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If you ruled the country

184 replies

abacucat · 04/01/2019 10:55

If you were suddenly made a benign dictator of your country, what rules would you bring in?

OP posts:
Nicknacky · 04/01/2019 16:45

I would make it law that every householder had to have their house number illuminated and clearly visible. Drives me bananas at work when I’m trying to work out what house I’m looking for.

Hen2018 · 04/01/2019 16:46

Oh, first would be to get rid of the royal family, inherited peerages etc. Anyone who continued talking about “Meghan and Kate” or “Camilla looks tired” as though they BLOODY KNOW THEM PERSONALLY to do 6 weeks of graffiti cleaning.

MissElaineNeus · 04/01/2019 16:51

Make the UK self sufficient in food.
UK to be 100% renewable energy by a certain date.
Goal of making the UK a world leader and exporter in certain fields TBD. I'd go for IT, but others exist.
Free tertiary education for degrees and courses that lead to jobs that the country is in need of, especially the above.
Concentration of funds to teaching - as a dictator I can play the long game, and this would show massive dividends in a generation.
Two child per family restriction with the plan of slow population decline and increase in nature reserves, etc.
Free child care for those children, to help women continue in their careers if they wish.
Fix the railways, make them massively faster, expand the rail network, leading to a reduction in cars on the road.
Tax breaks for companies with a certain proportion of remote employees - again good for women with children, but also anyone sick of wasting time on their commute.
Reduction in taxes for those who don't smoke, can prove they exercise, have BMI in normal range.

TaMereAPoilDevantPrisu · 04/01/2019 16:51

YY to bringing back Sure Start and abolishing the royal family. Not to boarding schools though, they serve a useful purpose for some people.

BirthdayCakes · 04/01/2019 17:00

Agree with Hen2018

But otherwise - I've been thinking about this a lot lately..
I would employ people just to be out in public, just to hang around, make sure things are clean and tidy, take an interest in people they see regularly (or not!) who want to chat, look out for what will need repairing soon, there'd be a few people who'd share a patch, their shifts would often overlap and they'd know each other - Tom! I haven't seen you for ages! Now what do you think about what Ken said about the allotments? ..

They will be sociable roles, fairly pressure free, and with the benefit of light exercise (from all the strolling) - I'm imagining the kind of thing that would be good for retirement aged people or the more civic minded younger person.. There would be scope for personal projects - mobile libraries, verge planting schemes, social events, whatever..

Also most jobs would combine physical and sedentary tasks. Sedentary roles would take up half one's working day (PM for me) and active roles the other half (AM for me).. So, for example, I'd get up early work in a garden for three hours, for the next two hours I'd have a break where I cook lunch, do errands, have a nap, sit outside, swim, read etc. Then for the next three hours I'd sit at my desk editing things.

brizzledrizzle · 04/01/2019 17:19

No air brushing of magazine photos allowed.

Models to be a minimum of size 12/size 12 mannequins.

No Brexit.

One salary scale for public servants so MPs, teachers, health care workers, nurses etc are all on the same scale. Salary based on number of years experience.

School funding to be proper funding and not the bottom of the barrel.
Same amount per child no matter where in the country you are.

National rules for medical treatment, e.g. you can get IVF regardless of where you live. End the postcode lottery.

An end to plans to set up a human base on Mars but only after Trump ,Johnson, Gove, Rees Mogg et al have been given their one way tickets.

whatamidoingwithmylife · 04/01/2019 17:36

There's just so many but I do think the lazy bastards whose families haven't worked for generations and all claimed council housing and the dole while popping out masses of children should be dealt with severely (I come from an area where I see this situation a lot and it irks me that I commute over 4hrs a day to work a job that I don't enjoy while they think they're hard done to when they can't afford their daily fags and booze - which I can't afford). Make them volunteer or clean up the local area instead of sunbathing and drinking all day (my neighbour inspired this comment) while my taxes pay for them to survive.

Totally agree with the ladies toilets comments about the hooks and sanitary bins 😄.

I'd want something done about the crappy public transport system to reduce my ridiculous commute time. Whilst also putting the dickheads who steal the cabling from the railways or damage the trains interiors (northern rail trains are grim) in the stocks so we can give them a good kicking (just joking - jail time would do).

ICouldBeSomebodyYouKnow · 04/01/2019 17:49

Cancel Brexit.
Nothing else would matter after that!

CherryPavlova · 04/01/2019 18:02

Total smoking ban. No sales of cigarettes and right to import.
Alcohol only available from licensed premises or in own home. No public drinking. Pubs closing at 11pm.
Maximum two pets per household and all having to be licensed.
Improve public lavatories.
Absolute ban on all illegal drugs. Increase customs provision to detect more at point of entry. Deport anyone found dealing any illegal drugs.
Walking buses to all primary schools. An hour pre school exercise a day.
Compulsory school meals (of good quality) with no exceptions.
Two years fully funded maternity leave or shared maternity/paternity leave.
Serious tax breaks for married couples raising families.
Two gender/sexes recognised.
No benefits for people under 25 years of age unless they had a significant disability. Support to get young people into work.
Health promotion and drug free ill health management.
Crown immunity reinstated.

emmylousings · 04/01/2019 18:16

Stop Brexit.
Relocate Parliament to a modern, cheaper version of the Scottish one, somewhere in the Midlands.
Scrap HS2.
Merge Health and Social Care.
Make enormous wage differentials within organisations illegal.
Tax sugar and salt highly.
I'm neither left or right - just a pragmatist.

ForalltheSaints · 04/01/2019 18:19

The list would be long, but here are a few.

Cancel Brexit (as others have said).
Clocks on BST all year round.
Much stricter rules on who could have a driving licence.
Boxing Day non-food shop closures alongside Christmas Day and Easter Sunday.
Stamp duty paid by the seller not the buyer.
Recognition in law for the role of grandparents.
Recognition of responsibilities towards domestic pets in laws on inheritance and divorce.
Presumed consent (with exceptions) for organ donation for adults.
No more biofuel energy.
No honours for politicians.
Strict regulations on what places can be called restaurants, what drink can be called beer.

IfyouseeRitaMoreno · 04/01/2019 18:32

Cancel Brexit and Universal Credit.

Introduce a 2 child policy and a carbon footprint card.

Make child maintenance compulsory

OneStepMoreFun · 04/01/2019 18:43

Yes, yes, cancel brexit. I forgot to add that to my list.

TheFaerieQueene · 04/01/2019 19:25

Invest in social care, social housing, education, health. End Brexit. Take religion out of education. Remove the unelected second house. Reform the criminal justice system so that sentencing reflects the severity of the crime. Remove Piers Morgan from all tv, media, twitter etc.

waterplease · 04/01/2019 19:31

•Child vaccinations are mandatory. If you refuse, child will be taken against your will and vaccinated.

•You can't name your children ridiculous names. Wink

•Put a maximum on the amount of children families can have. (3)

•Make funding for disabilities and mental health conditions more readily available, including benefits etc.

That's just a few that came to mindSmile

TheBigBangRocks · 04/01/2019 19:34

More money for schools and healthcare
Incentives for companies to stop sending call centres etc abroad
Free travel for a level students
Compulsory payback of student loans regardless of income
Financial and custodial penalties for failure to support children financially
No palm oil, additives etc
More solar panel schemes

TheSultanofPingu · 04/01/2019 19:47

This thread started off as enjoyable to read and has ended up quite depressing.

JaneJeffer · 04/01/2019 19:57

CallMe I didn't clock your username Grin

DontCallMeCharlotte · 04/01/2019 20:16

TheSultanofPingu

Agreed. The first page had the makings of a classics thread.

EwItsAHooman · 04/01/2019 20:19

At least it's making it easy to spot who is or isn't a bit of a dickhead Grin

brizzledrizzle · 04/01/2019 20:23

This thread started off as enjoyable to read and has ended up quite
depressing

I think that's inevitable given the state of the country* at the moment.
*insert name of appropriate country.

At least it's making it easy to spot who is or isn't a bit of a dickhead grin

Just in case we were in any doubt Grin

abacucat · 04/01/2019 20:53

Red trousers banned for men.

OP posts:
Bonnetdedeuce · 04/01/2019 21:25

To tazer the shit out of fly tippers!

Graphista · 04/01/2019 21:44

Quit big oil having a death grip on my country the whole world by investing properly in renewable energy from safe sources and changing cars etc so they're not fuelled by oil any longer. Certainly in the uk we don't make the best use of the tidal and wind energy we have available to us, plus solar energy. Then we get to tell Saudi etc get to fuck!

Ban all animal testing - yep even medicines. It's unnecessary and inaccurate. People are not rats or even monkeys. Some of the most harmful meds developed were extensively animal tested. Plus the tech and knowledge we already have available is perfectly sufficient. I'm tempted to say if we MUST test on living entities make it murderers etc but that's dangerously close to death sentence.

"Oh, and a major housebuilding programme, all infrastructure to be nationalised and run for the public good not for profit, a new economic system that acknowledges that as technology advances there will be fewer jobs and that's not poor people's fault, etc etc." Basically what I was gonna say.

I'd also implement a basic income for all.

Proper investment in mental health services.

Tax breaks for employers who where possible allow employees to work from home - not only good for employees but would greatly reduce unnecessary transport and use of office space which would be environmentally friendly, reduce stress on employees who don't need to face a commute, reduce strain on transport provision. The tech has bee available for years it's ridiculous employers are SO resistant to this!

Increase the nmw to an actual living wage and remove age restrictions. If you're doing the job you deserve the same pay as someone else doing the job regardless of age.

Make financial education a key part of the curriculum. - no reason this can't be part of numeracy/maths lessons!

"Cancel Brexit

Cancel Trident

Cap salary differentials in the workplace to a multiple of ten

Link MP salaries to the national average wage" I like it. I'd make MPS salaries equivalent to the nmw/living wage. I'd also make everyone who wanted to be an MP live on a sink estate on minimal benefits for 6 months before they put their application in.

Mps are ONLY mps no second jobs and no investments that can constitute a conflict of interests. No second homes, instead have a large building block (old offices? Abandoned barracks?) in central London that has bedrooms, conference rooms and dining rooms for them to use when in the capital for those MPs who live outside a reasonably commutable distance to the capital. No expenses - just like any ordinary employee they pay their rent, bills, food etc out their own pocket! This combined with the link to nmw I predict would lead to nmw rising significantly! Costs for their official offices & office staff paid for out of a controlled central budget. Their employees must be hired in line with fair hiring practices - not just out of nepotism!

"Create a time bank for lifelong learning to make it much easier to go back to studying mid-career

Massive subsidies for childcare

Massive subsidies for green energy initiatives" yep! All that too!

"A big boot up the jacksie for Farage, Johnson, Rees-Mogg, and Philip Green" I think making attacks on the poor should be a hate crime then we could put these arses in prison! Or at least house arrest.

Although tbh I'd

Reserve custodial sentencing for violent offenders. Murderers, rapist and paedophiles - mandatory full life sentence. Non violent offenders can be dealt with using other types of sentencing including house arrest, curfews etc. Make rapists prove they had enthusiastic consent, certainly stop defence lawyers using rape myths and character assassination! And I'd make use of the many small islands that form part of the my country to be able to imprison the worst offenders so that there'd be minimal people needed to deal with the scum!

Institute a statutory rape law with a Romeo & Juliet exclusion clause.

Min 25 years for drug dealers, deport the foreign ones and ban them from re-entry ever.

Bring back proper cookery lessons in schools.

"Next I'd bring in an immediate huge fine to anyone who had a property that stood empty. If they hadn't filled it with rental clients within six weeks, they'd be required to rent it out via the state for a peppercorn rent to key workers and once they are all housed in cheap, central homes, to anyone else who needs or wants affordable housing.

I'd abolish zero hour contracts." Yep like that.

"I'd introduce full charges for medical costs incurred by drinking, drug-taking and dangerous sports." Don't agree with this though. I'm no fan of addicts/addiction but I think a punitive approach has been proven to not work. Instead properly funded rehab facilities but NO switching addicts to just another addiction eg methadone - it doesn't solve the problem.

Dangerous sports? Who'd decide that? Plus we want people exercising and being healthy.

"Potholes. If a pothole is reported, it will be dealt with within 24 hours. Council finances will be strictly monitored to ensure they have the money for this. Companies with big heavy lorries on the roads, particularly country roads, will have to pay an extra tax to help fix the damage their vehicles do to roads." Have you heard of solar road panels? Robust panels like tiles almost that can form roads that collect solar energy - but from your perspective - if they become damaged they're quickly and easily replaced.

"There will be stricter parking laws around schools, hospitals, train stations, and corners." Yep.

"I’d make voting mandatory." Me too - and I'd lower the voting age to 16.

"Cadbury’s or whoever they are now they’ve ruined Our Chocolate" yes! Ban palm oil and bring food companies back under my countries control.

Abolish any monarchy.

"It would be decided by a judge with a good track record of not hating women " I challenge you to find a judge like this! The judges are worse than the sodding juries!

On that - make it easier from people of all social-economic backgrounds to become judges. In the uk currently the process is still extremely elitist!

On a more personal note - ban hard floors in upper level flats! All homes to have good soundproofing measures installed. Yes I have noisy neighbours and it's very annoying, but as a wider issue this would reduce a great deal of stress, people would get more sleep and be fitter and healthier all round. It seems a minor thing but it has a huge impact on physical and mental health.

REALLY antisocial arses put on a "troublemakers estate" in each town. 2 strikes and that is where you're housed! Let them annoy fuck out of each other!

"End the TV licence fee." Don't agree with this I think it's an excellent thing that we have uncommercialised broadcasting. Instead I'd add a nationalised wifi system to the whole country, make it a "communications licence" the cost may need to rise minimally but I reckon it could easily be done so that what people currently pay for private wifi far exceeds what the cost would be (I've worded that poorly - basically national wifi added to tv licence people no longer paying privately would be cheaper and it would be available throughout the country). This would also mean that EVERYONE had access to wifi.

On that note, every home to have at least one basic computer publicly funded where necessary/means tested. So all homes have access to Internet for education, admin etc

Current smokers given an ID to purchase tobacco products but also given loads of encouragement and assistance to quit. The aim being to prevent/reduce the number of new smokers being created. Personally I'd ban vaping until/unless LONG TERM unbiased studies prove it safe.

An electronic rationing system for purchase of alcohol. And make it an offence to give your ration to someone else with huge fines as penalties.

"I'd ban all advertising for gambling websites." Yes I'd ban all alcohol and gambling advertising full stop and I'd ban those "tv shows" that are basically long gambling ads on at 2am!

Fireworks only sold to licenced people for properly organised public displays.

Ban landlords (and the mortgage and insurance company clauses) from refusing tenants on benefits.

"Also same for nurses, police and services, that are included in the salaries, so all they pay for is the food..." We used to have this why they were got rid of I don't know!

Hold the press and tv news to tight rules on honesty.

Another for banning religious schools.

Return to grant system for higher education.

Vocational training/education to be properly funded and respected. All roles are essential to a well run society - the disparaging attitude to trades people, cleaners, bin men etc needs to go.

Ban fracking.

"dividends to shareholders could only be paid if certain criteria were met re environment and workers welfare." Ohhhh I like that one!

Reinstate nursing bursary.

Re toilets - number of cubicles for ladies to at least = number of cubicles in men's + Urinals! And yes to big enough to contain a period bin without us having to sit on the damn things!

"No benefits for people under 25 years of age unless they had a significant disability." Why?! What about care leavers? Those from abusive families? Who've been abandoned by their families?

"Make child maintenance compulsory" omg yes! Deducted at source along with income tax. No more pissing about on this! Also it should reflect 50% of the minimum needed to raise a child.

And that's just for starters Grin

Graphista · 04/01/2019 22:03

Oh yes - drunk drivers!

If possible all cars fitted with a breathalyser so it won't start if driver drunk.

If not possible I'd implement a vehicular manslaughter law (which would apply to all drivers who caused death due to shitty driving). Penalty to include confiscation of vehicle and lifelong driving ban. Also custodial sentence.

Drunk/drugged drivers who luckily don't kill, still lose licence permanently, car confiscated and banned from owning a vehicle. Also make it an offence to sell or give such people a vehicle with heavy fines for doing so.

Driving is a privilege not a right!

Speeding also needs clamped down on, I'd prefer if vehicles were ltd to 7mph Max, I'm no expert but I'm sure the tech must be available that speed limit signs could contain some device that emitted a signal making all vehicles in that zone ltd to that speed.

Especially in roads near schools etc. I'm certain this would save lives.

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