The rule of law - by Richard... Thursday, September 15, 2011

The rule of law - by Richard... Thursday, September 15, 2011

Much devilling behind the scenes today keeps me away from the blogger keyboard. Plots are most definitely thickening, and the Magistrates Court (pictured) is now at the end of our rainbow, as we attempt to prove the illegality of the system.

Taking a quick sideways look at this, one recalls the consistent mantra from the eurosceptic community that we should stop paying our "subscriptions" to the EU. Yet, interestingly, some of those same people look down their noses at people who do not pay their Council Tax.

Yet, in terms, there is no difference, when the money is withheld on principled grounds. No one sensible will dispute that the democratic process in local government has largely broken down. We have very little control of what our Councils do, how much money they spend, and where they spend it.

Thus, our only democratic option is to refuse to pay the money. This is perfectly legitimate – it is called civil disobedience. That is exactly the same option being suggested by public sector unions.

Yet, from missives reaching me from within the local Town Hall, high officials regard protesters who withhold their money as virtually spawn of the devil. Such is their sense of entitlement that they then regard any tactic to extract the money as legitimate.

Part of their weaponry is to invoke a sense of shame. By using bailiffs, they rely on peer pressure, and a community sense that it is wrong not to "pay your due". Thus – as one sees on newspaper forums, the comment, "well, if you'd paid up, this wouldn't have happened".

These are the conformists in our society, but they also lack the ability to think. Talk to any sensible councillor and they will tell you of their worries about increasing Council Tax. They know that each time the bill increases, resistance stiffens, more people refuse to pay and it gets harder and more expensive to collect the tax.

The corollary also applies. If a tax is easy to collect, and there are no complaints, then there is no check on the politicians continually increasing the tariff. Therefore, it is thanks to refusniks like me that Council Tax is not considerably higher.

Framed thus, civil disobedience does not permit the authorities to respond with illegal action. Because I chose to make an annual protest about the level of tax, and the way it is spent, does not give license to council officials and their agents to break the law in their attempt to force me to pay. They may - and should - use all legitimate means, but they must not break the law.

And that is what this is all about – something that our over-paid crop of officials seem to have difficulty in understanding. They are breaking the law. They, the upholders of the law – the arbiters and our judges – are breaking the very law which they supposedly enforce and require the rest of us to obey.

Yet, too often, people dive for cover. You can feel the embarrassment in some people when you tell them what you are doing, and the stand you are taking. But there is a cascade effect here. Let these people trample on your rights, and resort to illegality and there is no end to it.

Government as our servant is just about tolerable. Government as our master, running roughshod through our laws, is our enemy. The battle lines are drawn and we are not playing games here. All politics, they say, are local. This is a local battle – but at its heart is the same battle we fight nationally and on an international level. It is one we cannot afford to lose.

The Siege of Bradford – day three - by Richard...

Having returned safely from her foraging expedition, Mrs EU Referendum is now getting seriously worried about the stains on the ceiling from the continuous boiling of pitch. No longer does the trusty mix of dried rat droppings and vitriol yield its miracle results, in consequence of which she is seriously considering reverting to vegetable oil.

This would at least have the merits of allowing her to fry chip butties while wewait for the bailiffs. These could also provide an alternative source of ammunition, should the need arise. And then, of course, it vastly improves the carbon signature.

Spies in the enemy camp, meanwhile, report of some disarray. Martin Stubbs - none other than Assistant Director, Revenues & Benefits – is said to be struggling to understand what has been happening. This is the Hard Man of Bradford, routinely jailing the good (and bad) citizens of the City in order to keep the money flowing to the staff pension fund.

Hilariously, this is also the same Martin Stubbs who, two years ago, came over all precious when a group of scammers started contacting people pretending to be from the council. The bogus officials were telling householders that they had not paid enough Council Tax and unless they made an immediate payment they would be taken to court.

Stubbs the Terrible expressed his "concern", but then left it to sidekick Tim Eden to say: "This is outrageous and targets vulnerable people … People must not pay any attention to these crooks and should report such calls to the police. Some of the callers are very aggressive and intimidating to make people pay up, but people should not be fooled into thinking these calls are legitimate". But how would they know the difference?, I muse.

Nevertheless, cranking into action, we also had Andrew Bibby from West Yorkshire Trading Standards Office. Girding his loins, he sternly declared that: "Trading Standards can and will take action against doorstep callers who make false or misleading claims about their services offer or the organisations they represent".

Now the boot is on the other foot and The Stubbs seems to have enormous difficulty understanding that it is now his own people who are the crooks, "targeting vulnerable people", some of whom are “very aggressive and intimidating".

Needless to say, confronted with official thuggery and theft, neither the police nor Trading Standards are anywhere to be seen. Thus, if you want to be a con artist and rip-off people on the doorsteps, the trick is to call yourself a bailiff and work for the council. Then the officials will back you to the hilt.

And therein lies the fate of Stubbs the Terrible, taker of houses and slayer of all who go before him. His dim little brain simply cannot grasp that it is he who is the crook, the thief, the con artist.

But then, when you have a chief executive on £182,571, you have to screw down hard to get the money in. "It is really important that people don't bury their heads in the sand about their Council Tax bills", he says. The poor wee man has mouths to feed and pockets to fill.

Anyhow, the chip butties are bubbling away nicely just now, so I must depart to stack the ammunition.

A statement of the bleedin' obvious - by Richard...

You do so wonder about these ever-so-grand people like Andrew Lilico, who come up with theirsooooooo important statements. They make out as if they had suddenly come up with a profound truth that only they have discovered, when half the world has been taking it for granted, almost forever.

Thus says Lilico, the collapse of the euro equals collapse of the EU. And yes, we knew that. And that is why the "colleagues" are fighting tooth and nail to shore up the single currency.

But it is as much to do with the political realities. Collapse of the euro would mean the first serious reversal of the process of European political integration, in a project which relies on forward momentum to achieve its aims. A reversal would puncture the bubble and involve such a massive blow to its authority and credibility that it would never recover.

Warner seems to be struggling with that so it is rather interesting to see the Russians (well, one Russian) tell the euroweenies to get on with it. Like so many others, he agrees that Greek default is inevitable ... technically, it may already have happened.

Merkel, it seems, is not listening, but the view is that she is struggling for her own survival. If the euro and the EU cracks, she goes with it. But for some time now, the euro has been dead man walking … it has now slowed to a crawl and it will not be long now before its fate is sealed. So too, it seems, will be Merkel's fate.