Hacker Newsnew | past | comments | ask | show | jobs | submitlogin

Less Anglo Saxon and more very specifically American.

You'll find hardly anyone in the UK, except maybe extremists like Rees Mogg, who would object to registration of birth. Generally speaking, we quite like our government institutions and services. It's conservative politicians who are wedded to turning us into the 51st state. Even conservative voters often object to closure of services or attempts to to use a popular slogan and outright lie: "introduce the efficiency of the market" to the NHS.



In the UK there is no requirement for adults to possess any kind of ID, let alone carry it around. The mere introduction of optional ID cards caused a huge shitstorm.

There is no requirement for adults to register their whereabouts with the authorities.

And home schooling is explicitly legal, the authorities may or may not check on children who are home schooled.

In many western European countries these things would be radical. Both US and UK share a strong tradition of individual independence.


So? There's no compulsory ID in Denmark either. Wikipedia says France made it optional about the same time the UK abolished wartime IDs. Quite a few of the European countries have IDs but don't require you to carry it or register whereabouts. With mention in the Queen's speech of compulsory voter ID, looks like compulsory de facto ID is now Tory election policy. ID or disenfranchised.

The Education Act simply requires full time education without explicit mention of home. Home schooling in Europe isn't exactly rare, though I know many do rule it out - perhaps around half - Germany for instance. Perfectly OK in France, Italy, Belgium and plenty of others.

You seem to be making a distinction without a difference.


How is it conservative to throw away your own traditions and replace them with someone else's? Don't let them steal your country by taking your words.


They started taking the word when they named the party 150 or 200 years ago, when they formed out of the smoking wreckage of the Tory party.

Up until 1979 they were a mostly traditionalist and small c conservative party. Since then they have been steadily getting more radical and extreme.




Guidelines | FAQ | Lists | API | Security | Legal | Apply to YC | Contact

Search: