If you were Prime Minister what would you do!

Good heavens!!!

Hand in the towel to Labour providing they got rid of Ed Milliband then perhaps we could stop rewarding the rich and do something about unemployment and the disadvantaged.

Oh! ninnynanny, I do see where you are coming from to a certain extent, though. There seems as if there's little deterrent for many crimes now, but to bring back Capital Punishment cannot be the answer, can it? How can any legal 'system', (police, lawyer, etc), be really, really sure that the person they're 'disposing of' can really be the perpetrator of the crime of which they're accused? Flawed, falsified or circumstantial evidence makes it almost impossible to be completely and absolutely sure, though being able to produce DNA is an (almost) perfect tool to ensure sufficient evidence.

The acid test of a civilised society, for me, is one that does not use barbaric treatment against offenders who have been barbaric themselves. It's like belting the children and shouting 'stop hitting each other!' We have to model civilised behaviour to get people to behave in a civilised way.

But then, I'm a retired probation officer - I would say that, wouldn't I?

I'm with you Carol, as a retired teacher I know from experience that any form of physical chastisement is always counter productive and just models uncivilised behaviour.

I think capital punishment is utterly appalling and can never, ever be justified.

I would introduce the harshest punishments for anyone who drinks and drives. I would clamp down on the super rich's tax scams. And - on a lighter note - I would make Cadbury invent a chocolate bar with no calories

I'm not sure it is worth replying to this thread, as nothing we can say is going to alter the OPs mind set but who knows - it might not be too late!
Britain already imprisons a bigger proporion of its citizens than almost any other European country - I think Turkey has a worse record. People who have been in what is laughingly called 'care', black men, ex-members of the armed forces and people with learning difficulties are disproportionately represented.
Many US states have the death penalty (again, mainly used against black men) and it hasn't lowered murder rates. The US also keeps prisoners in conditions which would shame a Third World country - in cages rather than cells, shackled and denied all privacy.
I don't know what I can say to someone who wants to deny people their human rights.
I don't know whether I feel more indignant or just sad that this kind of thinking is still around, although usually it is more covert.

I'm with you FeeTee, on all counts (especially the chocolate one) and with everyone else who thinks that prisons and capital punishment are not the way forward.

I would also ensure that we have summer, in the summer, every year!

ninnynanny have you had an awful experience that leads you to post as you did?

ninnynanny thinks tatoos are common, reads the DM and the Sun and thinks life is pointless without religion. I don't think we will every be best buddies!

I seem to remember the death penalty was got rid of, in part, because there were a number of innocent people hanged.

Let me see if I can be similarly contentious - I would pass a law that demanded that cat owners should not let their pets roam free so that they can c''''p in other peoples gardens and slaughter songbirds as they go along their merry way. Any wandering cats to be confiscated and put down. You think I'm joking?

The DM has a lot to answer for....

I think ninnynanny was stirring the pot. Does she really take such a reactionary stance or did she want to get a reaction? If she did, she certainly succeeded. That's why I haven't reacted, though I could.

Judging by her other posts, I think she really means it.

Calorie free chips as well as calorie free chocolate, and some sunshine every day.

OK, Greatnan, I obviously just have too much faith in human nature!

On a serious note, I would get rid of some old-Etonians out of my cabinet and choose some people, including women, with some experience of the kind of life most voters live. I would stop talking about making rich people pay tax and actually do something about closing loopholes which allow individuals and companies to bank their profits offshore.
I would initiate investigations into procurement policies which hand hugely lucrative contracts to a handful of firms which have manifestly failed to deliver on previous contracts.
I would read Private Eye so I could foresee where the faeces were going to hit the fan!

Yes what about some politicians who actually have some experience of managing things in the real world. Then they might not make such daft decisions.

I would make it law that when a politician is asked a question he/she has to answer the question direct and not give us a long speech about how the pervious party got this country in the mess it is in now.
It makes me so the way they wriggle out of answering questions

For starters I would get rid of Free Trade. I would also encourage Zero Population. All children would have a decent education. As for Capital Punishment, definitely not while I am Prime Minister!!!!!

Zero Population Faye . Seems a bit drastic....

While I am still Prime Minister Anagram I might ban meat and religion!

No, much as I fear interference from religious organisations, I would never restrict anyone's right to believe or worship.

The UK , in common with many European countries, is suffering from the problem of an ageing population. If you achieved zero population growth there would be nobody to work or care for the older people. At the moment, I gather population growth is mainly via immigration and looking at the way most Asian immigrants work and their children's take up of higher education, I see that as no bad thing. (Sorry, ninnynanny!).

Encouraging people to plan their families is fine in theory, but I fear that any compulsion would hugely infringe the rights of citizens, especially women.

We would just reproduce but not register the births of children. Thank goodness for working immigrants - they are helping us to keep (just) afloat!