UK - Daily Echo - It's time to squash these quangos. . .

It's time to squash these quangos. . .
By David Harrison
Leader of New Forest District Liberal Democrats.
IT is interesting to note that the Prime Minister has suddenly addressed the need to restore confidence in our democracy by suggesting that voters get the opportunity to change the voting system, to an alternative vote system, rather than a "first past the post" one.
Cynics might think that the conversion to a more democratic way of thinking has come about a bit late, given that we are only weeks away from a General Election, the Labour party look certain to lose and it's a blundering attempt to gain the support of the Liberal Democrats should we have a result that gives no party an overall majority.
Certainly, the Labour Party has wasted a very long time and a very large majority which would have enabled them to install a fully elected House of Lords. We still have a situation where Government legislation can be thrown out or stalled by people who have never had to face any kind of election and enjoy all the privileges of the House of Lords, by way of birth, not merit.

Fluoride

I don't think that local people were particularly impressed when Mr Brown visited Southampton with his Cabinet and when asked about the wisdom of adding fluoride to our tap water, told reporters: "It is for local people to decide".
Well, actually it isn't! Nearly three quarters of the people who responded to a consultation said they didn't want it and our unelected, unaccountable, Strategic Health Authority are trying to impose it because they know what is good for us.
If the Government is really serious about restoring democracy, they would have addressed the real problem that •. so much public spending is controlled not by MPs or councillors but by non-departmental public bodies, otherwise known as quangos.
At the last official count of public bodies, there were 790 of them, employing 92,500 staff and spending £43bn of your money. Whatever the result of the election, I'm hoping that high on the list of the next Government will be restoring the powers of the quangos to elected people. It is your money. You should have a right to remove the people who don't deliver good services at a price you are willing to pay.
The power of MPs and councillors has diminished almost in direct proportion to the power now held by quangos. This is a really important issue and not one that is being faced up to.