New laws: I am shocked!

[Jux]

In The Times today, Daniel Finkelstein says:

"MPs have long been aware that they are passing too many laws to be able to scrutinise them properly. They even passed a special Act to allow existing laws to be changed without having to go back before Parliament at all.

"The public is not aware of this."

Not in the least bit suprised ,i imagine they did to allow themselves more time with their interior designers

Then Finkelstein should be corrected... 'the public ARE not aware of this.'

Floopy - "public" is singular, unless a grammar law has been passed without my knowledge

Well, it would be too much to expect them to find time to actually check the laws that are being passed, wouldn't it? I mean, they've got to spend all their time finding moat-cleaners don't they?

it's well known that the current administrattion has passed shed loads more new legislation than (virtually/) any other govt before it. this article is from 2006.

/ was meant to be ?

MAnt; Then I stand corrected

So they're not just morally bankrupt, they're lazy too!

The public IS/ARE/WAS aware. This bit of it is anyway

Actually I can't recall the exact details, but I believe they set it up so they could pass a very vague law and a minister could fill in the details as and when he liked. Like a blank cheque really. They like blank cheques.

I know there is a difference between a minister with the right to make up laws and a feudal lord from the old days, but I can't place what it is now.

I guess he was talking about the Legislative and Regulatory Reform Act 2006 here

The final Act isn't quite as shocking as the original bill (which was very broad) but the restrictions are still worded vaguely enough that it's potentially draconian. Of course the intention is supposedly benign - allowing ministers to tidy up outdated legislation when there is no time to debate it on the floor of the House - and it replaces an existing power to make similar amendments in the REgulatory Reform Act 2001 so is not a new concept. The original Bill was truly awful and attracted widespread criticism at the time and widely known as the 'Abolition of Parliament Bill'. Still, the power it puts in the hands of the Government to legislate without Parliament is worrying.

Yes, it was the Legislative and Regulatory Reform Act 2006. The Parliamentary scrutiny on the 3000+ Statutory Instruments passed each year isn't that great either, although there are committees of Parliament for that purpose.

onagar, I'm fairly sure feudal lords couldn't claim expenses

at least not for porn films

I take back what I wrote, perhaps Cambridge is Sleepy Hollow!

aargh - wrong thread!