Vocal Voices

The government has discovered that Red Tape is stifling small businesses and is a burden on the economy. It is now going to drop or modify over 3,000 rules to free things up, save money and create jobs. But hang on. Shouldn't this "discovery" been made when Dave and George were planning their austerity measure and for us all to be "in it together"? How much better would things be now if this had been done sooner?

Then there is the Environment Agency (EA). Its excuses for not dredging rivers once their beds had risen have been described as "pathetic" by farmers and MPs. Experts in waterway management and fluid dynamics had said that this strategy, and the clearing of upland trees, was a combind madness. Dave says that the EA had done wonders for those who were flooded. Maybe if the floods had been mitigated by proper river management the EA would not have had to perform "wonders" in the first place.

There was also the belated discovery that if we changed our benefits rules millions of EU migrants would not have been allowed to work, or go on benefits, here.

Is it incompetence, or greed, or the cuts, or a mixture?
There seems to have been over the last few years, a big rush to sack people, especially when it comes to maintenance jobs. They seem to think that maintenance isn't necessary.
So rivers aren't dredged, reeds aren't cut back, making a river narrower and shallower - so it doesn't take a genius to work out that it's going to flood more easily.
The boots on the ground jobs seem to be the first to go.
Countryfile had a spot on the clearing of woods from hills last night, and the overgrazing of hills by sheep; it was a good watch.