The Tories' vehicles toured Ealing Southall proclaiming in various South Asian languages that Muslim, Hindu and Sikh festivals were to be made public holidays by the Tories. Then that party's "Quality of Life Commission" (don't laugh, it's real) published a report advocating that "local communities" be given the power to designate three public holidays in their respective localities.
In other words, the Tories are going to go around Asian areas at the next Election making this same promise all over again, adjusted according to how Muslim, Hindu or Sikh the particular constituency, ward or addressee happens to be.
After this, what else are these unspecified "local communities" going to decide? Who are they, exactly? I think we all know that they are the great and the good of the local mosque, mandir or gurdwara. Getting to decide this, and then a whole lot more, is to be their price for getting out the vote, sometimes consisting of nothing more than reminding their mates to fill in postal ballot papers the right way on behalf of their entire households.
These situations will easily perpetuate themselves, since people will move - not just from around the country, but from around the world - to live in Cameron's little Caliphates, Hindutvas and Khalistans.
Among other things, of course. When Avigdor Lieberman has denaturalised the Haredim by forcing them to swear allegiance to the secular State of Israel, then they can just set up as a "local community" in, say, Golders Green, or Stamford Hill, or Salford, or Gateshead. Watch out, the Labour MPs for Gateshead. And watch out, the Labour MP for Salford, Hazel Blears, Secretary of State for Communities.
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Will the SSPX get one?
ReplyDeleteOn a related topic, the Jewish community in England (since Scotland has had legalised Sunday trading since Atlee) were/still are exempt from the Shops Act which regulated/banned Sunday trading in England and Wales.
ReplyDeleteThat meant that for years in return for closed on a Saturday, they could open on a Sunday.
I believe that this was a convention going back before the Atlee government.
The Aberdonian, oh yes that goes back a long way, at least in practice. Of course, it rather presupposed but the shops in question would be in heavily Jewish areas. But then, things like kosher butchers obviously still are, anad always will be.
ReplyDeleteThat Scotland has legal Sunday trading is generally attributed to the fact that the matter is reserved to Westminster. At least, that was the reason given for reserving it. The view taken was, and is, that the Scots, left to themselves, would pretty much ban any activity whatever outside church or home on the Sabbath.
Latinist, if they made the proper Holy Days of Obligation the public holidays, then I might even move there, just so long as I could get to Mass outside the rest of the time.
They still have the proper Holy Days in Scotland.
ReplyDeleteNot as public holidays, I bet they don't!
ReplyDeleteSince when were you in favour of deregulated Sunday trading?
ReplyDeleteOh, I am certainly not.
ReplyDeleteI am firmly in the tradition of those who organised through USDAW to save the special status of Sunday from Margaret "daughter of a Methodist preacher blah blah blah" Thatcher, and then to save the special status of Christmas Day (yes, Christmas Day) from John "old maids bicycling to Communion blah blah blah" Major.
David
ReplyDeleteSunday trading laws are not reserved. Regulation of working on a Sunday is. Regulation of hours etc is not. Just like the hours for selling alcohol is not reserved.
Sunday trading in England is restricted to major stores to six hours. In Scotland it is not restricted except where councils choose to enforce it - such as in the Western Isles.
The only rule about Sunday Trading in Scotland is that alcohol can only be sold from 12:30 - in England it is done much earlier.
Well, you can buy alcohol from 11am. But there is a very strong cultural taboo against drinking before lunch.
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