[Debatewise RRT] Re: debatewiserrt Digest V2 #31

  • From: "Alex Helling" <alex@xxxxxxxxxxxxxx>
  • To: <debatewiserrt@xxxxxxxxxxxxx>
  • Date: Wed, 10 Mar 2010 16:37:24 -0000

Dont ask me! Not yet worked it out sorry! L

 

David just reminded me a few minutes ago, I will work it out tomorrow
morning (It takes quite a lot of time so I would not be able to get it done
today anyway).

 

So that this is a useful email here is an update on the status of
yesterday?s debates:

 

Blue = Done/may need editing, Red = been taken/being done.

 

Crime: 

1.       New prisons need to be built to ease overcrowding ? By Hassan

http://debatewise.org/debates/1633 

http://debatewise.org/debates/755 

2.       Homeowners should be free from prosecution when protecting
themselves against intruders ? By Hassan

http://debatewise.org/debates/1624

 

Defence and Foreign Affairs: 

3.       The UK?s nuclear deterrent should be reduced. ? By Alex

http://debatewise.org/debates/1162 (may be possible simply to alter the
debate)

http://debatewise.org/debates/144 

http://revisewise.debatewise.com/debates/748 

4.       The Government should withdraw troops from Afghanistan with a year
? By Alex

http://debatewise.org/debates/932 

http://debatewise.org/debates/1048 

 

Economy:

5.       The Bank of England should have overall responsibility for
financial oversight

The financial crisis and the recession that have affected us over the last
few years have shown that we need a change in the regulatory system that
provides oversight for the city and the banks. The Financial Services
Authority having failed the Conservatives believe that the Bank of England
have much more power over the financial sector.

http://www.telegraph.co.uk/finance/financetopics/financialcrisis/5906113/Sir
-James-Sassoon-why-I-told-the-Tories-to-scrap-the-FSA.html 

http://www.publicservice.co.uk/feature_story.asp?id=12296 

http://www.publications.parliament.uk/pa/ld200809/ldselect/ldeconaf/101/1010
8.htm 

http://debatewise.org/debates/870 

 

6.       The Government should be compelled by law to cut the deficit by 50%
within 4 years ? By Nadia (RRT)

The UK is currently running a budget deficit of 12%, that is higher than
Greece a country that is in particularly hot water due to its fiscal
imprudence.  Everyone agrees that this has to be reduced, but how quickly
should this be done and how far does it need to be cut? No one really knows.
Governments do not like making big cuts in services as they are unpopular so
introducing a law forcing a cut in the deficit within a certain time could
be useful to whichever party wins the election.

http://www.guardian.co.uk/commentisfree/2010/mar/07/deficit-fetishism-govern
ment-spending 

http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/8514767.stm

http://www.bloomberg.com/apps/news?pid=20601102
<http://www.bloomberg.com/apps/news?pid=20601102&sid=ay3jUtAyftac>
&sid=ay3jUtAyftac 

 

7.       All departments should bear the brunt of spending cuts to reduce
the deficit ? By Sarah (RRT)

Both the Conservatives and the Labour party are promising to ring fence some
areas from any spending cuts, areas such as international development and
the NHS. However such ring fencing simply means that the cuts have to be
bigger elsewhere in order to make up for the inability to cut in some areas.
This is unequal. The public may say they care most about the NHS but they
may change their tune when they find that the fire service is drastically
cut back because their can?t be cuts in other areas.

http://www.guardian.co.uk/news/datablog/2009/sep/16/public-spending-departme
nts-money-cuts

http://www.guardian.co.uk/commentisfree/2010/mar/05/financial-crisis-public-
spending-tax 

http://www.timesonline.co.uk/tol/comment/columnists/guest_contributors/artic
le7034353.ece 

 

Education: 

8.       SATs tests for eleven year olds should be scrapped. ? By Hassan

http://debatewise.org/debates/186 

http://debatewise.org/debates/1215 

9.       There should be tax breaks for home-schooling parents ? By Hassan

 

10.   Tuition fees should be scrapped ? By Hassan

http://debatewise.org/debates/723 

http://debatewise.org/debates/899 

http://debatewise.org/debates/197 

 

Environment: 

11.   We should build new nuclear power plants. ? By Alex

http://debatewise.org/debates/493

http://debatewise.org/debates/838 

http://debatewise.org/debates/1357 

12.   Man made climate change is a myth ? By Alex

http://debatewise.org/debates/1466 

http://debatewise.org/debates/455

 

Employment and Equal Ops:

13.   All companies who employ more than 250 people should be forced to
publish an annual report comparing the average pay of men with the average
pay of women in the company.

Pay between men and women doing the same job is supposed to be equal, but
even if and where it is there are many other little inequalities that
reducing the earning power of women. Having to publish a comparison between
the average earnings of men and women at companies would show which
companies are closing the gender gap and which have some way to go. Naming
and shaming is a way that may encourage firms to voluntarily equalise pay.

http://www.guardian.co.uk/money/2009/jan/06/equality-bill-pay 

http://www.efinancialnews.com/story/2009-09-14/gender-pay-gap-stays-as-wide-
as-ever 

 

14.   The total hours allowed in a working week should not be decided by the
EU

The French and the Europeans generally are stereotyped in Britain and the US
as being much more fun loving and wishing to work shorter working weeks than
?Anglo-Saxon economies? such as Britain. However the European Union now has
a big say over many areas of regulation that were previously the preserve of
Westminster. The amount of time we work is one of them. The working time
directive is one of them. It limits us to a working week of 48 hours,
however we are perfectly at liberty to set our own national limits on
working weeks that are less than 48 hours as several European countries
have.

http://blogs.telegraph.co.uk/news/timcollard/100007914/the-working-time-dire
ctive-the-one-jewel-in-the-eus-plastic-crown/

http://www.guardian.co.uk/commentisfree/2009/mar/17/eu-work-and-careers 

http://debatewise.org/debates/818 

 

15.   People on job seekers allowance who refuse a job should lose their
benefits ? By Harriet (RRT)

When there are millions looking for work people should be given every
incentive they can be to make sure that if they get offered a job they take
it. It is a simply a drain on the state?s resources if someone refuses a job
and carries on collecting jobseekers allowance the state should not nanny
people until they happen to find a job that they like. Job seekers should be
given the option of either taking the first job they are offered or losing
their benefits if they wish to turn it down.

http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/7176032.stm

http://www.timesonline.co.uk/tol/news/politics/article6605850.ece 

http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/newstopics/politics/conservative/1574822/Tor
ies-to-strip-benefits-if-jobless-refuse-work.html 

 

Health: 

16.   The cost of NHS administration should be cut by one third ? By Alex

http://debatewise.org/debates/1222 

1.       An independent board should allocate NHS resources to different
parts of the country ? By Alex

http://debatewise.org/debates/657 

 

 

Immigration and Asylum:

2.       Asylum seekers should be allowed to work while waiting for their
application to be processed ? By Victoria (RRT)

Asylum seekers sitting around doing nothing is of no use to anyone. They
should instead be doing something productive while waiting to see if their
asylum application is granted. Not allowing them to work forces them into
poverty while they wait for our slow system of processing applications to
pass them through the system. If they are allowed to work and if at the end
of it all they are rejected at least they will have gained something during
their stay and contributed to the economy.

http://www.independent.co.uk/opinion/leading-articles/leading-article-let-as
ylumseekers-work-1609199.html 

http://www.newstatesman.com/global-issues/2007/10/asylum-seekers-work-amnest
y 

http://www.church-poverty.org.uk/campaigns/livingghosts/destituteanddesperat
e 

 

3.       ID cards should be compulsory for immigrants and asylum seekers

The Home office keeps getting into difficulties with asylum seekers, either
through having more than predicted or with failures to deport asylum seekers
who then go on to commit crimes. Having ID cards compulsory for immigrants
means that it is much more difficult for the home office to lose people. ID
cards are meant to reduce the numbers of people working illegally so this
makes immigrants an obvious target group and they provide a test case for
any eventual role out for everyone.

http://www.ind.homeoffice.gov.uk/managingborders/idcardsforforeignnationals/


http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/uk_politics/1793151.stm 

http://www.guardian.co.uk/commentisfree/libertycentral/2009/jun/09/labour-id
-cards 

http://debatewise.org/debates/1 

 

4.       People committed of crimes who were not born in this country should
be deported

People who have committed crimes who were not born here should consider
themselves to have forfeited their right to stay in the UK. While it seems
obvious that where possible we should deport violent criminals who are not
native there are many circumstances where it would not be appropriate.
Should we be deporting everyone convicted for petty crimes? What do we do if
the country they come from is not safe?

http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/uknews/1563890/Foreigners-commit-fifth-of-cr
ime-in-London.html 

http://www.timesonline.co.uk/tol/news/uk/crime/article6211514.ece

http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/uknews/immigration/7149720/Failure-to-deport
-foreign-criminals-costs-60m-a-year.html 

http://debatewise.org/debates/691 

 

Parliamentary Reform:

5.       There should be a referendum on changing the electoral system for
General Elections in the next Parliament. ? By Doug (RRT)

The current first past the post electoral system that we have in this
country no longer interprets the people?s wishes very well. It is very
possible that the conservatives may get a bigger percent of the votes while
getting fewer seats than Labour. The Liberal democrats and other small
parties will almost certainly be even worse off. Although it might not
include a range of possible electoral systems a referendum would at least
allow a debate on the issue of electoral reform and it is likely than any
system decided on would be more representative than our present one.

http://www.electoral-reform.org.uk/votingsystems/systems.htm

http://www.guardian.co.uk/commentisfree/2010/mar/09/bill-define-election-bro
wn-legacy

http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/8492622.stm 

http://debatewise.org/debates/155 

 

6.       The number of MPs should be reduced by 10%

During this parliament many MPs have discredited themselves and the Houses
of Parliament with their excessive expenses claims. While there have been
reforms put in place to reduce these claims there are still a total of 646
MPs in the House of Commons. The House of Representatives in the USA has 435
congressmen to represent a population almost five times the size. 

http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/uk_politics/7294330.stm

http://www.timesonline.co.uk/tol/news/politics/article6078282.ece 

 

7.       The Government should legislate for elections to the House of Lords
within the next Parliament ? By Doug (RRT)

Labour has been promising an elected House of Lords since they were elected
in 1997, there has been progress with hereditary peers leaving however there
has been no movement to having the House of Lords elected rather than
appointed. If we are going to lecture dictators on the benefits of democracy
we should show that we believe in them too, an appointed chamber such as we
have now shows that we do not take democracy seriously. But is legislating
to create an elected House of Lords really a priority with the economy in
such a bad state?

http://www.archive.official-documents.co.uk/document/cm41/4183/ref-08.htm 

http://www.guardian.co.uk/commentisfree/2009/may/20/parliament-reform-house-
of-lords 

http://www.electoral-reform.org.uk/article.php?id=30 

http://debatewise.org/debates/1223 

 

Pensions and Retirement:

8.       Pensions should be tied to average earnings in the next Parliament

Margret Thatcher in 1980 abolished the link that there had been between
pensions and average earnings meaning that the state pension has been
falling in value relative to earnings in almost every year since.  This is
obviously unfair, however it would be very costly to restore the link and
the public purse is in no position to foot the bill in the near future.

http://colineldridge.org.uk/news/000025/bring_back_link_between_pensions_and
_earnings_say_lib_dems.html   

http://www.independent.co.uk/news/uk/politics/tories-target-state-pension-in
-battle-to-balance-books-1787328.html 

http://debatewise.org/debates/790 

 

9.       The retirement age should be scrapped

Scrapping the retirement age would potentially solve numerous current  and
future problems. It could help reduce our budget deficit if the state
retirement age is increased meaning less is paid out while if more people
are working then there will be more money coming in to the treasury. So long
as there is a retirement age it is easy for companies to pressurise people
who want to work into retirement. In the future having no retirement age
would help combat the problems of an ageing population such as a shrinking
workforce and their being less people to pay for pensioners pensions.

http://www.guardian.co.uk/money/2010/jan/25/retirement-age-scrapped-equality
-commission 

http://www.telegraph.co.uk/finance/personalfinance/pensions/7309292/State-pe
nsion-age-should-be-70-PwC-says.html 

http://debatewise.org/debates/848 

 

Sovereignty and Devolution: 

10.   There should be an English Parliament ? By Melissa (RRT)

We have a Scottish Parliament, a Welsh Assembly and a Assembly at Stormont
for Northern Ireland that has just voted to have policing and justice powers
devolved to them. This leaves England, with most of the British population
without its own parliament. In many cases the MPs for Wales, Scotland and
Northern Ireland can vote on laws that can only affect England while English
MPs have very little say over what happens in those areas with their own
assemblies, this represents a democratic deficit that has to be sorted out.

http://www.guardian.co.uk/commentisfree/2010/feb/18/devolution-england-pseud
o-democracy 

http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/northern_ireland/8558466.stm 

http://www.telegraph.co.uk/comment/columnists/philipjohnston/7396040/David-C
ameron-will-have-to-finally-address-English-resentment-over-devolution.html
http://debatewise.org/debates/1246

http://debatewise.org/debates/3 

 

11.   There should be a referendum on the UK?s continued membership of the
European Union.

We were denied a vote on the Lisbon treaty that many wanted, although so far
the results of the treaty have been less than spectacular. The UK has
however had a referendum on its membership and voted to become a member of
the EEC, so should a referendum simply be on the changes that have taken
place since then? There is very little in the way of referendums in Britain,
so such a referendum on leaving the EU should only occur if a party that has
promised one in its election manifesto wins the election. Many would like to
have a referendum on the continued membership of the EU so putting aside
questions about what do we do if we leave the EU should we get to vote?

http://blogs.telegraph.co.uk/news/danielhannan/9238909/Would_Britain_vote_to
_leave_the_EU/ 

http://www.dailymail.co.uk/debate/article-1225053/A-referendum-Mr-Cameron-CO
ULD-people.html

http://www.thisislondon.co.uk/standard/article-23763500-tories-set-to-retrea
t-on-eu-referendum-pledge.do 

http://debatewise.org/debates/846 

http://debatewise.org/debates/784 

 

 

Tax:

12.   Marriage should be incentivised through the tax system.

David Cameron has proposed a that marriage should be incentivised, although
he rapidly had to retreat due to not having the proposal all costed.  The
Conservative proposals would have a transferrable tax allowance for all
married couples costing £3.2 billion. The tax system is regularly used to
incentivise or punish behaviour such as smoking or drinking. So it should
incentivise things that are good for us such as marriage which provides for
more stability, particularly for children.

http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/election-2010/7005840/Marriage-is-good-for-u
s-its-time-to-support-it.html 

http://www.guardian.co.uk/commentisfree/2010/jan/18/family-marriage-tax-came
ron-labour 

http://www.timesonline.co.uk/tol/news/politics/article6992961.ece 

 

13.   Estates less than £1million pounds should not be liable for
Inheritance Tax

Inheritance tax, often portrayed as the ?death tax? by its opponents.
Everyone dislikes having to pay tax, but why should we be bothered about
paying taxes on unearned wealth. An inheritance is a windfall so it makes no
difference to those gaining the windfall if the taxman shares in the gain.
Does it make a difference if it is a relatively small amount?

http://www.independent.co.uk/news/uk/politics/clarke-back-in-line-on-inherit
ance-tax-cut-policy-1652601.html 

http://www.telegraph.co.uk/comment/columnists/alicethomson/3554424/Ive-chang
ed-my-mind-on-inheritance-tax.html 

http://debatewise.org/debates/1182 

http://debatewise.org/debates/333

http://debatewise.org/debates/1052 

 

14.   People earning less than £10,000 pounds a year should not have to pay
Income tax

Income tax for an income below £10,000 seems like a pointless exercise. The
treasury is not likely to get much money out of the tax and at the same time
will be encouraging those people who earn such small amounts to stay on
welfare payments instead of spending their time working in return for their
pittance. However even if they do pay income tax the chances are they will
be able to get as much back in benefits and means tested allowances. They
still use the free services of the state such as the NHS and the education
system so should they not pay for it?

http://blogs.telegraph.co.uk/news/alexsingleton/8046867/Its_inefficient_and_
unfair_to_make_poor_people_pay_income_tax/ 

http://debatewise.org/debates/1013 

 

 

From: debatewiserrt-bounce@xxxxxxxxxxxxx
[mailto:debatewiserrt-bounce@xxxxxxxxxxxxx] On Behalf Of nadia siddiqi
Sent: 10 March 2010 16:13
To: debatewiserrt@xxxxxxxxxxxxx
Subject: [Debatewise RRT] Re: debatewiserrt Digest V2 #31

 


BTW who won DOTM in February?
Nadia

On Wed, Mar 10, 2010 at 1:24 PM, nadia siddiqi <nadshi@xxxxxxxxx> wrote:

The Government should be compelled by law to cut the deficit by 50% within 4
years

The UK is currently running a budget deficit of 12%, that is higher than
Greece a country that is in particularly hot water due to its fiscal
imprudence.  Everyone agrees that this has to be reduced, but how quickly
should this be done and how far does it need to be cut? No one really knows.
Governments do not like making big cuts in services as they are unpopular so
introducing a law forcing a cut in the deficit within a certain time could
be useful to whichever party wins the election.

http://www.guardian.co.uk/commentisfree/2010/mar/07/deficit-fetishism-govern
<http://www.guardian.co.uk/commentisfree/2010/mar/07/deficit-fetishism-gover
nment-spending> 
ment-spending

http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/8514767.stm

http://www.bloomberg.com/apps/news?pid 601102
<http://www.bloomberg.com/apps/news?pid 601102&sid=ay3jUtAyftac>
&sid=ay3jUtAyftac

dibs. Not taken; I checked. 
Nadia





On Wed, Mar 10, 2010 at 11:09 AM, FreeLists Mailing List Manager
<ecartis@xxxxxxxxxxxxx> wrote:

debatewiserrt Digest    Tue, 09 Mar 2010        Volume: 02  Issue: 031

In This Issue:
               [Debatewise RRT] General election debates
               [Debatewise RRT] Re: General election debates
               [Debatewise RRT] Re: General election debates

----------------------------------------------------------------------

From: "Alex Helling" <alex@xxxxxxxxxxxxxx>
Subject: [Debatewise RRT] General election debates
Date: Tue, 9 Mar 2010 19:08:49 -0000

Evening all,


Things are slightly different today. Due to the upcoming elections
Debatewise will be working with votematch to help give voters an idea as to
the issues behind the policies of the parties. This means we have rather a
lot of debates to do and unfortunately the people behind votematch have
given us very little time in which to do these debates so we need your help
to create them.



I have listed all the debates that need doing below (we may get some more
for Scotland/Wales/NI later) so if you could take them as usual. I have also
listed some similar debates for reference. Equally for the ones I have been
doing please add to them and I apologise to those of you whose points I have
cannibalised in order to create the debates!



Because we only have the 19th to create these debates if you take one and
then decide you can?t do it please email me in plenty of time so that we can
do the debate here at HQ



And finally could you please put the debates on our election site rather
than the normal Debatewise site: http://electionuk.debatewise.org/  (you can
log in with your usual details)



Thanks

Alex



Debates on the site for you to add to:

http://electionuk.debatewise.org/debates/1734-an-independent-board-should-al
<http://electionuk.debatewise.org/debates/1734-an-independent-board-should-a
l%0Alocate-nhs-resources-to-different-parts-of-the-country> 
locate-nhs-resources-to-different-parts-of-the-country

http://electionuk.debatewise.org/debates/1733-the-cost-of-nhs-administration
<http://electionuk.debatewise.org/debates/1733-the-cost-of-nhs-administratio
n%0A-should-be-cut-by-one-third> 
-should-be-cut-by-one-third

http://electionuk.debatewise.org/debates/1735-the-government-should-withdraw
<http://electionuk.debatewise.org/debates/1735-the-government-should-withdra
w%0A-troops-from-afghanistan-with-a-year> 
-troops-from-afghanistan-with-a-year





Economy:



The Bank of England should have overall responsibility for financial
oversight

The financial crisis and the recession that have affected us over the last
few years have shown that we need a change in the regulatory system that
provides oversight for the city and the banks. The Financial Services
Authority having failed the Conservatives believe that the Bank of England
have much more power over the financial sector.

http://www.telegraph.co.uk/finance/financetopics/financialcrisis/5906113/Sir
<http://www.telegraph.co.uk/finance/financetopics/financialcrisis/5906113/Si
r%0A-James-Sassoon-why-I-told-the-Tories-to-scrap-the-FSA.html> 
-James-Sassoon-why-I-told-the-Tories-to-scrap-the-FSA.html

http://www.publicservice.co.uk/feature_story.asp?id 296

http://www.publications.parliament.uk/pa/ld200809/ldselect/ldeconaf/101/1010
<http://www.publications.parliament.uk/pa/ld200809/ldselect/ldeconaf/101/101
0%0A8.htm> 
8.htm

http://debatewise.org/debates/870



The Government should be compelled by law to cut the deficit by 50% within 4
years

The UK is currently running a budget deficit of 12%, that is higher than
Greece a country that is in particularly hot water due to its fiscal
imprudence.  Everyone agrees that this has to be reduced, but how quickly
should this be done and how far does it need to be cut? No one really knows.
Governments do not like making big cuts in services as they are unpopular so
introducing a law forcing a cut in the deficit within a certain time could
be useful to whichever party wins the election.

http://www.guardian.co.uk/commentisfree/2010/mar/07/deficit-fetishism-govern
<http://www.guardian.co.uk/commentisfree/2010/mar/07/deficit-fetishism-gover
n%0Ament-spending> 
ment-spending

http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/8514767.stm

http://www.bloomberg.com/apps/news?pid 601102
<http://www.bloomberg.com/apps/news?pid 601102&sid=ay3jUtAyftac>
&sid=ay3jUtAyftac



All departments should bear the brunt of spending cuts to reduce the deficit

Both the Conservatives and the Labour party are promising to ring fence some
areas from any spending cuts, areas such as international development and
the NHS. However such ring fencing simply means that the cuts have to be
bigger elsewhere in order to make up for the inability to cut in some areas.
This is unequal. The public may say they care most about the NHS but they
may change their tune when they find that the fire service is drastically
cut back because their can?t be cuts in other areas.

http://www.guardian.co.uk/news/datablog/2009/sep/16/public-spending-departme
<http://www.guardian.co.uk/news/datablog/2009/sep/16/public-spending-departm
e%0Ants-money-cuts> 
nts-money-cuts

http://www.guardian.co.uk/commentisfree/2010/mar/05/financial-crisis-public-
<http://www.guardian.co.uk/commentisfree/2010/mar/05/financial-crisis-public
-%0Aspending-tax> 
spending-tax

http://www.timesonline.co.uk/tol/comment/columnists/guest_contributors/artic
le7034353.ece



Employment and Equal Ops:



All companies who employ more than 250 people should be forced to publish an
annual report comparing the average pay of men with the average pay of women
in the company.

Pay between men and women doing the same job is supposed to be equal, but
even if and where it is there are many other little inequalities that
reducing the earning power of women. Having to publish a comparison between
the average earnings of men and women at companies would show which
companies are closing the gender gap and which have some way to go. Naming
and shaming is a way that may encourage firms to voluntarily equalise pay.

http://www.guardian.co.uk/money/2009/jan/06/equality-bill-pay

http://www.efinancialnews.com/story/2009-09-14/gender-pay-gap-stays-as-wide-
<http://www.efinancialnews.com/story/2009-09-14/gender-pay-gap-stays-as-wide
-%0Aas-ever> 
as-ever



The total hours allowed in a working week should not be decided by the EU

The French and the Europeans generally are stereotyped in Britain and the US
as being much more fun loving and wishing to work shorter working weeks than
?Anglo-Saxon economies? such as Britain. However the European Union now has
a big say over many areas of regulation that were previously the preserve of
Westminster. The amount of time we work is one of them. The working time
directive is one of them. It limits us to a working week of 48 hours,
however we are perfectly at liberty to set our own national limits on
working weeks that are less than 48 hours as several European countries
have.

http://blogs.telegraph.co.uk/news/timcollard/100007914/the-working-time-dire
<http://blogs.telegraph.co.uk/news/timcollard/100007914/the-working-time-dir
e%0Active-the-one-jewel-in-the-eus-plastic-crown/> 
ctive-the-one-jewel-in-the-eus-plastic-crown/

http://www.guardian.co.uk/commentisfree/2009/mar/17/eu-work-and-careers

http://debatewise.org/debates/818



People on job seekers allowance who refuse a job should lose their benefits

When there are millions looking for work people should be given every
incentive they can be to make sure that if they get offered a job they take
it. It is a simply a drain on the state?s resources if someone refuses a job
and carries on collecting jobseekers allowance the state should not nanny
people until they happen to find a job that they like. Job seekers should be
given the option of either taking the first job they are offered or losing
their benefits if they wish to turn it down.

http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/7176032.stm

http://www.timesonline.co.uk/tol/news/politics/article6605850.ece

http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/newstopics/politics/conservative/1574822/Tor
<http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/newstopics/politics/conservative/1574822/To
r%0Aies-to-strip-benefits-if-jobless-refuse-work.html> 
ies-to-strip-benefits-if-jobless-refuse-work.html



Immigration and Asylum:



Asylum seekers should be allowed to work while waiting for their application
to be processed

Asylum seekers sitting around doing nothing is of no use to anyone. They
should instead be doing something productive while waiting to see if their
asylum application is granted. Not allowing them to work forces them into
poverty while they wait for our slow system of processing applications to
pass them through the system. If they are allowed to work and if at the end
of it all they are rejected at least they will have gained something during
their stay and contributed to the economy.

http://www.independent.co.uk/opinion/leading-articles/leading-article-let-as
<http://www.independent.co.uk/opinion/leading-articles/leading-article-let-a
s%0Aylumseekers-work-1609199.html> 
ylumseekers-work-1609199.html

http://www.newstatesman.com/global-issues/2007/10/asylum-seekers-work-amnest
y

http://www.church-poverty.org.uk/campaigns/livingghosts/destituteanddesperat
e



ID cards should be compulsory for immigrants and asylum seekers

The Home office keeps getting into difficulties with asylum seekers, either
through having more than predicted or with failures to deport asylum seekers
who then go on to commit crimes. Having ID cards compulsory for immigrants
means that it is much more difficult for the home office to lose people. ID
cards are meant to reduce the numbers of people working illegally so this
makes immigrants an obvious target group and they provide a test case for
any eventual role out for everyone.

http://www.ind.homeoffice.gov.uk/managingborders/idcardsforforeignnationals/


http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/uk_politics/1793151.stm

http://www.guardian.co.uk/commentisfree/libertycentral/2009/jun/09/labour-id
<http://www.guardian.co.uk/commentisfree/libertycentral/2009/jun/09/labour-i
d%0A-cards> 
-cards

http://debatewise.org/debates/1



People committed of crimes who were not born in this country should be
deported

People who have committed crimes who were not born here should consider
themselves to have forfeited their right to stay in the UK. While it seems
obvious that where possible we should deport violent criminals who are not
native there are many circumstances where it would not be appropriate.
Should we be deporting everyone convicted for petty crimes? What do we do if
the country they come from is not safe?

http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/uknews/1563890/Foreigners-commit-fifth-of-cr
<http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/uknews/1563890/Foreigners-commit-fifth-of-c
r%0Aime-in-London.html> 
ime-in-London.html

http://www.timesonline.co.uk/tol/news/uk/crime/article6211514.ece

http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/uknews/immigration/7149720/Failure-to-deport
<http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/uknews/immigration/7149720/Failure-to-depor
t%0A-foreign-criminals-costs-60m-a-year.html> 
-foreign-criminals-costs-60m-a-year.html

http://debatewise.org/debates/691



Parliamentary Reform:



There should be a referendum on changing the electoral system for General
Elections in the next Parliament.

The current first past the post electoral system that we have in this
country no longer interprets the people?s wishes very well. It is very
possible that the conservatives may get a bigger percent of the votes while
getting fewer seats than Labour. The Liberal democrats and other small
parties will almost certainly be even worse off. Although it might not
include a range of possible electoral systems a referendum would at least
allow a debate on the issue of electoral reform and it is likely than any
system decided on would be more representative than our present one.

http://www.electoral-reform.org.uk/votingsystems/systems.htm

http://www.guardian.co.uk/commentisfree/2010/mar/09/bill-define-election-bro
<http://www.guardian.co.uk/commentisfree/2010/mar/09/bill-define-election-br
o%0Awn-legacy> 
wn-legacy

http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/8492622.stm

http://debatewise.org/debates/155



The number of MPs should be reduced by 10%

During this parliament many MPs have discredited themselves and the Houses
of Parliament with their excessive expenses claims. While there have been
reforms put in place to reduce these claims there are still a total of 646
MPs in the House of Commons. The House of Representatives in the USA has 435
congressmen to represent a population almost five times the size.

http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/uk_politics/7294330.stm

http://www.timesonline.co.uk/tol/news/politics/article6078282.ece



The Government should legislate for elections to the House of Lords within
the next Parliament

Labour has been promising an elected House of Lords since they were elected
in 1997, there has been progress with hereditary peers leaving however there
has been no movement to having the House of Lords elected rather than
appointed. If we are going to lecture dictators on the benefits of democracy
we should show that we believe in them too, an appointed chamber such as we
have now shows that we do not take democracy seriously. But is legislating
to create an elected House of Lords really a priority with the economy in
such a bad state?

http://www.archive.official-documents.co.uk/document/cm41/4183/ref-08.htm

http://www.guardian.co.uk/commentisfree/2009/may/20/parliament-reform-house-
<http://www.guardian.co.uk/commentisfree/2009/may/20/parliament-reform-house
-%0Aof-lords> 
of-lords

http://www.electoral-reform.org.uk/article.php?id0

http://debatewise.org/debates/1223



Pensions and Retirement:



Pensions should be tied to average earnings in the next Parliament

Margret Thatcher in 1980 abolished the link that there had been between
pensions and average earnings meaning that the state pension has been
falling in value relative to earnings in almost every year since.  This is
obviously unfair, however it would be very costly to restore the link and
the public purse is in no position to foot the bill in the near future.

http://colineldridge.org.uk/news/000025/bring_back_link_between_pensions_and
<http://colineldridge.org.uk/news/000025/bring_back_link_between_pensions_an
d%0A_earnings_say_lib_dems.html> 
_earnings_say_lib_dems.html

http://www.independent.co.uk/news/uk/politics/tories-target-state-pension-in
<http://www.independent.co.uk/news/uk/politics/tories-target-state-pension-i
n%0A-battle-to-balance-books-1787328.html> 
-battle-to-balance-books-1787328.html

http://debatewise.org/debates/790



The retirement age should be scrapped

Scrapping the retirement age would potentially solve numerous current  and
future problems. It could help reduce our budget deficit if the state
retirement age is increased meaning less is paid out while if more people
are working then there will be more money coming in to the treasury. So long
as there is a retirement age it is easy for companies to pressurise people
who want to work into retirement. In the future having no retirement age
would help combat the problems of an ageing population such as a shrinking
workforce and their being less people to pay for pensioners pensions.

http://www.guardian.co.uk/money/2010/jan/25/retirement-age-scrapped-equality
<http://www.guardian.co.uk/money/2010/jan/25/retirement-age-scrapped-equalit
y%0A-commission> 
-commission

http://www.telegraph.co.uk/finance/personalfinance/pensions/7309292/State-pe
<http://www.telegraph.co.uk/finance/personalfinance/pensions/7309292/State-p
e%0Ansion-age-should-be-70-PwC-says.html> 
nsion-age-should-be-70-PwC-says.html

http://debatewise.org/debates/848



Sovereignty and Devolution:



There should be an English Parliament

We have a Scottish Parliament, a Welsh Assembly and a Assembly at Stormont
for Northern Ireland that has just voted to have policing and justice powers
devolved to them. This leaves England, with most of the British population
without its own parliament. In many cases the MPs for Wales, Scotland and
Northern Ireland can vote on laws that can only affect England while English
MPs have very little say over what happens in those areas with their own
assemblies, this represents a democratic deficit that has to be sorted out.

http://www.guardian.co.uk/commentisfree/2010/feb/18/devolution-england-pseud
<http://www.guardian.co.uk/commentisfree/2010/feb/18/devolution-england-pseu
d%0Ao-democracy> 
o-democracy

http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/northern_ireland/8558466.stm

http://www.telegraph.co.uk/comment/columnists/philipjohnston/7396040/David-C
<http://www.telegraph.co.uk/comment/columnists/philipjohnston/7396040/David-
C%0Aameron-will-have-to-finally-address-English-resentment-over-devolution.h
tml> 
ameron-will-have-to-finally-address-English-resentment-over-devolution.html
http://debatewise.org/debates/1246

http://debatewise.org/debates/3



There should be a referendum on the UK?s continued membership of the
European Union.

We were denied a vote on the Lisbon treaty that many wanted, although so far
the results of the treaty have been less than spectacular. The UK has
however had a referendum on its membership and voted to become a member of
the EEC, so should a referendum simply be on the changes that have taken
place since then? There is very little in the way of referendums in Britain,
so such a referendum on leaving the EU should only occur if a party that has
promised one in its election manifesto wins the election. Many would like to
have a referendum on the continued membership of the EU so putting aside
questions about what do we do if we leave the EU should we get to vote?

http://blogs.telegraph.co.uk/news/danielhannan/9238909/Would_Britain_vote_to
<http://blogs.telegraph.co.uk/news/danielhannan/9238909/Would_Britain_vote_t
o%0A_leave_the_EU/> 
_leave_the_EU/

http://www.dailymail.co.uk/debate/article-1225053/A-referendum-Mr-Cameron-CO
<http://www.dailymail.co.uk/debate/article-1225053/A-referendum-Mr-Cameron-C
O%0AULD-people.html> 
ULD-people.html

http://www.thisislondon.co.uk/standard/article-23763500-tories-set-to-retrea
<http://www.thisislondon.co.uk/standard/article-23763500-tories-set-to-retre
a%0At-on-eu-referendum-pledge.do> 
t-on-eu-referendum-pledge.do

http://debatewise.org/debates/846

http://debatewise.org/debates/784





Tax:



Marriage should be incentivised through the tax system.

David Cameron has proposed a that marriage should be incentivised, although
he rapidly had to retreat due to not having the proposal all costed.  The
Conservative proposals would have a transferrable tax allowance for all
married couples costing £3.2 billion. The tax system is regularly used to
incentivise or punish behaviour such as smoking or drinking. So it should
incentivise things that are good for us such as marriage which provides for
more stability, particularly for children.

http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/election-2010/7005840/Marriage-is-good-for-u
<http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/election-2010/7005840/Marriage-is-good-for-
u%0As-its-time-to-support-it.html> 
s-its-time-to-support-it.html

http://www.guardian.co.uk/commentisfree/2010/jan/18/family-marriage-tax-came
<http://www.guardian.co.uk/commentisfree/2010/jan/18/family-marriage-tax-cam
e%0Aron-labour> 
ron-labour

http://www.timesonline.co.uk/tol/news/politics/article6992961.ece



Estates less than £1million pounds should not be liable for Inheritance Tax

Inheritance tax, often portrayed as the ?death tax? by its opponents.
Everyone dislikes having to pay tax, but why should we be bothered about
paying taxes on unearned wealth. An inheritance is a windfall so it makes no
difference to those gaining the windfall if the taxman shares in the gain.
Does it make a difference if it is a relatively small amount?

http://www.independent.co.uk/news/uk/politics/clarke-back-in-line-on-inherit
<http://www.independent.co.uk/news/uk/politics/clarke-back-in-line-on-inheri
t%0Aance-tax-cut-policy-1652601.html> 
ance-tax-cut-policy-1652601.html

http://www.telegraph.co.uk/comment/columnists/alicethomson/3554424/Ive-chang
<http://www.telegraph.co.uk/comment/columnists/alicethomson/3554424/Ive-chan
g%0Aed-my-mind-on-inheritance-tax.html> 
ed-my-mind-on-inheritance-tax.html

http://debatewise.org/debates/1182

http://debatewise.org/debates/333

http://debatewise.org/debates/1052



People earning less than £10,000 pounds a year should not have to pay Income
tax

Income tax for an income below £10,000 seems like a pointless excercise. The
treasury is not likely to get much money out of the tax and at the same time
will be encouraging those people who earn such small amounts to stay on
welfare payments instead of spending their time working in return for their
pittance. However even if they do pay income tax the chances are they will
be able to get as much back in benefits and means tested allowances. They
still use the free services of the state such as the NHS and the education
system so should they not pay for it?

http://blogs.telegraph.co.uk/news/alexsingleton/8046867/Its_inefficient_and_
<http://blogs.telegraph.co.uk/news/alexsingleton/8046867/Its_inefficient_and
_%0Aunfair_to_make_poor_people_pay_income_tax/> 
unfair_to_make_poor_people_pay_income_tax/

http://debatewise.org/debates/1013





Use Revisewise @ http://revisewise.debatewise.com/





------------------------------

Date: Tue, 9 Mar 2010 19:26:30 +0000
Subject: [Debatewise RRT] Re: General election debates
From: Victoria Hilliard <victoria.hilliard@xxxxxxxxxxxxxx>

Can I take asylum seekers should be allowed to work? Thanks.
On Tue, Mar 9, 2010 at 7:08 PM, Alex Helling <alex@xxxxxxxxxxxxxx> wrote:

>  Evening all,
>
>
>
> Things are slightly different today. Due to the upcoming elections
> Debatewise will be working with votematch to help give voters an idea as
to
> the issues behind the policies of the parties. This means we have rather a
> lot of debates to do and unfortunately the people behind votematch have
> given us very little time in which to do these debates so we need your
help
> to create them.
>
>
>
> I have listed all the debates that need doing below (we may get some more
> for Scotland/Wales/NI later) so if you could take them as usual. I have
also
> listed some similar debates for reference. Equally for the ones I have
been
> doing please add to them and I apologise to those of you whose points I
have
> cannibalised in order to create the debates!
>
>
>
> Because we only have the 19th to create these debates if you take one and
> then decide you can?t do it please email me in plenty of time so that we
can
> do the debate here at HQ
>
>
>
> And finally could you please put the debates on our election site rather
> than the normal Debatewise site: http://electionuk.debatewise.org/  (you
> can log in with your usual details)
>
>
>
> Thanks
>
> Alex
>
>
>
> Debates on the site for you to add to:
>
>
>
http://electionuk.debatewise.org/debates/1734-an-independent-board-should-al
locate-nhs-resources-to-different-parts-of-the-country
>
>
>
http://electionuk.debatewise.org/debates/1733-the-cost-of-nhs-administration
-should-be-cut-by-one-third
>
>
>
http://electionuk.debatewise.org/debates/1735-the-government-should-withdraw
-troops-from-afghanistan-with-a-year
>
> * *
>
> * *
>
> *Economy:*
>
>
>
> The Bank of England should have overall responsibility for financial
> oversight
>
> The financial crisis and the recession that have affected us over the last
> few years have shown that we need a change in the regulatory system that
> provides oversight for the city and the banks. The Financial Services
> Authority having failed the Conservatives believe that the Bank of England
> have much more power over the financial sector.
>
>
>
http://www.telegraph.co.uk/finance/financetopics/financialcrisis/5906113/Sir
-James-Sassoon-why-I-told-the-Tories-to-scrap-the-FSA.html
>
> http://www.publicservice.co.uk/feature_story.asp?id 296
>
>
>
http://www.publications.parliament.uk/pa/ld200809/ldselect/ldeconaf/101/1010
8.htm
>
> http://debatewise.org/debates/870
>
>
>
> The Government should be compelled by law to cut the deficit by 50% within
> 4 years
>
> The UK is currently running a budget deficit of 12%, that is higher than
> Greece a country that is in particularly hot water due to its fiscal
> imprudence.  Everyone agrees that this has to be reduced, but how quickly
> should this be done and how far does it need to be cut? No one really
knows.
> Governments do not like making big cuts in services as they are unpopular
so
> introducing a law forcing a cut in the deficit within a certain time could
> be useful to whichever party wins the election.
>
>
>
http://www.guardian.co.uk/commentisfree/2010/mar/07/deficit-fetishism-govern
ment-spending
>
> http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/8514767.stm
>
> http://www.bloomberg.com/apps/news?pid 601102&sid=ay3jUtAyftac
>
>
>
> All departments should bear the brunt of spending cuts to reduce the
> deficit
>
> Both the Conservatives and the Labour party are promising to ring fence
> some areas from any spending cuts, areas such as international development
> and the NHS. However such ring fencing simply means that the cuts have to
be
> bigger elsewhere in order to make up for the inability to cut in some
areas.
> This is unequal. The public may say they care most about the NHS but they
> may change their tune when they find that the fire service is drastically
> cut back because their can?t be cuts in other areas.
>
>
>
http://www.guardian.co.uk/news/datablog/2009/sep/16/public-spending-departme
nts-money-cuts
>
>
>
http://www.guardian.co.uk/commentisfree/2010/mar/05/financial-crisis-public-
spending-tax
>
>
>
http://www.timesonline.co.uk/tol/comment/columnists/guest_contributors/artic
le7034353.ece
>
>
>
> *Employment and Equal Ops:*
>
>
>
> All companies who employ more than 250 people should be forced to publish
> an annual report comparing the average pay of men with the average pay of
> women in the company.
>
> Pay between men and women doing the same job is supposed to be equal, but
> even if and where it is there are many other little inequalities that
> reducing the earning power of women. Having to publish a comparison
between
> the average earnings of men and women at companies would show which
> companies are closing the gender gap and which have some way to go. Naming
> and shaming is a way that may encourage firms to voluntarily equalise pay.
>
> http://www.guardian.co.uk/money/2009/jan/06/equality-bill-pay
>
>
>
http://www.efinancialnews.com/story/2009-09-14/gender-pay-gap-stays-as-wide-
as-ever
>
>
>
> The total hours allowed in a working week should not be decided by the EU
>
> The French and the Europeans generally are stereotyped in Britain and the
> US as being much more fun loving and wishing to work shorter working weeks
> than ?Anglo-Saxon economies? such as Britain. However the European Union
now
> has a big say over many areas of regulation that were previously the
> preserve of Westminster. The amount of time we work is one of them. The
> working time directive is one of them. It limits us to a working week of
48
> hours, however we are perfectly at liberty to set our own national limits
on
> working weeks that are less than 48 hours as several European countries
> have.
>
>
>
http://blogs.telegraph.co.uk/news/timcollard/100007914/the-working-time-dire
ctive-the-one-jewel-in-the-eus-plastic-crown/
>
> http://www.guardian.co.uk/commentisfree/2009/mar/17/eu-work-and-careers
>
> http://debatewise.org/debates/818
>
>
>
> People on job seekers allowance who refuse a job should lose their
benefits
>
> When there are millions looking for work people should be given every
> incentive they can be to make sure that if they get offered a job they
take
> it. It is a simply a drain on the state?s resources if someone refuses a
job
> and carries on collecting jobseekers allowance the state should not nanny
> people until they happen to find a job that they like. Job seekers should
be
> given the option of either taking the first job they are offered or losing
> their benefits if they wish to turn it down.
>
> http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/7176032.stm
>
> http://www.timesonline.co.uk/tol/news/politics/article6605850.ece
>
>
>
http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/newstopics/politics/conservative/1574822/Tor
ies-to-strip-benefits-if-jobless-refuse-work.html
>
> * *
>
> *Immigration and Asylum:*
>
>
>
> Asylum seekers should be allowed to work while waiting for their
> application to be processed
>
> Asylum seekers sitting around doing nothing is of no use to anyone. They
> should instead be doing something productive while waiting to see if their
> asylum application is granted. Not allowing them to work forces them into
> poverty while they wait for our slow system of processing applications to
> pass them through the system. If they are allowed to work and if at the
end
> of it all they are rejected at least they will have gained something
during
> their stay and contributed to the economy.
>
>
>
http://www.independent.co.uk/opinion/leading-articles/leading-article-let-as
ylumseekers-work-1609199.html
>
>
>
http://www.newstatesman.com/global-issues/2007/10/asylum-seekers-work-amnest
y
>
>
>
http://www.church-poverty.org.uk/campaigns/livingghosts/destituteanddesperat
e
>
>
>
> ID cards should be compulsory for immigrants and asylum seekers
>
> The Home office keeps getting into difficulties with asylum seekers,
either
> through having more than predicted or with failures to deport asylum
seekers
> who then go on to commit crimes. Having ID cards compulsory for immigrants
> means that it is much more difficult for the home office to lose people.
ID
> cards are meant to reduce the numbers of people working illegally so this
> makes immigrants an obvious target group and they provide a test case for
> any eventual role out for everyone.
>
>
>
http://www.ind.homeoffice.gov.uk/managingborders/idcardsforforeignnationals/
>
> http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/uk_politics/1793151.stm
>
>
>
http://www.guardian.co.uk/commentisfree/libertycentral/2009/jun/09/labour-id
-cards
>
> http://debatewise.org/debates/1
>
>
>
> People committed of crimes who were not born in this country should be
> deported
>
> People who have committed crimes who were not born here should consider
> themselves to have forfeited their right to stay in the UK. While it seems
> obvious that where possible we should deport violent criminals who are not
> native there are many circumstances where it would not be appropriate.
> Should we be deporting everyone convicted for petty crimes? What do we do
if
> the country they come from is not safe?
>
>
>
http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/uknews/1563890/Foreigners-commit-fifth-of-cr
ime-in-London.html
>
> http://www.timesonline.co.uk/tol/news/uk/crime/article6211514.ece
>
>
>
http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/uknews/immigration/7149720/Failure-to-deport
-foreign-criminals-costs-60m-a-year.html
>
> http://debatewise.org/debates/691
>
>
>
> *Parliamentary Reform:*
>
>
>
> There should be a referendum on changing the electoral system for General
> Elections in the next Parliament.
>
> The current first past the post electoral system that we have in this
> country no longer interprets the people?s wishes very well. It is very
> possible that the conservatives may get a bigger percent of the votes
while
> getting fewer seats than Labour. The Liberal democrats and other small
> parties will almost certainly be even worse off. Although it might not
> include a range of possible electoral systems a referendum would at least
> allow a debate on the issue of electoral reform and it is likely than any
> system decided on would be more representative than our present one.
>
> http://www.electoral-reform.org.uk/votingsystems/systems.htm
>
>
>
http://www.guardian.co.uk/commentisfree/2010/mar/09/bill-define-election-bro
wn-legacy
>
> http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/8492622.stm
>
> http://debatewise.org/debates/155
>
>
>
> The number of MPs should be reduced by 10%
>
> During this parliament many MPs have discredited themselves and the Houses
> of Parliament with their excessive expenses claims. While there have been
> reforms put in place to reduce these claims there are still a total of 646
> MPs in the House of Commons. The House of Representatives in the USA has
435
> congressmen to represent a population almost five times the size.
>
> http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/uk_politics/7294330.stm
>
> http://www.timesonline.co.uk/tol/news/politics/article6078282.ece
>
>
>
> The Government should legislate for elections to the House of Lords within
> the next Parliament
>
> Labour has been promising an elected House of Lords since they were
elected
> in 1997, there has been progress with hereditary peers leaving however
there
> has been no movement to having the House of Lords elected rather than
> appointed. If we are going to lecture dictators on the benefits of
democracy
> we should show that we believe in them too, an appointed chamber such as
we
> have now shows that we do not take democracy seriously. But is legislating
> to create an elected House of Lords really a priority with the economy in
> such a bad state?
>
> http://www.archive.official-documents.co.uk/document/cm41/4183/ref-08.htm
>
>
>
http://www.guardian.co.uk/commentisfree/2009/may/20/parliament-reform-house-
of-lords
>
> http://www.electoral-reform.org.uk/article.php?id0
>
> http://debatewise.org/debates/1223
>
>
>
> *Pensions and Retirement:*
>
>
>
> Pensions should be tied to average earnings in the next Parliament
>
> Margret Thatcher in 1980 abolished the link that there had been between
> pensions and average earnings meaning that the state pension has been
> falling in value relative to earnings in almost every year since.  This is
> obviously unfair, however it would be very costly to restore the link and
> the public purse is in no position to foot the bill in the near future.
>
>
>
http://colineldridge.org.uk/news/000025/bring_back_link_between_pensions_and
_earnings_say_lib_dems.html
>
>
>
>
http://www.independent.co.uk/news/uk/politics/tories-target-state-pension-in
-battle-to-balance-books-1787328.html
>
> http://debatewise.org/debates/790
>
>
>
> The retirement age should be scrapped
>
> Scrapping the retirement age would potentially solve numerous current  and
> future problems. It could help reduce our budget deficit if the state
> retirement age is increased meaning less is paid out while if more people
> are working then there will be more money coming in to the treasury. So
long
> as there is a retirement age it is easy for companies to pressurise people
> who want to work into retirement. In the future having no retirement age
> would help combat the problems of an ageing population such as a shrinking
> workforce and their being less people to pay for pensioners pensions.
>
>
>
http://www.guardian.co.uk/money/2010/jan/25/retirement-age-scrapped-equality
-commission
>
>
>
http://www.telegraph.co.uk/finance/personalfinance/pensions/7309292/State-pe
nsion-age-should-be-70-PwC-says.html
>
> http://debatewise.org/debates/848
>
> * *
>
> *Sovereignty and Devolution: *
>
> * *
>
> There should be an English Parliament
>
> We have a Scottish Parliament, a Welsh Assembly and a Assembly at Stormont
> for Northern Ireland that has just voted to have policing and justice
powers
> devolved to them. This leaves England, with most of the British population
> without its own parliament. In many cases the MPs for Wales, Scotland and
> Northern Ireland can vote on laws that can only affect England while
English
> MPs have very little say over what happens in those areas with their own
> assemblies, this represents a democratic deficit that has to be sorted
out.
>
>
>
http://www.guardian.co.uk/commentisfree/2010/feb/18/devolution-england-pseud
o-democracy
>
> http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/northern_ireland/8558466.stm
>
>
>
http://www.telegraph.co.uk/comment/columnists/philipjohnston/7396040/David-C
ameron-will-have-to-finally-address-English-resentment-over-devolution.html
> http://debatewise.org/debates/1246
>
> http://debatewise.org/debates/3
>
>
>
> There should be a referendum on the UK?s continued membership of the
> European Union.
>
> We were denied a vote on the Lisbon treaty that many wanted, although so
> far the results of the treaty have been less than spectacular. The UK has
> however had a referendum on its membership and voted to become a member of
> the EEC, so should a referendum simply be on the changes that have taken
> place since then? There is very little in the way of referendums in
Britain,
> so such a referendum on leaving the EU should only occur if a party that
has
> promised one in its election manifesto wins the election. Many would like
to
> have a referendum on the continued membership of the EU so putting aside
> questions about what do we do if we leave the EU should we get to vote?
>
>
>
http://blogs.telegraph.co.uk/news/danielhannan/9238909/Would_Britain_vote_to
_leave_the_EU/
>
>
>
http://www.dailymail.co.uk/debate/article-1225053/A-referendum-Mr-Cameron-CO
ULD-people.html
>
>
>
http://www.thisislondon.co.uk/standard/article-23763500-tories-set-to-retrea
t-on-eu-referendum-pledge.do
>
> http://debatewise.org/debates/846
>
> http://debatewise.org/debates/784
>
>
>
>
>
> *Tax:*
>
>
>
> Marriage should be incentivised through the tax system.
>
> David Cameron has proposed a that marriage should be incentivised,
although
> he rapidly had to retreat due to not having the proposal all costed.  The
> Conservative proposals would have a transferrable tax allowance for all
> married couples costing £3.2 billion. The tax system is regularly used to
> incentivise or punish behaviour such as smoking or drinking. So it should
> incentivise things that are good for us such as marriage which provides
for
> more stability, particularly for children.
>
>
>
http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/election-2010/7005840/Marriage-is-good-for-u
s-its-time-to-support-it.html
>
>
>
http://www.guardian.co.uk/commentisfree/2010/jan/18/family-marriage-tax-came
ron-labour
>
> http://www.timesonline.co.uk/tol/news/politics/article6992961.ece
>
>
>
> Estates less than £1million pounds should not be liable for Inheritance
Tax
>
> Inheritance tax, often portrayed as the ?death tax? by its opponents.
> Everyone dislikes having to pay tax, but why should we be bothered about
> paying taxes on unearned wealth. An inheritance is a windfall so it makes
no
> difference to those gaining the windfall if the taxman shares in the gain.
> Does it make a difference if it is a relatively small amount?
>
>
>
http://www.independent.co.uk/news/uk/politics/clarke-back-in-line-on-inherit
ance-tax-cut-policy-1652601.html
>
>
>
http://www.telegraph.co.uk/comment/columnists/alicethomson/3554424/Ive-chang
ed-my-mind-on-inheritance-tax.html
>
> http://debatewise.org/debates/1182
>
> http://debatewise.org/debates/333
>
> http://debatewise.org/debates/1052
>
>
>
> People earning less than £10,000 pounds a year should not have to pay
> Income tax
>
> Income tax for an income below £10,000 seems like a pointless excercise.
> The treasury is not likely to get much money out of the tax and at the
same
> time will be encouraging those people who earn such small amounts to stay
on
> welfare payments instead of spending their time working in return for
their
> pittance. However even if they do pay income tax the chances are they will
> be able to get as much back in benefits and means tested allowances. They
> still use the free services of the state such as the NHS and the education
> system so should they not pay for it?
>
>
>
http://blogs.telegraph.co.uk/news/alexsingleton/8046867/Its_inefficient_and_
unfair_to_make_poor_people_pay_income_tax/
>
> http://debatewise.org/debates/1013
>
>
>
>
>
> Use Revisewise @ http://revisewise.debatewise.com/
>
>
>


------------------------------

Date: Tue, 9 Mar 2010 23:30:37 +0000
Subject: [Debatewise RRT] Re: General election debates
From: Harriet Lowe <tehexile@xxxxxxxxx>

People on job seekers allowance who refuse a job should lose their benefits


On Tue, Mar 9, 2010 at 7:08 PM, Alex Helling <alex@xxxxxxxxxxxxxx> wrote:

>  Evening all,
>
>
>
> Things are slightly different today. Due to the upcoming elections
> Debatewise will be working with votematch to help give voters an idea as
to
> the issues behind the policies of the parties. This means we have rather a
> lot of debates to do and unfortunately the people behind votematch have
> given us very little time in which to do these debates so we need your
help
> to create them.
>
>
>
> I have listed all the debates that need doing below (we may get some more
> for Scotland/Wales/NI later) so if you could take them as usual. I have
also
> listed some similar debates for reference. Equally for the ones I have
been
> doing please add to them and I apologise to those of you whose points I
have
> cannibalised in order to create the debates!
>
>
>
> Because we only have the 19th to create these debates if you take one and
> then decide you can?t do it please email me in plenty of time so that we
can
> do the debate here at HQ
>
>
>
> And finally could you please put the debates on our election site rather
> than the normal Debatewise site: http://electionuk.debatewise.org/  (you
> can log in with your usual details)
>
>
>
> Thanks
>
> Alex
>
>
>
> Debates on the site for you to add to:
>
>
>
http://electionuk.debatewise.org/debates/1734-an-independent-board-should-al
locate-nhs-resources-to-different-parts-of-the-country
>
>
>
http://electionuk.debatewise.org/debates/1733-the-cost-of-nhs-administration
-should-be-cut-by-one-third
>
>
>
http://electionuk.debatewise.org/debates/1735-the-government-should-withdraw
-troops-from-afghanistan-with-a-year
>
> * *
>
> * *
>
> *Economy:*
>
>
>
> The Bank of England should have overall responsibility for financial
> oversight
>
> The financial crisis and the recession that have affected us over the last
> few years have shown that we need a change in the regulatory system that
> provides oversight for the city and the banks. The Financial Services
> Authority having failed the Conservatives believe that the Bank of England
> have much more power over the financial sector.
>
>
>
http://www.telegraph.co.uk/finance/financetopics/financialcrisis/5906113/Sir
-James-Sassoon-why-I-told-the-Tories-to-scrap-the-FSA.html
>
> http://www.publicservice.co.uk/feature_story.asp?id 296
>
>
>
http://www.publications.parliament.uk/pa/ld200809/ldselect/ldeconaf/101/1010
8.htm
>
> http://debatewise.org/debates/870
>
>
>
> The Government should be compelled by law to cut the deficit by 50% within
> 4 years
>
> The UK is currently running a budget deficit of 12%, that is higher than
> Greece a country that is in particularly hot water due to its fiscal
> imprudence.  Everyone agrees that this has to be reduced, but how quickly
> should this be done and how far does it need to be cut? No one really
knows.
> Governments do not like making big cuts in services as they are unpopular
so
> introducing a law forcing a cut in the deficit within a certain time could
> be useful to whichever party wins the election.
>
>
>
http://www.guardian.co.uk/commentisfree/2010/mar/07/deficit-fetishism-govern
ment-spending
>
> http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/8514767.stm
>
> http://www.bloomberg.com/apps/news?pid 601102&sid=ay3jUtAyftac
>
>
>
> All departments should bear the brunt of spending cuts to reduce the
> deficit
>
> Both the Conservatives and the Labour party are promising to ring fence
> some areas from any spending cuts, areas such as international development
> and the NHS. However such ring fencing simply means that the cuts have to
be
> bigger elsewhere in order to make up for the inability to cut in some
areas.
> This is unequal. The public may say they care most about the NHS but they
> may change their tune when they find that the fire service is drastically
> cut back because their can?t be cuts in other areas.
>
>
>
http://www.guardian.co.uk/news/datablog/2009/sep/16/public-spending-departme
nts-money-cuts
>
>
>
http://www.guardian.co.uk/commentisfree/2010/mar/05/financial-crisis-public-
spending-tax
>
>
>
http://www.timesonline.co.uk/tol/comment/columnists/guest_contributors/artic
le7034353.ece
>
>
>
> *Employment and Equal Ops:*
>
>
>
> All companies who employ more than 250 people should be forced to publish
> an annual report comparing the average pay of men with the average pay of
> women in the company.
>
> Pay between men and women doing the same job is supposed to be equal, but
> even if and where it is there are many other little inequalities that
> reducing the earning power of women. Having to publish a comparison
between
> the average earnings of men and women at companies would show which
> companies are closing the gender gap and which have some way to go. Naming
> and shaming is a way that may encourage firms to voluntarily equalise pay.
>
> http://www.guardian.co.uk/money/2009/jan/06/equality-bill-pay
>
>
>
http://www.efinancialnews.com/story/2009-09-14/gender-pay-gap-stays-as-wide-
as-ever
>
>
>
> The total hours allowed in a working week should not be decided by the EU
>
> The French and the Europeans generally are stereotyped in Britain and the
> US as being much more fun loving and wishing to work shorter working weeks
> than ?Anglo-Saxon economies? such as Britain. However the European Union
now
> has a big say over many areas of regulation that were previously the
> preserve of Westminster. The amount of time we work is one of them. The
> working time directive is one of them. It limits us to a working week of
48
> hours, however we are perfectly at liberty to set our own national limits
on
> working weeks that are less than 48 hours as several European countries
> have.
>
>
>
http://blogs.telegraph.co.uk/news/timcollard/100007914/the-working-time-dire
ctive-the-one-jewel-in-the-eus-plastic-crown/
>
> http://www.guardian.co.uk/commentisfree/2009/mar/17/eu-work-and-careers
>
> http://debatewise.org/debates/818
>
>
>
> People on job seekers allowance who refuse a job should lose their
benefits
>
> When there are millions looking for work people should be given every
> incentive they can be to make sure that if they get offered a job they
take
> it. It is a simply a drain on the state?s resources if someone refuses a
job
> and carries on collecting jobseekers allowance the state should not nanny
> people until they happen to find a job that they like. Job seekers should
be
> given the option of either taking the first job they are offered or losing
> their benefits if they wish to turn it down.
>
> http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/7176032.stm
>
> http://www.timesonline.co.uk/tol/news/politics/article6605850.ece
>
>
>
http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/newstopics/politics/conservative/1574822/Tor
ies-to-strip-benefits-if-jobless-refuse-work.html
>
> * *
>
> *Immigration and Asylum:*
>
>
>
> Asylum seekers should be allowed to work while waiting for their
> application to be processed
>
> Asylum seekers sitting around doing nothing is of no use to anyone. They
> should instead be doing something productive while waiting to see if their
> asylum application is granted. Not allowing them to work forces them into
> poverty while they wait for our slow system of processing applications to
> pass them through the system. If they are allowed to work and if at the
end
> of it all they are rejected at least they will have gained something
during
> their stay and contributed to the economy.
>
>
>
http://www.independent.co.uk/opinion/leading-articles/leading-article-let-as
ylumseekers-work-1609199.html
>
>
>
http://www.newstatesman.com/global-issues/2007/10/asylum-seekers-work-amnest
y
>
>
>
http://www.church-poverty.org.uk/campaigns/livingghosts/destituteanddesperat
e
>
>
>
> ID cards should be compulsory for immigrants and asylum seekers
>
> The Home office keeps getting into difficulties with asylum seekers,
either
> through having more than predicted or with failures to deport asylum
seekers
> who then go on to commit crimes. Having ID cards compulsory for immigrants
> means that it is much more difficult for the home office to lose people.
ID
> cards are meant to reduce the numbers of people working illegally so this
> makes immigrants an obvious target group and they provide a test case for
> any eventual role out for everyone.
>
>
>
http://www.ind.homeoffice.gov.uk/managingborders/idcardsforforeignnationals/
>
> http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/uk_politics/1793151.stm
>
>
>
http://www.guardian.co.uk/commentisfree/libertycentral/2009/jun/09/labour-id
-cards
>
> http://debatewise.org/debates/1
>
>
>
> People committed of crimes who were not born in this country should be
> deported
>
> People who have committed crimes who were not born here should consider
> themselves to have forfeited their right to stay in the UK. While it seems
> obvious that where possible we should deport violent criminals who are not
> native there are many circumstances where it would not be appropriate.
> Should we be deporting everyone convicted for petty crimes? What do we do
if
> the country they come from is not safe?
>
>
>
http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/uknews/1563890/Foreigners-commit-fifth-of-cr
ime-in-London.html
>
> http://www.timesonline.co.uk/tol/news/uk/crime/article6211514.ece
>
>
>
http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/uknews/immigration/7149720/Failure-to-deport
-foreign-criminals-costs-60m-a-year.html
>
> http://debatewise.org/debates/691
>
>
>
> *Parliamentary Reform:*
>
>
>
> There should be a referendum on changing the electoral system for General
> Elections in the next Parliament.
>
> The current first past the post electoral system that we have in this
> country no longer interprets the people?s wishes very well. It is very
> possible that the conservatives may get a bigger percent of the votes
while
> getting fewer seats than Labour. The Liberal democrats and other small
> parties will almost certainly be even worse off. Although it might not
> include a range of possible electoral systems a referendum would at least
> allow a debate on the issue of electoral reform and it is likely than any
> system decided on would be more representative than our present one.
>
> http://www.electoral-reform.org.uk/votingsystems/systems.htm
>
>
>
http://www.guardian.co.uk/commentisfree/2010/mar/09/bill-define-election-bro
wn-legacy
>
> http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/8492622.stm
>
> http://debatewise.org/debates/155
>
>
>
> The number of MPs should be reduced by 10%
>
> During this parliament many MPs have discredited themselves and the Houses
> of Parliament with their excessive expenses claims. While there have been
> reforms put in place to reduce these claims there are still a total of 646
> MPs in the House of Commons. The House of Representatives in the USA has
435
> congressmen to represent a population almost five times the size.
>
> http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/uk_politics/7294330.stm
>
> http://www.timesonline.co.uk/tol/news/politics/article6078282.ece
>
>
>
> The Government should legislate for elections to the House of Lords within
> the next Parliament
>
> Labour has been promising an elected House of Lords since they were
elected
> in 1997, there has been progress with hereditary peers leaving however
there
> has been no movement to having the House of Lords elected rather than
> appointed. If we are going to lecture dictators on the benefits of
democracy
> we should show that we believe in them too, an appointed chamber such as
we
> have now shows that we do not take democracy seriously. But is legislating
> to create an elected House of Lords really a priority with the economy in
> such a bad state?
>
> http://www.archive.official-documents.co.uk/document/cm41/4183/ref-08.htm
>
>
>
http://www.guardian.co.uk/commentisfree/2009/may/20/parliament-reform-house-
of-lords
>
> http://www.electoral-reform.org.uk/article.php?id0
>
> http://debatewise.org/debates/1223
>
>
>
> *Pensions and Retirement:*
>
>
>
> Pensions should be tied to average earnings in the next Parliament
>
> Margret Thatcher in 1980 abolished the link that there had been between
> pensions and average earnings meaning that the state pension has been
> falling in value relative to earnings in almost every year since.  This is
> obviously unfair, however it would be very costly to restore the link and
> the public purse is in no position to foot the bill in the near future.
>
>
>
http://colineldridge.org.uk/news/000025/bring_back_link_between_pensions_and
_earnings_say_lib_dems.html
>
>
>
>
http://www.independent.co.uk/news/uk/politics/tories-target-state-pension-in
-battle-to-balance-books-1787328.html
>
> http://debatewise.org/debates/790
>
>
>
> The retirement age should be scrapped
>
> Scrapping the retirement age would potentially solve numerous current  and
> future problems. It could help reduce our budget deficit if the state
> retirement age is increased meaning less is paid out while if more people
> are working then there will be more money coming in to the treasury. So
long
> as there is a retirement age it is easy for companies to pressurise people
> who want to work into retirement. In the future having no retirement age
> would help combat the problems of an ageing population such as a shrinking
> workforce and their being less people to pay for pensioners pensions.
>
>
>
http://www.guardian.co.uk/money/2010/jan/25/retirement-age-scrapped-equality
-commission
>
>
>
http://www.telegraph.co.uk/finance/personalfinance/pensions/7309292/State-pe
nsion-age-should-be-70-PwC-says.html
>
> http://debatewise.org/debates/848
>
> * *
>
> *Sovereignty and Devolution: *
>
> * *
>
> There should be an English Parliament
>
> We have a Scottish Parliament, a Welsh Assembly and a Assembly at Stormont
> for Northern Ireland that has just voted to have policing and justice
powers
> devolved to them. This leaves England, with most of the British population
> without its own parliament. In many cases the MPs for Wales, Scotland and
> Northern Ireland can vote on laws that can only affect England while
English
> MPs have very little say over what happens in those areas with their own
> assemblies, this represents a democratic deficit that has to be sorted
out.
>
>
>
http://www.guardian.co.uk/commentisfree/2010/feb/18/devolution-england-pseud
o-democracy
>
> http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/northern_ireland/8558466.stm
>
>
>
http://www.telegraph.co.uk/comment/columnists/philipjohnston/7396040/David-C
ameron-will-have-to-finally-address-English-resentment-over-devolution.html
> http://debatewise.org/debates/1246
>
> http://debatewise.org/debates/3
>
>
>
> There should be a referendum on the UK?s continued membership of the
> European Union.
>
> We were denied a vote on the Lisbon treaty that many wanted, although so
> far the results of the treaty have been less than spectacular. The UK has
> however had a referendum on its membership and voted to become a member of
> the EEC, so should a referendum simply be on the changes that have taken
> place since then? There is very little in the way of referendums in
Britain,
> so such a referendum on leaving the EU should only occur if a party that
has
> promised one in its election manifesto wins the election. Many would like
to
> have a referendum on the continued membership of the EU so putting aside
> questions about what do we do if we leave the EU should we get to vote?
>
>
>
http://blogs.telegraph.co.uk/news/danielhannan/9238909/Would_Britain_vote_to
_leave_the_EU/
>
>
>
http://www.dailymail.co.uk/debate/article-1225053/A-referendum-Mr-Cameron-CO
ULD-people.html
>
>
>
http://www.thisislondon.co.uk/standard/article-23763500-tories-set-to-retrea
t-on-eu-referendum-pledge.do
>
> http://debatewise.org/debates/846
>
> http://debatewise.org/debates/784
>
>
>
>
>
> *Tax:*
>
>
>
> Marriage should be incentivised through the tax system.
>
> David Cameron has proposed a that marriage should be incentivised,
although
> he rapidly had to retreat due to not having the proposal all costed.  The
> Conservative proposals would have a transferrable tax allowance for all
> married couples costing £3.2 billion. The tax system is regularly used to
> incentivise or punish behaviour such as smoking or drinking. So it should
> incentivise things that are good for us such as marriage which provides
for
> more stability, particularly for children.
>
>
>
http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/election-2010/7005840/Marriage-is-good-for-u
s-its-time-to-support-it.html
>
>
>
http://www.guardian.co.uk/commentisfree/2010/jan/18/family-marriage-tax-came
ron-labour
>
> http://www.timesonline.co.uk/tol/news/politics/article6992961.ece
>
>
>
> Estates less than £1million pounds should not be liable for Inheritance
Tax
>
> Inheritance tax, often portrayed as the ?death tax? by its opponents.
> Everyone dislikes having to pay tax, but why should we be bothered about
> paying taxes on unearned wealth. An inheritance is a windfall so it makes
no
> difference to those gaining the windfall if the taxman shares in the gain.
> Does it make a difference if it is a relatively small amount?
>
>
>
http://www.independent.co.uk/news/uk/politics/clarke-back-in-line-on-inherit
ance-tax-cut-policy-1652601.html
>
>
>
http://www.telegraph.co.uk/comment/columnists/alicethomson/3554424/Ive-chang
ed-my-mind-on-inheritance-tax.html
>
> http://debatewise.org/debates/1182
>
> http://debatewise.org/debates/333
>
> http://debatewise.org/debates/1052
>
>
>
> People earning less than £10,000 pounds a year should not have to pay
> Income tax
>
> Income tax for an income below £10,000 seems like a pointless excercise.
> The treasury is not likely to get much money out of the tax and at the
same
> time will be encouraging those people who earn such small amounts to stay
on
> welfare payments instead of spending their time working in return for
their
> pittance. However even if they do pay income tax the chances are they will
> be able to get as much back in benefits and means tested allowances. They
> still use the free services of the state such as the NHS and the education
> system so should they not pay for it?
>
>
>
http://blogs.telegraph.co.uk/news/alexsingleton/8046867/Its_inefficient_and_
unfair_to_make_poor_people_pay_income_tax/
>
> http://debatewise.org/debates/1013
>
>
>
>
>
> Use Revisewise @ http://revisewise.debatewise.com/
>
>
>


------------------------------

End of debatewiserrt Digest V2 #31
**********************************





-- 
Work done with anxiety about results is far inferior to work done without
such anxiety, in the calm of self-surrender. Seek refuge in the knowledge of
Brahman. They who work selfishly for results are miserable.   --"Bhagavad
Gita."




-- 
Work done with anxiety about results is far inferior to work done without
such anxiety, in the calm of self-surrender. Seek refuge in the knowledge of
Brahman. They who work selfishly for results are miserable.   --"Bhagavad
Gita."

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