A new book details what has apparently become the largest industry in Britain. The making of new regulations. Author Ross Clark has written How to Label A Goat, a collection of the increasingly stupid and complex regulations and laws that are strangling Britain.
The title refers to a Welsh regulation: "The Sheep and Goats (Records, Identification and Movement) (Wales) Order 2006".
Over more than 40 pages, it tells farmers how to label their livestock with tattoos or eartags and how to transport them.
From complicated tax and pension law to health and safety rules, Clark details red tape he says "blights" people's lives:
* Soldiers learning the bagpipes have been banned from playing for more than 24 minutes a day to protect their ears.
* A Cardiff pensioner was stopped from getting on a bus because he was carrying a tin of paint, breaking health and safety rules. The bus company later apologised and said it would be more flexible.
* There are 279 different tax forms for businesses, asking more than 6,000 questions.
* Landlords in Kent were ordered to pull down bundles of hops traditionally used to decorate their pubs. Fire inspectors said they were a hazard and should be treated with chemicals or replaced with plastic hops.
* A study by police in Tayside, eastern Scotland, found more than 1,000 different forms available to officers. Of these, only 112 were regularly used and, on closer inspection, 30 were needed.
* New rules on child car seats are laid out over 18 pages, while bus lane regulations stretch to 27 pages.
* Bristol City Council spent 5,000 pounds on 100 yew trees, only to dig them up after a "risk assessment" ruled they could harm children at a nearby playground if they ate the leaves.
* Norwich City Council ordered 20 roadside horse chestnut trees to be felled because falling conkers could damage cars, make the pavement slippery and lead to children being run over as they collected conkers. It later reportedly reversed the decision after facing worldwide ridicule.
Well, we saw another example of that over the weekend as well. We know now that the Powys council frowns on dragon sausage. This is the embodiment of the state as nanny, of course. Mostly it preserves the pay and perks of the people making the regulations.
