The Doncaster revolution. Viva la Revolución!

At last, somebody is putting in place all the policy reforms I would if given the chance! Only a pommy local council, but it's got to start somewhere. All the useless parasites that infect both government and private enterprise these days, at huge cost to us all, could be got rid of tomorrow with hardly anyone noticing - diversity officers, equal opportunity commisssioners, wellness officers etc etc. Gerald Warner hails the counter-revolution that’s broken out in the Yorkshire town of Doncaster, thanks to the new directly elected mayor, Peter Davies: In his first week in office he cut his own salary from £73,000 to £30,000, which is putting one’s money where one’s mouth is. He also scrapped the mayoral limousine. He is ending Doncaster’s twinning with five towns around the world, an arrangement which he describes as “just for people to fly off and have a binge at the council’s expense”. He intends now to reduce (that’s right, reduce) council tax by 3 per cent this year. The “diversity” portfolio has been abolished from the council’s cabinet. From next year no more funding will be given to the town’s “Gay Pride” event, on the grounds that people do not need to parade their sexuality, whatever it may be, at taxpayers’ expense. Black History Month, International Women’s Day and the Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual and Transgender History Month are similarly destined to become history. Council funding of translation services for immigrants has been scrapped because he believes incomers should take the trouble to learn English… He aims to abolish all non-jobs on the council, as epitomised by “community cohesion officers”. He is taking advice from the Taxpayers’ Alliance and the Campaign Against Political Correctness… He disregards all “green claptrap”, is creating more parking spaces to encourage traffic in the town for the benefit of business ("I’m not green and I’m not conned by global warming"). He has asked the Electoral Commission to reduce the number of Doncaster’s councillors from 63 to 21 ("If Pittsburgh can manage with nine councillors, why do we need 63?"). A radio interview with the mayor here. Here’s the first radio interview he gave after winning, in which he walks out on a sneering BBC interviewer - who has since been proved utterly wrong: Andrew Bolt

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