Sometimes reading the news can be a depressing experience. Wars, famine, disasters, crime and disease abound around the world. But what really makes me angry is nonsense like this:

Britain needs to do more to promote good manners, Tony Blair's "respect czar" Louise Casey has said.

The government adviser said politeness was now missing "right across society" and schools, companies and the media all had a role to play.

Given all of the serious problems in the world today, is this really the best use of anyone's time or money?

That politeness is a good thing should be obvious to anyone with sense. That there is not enough politeness is also apparent. But the vague notion that "Britain needs to do more" - who is "Britain" exactly? Ms Casey doesn't seem to sure on that herself:

Ms Casey said London buses could remind passengers to give up seats to pregnant women and suggested TV soap operas may portray a less gloomy side of life.

Which I suppose is a bit of a downer for pregnant women in Sheffield or Glasgow, who presumably will just have to get used to standing. As for the idea that TV soap operas should be less gloomy, the answer is simple. People watch what they choose to watch, and if they choose to watch the current crop of soap operas then that's their own choice. Personally, I don't watch any of them, but I would hardly be fearful that an hour of Eastenders a week would turn me into a scowling anti-social lout. The notion that a government busybody should be determining our TV programming is a pernicious one and deserves to be challenged simply on the grounds that it's none of their business.

Ms Casey goes on:

"We need a greater sense it's OK to be decent," she told the Daily Telegraph.

"It's important to help old ladies across the road. The greatest pleasure you can give yourself is to help somebody else."

"You're not the nerd if you don't throw your rubbish on the floor - you're the person who's making Britain the country we all want to live in."

Ms Casey said a rise in single-parent families and less church-going and neighbourliness were all possible factors in falling levels of politeness.

But she added bad behaviour transcended class and recalled being behind a new four-wheel drive vehicle in the wealthy Highgate area of north London.

"I watched the driver toss rubbish out of the window, I felt such anger," she told the paper.

"Right across society, whether they're rich or poor, people can behave really nastily."

One almost has to laugh. I can imagine that she means well, and is making an honest and heartfelt attempt to grapple with society's ills. But so far, her prescription adds up to helping old ladies across the street, not littering, happier TV programmes, pregnant women being given seats on buses (but only in London, apparently), marriage and church-going. These are opinions that she is entitled to, but it's impossible for me to see the justification for the government paying her to promote these opinions in any official capacity.

If we really want a more polite society, the first step is accepting the idea of personal responsibility, and that means getting rid of government busybodies trying to tell us how to behave.