Common Decency

Land reform is imperative. The current modus operandi allows the rich and greedy to allow blood-sport zealots to hunt, maim and kill innocent and helpless birds and other wildlife species. This gratuitous bloodshed and carnage must be curtailed and land reform is a constructive means to end this travesty. It's time to stop placating violent hunters and the economically privileged classes.

I don't agree that the inheritance of land, or property is something which can simply be seen as 'unfair' and Im not sure what levels you are setting for 'obscene' fortunes. I don't think inheritance or 'the rich' can so simply be called 'undeserving'. However, tax exemptions such as huge forest shooting estates isn't right, and those exemptions need to change. If Common Deceny think inheritance of wealth in itself is unfair or unjust - and that is a big part of your campaign, I'd definitely reconsider my wish for us to work together.

Land Valuation Tax will sort it all out. Look up the Henry George Society in the UK.

I am strongly against blood sports - how anyone can get enjoyment from killing or trying to kill animals is beyond me. However for the state to take land and property from its owners and redistribute it to people it considers deserving has the whiff of a totalliterian dictatorship. I am also uncomfortable with the term undeserving rich as this opens up similar terms to legitimacy such as deserving poor/ deserving rich/ undeserving poor - you open up a can of worms by labelling people in such a way, and who decides who deserves to be rich or poor - some politician or bureaucrat, no thanks. I am also uncomfortable with inheritance tax being seen as a fair tax. Of all the taxes there are, the one I find the most difficult to legitimise is IHT, tax people on income, capital gain, vat (especially on luxury goods) these are fair in that people have an element of choice and there is a link to ability to pay, asset taxes do not. Taxing people for dying just does not seem right. Blood sports need to be banned through a simple act of parliament on grounds of preventing cruelty. Bring in state redistribution of assets is not the answer.

This makes me a little uncomfortable. Forced redistribution of wealth / land.... And there seem to be a lot of other issues mixed in here. Shooting birds? I'm not a fan of landed gentry or blood sports (which are banned at mo, albeit with limited prosecutions) but am more keen on erosion of privilege, rather than revolution. Use taxes, use whatever other means we can to erode the presence of privilege / 'old school tie' vested interests in the corridors of power. Proportional representation would be a start

Thank you for your comments on this subject, please post them onto the candidates page on the website https://www.commondecency.org.uk/may-7th-2015/2015-candidates-2

I am a huge supporter of CD, and welcome the chance to input into the pillars. I agree with the principle of Land Reform in terms of not allowing vast tracts of land to remain in the ownership of single families without some benefit to society (taxation), however, I would disagree strongly with any pillars which discourage private ownership of property in general (ie redistribution of wealth forcibly). Fairness not communism. Additionally, we must not discourage residential development in any way. Being environmentally friendly doesn't meaning objecting to home building. Residential Developers get a bad rap for being greedy capitalists. People try to block them at every turn and often object to new developments because they dislike the concept of change. The truth is that we all need somewhere to live! We should be encouraging not discouraging development, but should concentrate on making it easier not harder for Developers to gain permission for specifically brown-field redevelopment, repurposing office-use sites/retail sites to residential, and demolishing buildings which have come to the end of their useful life etc. There should also be an emphasis on affordability in planning.