened somewhat, but I think shortening it to the life of author only could have some uncomfortable consequences.   18:42, 1 July 2010 (UTC)
 * I'm aware that some authors (which should include artists and performers) have dependants who may rely on royalties, but surely 50 years from creation date is long enough. Also why are artistic works given such a lengthy protected status when patents for inventions have a much shorter life? 18:54, 1 July 2010 (UTC)
 * I'd go for all of them - unless later elaboration of the "unfortunate consequences" of number two changes my mind.--BobSpring is sprung! 18:57, 1 July 2010 (UTC)
 * Look, we all know where this will end up, a bunch of Daily Mail readers jammering on about how they're not allowed to hate black people more and why "health and safety" is stopping them killing their own children. 19:01, 1 July 2010 (UTC)
 * So cynical!--BobSpring is sprung! 19:05, 1 July 2010 (UTC)


 * Change the no-win, no-fee rules to stop the spread of compensation culture, claims trolling, ambulance chasing and "medical negligence" claims. Bondurant (talk) 10:03, 2 July 2010 (UTC)
 * It would also stop the spread of some of the mad health and safety rules preventing people from doing anything that might cause them to sue their employers. Like, for example, changing a light bulb in their office instead of having to call in a qualified electrician. Who, incidentally, can't use a step ladder, but has to put a mini-scaffold up, lest he fall. Bondurant (talk) 10:06, 2 July 2010 (UTC)
 * Most of the "health and safety gone mad" stories are either misrepresented or entirely made up. Proper fucking risk management saves lives and if these Daily Fail readers end up convincing the government to repeal them I'll be seriously annoyed - yes, risk assessments might be annoying for people, but they're there to engage people's brains and bring risks that they could face to the forefront of their minds, so when they do fuck up, they know what to do rather than running around like a headless chicken and wondering who to sue. This saves lives. What needs to happen is not for the laws or guidelines to be scrapped (even if the "no-win-no-fee" thing is abolished, which I think it should be) but for people's attitudes to be changed. They need to realise that these things aren't there for legal ass-covering and are there because common sense is never common and rarely sense. Shit like this wouldn't have happened with proper fucking risk management. 11:24, 2 July 2010 (UTC)
 * Fafuxake: isn't that why we (didn't) elect them: to govern the country? Anyone who thinks anything will come of this needs their bumps feeling. Can you see Cameron listening to the great unwashed? The only thing I'd suggest is removing the vote from Daily Mail subscribers. 11:46, 2 July 2010 (UTC) TerrySmall.png [[Image:Toast s.png|alt=Toast|text-bottom|20px|link=User talk:SusanG]]
 * A friend of mine runs a building firm up near Worksop, and he was telling me the other day about what some of his rival companies make their guys do. The electrician-scaffold story is true. Bricklayers for one firm are supposed to wear gloves at all times (something that makes their jobs much harder). Others have to wear high-vis vests on top of their work clothes at all times, indoors or outside no matter what the job, temperature or lighting conditions. Some are no longer allowed to stand on the back of a flatbed truck to help with unloading unless they are wearing a harness, and are recommended to use a cherry picker if possible. The building trade is a dangerous business and proper risk management can save lives, but firms are now so scared of being sued that they apply the rules in a way that it hinders people's jobs. I guess that if a bricklayer doesn't wear latex gloves and someone 2 stories up drops a brick on his hand then the firm is indemnified from being sued, even though the glove would have made no difference. Bondurant (talk) 13:02, 2 July 2010 (UTC)

Joining it a little late, but I'd really like to see:
 * Repeal and start again on emergency powers. A co-ordinated, proper set of emergency powers. Blair did this and gave himself too much power. I feel that if any serious extra power is going to be given to the Prime Minister (or any minister) in an 'emergency' then the Prime Minister should not certify it as an emergency. A resolution in the House of Commons, perhaps, should.
 * SOME relaxation of the regulations on Trade Unions' votes. Dalek (talk) 18:01, 1 November 2010 (UTC)


 * You've missed the boat for making new suggestions, although you can download a massive spreadsheet of nearly 14,000 other people's responses (the data release link at the top of that page). It's worth looking at, though mostly fairly predictable; I haven't come across anything especially inspiring in it yet.   19:05, 1 November 2010 (UTC)

Didn't go to the gov't website, the whole thing was just too much of a PR stunt for me to stomach, but some interesting ideas on the forum here...


 * Overturn/rewrite current libel laws - YES
 * Reduce duration of copyright to life of author or fifty years (whichever is longer), allow fair use, permit public use of Crown Copyright material subject to safeguards - YES
 * Disestablish Church of England - NO, because it's more hassle than it's worth.
 * Eliminate Sunday trading laws - YES

On copyright, I also think provisions for private, non-commercial use need to be properly spelt out. I like the idea for public use of Crown Copyright material, and this should include a special status Ordnance Survey mapping that retains copyright for commercial purposes, but does allow for more open use for non-commercial applications, especially academic.


 * No-Win No-Fee - Yes, as it does cause a lot of problems, particularly for charities and NGOs which have many issues with compensation claims and resultant restrictions placed on them by insurers.


 * H&S Laws - Exist for a reason. I'd rather Thames Water isn't given free reign by the Free Market Fairy to decide it's own H&S standards. "But, you see, lead really IS good for you, and it does make shaping pipes so much easier...."

One thing I'd like to see repealed is the Dangerous Dogs Act. The number of dogs it has led to being abandoned, and the hysteria it has caused is tragic. I'd like to see it replaced with a law that targets abusive owners and breeders rather than breeds (or even "types") or dog.


 * Aviation Laws - Unless and until the UK government decides to reintegrate the public transit system and have a halfway usable ticketing and fare structure for mainline rail, laws governing the issuance of Aircraft Operators Certification should be streamlined, as should the various regulations and policies surrounding commercial passenger/cargo carrying operations from airfields, and the operation of domestic passenger flights. The fact you can't get a flight from London to Liverpool is just plain retarded.--[[Image:TheEgyptiansig001.png|link=User:TheEgyptian]] 00:00, 17 November 2010 (UTC)