10 things... Election Special

Following on from previous 10 things... postings, this one focuses on policies I would like to see implemented. Some of them are party-political, some of them are personal, some short-term priorites, others long-term aspirations:

1. A form of proportional representation introduced
2. A local income tax to replace Council Tax
3. An elected second chamber
4. An English Parliament within a federal UK, or at least the introduction of rules forbidding MPs from voting on legislation which does not apply in their constituencies. e.g. an English Grand Committee
   
5. A simplifed tax system including a raised personal allowance and capital gains tax at rates consistant with income tax
6. The introduction of index-linking for Inheritance Tax thresholds and the Annual and Lifetime Allowances for pensions
7. The UK meeting the UN target of 0.7% of GDP to be spent on overseas aid
8. The introduction of an ongoing scrappage scheme aimed at increasing sales of "greener" vehicles
9. Extensive reform of the European Union which places more emphasis on the Parliament and removes power from the commission
   
10. The establishment of a British Republic

I'm sure there could have been many others and while most of these are close to my heart, it's not necessarily a "top 10"!


Andrew