Whichever way you look at it, this has been quite a week for substantial changes that will affect all of us in England.    A triumvirate of issues with such far reaching significance one has to wonder what is next.

ID cards.   First the dreaded cards, planned and proposed by NuLabour on a manifesto promise to make us safer.    Not originally intended to be compulsory, they will be now, when you renew your passport..... ultimately we can be assured they will be mandatory.   Personally, having lived in Hong Kong, pre and post '97 for so long, I'm not just used to the card, I found it invaluable.   Whether picking up recorded mail or entering and leaving the territory, they simply made life easier - and I'm cynical enough to think that if the powers that be want to have a file on you, they won't need ID cards as a tool.   The problem I see is that the bad guys will just get round the system, while the good people simply pay up and shut up, yet again.   So, their effectiveness is questionable while the real costs remain elusive.

Smoking.   Now here's an issue  that  I fear will be as ...   more »