Grit Britain's just a laughing stock

I WAS thinking about the words 'Great Britain' yesterday - and realised I couldn't do it without laughing.

What's Great about a country that can't cope with a few inches of snow? What's Great about a country whose economic and education systems fall apart when the temperature dips below zero?

What's Great about airports in chaos and rail networks shuddering to a halt - leaving thousands of people stranded - because of "iced-up lines".

This, despite weather forecasts - for once pretty accurate - which warned a week ago of the precise days on which the snow would fall. Which it did.

We're running out of gas, there are no snow ploughs, there's no grit, no salt and elderly people are dying alone in their homes because no one can get to them.

Factories closed, schools closed, whole towns and villages were like ghost towns. And now the thaw's coming and we're told we're all in imminent danger of being flooded.

And all because of a bit of winter weather which is currently costing Bankrupt Britain (i.e. you and me) £750million a day.

And while this cold spell has thrown up some amazing, brave, determined people, tragically it's thrown up more of the slackers and the layabouts who'll use any excuse to sit at home watching Jeremy Kyle rather than get to work.

What's Great about all that?

But what's REALLY galling is the stupidity of this government and our local authorities because, while they've been endlessly lecturing us about global warming and how we all have to do 'Our Bit', it's clear they have absolutely no idea of what it actually means for this country.

For Britain, global warming isn't about hotter summers - it's about colder, wetter winters. In fact, precisely the kind of apocalyptic weather we've been experiencing these last few years.

And where's the preparation been for that? Never mind making rules to ban plastic bags, never mind hitting us with crippling fines when we mistakenly put food slops into the garden wastebin. Why haven't the government and local authorities been doing THEIR bit - ordering enough salt, stock-piling grit, buying snow ploughs and making plans for precisely what's been happening these past four weeks?

THAT'S what they should have been doing with the money they've been winkling out of us in the name of global warming. (Interesting that Helsinki airport hasn't closed for one day in 54 years.)

And I'm sick of hearing weedy excuses about how unexpected this weather's been. How can snow in the depths of winter be unexpected? Anyway this latest spell was predicted. The only problem was that hundreds of short-sighted local authorities decided a few years ago NOT to spend our council taxes on stuff like snow ploughs, grit, salt and flood barriers.

Instead, driven by greed and dazzled by making a fast buck with sky high interest rates, they ploughed our cash into Icelandic banks - and promptly lost it. Moreover, we were promised after last February's freak snowfall that the next time we were hit by a big cold snap we'd be ready. And of course we weren't.

Now we've been told to expect floods which means more vulnerable people will die unnecessarily - probably due to a national shortage of sandbags.

In its 12 years in power, New Labour has slowly but surely destroyed, eroded and dismantled everything that made this country Great.

And now - thanks to a few inches of snow - it's finished the job by reducing us to a worldwide laughing stock.

LET ALLAH PROVIDE

WHY is hate preacher Anjem Choudary being given 24-hour police protection courtesy of the British taxpayer?

We're told he needs it after his threat to march through Wootton Bassett, which frankly isn't our problem. It's HIS. Let HIM suffer the consequences of those threats then maybe he won't be so keen to make them in future.

And while we're at it, why are we paying £25,000-a-year benefits to a man perfectly able to work and who says he feels no guilt in taking money from a country he despises because it isn't actually Britain's money - it's Allah's money.

In which case why doesn't he test his beliefs, give up the benefits WE pay for and see what Allah provides in the way of ready cash.

And if, as I read the other day, Choudray - who has shared a platform with convicted terrorists - said Britain would face more terrorist outrages as a result of his group, Islam4UK, being banned, why hasn't he been arrested and interrogated over what, to me, sounds like a direct threat?

Because if he's saying his group consists of men and women who will now be driven to blow up British people then he needs to have his fat backside hauled into M15 and made to name names.

And if he won't cough up - then keep him in jail until he does, courtesy of those anti- terror laws currently being used by councils to snoop on people suspected of overfilling their bins. Or are we just going to wait till the atrocity happens so as not violate anyone's human rights?

Alan Johnson was right to ban this group. But it's not enough.

He now needs to follow it up with the kind of action that will stop the execrable Choudray and his cronies laughing at Britain's gutless legal system and a government terrified to take on militant Islamists who want to kill us - in case they get upset.

• Sisters suffer Fiona's hell as cops sit back
• You can't buy the perfect Xmas
• Thugs should live in terror, not us
• Barmy Bridget is so pink ignorant
• Muslim thugs are Warsicase scenario
• Not very NICE
• Size 0 Kate Moss is right, skinny feels GREAT

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