We hurl abuse at here-today-gone-tomorrow politicians and their advisers, while the permanent state flourishes like a green bay tree.
Did those in power still believe it was right to terrify the nation into submissions with their fear-mongering campaigns warning us to stay away from our loved ones? And why did the rules constantly change and at very little notice?
That is the mission of ARC, the Alliance for Responsible Citizenship, which is holding its inaugural meeting in London. The public want a better, more productive and dignified economy, and a politics and a public culture which honours their values.
This perhaps reflects the fact that with the Speech happening on 7th November, there will be little actual time for legislation in the final session of Parliament in any case.
We set out our plan in Policy Exchange’s latest report, What do we Want from the King’s Speech, along with proposals for 13 other Bills.
On education, high speed rail and smoking, he will allow our country to pursue an ambitious and optimistic future for people, whoever they are and wherever they come from.
The elephant in the room is that, unless something significant changes, it is unlikely that the Prime Minister will be able to see through any these plans.
The Government needs to resist the clamour from ideological libertarians and give people the tools they need to lead healthy lives and address the culture of the nation towards food, activity, and looking after yourself, as they do in other healthier countries.
The second part of our series on reducing demand for government, in which we set out a programme for change – focused on families, civil society and government.
The demographic tide can’t be turned back, but its advance can be slowed – by the self-reinforcing triangle of stronger families, better schools, good jobs, and the stronger society that these help to build.
In the end, I’m with Nigel Lawson: these alternatives would produce marginal gains at best, and at worst decades of distraction from the real path back to a stronger health service.
If politicians can’t do deliver realistic cost projections and timetables, they need to make sure the public grasp the full scale of the eventual benefits.
A new body, modelled on the Serious Fraud Office, is needed to independently and expertly investigate allegations of criminal wrongdoing against medical professionals and institutions.