Only when he restores liberty can we praise him
Henry Porter, writing in The Observer, suggests that the Tories fight Gordon Brown on a programme of Civil Liberties, including the abolition of ID cards:
A big speech from Cameron on what Labour has done to the constitution, personal liberty and privacy is all that it would take to make the size and reach of the state an election issue. And the great beauty of this strategy is that Labour’s record is there for all to see.
But the Conservatives need to do the hard thinking. We understand they are keeping their powder dry for the election so that Labour doesn’t pilfer their policies, but the one thing that Brown cannot appropriate is a policy that is fashioned from a forensic analysis of Labour’s attack on liberty and its construction of the surveillance state. Gordon Brown has sat through the cabinet meetings and he raised not a whisper of complaint about it all. That wasn’t because of his respect for the collective responsibilities of cabinet government, but because he agreed with it, as his support for ID cards and his conjecture about 90 days’ detention without trial indicate.
June 24th, 2007 at 14:02
Do not trust Brown any more than the snake departing from 10 Downing Street!Over the last 10 years Brown has voted for and agreed with,every single attack on our civil liberties as put forward by Blair and the rest of this neo-nazi cabinet.
If he is ever to be trusted by the British people,he must immediately come out and say that I.D Cards and the national identity register,are to be scrapped,but I am not holding my breath!
June 24th, 2007 at 15:16
I could not trust Brown any more than Blair.
We have seen how he played along in Brussels this week, his only concern being not letting the French play with the internal market.
The rest he has gone along with Blair, lock, stock and barrel.
It is being reported this morning that Brown is to allow protest again outside parliament, that is to do away with the infamous s.128, but does nothing to remove other restrictions.
I did mention on this site back in February that Brown had a long term plan to substitute the ID card system for a tax card system, and my contacts tell me that this is still very much on the cards.
He will play the spin game, waiting for Cameron to launch his assault, and then ‘for public consumption’ appear to give in on the ID card question.
He will not, he will introduce the Tax Card.
Brown is far more controlling that Blair, but Blair’s time in power, and his knowledge of the law was needed in order to push all the legislation through, all 26000 bits of it.
The fight against ID cards will be a long one, and it will change as it develops, but Browns arguments for a tax card will be just as devisive as the current ones for ID cards.
The appeal to the High Court by the OGC over FOI disclosures, and the destruction of the gateway reviews are to cover up the work that has already been done on the ID card scheme for the Treasury.
June 24th, 2007 at 15:36
Or simply define ‘New Conservative’ as “The Freedom Party,” as I posited back in 2005, of which this will be a significant part.
June 24th, 2007 at 22:49
How much longer are we going to leave it to a few eminant journalist such as Henry Porter who has for months week after week been warning the British people of the dangers to our privacy and liberty by this illiberal authoritarian New Labour administration. I am angery with what is happening to our country, and I fear that we are sleepwalking into a situation where living here will become very unattractive. However I don’t see the same passion and anger being displayed by our elected parliamentarians. Too often debates are poorly attended, only for them to vote at the end of a debate and tow the party line. When are members going to show some backbone and stand up for our hard won freedom. Is there eventually going to be a coalition between lawyers, academics, students and trade unions to voice our concerns, or are we content as a nation to sit back and leave it to the Henry Porter’s of this world. At the age of 62 years I now find myself in direct conflict with the governments intentions in regards to the NIR,NHS records and the child’s register. As I won’t cooperate as a individual in any way with these schemes, this will eventually for the first time in my life leave me open for prosecution under the law.