French employers have an equally long catalogue of complaints, including the planned reduction in the work week to 35 hours, which is bound to raise labour costs.
And Mr Blair's abrupt declaration that Scottish Labour was bound by the national party's pledge on tax made George Robertson, Labour's Scottish spokesman, look like an idiot.
Mr Mathews may long for citizens to deliberate about public policy, but he seems bound to stub his toe on the natural tendency of labour to divide and specialise.