There is now a built in excuse for those rules and new bylaws, it's called Brussels. In fairness it must be remembered the people who live in the UK have no recourse of ability to alter these edicts. The country is now firmly ensconced in Europe and must abide by the rules, regardless of whether they are liked or not.

I believe to bring this into a perspective that we 'far away' Antipodeans can relate with, it would be like the laws and rules that govern New Zealand, Australia and Pacific Islands all being made in Japan. I think I can write, and with a absolute certainty, we simply wouldn't have any part of it, and our governments (especially NZ and Aussie) would fall. In the UK they do not do things that way for reasons I cannot understand. Perhaps that is not totally fair, the Irish seem to have worked it out and they are having no part of it at all, at all.

As a simple, but effective example of my meaning. England now only take a fraction of the dairy and meat exports it used to buy from Australia and New Zealand. The reason for this decline is simple to identify. It's not because there is no market for the produce, or more understandably, the people don't want it, if only it were that simple. The reason is France has vetoed the importation of this produce and put strict limits on what the English housewife can buy. Is this for the benefit of the English housewife? I think not, the reason is far more down to earth, it's to prop up French farmers, especially, and other farmers in Europe who rely solely on huge subsidies to stay in business. The crunch comes when you take into consideration that in these days of an ever increasing cost of living, this produce (dairy and meat) could be sold to the housewife at a far cheaper cost than they pay at present. Go figure the logic behind that.

If Europe can decide what the English can or cannot buy and eat, it stands to reason other legislation will follow governing all walks of life, and it has, rather continuously by the sounds of things.