'One In - One Out' Nowt But A PR Exercise

St. Vince - aka Vince Cable - erstwhile Business Secretary for The Coalition has today announced a 'One In - One Out' policy for any new regulations that impose a cost on business. The BBC reports that:

"From September, ministers will have to identify an existing piece of regulation to be removed for every new rule proposed."

There is a difference of opinion between the BBC and Open Europe, the former stating that the British Chambers of Commerce maintain a third of the additional regulatory burden came from European Union directives, while the latter stating that in 2009, 59 percent of the annual cost arising from regulation introduced since 1998, £32.8 billion, stemmed from EU legislation.

On the basis that existing EU Directives & Regulations cannot be repealed by The Coalition and that there is no 'parity' of business costs mentioned it adds up to a typical 'Coalition Policy' - a load of words which don't mean much - in other words a public relations stunt, just a nice 'headline grabbing' policy announcement designed to 'pull the wool over the eyes' of the electorate!

As for St. Vince's statement that "By ensuring regulation becomes a last resort, we will create an environment that frees business from the burden of red tape, helping to create the right conditions for recovery and growth in the UK economy," one can but smile wryly and point out to this member of the present comedic collection of idiots that not one of them - he included - has the ability to ensure regulation becomes a last resort!