Politically, what does the author believe?

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I believe that the country belongs to its people.  Those people who are "in authority" in any form are actually our servants.  Their job is to organise, and make decisions on our behalf, not make rules for their own convenience - they are only in that role because we, the people, allow them to hold that role.

The vast majority of people are honest, and want to be good citizens.  Therefore,  when a service is provided, it is senseless making the service cumbersome to use.  There's something wrong when it takes longer to pay for a £2 car park ticket than it takes to get up to £500 from a cash machine.  The lack of trust over a trivial amount is insulting to the ordinary citizen.

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People are people.  There are no categories, and certainly no special groups.  However, we are a very diverse bunch and we don't always agree with one another.   Somehow, we've all got to get along, and that means having open and honest dialogues, so we can each express what is important for ourselves and understand what is important for other people.  That is why I am a supporter of Free Speech.

 

"Equal Rights" is a great ambition, and you would think I would be all in favour of it.  But I don't agree that "equal rights" should be pursued in a narrow-minded way, as though nothing else matters.  As a nation, we are too complex for a one-size-fits-all approach.  The rights of some people are being pushed aside for the sake of the rights of others.  That is something I cannot support.

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After people themselves, the next most important thing is the environment.  We've only got one planet, and we need to be careful that we don't make it uninhabitable by careless use of plastics, toxic chemicals or fossil fuels.  The environment has been neglected for too long, and the threat of climate change means that the environment is the most important issue we now face.

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As with any modern country, we expect a lot from our government - not just law and order, and defence, but a health service, education, energy management, a transport system - indeed, all kinds of services.  These form the backbone of government activity, and any government must be able to deliver these basics without fuss.  They must not be used as political footballs.

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Services need to be paid for, and that means taxation.  Getting taxation right is harder than most people, including some chancellors, think.  You don't have to balance the budget every year, but you do need to balance the budget over the long term.  Taxation doesn't just raise money;  it can affect the economy by altering people's behaviour.  I do not believe that governments pay sufficient attention to this.

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Once you get the basics of environment, services and taxation right, you can 'customise' the country by adding laws about British values.  These are things like equality, animal welfare, how we celebrate our history, which recreational drugs we tolerate, and what time our pubs close.  I believe that I am fairly typical of the population in that I'm personally not particularly agitated about most issues to do with British values, (either because I'm happy with the way they are, or because they don't really affect me and I'm happy for other people to argue about them) but I do get excited over some issues.  In my case, it's free speech, smoking, and, to a lesser extent, listed buildings.

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When it comes to our relationship with the rest of the world, we should be able to stand tall and say not just what we want, but what we can offer.  We are one of the richest countries in the world, with a seat on the Security Council, with an independent nuclear deterrent, and we are the heart of a commonwealth that includes a third of the world's population - we have so much to offer!  It is at this point that the DESTINY model becomes important.  D, E, S, T, I come before N.  We need to get our own house in order before arguing with other countries!

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Our generation are the stewards of the country for a generation.  We have picked up from our parents, and one day our children will have to take over.  We must protect our children, but we can't wrap them in cotton wool - they must be allowed to learn from us, including the horrible things that we would rather they didn't see - and be allowed to experiment on their own.  That way, they'll do a better job than we are doing.  Because when they do take over from us, there will still be an awful lot for them to do.

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I believe that everyone, whatever they believe politically, can describe their views in terms of the DESTINY model.

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