What is really so frightening about the people that we have voted for over the last 28 years is that hardly any of them have a shred of common sense or talent.
I am not making a political point about right/left just that when they stand upto speak in the house of commons I am listening for the most part to insane people talking. As they say what they say they even know it themselves. All the almighty blunders they have been responsible for become but little blips or they go into a mode of self denial. Everyday of my life now I ask myself the same question, where are we all going.when will all this madness stop.

George Dutton, Newcastle upon Tyne, UK

Sorry Wendy we are getting the country and governments we deserve, until we insist in a system where we can hold people to account, such as a quorum, we will keep getting the slugheads we deserve.
Dave in Spain(escapee)

Dave Madley, Alicante, Spain

Strange to me that a person astute enough to attain MBA and PhD can believe that a dyed-in-the wool politician of any colour can change (for the better) when elevated to greater power - any power.
Even I as a CSC 2nd.class (Cynical Senior Citizen) do not believe that! Maybe at the same time I also gave up believing in Father Christmas.
Why do politicians make more sense when they retire from politics Michael ???? I Enjoy your 'This Week' input but my wife cannot stand Diane and she's from Vietnam!!!

Thorrun, Brentwood,, UK

I see that you are overcome with envy Michael. Your opposite number now getting the premiership you always wanted for yourself. I find it interesting that you are now advising him, despite his relative success.

This constant "meddling" as you call it is actually a good idea. Small changes often are what the Japanese use as part of their ethos for improving quality- known as "Kaizen". This is what has meant they have cornered the electronics and automotive market. Look in any survey and they have the most relaible cars on sale. Surely making small changes to constantly improve the country is a good idea?

Or you could just sit back and hope for the best...

James R, Birmingham,

Brown - Well! He should never be prime minister. We have had to put up with the last muppet for ten years, do we have to suffer any longer. We don't need another dictator, or control freak. This is country, which I still love, is not the country I we British deserve.
Brown won't change things.
Can't anyone help.

wendy nehorai, Stanmore,

When listening to Gordon Brown's budget speeches I have noticed that he always stresses three words: I, me and my.
That tells us all we need to know about the man, methinks.

Tony Jones, Grantham, Lincs

I seem to remember Mr Portillo arguing fervently in favour of the Poll Tax at the time.

I suppose one good effect of the HIP is that it will tend to screen out timewasters who put their houses up for sale just to 'test the market'.

Frank Upton, Solihull,

Excellent points on the destructive, pernicious effects on needless Government meddling in the training of doctors. The quality and strength of the medical profession are being sacrificed to the whim of narrow minded, self-interested Ideologues. This was an entirely avoidable catastrophe.

Dr James Lacey, London,

I find it breath-taking that surveyors reports cannot be trusted if they are commissioned by the seller. Surely that is the hub of the problem. As someone who paid for 3 surveys before sellers changed their minds, I am all in favour of the idea, but somehow it all seems to have gone horribly wrong.

Shaun OKane, London, London

Excellent article, Michael. Let's print it and keep it to look at it again in 12 month's time.

Vic Nelson, Malaga, Spain

Gordon is going to meddle
Events are the joker in the game of politics, but self-inflicted wounds also bring governments to grief

Hold on mate. Let him in the 10 Downing Street. He may change. Cahir is powerful motive or fuse to the nuke. Charles is talking of making Fergie queen. Hold on dont run

Firozali A.Mulla MBA PhD, Dar-Es-Salaam, Tanzania

HIP will help protect the consumer: protect buyers and expose shark vendors. I wonder why the Torys are opposed?

With HIPs one can measure and compare, as with the euro that allows a flat playing field to compare prices across the EU. No surprise then that the Torys are against.

Why make life for the citizen easier: they prefer a muddled economic environment that favours big business, in a free for all society.

Peter GODDARD, Epsom, England, EU

Why don't you just say it Michael. This Government are inept tinkering tax raisers. There isn't anything more to say. A vote for Brown is a vote for increased taxation with no benefit.

judy, Liverpool, england

I agree with everything you say Michael, and to prove your point regarding HIPS and jobsworth dipping into peoples pockets under Brown. These HIPS if implemented will require all those selling their homes to have searches carried out, and then further reassessment searches every 3 months whilst on the market. The cost of these searches has yet to be set by each council, but is estimated it will be between £80 & £300 per time. This will obliviously make money for councils, therefore they won’t miss the opportunity to fleece us yet again, especially when its backed up by the law! I can see the housing market suffering from this unnecessary intervention. I fear for what state this country will be in after Brown, his mate Blair inflicted enterable damage, and he will just continue in the same dogmatic way once he’s installed himself in No 10.

Michael Mallin, Sheffield,

When a New Labour Minister utters the word "modernise", it is time to run for cover. Combine their penchant for meddling with their administrative incompetence and you do have a recipe for disaster. It has been one of the defining characteristics of the third term of this Government that everything they have touched has crumbled to dust. HIPS and MMC (Modernising Medical Careers) are only two examples of this.

Richard, Worcester, England

"Initiatives should be banned. Even suggesting a new computer system should bring instant dismissal." In these few words, Michael Portillo sets an agenda for a new politics, and one which the vast majority of people would actually like. Labour politicians seem obsessed with frittering away taxpayers' money on vanity schemes (like the Olympics and the NHS grand computer project), or interference with the minutiae of people's lives (like most of the legislation that has emerged in past decade).

David Stuart, Aldershot,

Though I find Hewitt's patronising tone and the fact she has misled Parliament so often, offensive I feel the real issue is how we can restore some fairness to the junior doctor fiasco - so that their careers can be rescued. Something needs to be done to restore fairness, and some guarantees that those who miss out due to this system this year should not be penalised in the future. I really want to see the end of Hewitt - but agree that the micro management of Brown will probably make things worse

Worried , Ludlow, England

If as reported the potential fine for not having a HIP is £200, the cost of having one is more than that, and no-one is going to rely on the things for anything that matters to them, there may be less of an effect on the housing market than expected.

By the same token, using a mobile whilst driving has been given an increased penalty - points on licence now - but observation suggests many people are simply ignoring the ban.

Could it be that some people no longer take HMG seriously?

Peter T, Godalming,

Ten years ago, New Labour gave civil servants the job of coming up with a way to stop gazumping and gazundering. The simplest, best, tried and tested option was the Scottish one (which is the way you buy everything else in England except, for some reason, houses) but civil servants being civil serrvants and New Labour being New Labour, they opted for the worst possible option. MInister trumpet that the Pack contains an energy certificate or whatever.
I wonder how many people in the UK don't know that unlagged pipes, an unlagged loft and single glazing contribute to heat loss (and gain) and need Newe Labour to tell them? Doh!

ian, bath,

Raymond Evans, it must be both satisfying and frustrating to wake up every morning knowing you're a wonderful person offering wonderful things to a sceptical and unappreciative public. Keep smug! You know best!
P.S. There shouldn't be an apostrophe in DEAs.

S Buckwell, Leominster,

It cannot be right that Michael Portillo gets paid by a quality newspaper to write an article about HIPs, and yet he signally fails to mention Article 7 of Directive 2002/91/EC:

"Member States shall ensure that, when buildings are constructed, sold or rented out, an energy performance certificate shall be made available to the owner or by the owner to the prospective buyer or tenant, as the case might be"

The Sunday Times should insist that he returns his fee.

Denis Cooper, Maidenhead, England

Why hide your Identity ?
Do you trust this government?

Identity cards go, not to the issue of hiding your identity but to the issue of your right to walk the street unimpeded by police (secret and otherwise) it is easy to say Oh I trust the police but you only need to look to the recent past to see episodes of dodgy police work.
It is but a short step from a free state to a police state.
That wont happen here - It wouldn't happen in Germany in 1933 either.
It may sound like fiction but the Russian police are not averse to burning your papers and saying you have none, why not ours.
Parliament is being bypassed by executive powers - that is the first step on the road to dictatorship. We are sleepwalking into a dictatorship as well as a surveillance society. After all , if you are not doing anything wrong why not have a CCTV camera in every room in your house wired to the police station?

Adrian H, Burnley,

meddling and fiddling with things is very myuch the hallmark of this labour governement

peter codner, devizes, england

I think you might be wrong because, as you pointed out last week, politics is not all it seems to the rational observer. The Tory concerns may well appropriately centre on the Treasury. While I gather the latter has been substantially dictating Labour policy under Gordon Brown, this has easily been explained as due to Brown’s particular chancellorship. Should there be a further three years with another chancellor but no obvious change in the Treasury’s fiefdom, the widely observed conclusion would be that it was in fact a new Treasury autonomy. If then the Tories are elected with different aims in mind, they will have problems justifying changes they may want to make.

Henry Percy, London, UK

The energy audit seems to take no account of houses which are listed. We who own such properties are not allowed to double-glaze them or make other changes that would increase their energy efficiency. In conservation areas wind turbines and solar panels aren't allowed. Another idiotic initiative that won't accomplish a damned thing.

Nancy Wood, London, UK

What a pity newspapers do not thoroughly research a topic before it is published. The same applies to politicians who try and score points at the expense of others.
I am referring to the Domestic Energy Surveys that RICS want to stop. The only reason they want it stopped is because they will no longer have the monopoly of the housing market.
Energy Performance Certificates (EPCs) will help home owners appreciate that their homes can be cheaper to heat by installing better insulation. In return they get cheaper fuel costs, more comfort and reduced CO2 emissions.This is what the country needs now.

I will be one of the many DEA's conducting the EPCs in June. I will be happy knowing that I will be doing my bit for the environment.

Raymond Evans, Bournemouth, Dorset

"why would you wish to conceal your identity - unless your up to something nefarious?"

Maybe you're a battered wife, trying to hide from a husband the police are unable to protect you from?

Maybe you've left home to escape your father who used to rape you and you don't really want him to find your new address?

Maybe you changed your gender and you're not really relishing everyone in the street finding out?

Perhaps you were a witness in a court case & you don't like the idea of the defendent being able get your address for a 50 quid bribe?



There's all sorts of reasons people want to keep things secret.

None of which have involved them doing anything wrong.

Just because you think you don't have anything you'd mind the whole world knowing, it's kind of presumptive to assume everyone else doesn't.

Even the government has things it wants to hide. The cost estimates for ID cards, for example, they've fought long and hard to keep secret. Nothing to fear, nothing to hide, eh?

Katie, Cambridgeshire, UK

Brown has the unfortunate ability to give the impression that he's both a meddler and dodger simultaneously (i.e. see his response when questioned about the amendment to the Freedom of Information Act).

I consider the premise of this article to be flawed, I take issue with it for the following reasons:

1. ID cards now appeal to most people after all why would you wish to conceal your identity - unless your up to something nefarious?
2. Only the rich can buy/sell houses these days and they'd generally be voting Tory anyway.
3. The public knows that doctors are rich so their sympathy with the profession limited.

The jibe of McCavity is far more damaging than McMeddler, sorry Mr Portillo your wrong on this one. profession limited.

The jibe of McCavity is far more damaging than McMaddler, sorry Mr Portillo your wrong on this one.

martin carnaffin, nottingham, UK

In another piece the issue of academic achievement and the 'failure' of the non-academic is raised. This poor sorry country would do well to ditch the academic high-fliers like Brown, Hewitt, Willets, etc. and get in a few 'failures' to contol the high-flying low-achieving civil service.

eddie reader, birmingham, uk

Why does this computer-illiterate government insist on implementing computer projects which any techhead could tell them are unnecessary. The fact that they cost so much money is precisely because the management consultants they employ to deliver them know they are dealing with thick stupid people and so on purpose let the project drag and drag.

The problem with technology problems were actually created by Thatcher's decision to outsource anything that was felt was not to be a core part of the business. So out went the techies who knew the business and were cheap and in came the management consultants who didn't know the business and were expensive.

This is now being replicated in big business everywhere computer jobs go to Asia. Now Indian uni grads (which is the true level of expertise there) in a far away country carry out work with lots of hand holding by the British techies whose jobs there are taking. The people costs are cheap, but the project costs are more expensive.

Jane, London, England

I fail to see what people have against this wonderful job creation scheme which is revenue neutral (for the taxpayer at large).

Six months of everyone refusing to market their property would bring about a 'poll tax' type reversal.

michael murphy, brightlingsea, england

In a modern country one needs modern method and means of measurement. HIP will help homebuyers by allowing them to compare one property with another, and make them aware of the issues. The HIP needs to go even further to include a full survey so that buyers don't end up wasting money on bad houses: To-day it is too easy to sell rubbish, and as is said one wouldn't be allowed to sell a car without an MOT, so why a house.
This government shoud put these tools in place for a more modern country: HIPs, ID cards, the euro: all things that are pro consumer.. no wonder the Torys are always against.

Peter GODDARD, Epsom, England, EU

I have done a little "poll" of my own about hips and noone cares about them its just price and location.The idea of saving £20 a year on gas bills is meaningless when interest rises stick a £1000 a year on household bills.So this will give gordon something else to tax and mess up.

mitch, wolverhampton, england

If Brown seriously wishes to break with Blair he should abolish the coming disaster that is the ID Card scheme;he won't, because he is more interested in raising more loot rather than the freedom of the individual.
That will be his downfall.

Michael J Rigby, Blackburn, England

To my regret, Michael's views have only come to my attention since he bowed out from parliament and offered them via broadcasting and journalism. As a born cynic I have to ask if those views would have been the same from inside the system as without. If the answer is an honest yes then I have to say that my greatest fears have been realised and those drawn to true government for the betterment of all and not for the personal glory and income will never stay the course.

Thorrun, Brentwood, Essex