Letters From A Tory Daily views on British politics and the Conservative Party from a centre-right thinker who writes letters on his blog to politicians, journalists and many others.

…then they came for the… errr… salt?

From the Guardian:

Over the past few years New York has gained a reputation for taking the health of its citizens seriously – or nannying them, depending on your point of view.  Now a member of the city’s legislative assembly has gone a step further by introducing a bill that would [...]

Dear Nick Hogan,
Thanks largely to the efforts of a few bloggers, you are now back home following a stint in Forest Bank jail in Pendlebury.  A huge amount of credit for this must go to Anna Raccoon and Old Holborn, who rallied to your cause and did some seriously speedy fundraising in order to secure your release [...]

 Dear Kenny MacAskill,
It looks to me as though you, as Scottish Justice Secretary, have spotted a rather unusual loophole in laws designed to protect people from stalking and harrassment.  Ministers in Scotland are currently considering a new law which would help stop people stalking and harassing their victims by text or online.  Currently those who behave in [...]

Dear Kevin Rudd,
Although you may still be basking in the glory of being one of the few developed nations not to go into recession during the global economic meltdown, it seems as though you still have some questions to answer.  It appears as though you have been taking lessons from the illiberal authoritarian lunatics in [...]

Dear libertarians,
Seeing as Parliament is on leave for a couple of weeks, I’ve got the chance to pick up on a curious story that might grab your attention.  Apparently, a new scheme to clamp down on benefit fraudsters is ‘under consideration’ for the Labour manifesto.  While this is hardly news in itself, I thought it [...]

“The terrorists have won.”
- Alex Deane, barrister and director of campaign group Big Brother Watch, responding to the news that passengers using Heathrow and Manchester airports have been told that they will no longer be allowed to board their flights if they refuse to submit to full-body scans.  The advanced imaging technology (AIT) scanners went into operation [...]

Dear Simon Sheppard and Stephen Whittle,
Yet again, I am dismayed by the lack of protection for free speech in this country.  It seems as though upsetting and offending people is still illegal in this country, yet the USA and no doubt many other developed nations who offer constitutional protection for free speech make the UK look [...]

“When a Scandinavian is forced to give up the tabs, he will simply revert to the region’s second-favourite pastime: committing suicide”
- Jeremy Clarkson on reports that Finland is considering a total ban on smoking

Dear Alan Johnson,
I’m sure you consider yesterday’s announcement regarding sex offenders to be a fantastic success, given that the press lapped it up and the Conservatives were forced to fall into line. The plan is to let families ask police if someone with access to their child has convictions or has been previously suspected of abuse, following the [...]

“This is not about prosecuting some poor minnow who has taped a record one night and circulated it to their friends. This is about large-scale, professional, clever, technical ripping off.”
- Peter Makepeace, opening the case for the prosecution at Teesside Crown Court earlier this week against 26-year-old Alan Ellis – who ran the Oink website [...]

“You will have a hard job convincing motorists this is anything other than a stealth tax to shore up a creaking system strapped for cash.”
- Professor Stephen Glaister, director of the RAC Foundation, speaking after it was announced that motorists in England and Wales fined for minor offences now face having to pay bigger penalties [...]

Dear readers,
Two stories from today’s papers have left me dismayed and angry.
In Ireland, we have secular campaigners in the Irish Republic defying a strict new blasphemy law which has come into force by publishing a series of anti-religious quotations online and promising to fight the legislation in court.  The new law, passed in July, means that [...]

Dear Jack Straw,
You will no doubt be glad that most of the media is focusing on the Glasgow East by-election this morning, because it gets you off the hook.  Over the past several months, away from the public eye, you have instigated some of the brutal attacks on civil liberties ever seen under this Labour [...]

Dear Alan Johnson,
Having presumably given up on any short-term leadership ambitions, you are now rejoining the fold by announcing that local councils are to get the power to seize the assets of minor offenders.  Home Office claims that seizing “ill-gotten gains” are a key part of the fight against all kinds of crime is misleading [...]

Dear Anton Setchell,
To be honest I had never heard your name before I read the Guardian yesterday.  According to their investigation, you are in overall command of Association of Chief Police Officers’ (ACPO) “domestic extremism” remit.  This rather shadowy organisation raises a huge number of questions about what the role of the police is and whether [...]

“These bedroom snoopers are yet another sign of how the Labour Government has no respect for the privacy of law-abiding citizens.”
- Nick Hurd, Shadow Cabinet Office minister, reacting to the proposed 2011 census that is already being dubbed the “snoopers’ charter”.  The Conservatives complained yesterday that the 32-page questionnaire is too long, too expensive, and [...]

Dear Jack Straw,
Seeing as the BNP and postal workers strike will dominate the news today, you have avoided what should have been an almighty public backlash against an absolutely shocking abuse of our democracy.  Plans to introduce secret inquiries into controversial deaths from which the public and bereaved families could be banned are to be [...]

Dear Chris Grayling,
Having branded the storing of innocent people’s DNA “illegal and morally wrong” not that long ago, your reaction to new evidence from the US about the success of DNA databases would be much appreciated.  The increasing use of DNA technology has helped to drive reported rapes in America to a 20-year low - an [...]

From the Telegraph:
Adults who look after friends’ children on a regular basis are being forced to register with Ofsted under new legislation.  They must complete a criminal record check, learn first aid, take a childcare course and even follow Labour’s “nappy curriculum” for under-fives. …It comes just weeks after it emerged that parents giving lifts [...]

“The Criminal Records Bureau already struggles, at huge cost, to do its job and this task is more complex and larger. While taxpayers and the people forced to undergo the [Independent Safeguarding Authority's] checks will lose out, the only people to benefit will be the army of bureaucrats needed to attempt the impossible.”
- James Dawkins, [...]

“It will be jelly bean Asbos for sugared-up kids next. Surely it’s time to call last orders on endless new legislation.”
- Isabella Sankey, policy director for civil liberties group Liberty, criticising the new police powers to impose Drinking Banning Orders – dubbed “booze Asbos” – on people who behave anti-socially while drunk.  Offenders must stay away [...]

Dear Lord Judge,
After briefly chuckling at your wonderfully ironic name, seeing as you are currently Lord Chief Justice in England and Wales and are therefore a judge (Judge Judge – priceless!), I spent some time pondering the historic news that the Court of Appeal has ruled that a criminal trial can take place at Crown [...]

Dear Nightjack,
Your quest to protect your identity is at an end, sadly.  Despite your best efforts, Mr Justice Eady refused to protect your anonymity and you now have your name splashed across the papers this morning.  Needless to say there is some concern about the implications of this case for other anonymous bloggers in the UK, but [...]

“It is unnecessary interference from a public authority in Mrs Bear’s private life that is in breach of her human rights.”
- Mike Barratt, of the UK Deed Poll Service, criticising the decision by the Identity & Passport Service to refuse a new passport to a mother who raised £4,000 for Children In Need by altering her name [...]

Dear Shami Chakrabarti,
There are moments when I am happy to support your position on civil liberties and related issues, and no doubt other Conservatives will do the same.  However, your reaction to the new video footage of a police officer apparently hitting a G20 protestor was not only unhelpful but demonstrated an inability to understand [...]