The Conservative Party launched their technology mini manifesto today. The semi official explanation of it is on the Conservative Home website. Fine words are not enough. Few read manifestos. Action is needed. The Tories have a job to do and they are not doing it.

Guido Fawkes calls for tax cuts, maybe. The issue for taxes in the still very largely free-lance IT market though is not the rate, it is the iniquitous IR35.

Both Google and Microsoft started as just a couple of programmers.

Also the UK should not follow the US down ever more stringent and ever more extreme patent and copyright protections. Bill Gates used to admit how wrong software patents were for the IT industry.

The absolute key to any IT strategy would be to actually come out fighting for IT. Conservative MP’s are not however doing that. They are allowing a dangerous and extreme industry killing bill to pass. The completely misnamed Digital Economy Bill when they should be fighting to kill it..

It stinks. It is rotten. It has all of the hallmarks of the worst aspects of lobbyist bought legislation. Yet the so-called party of free enterprise wants to pass it.

Mr Cameron, you are a nice Mr Smiley person but you are not going to get elected by saying nothing. Things will only get worse is not a good campaign slogan.We know that things are bad and know that they will get worse. What will you do to make them better?

This is not the Tory 1997 or even 1979. You will not be carried in to Parliament on a wave of hope and change. You are not the failed experiment that was Tony Blair and you may like President Obama and unlike Gordon he may not run away from you, but you are not him either.

If you are silent about the key things you want to do, people will make them up. Labour’s same old Tories will work. They will fear you will put Ann Widdecombe in charge of the BBC, replacing East Enders with Songs of Praise. They will think that you will privatise not just the NHS, but to pay back the British debt sell the nurses off to China too.

So you need to stand up for what you believe, otherwise how will you stand up for the Country?

Cameroons need to be more effective in Parliament. They need to do their job as an opposition, maybe then they may be electable to Government.

So why on Earth are the Conservatives supporting the Digital Britain bill? Actions – remember – actions, more than words are needed now.

The Digital Economy Bill is a deeply unpopular bill that will destroy open networks and hotspots in Britain.

It protects the near death content distribution industry at the expense of the industries that are already providing the online distribution model of the future, the googles, the youtubes and ISPs.

It was on industry websites before it was on the official website.

This is not a bad bill that can be made better, as the Liberal Democrats have already found out it is a disastrous bill that if you try and amend it it leaves you with a rotten stench.

If the Tories want a future for a digital economy they need to stand up to Mandleson and fight his bought and paid for lobbyist stinking bill.

This is just one small step to prove whether they are ready for Government.

They must prove in the weeks before the election that they can do their current job, never mind any other one.

To do so they must commit to Kill the Bill.

