I am writing about an extremely disturbing Government proposal which is going through Parliament.
The Legislative and Regulatory Reform Bill threatens to destroy 700 years of democracy in the UK.
It gives ministers the power to change or replace any law without detailed scrutiny by Parliament. It can be used to change any existing legislation from Magna Carta to the Local Government Acts. It can even be applied to itself.
The Government is pushing this Bill through under the guise of deregulation but not only does it lack any mention of deregulation, it also lacks any meaningful safeguards to prevent abuse.
The only protection we have is that the Government has stated it will not misuse it. This is not enough.
Oliver Heald MP, who is leading opposition against the Bill, has said: "There is no better time than now for concerned citizens to write to their Member of Parliament protesting about the Legislative and Regulatory Reform Bill. What the Government has come up with goes way beyond what is needed. The Government says it has 'wider ambitions'. We wonder what they are".
Already the Conservatives, Liberal Democrats and Green Party are set to oppose the bill.
The Save Parliament campaign (www.saveparliament.org.uk) now has more than 1,700 members of the public who have signed up to voice their objections and more are joining every day from all over the country.
I would urge your readers to join the campaign and write to their local MP as soon as possible.
If the Government does not amend the Bill to limit its power, it cannot be allowed to become law.
It is simply too wide-ranging and gives both this and all future governments far too much power, undermining Parliament and threatening the very foundation of democracy in the UK.
-Duncan C Hill, Brighton
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