The Curmudgeon

YOU'LL COME FOR THE CURSES. YOU'LL STAY FOR THE MUDGEONRY.

Monday, July 12, 2010

Bovine Spongiform Ideology

In line with the deregulatory dogma of every Conservative's favourite mad cow, Daveybloke's cuddly Minister for NHS Privatisation, Andrew Lansley, is making noises about abolishing the Food Standards Agency. Not only was the FSA "set up to protect consumers", which is certainly bad enough; it has also committed the indiscretion of asking food manufacturers to keep their customers informed about exactly what they are buying. Accordingly, Lansley's department says that the FSA is "under review", which is ministerial code for doomed even in a moderate government, let alone in a foam-flecked slash-and-burn administration such as the present one aspires to be. Those of the FSA's functions which do not offend the obesity promotion industry will be taken over by the Department of Health and Defra, which are doubtless pledged to refrain from imposing unnecessary regulation, whether for the sake of short-term political gain or for more sordid and disreputable reasons such as public health. Naturally, Lansley's proposals have caused some indignation among the wheatgerm-and-water Nazis, with some even claiming that the Government has caved in to big business. This is certainly unfair, particularly to the Conservative Party. One does not accuse a glove-puppet of caving in when the fingers waggle.

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