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Of red tape and Brexit red herrings in the war between business and the environment

We shouldn’t be demonising regulations that are there to protect our future, as “red tape”. Part two of a three part series.

By Brendan Montague
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newt crossing big.jpg

Image: Sethoscope via Wikimedia, Creative Commons license.

David Cameron and his Conservative-led coalition government launched the Red Tape Challenge in April 2011. The government said it was “challenging the public to help cut unnecessary regulations.” The real aim, it seems, was to confirm the Tory reputation as being good for business, and the idea the economy could be jolted back into life through a few cuts here and a restructure or two there. It also reinforced the story that regulation, or bureaucracy, was the scourge of British life.

The Red Tape Challenge included yet another house building review (see part one of this series for the history of recent reviews).

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Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial 4.0