The Conservatives and Liberal Democrats pledged to scrap control orders - introduced to monitor the movements and communications of suspected terrorists - and replace them with a suitable alternative.

BBC: Terrorism Prevention Bill part one

It also urged state governments, which control policing in India, to scrap draconian laws used by the police to lock up repeat offenders.

ECONOMIST: India's criminal tribes

Even as one lot of American diplomats shot down the extension of the BWC, others were busy reiterating their country's determination to scrap the Anti-Ballistic Missile (ABM) treaty, a cornerstone of international arms-control for the past 30 years.

ECONOMIST: A running feud

Rent control may have long outlived its temporary status, but that has not prevented a spirited battle to scrap the laws when they come up for renewal every three years.

ECONOMIST: New York��s housing market

Mr Osborne presented a united front with Work and Pensions Secretary Iain Duncan Smith, following reports the Treasury wanted to scrap the work and pensions secretary's new Universal Credit over fears costs and complexity were spiralling out of control.

BBC: Tory conference: George Osborne in ?10bn benefit cut vow

Arguably that has happened already, thanks to its recision of gun control in Washington, DC and Chicago in 2008 and 2010, and to its decision in 2010 to scrap limits on corporate (and trade-union) donations to political-action groups.

ECONOMIST: Lexington