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HOWARD'S WAY.... a weekly column from Michael Howard MP

April 6 2006<IMG height=195 hspace=10 src="images/michaelhoward3.jpg" width=130 align=right vspace=10 border=0>

Every now and again you read something in the newspapers or watch something on television which really makes you sit up and think. These are not front page stories or items which make headlines at the top of the news. But they often tell you more about the kind of society we live in than stories which get much more coverage.

Two items of this kind caught my attention last weekend.

First, I read a story which stated that blind people are being forced to buy their own white sticks because of Government cutbacks. The Royal National Institute for the Blind has carried out a survey which shows that more than three in ten people with severe vision problems have to pay for their sticks because local authorities, who have previously paid, now can’t afford them.

I have not had any complaints which lead me to suppose that this is a problem in Kent though if any constituents find themselves in this predicament I hope they will let me know. I shall certainly do all I can to help.

The second story which caught my eye was very different.

The Government had originally intended to pass a law to make lorries display fluorescent rear markings. Safety experts said this could save 80 lives a year by stopping cars from ploughing into the backs of trucks.

But Transport Secretary Alistair Darling has ordered a u-turn, apparently on the grounds that Britain had to wait until a Europe-wide law is introduced in 5 years time.

Yet Italy has passed a similar law and no action has been taken by the European Commission to challenge them. So there appears to be no good reason why this measure can’t be introduced.

Yet Labour MPs were instructed to vote the change down during proceedings on the Transport Bill.

Two stories which made me angry and which, I suspect will make you angry too.

Two stories which tell us quite a lot about the state of Britain today.