Last week in the House of Commons for the first time in history they almost entirely agreed to reform the House of Lords. While this may at first seem like a victory for DEMOCRACY. I wonder if it really is? As someone pointed out on radio 4 last week that the present House of Lords costs us very little. It is made up mostly of senior life serving professionals who have made significant contributions to society. They can be seen as independent Guardian’s of British democracy, that is their role. Where in the House of Commons we have members voted for by general public and almost all too often seem preoccupied with their own agendas and media profiles. The House of Lords is able to give us the different view on the issues that face us presently. I fear with the present change that all we have achieved is to replicate the House of Commons. Truly independent bodies must be appointed for and not voted. We have in the House of Lords and an array of people that would not be in politics if it were not for our present system, adding a much needed extra dimension
What has this got to do with health and safety, well we have at present come to an extreme situation where we try to protect everybody. The reasons for this, I am not too sure. By design laws in their very nature are to ensure a fair and just society for all. So we should legislate to protect the minority. What we have with the current health and safety is a system where the majority cannot do anything. An example of this is when a football accidentally hit my son on the head. The teachers sent him home with a one page report explaining what had happened. I am quite sure that teachers found this an utter of waste of time. As I did when I saw it.(let him play football) It seems now that you cannot do anything without a safety helmet and a procedure. Life by its very nature is risky, the seek and blame culture is only benefiting a small proportion of society. I believe the House of Lords legislates for common sense, the greater good of everyone. We must protect the people that need protecting but not limiting our society to stop businesses’s and individuals from reaching their full potential.
