Shining a light on our fading parliamentary democracy
Democracy in the United Kingdom has seldom been under greater or more sustained attack than it is now. The latest example of the Government's attempt to erode the democratic process concerns how the type of light bulb that people will be able to use in their home is being changed.
Commencing this week, retailers are phasing out the conventional 100-watt incandescent light bulb. When the current stocks have been exhausted they will not be available for retail purchase in UK shops. This will be followed by the phasing out of all other conventional light bulbs until they have all disappeared in 2012.
Thanks to an EU agreement, under the pretext of fighting man-made climate change, we will be forced to switch to 'low-energy' bulbs, or CFLs (compact fluorescent lamps). Not only are the low-energy variety of bulbs more expensive, research has shown they can trigger skin rashes, migraines and epilepsy. They also contain mercury which makes proper disposal of them virtually impossible.
To further compound the misery for many people, columnist Christopher Booker reminds us that a Defra study "Energy scenarios in the lighting sector" found was that
'less than 50 per cent of the fittings installed in UK homes can
currently take CFLs'. He also points out that:
"It was known that there were many purposes for which low-energy bulbs
were not practicable, such as inside fridges and ovens, where
temperatures don't allow them to operate, or inside enclosed fittings,
such as patio and garage lights. They also did not work with dimmer
switches."
The most important thing to note however is that the enforced switch from conventional light bulbs is not only happening years earlier than the EU agreed, but it has no basis in law. In another contemptuous dismissal of democratic norms, the measure has never been put before Parliament to be voted upon by our elected representatives. Instead the Government hatched its own backroom agreement with retailers to ensure that rather than allowing the plans to be scrutinised, challenged and possibly voted down in the House of Commons, consumers would simply have no choice about the type of bulbs they can buy.
As the era of conventional light bulbs unnecessarily fades away, it is accompanied in lockstep by a darkness that is further enveloping the decaying remnants of what was once our accountable parliamentary democracy.
