The LibDems have launched a worthy new initiative today HERE. They want to scrap 10 illiberal laws and they're inviting people to suggest other laws worth scrapping. I'd imagine most Conservatives would support scrapping most of the ten on their list - (I would go for all of them!). Guido is speculating: "Cameron's Liberal Conservatives would be wise to support the bill, it would be good practice for a future governing coalition... you don't think that was Clegg's intention by any chance?" What a suggestion...
PS I do apologise for agreeing with the LibDems two days in a row. I promise it won't happen again.
33 comments:
LD's have stolen a march here- Cameron is not setting the agenda.
Must say I nearly fell off my chair in shock (and delight) when I read that article. Liberals actually being classically liberal is an intersting development.
Several on the list were enacted by a Tory Government...
Iain
Not all parts of these laws are bad - or rather abolishing all parts of these laws in snot necessarily good. Such sweeping suggestions will be easy to rubbish on the detailed effect. i can see the Nulab machine gearing up now to ask if we really want to remove the right to silence legislation or double jeopardy that have had a positive effect on the administration of justice.
Dave should support in principle but require a detailed analysis before any bill is drafted, if the LibbDems also support the Bill of Rights which would, itself, deal with many of the problems their spin machine highlights.
And, in a sensible and programmed and thoughtful way, there should be a Conservative policy to review all the zillion pages of Nulablaw that has so cluttered out lives and hindered our business .
Its OK Iain, you can just say you were agree with the LD's in London, not the rest of the country.
I am disappointed that the LibDems have failed to include the section in the Criminal Justice Act 2003, which allows for the indefinate imprisoning of people who have not committed any crime. It only requires that somebody alleges that somebody else is dangerous. For example, Iain Dale might be a danger to New Labour if he becomes a Tory MP. Should he then be indefinately imprisoned and await until the Tory Party get into power and release him?
Add the restoration of the double jeopardy rule and repeal the section of the Police Powers Act allowing them to arrest members of the public for any offence, misdemeanours included. This is a great opportunity for the Cameroonies to stand up for traditional British Civil Liberties and against the Blairites undemocratic authoritarian.
This is excellent news. Well done the Dems. A party that can tell me that they will have a bonfire of laws is one I can back.
Libs now need to persuade me that they have the key to enforcing the laws that will remain - David Davis has all the aces on that question. But, they've got my attention.
Agreed, smart move by Clegg and the LDs. Can Cameron swing in behind this too please? Much better than turning back to the old immigration rants.
They all seem ready for the trash can except the DNA one.
Police have always collected finger prints on arrest, however trivial the offence. Why not DNA? If anything, DNA evidence can rule you out of a crime as well as catch you.
It has been remarkable in clearing up a lot of nasty cases and I am not aware of any cases where DNA evidence has proved to be unreliable.
The LD's would have to translate this new-found liberalism to their economic, social, healthcare, education, criminal justice, and foreign policies before this "initiative" is anything more than a grab for a headline.
They get the drift of public opinion. Time Cameron got off the hug a hoody phase and started dealing with real issues. He could do this a la Clegg without having to spell out detailed policy. Build a sharper political profile. Clegg will be next Lib Leader. He is an impressive speaker on the tv.
Only 10 illiberal laws? I suggest starting around May 1997 as a start point to review every piece of legislation introduced by this government, and at the same time the thousands of statutory instruments introduced without any debate or scrutiny. Remove the illiberal ones (a lot more than 10, but the LibDems make a good start), all the laws introduced for PR purposes but little effect and all the regulations. Start a new government from a clean slate
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Iain "I do apologise for agreeing with the LibDems two days in a row. I promise it won't happen again"
Sehr geEhrter Iain
It is perilous to make promises, which depend on a 3rd party, especially if that party is the LibDems
What happens if (however unlikely) the LibDems are temporarily overtaken by an uncharacteristic outbreak of Good Sense
Alles Gute
G E
I'm another one who thinks this is a good move by the LDs. I really, really hope the Conservatives will follow suit, and indeed try more seriously to position themselves as the party of civil liberties. NuLab has turned us the nation of Magna Carta and habeas corpus into the nation of suspected criminals. CCTV everywhere, ID cards, detention without trial, ASBOs, banning protests in Parliament Square, etc., etc. Terrorists hope by their foul but limited actions to cause a disproportionate response and make life difficult or intolerable for the rest of us, and from that point of view, NuLab has been their best (unintentional) ally. And frankly, there has been so little protest at so much of this that we rather deserve it. The sooner our ancient freedoms are restored to us, preferably with guarantees so that no government can take them anyway in peacetime, the better.
I see the Nick Clegg fanclub in the Tory Party is still alive and well....
The Lib Dems are now closer to the Tories than Labour.
I agree with all 10.
PJ is right. The deluge of illiberal legislation provides evidence that the terrorists are winning. At times when democracies are threatened responsible government should seek to defend liberties, not curtail them. Nulab's losing the "war on terror".
The Conservatives should support this bill Iain, I mean such laws would only be introduced by some tyrannical third world dictator would they not?
The Honours (Prevention of Abuses) Act 1925. It's a disgrace that ordinary Prime Ministers can't reward their friends with a seat in the legislature.
Well done Lib Dems, but what was Cameron waiting for? All this time he's been peddling his save-the-trees-but-don't-upset-anyone crap whereas the Lib Dems have just turned up with a sensible and highly topical policy instead.
Seriously embarrassing.
2,8,9,10 are absolutely vital to scrap.
Yes, this is a good start. But, as others have said, 10 is much too modest. They should have said 100 for urgent removal, with a further 600 for review throughout the term of the next Parliament.
Can we have a bonfire of the people who mad esome of these laws?
Wow...the Liberals actually being Liberal, who would have thought it?
It's when they say things like this they actually make the most sense.
Only ten? What's the matter with these guys? That's hardly touching the surface.
Mind you, if they do manage to repeal a few it'll be a start...
Chances of that actually happening?
"I promise it won't happen again."
Not even if it's mark oaten?
What's the "Liberal" take on this?
(Taken from the UKIP website)
Tories say 'hard luck' to the rest of the world
09-11-2006
The latest Conservative Party policy on immigration contains an implicitly racist message because it seeks to restrict people coming to Britain from places like Asia or Africa, while at the same time keeping the door open to immigration from the EU.
Nigel Farage MEP, the UK Independence Party Leader said: "The policy document is almost completely worthless as it fails to address the 600,000 EU citizens who have arrived since 2004. That figure exceeds the total combined populations of Canterbury, Salisbury, Winchester, Cambridge and Southampton.
“The scale of economic migration from within the EU dwarfs all other sources, and yet there is not a single line in the entire document which suggests how this could be reduced.
“The overall effect of such a policy is the imposition of a colour bar, which favours the 450 million white Europeans who live in the EU. It also makes it more difficult for those people hoping to come here to work from Africa, Asia, the Caribbean and the Indian sub-continent. If Britain needs people with skills, then it should permit only the very best, regardless of their country of origin.
“The absurdity of the Tory argument is that an open door to EU citizens is fine, but that the door should be slammed shut on the rest of the world, including many Commonwealth countries.
"This is a Party which is quick to throw insults at others about being racist, but there is something inherently nasty about this new policy."
These are great laws to scrap - probably 75% or so need to be removed.
Of course the number ONE law they need to rid is to make Ministers and civil servants as accountable as the private sector.
If you want the quality of the private sector in Government it's intellectually banal to believe money is the only force in business.
Good business only exists because of good accountants and auditors. The Government accepts this for the private sector they must accept it for the public sector too.
On the subject of these laws I read last week that 75% of young black men are on the DNA databases - which I presume meant that 75% of young black men have been arrested. If this is true, this is clearly a massive crisis that and shows that this sector of our society requires a complete rethink in the way they are treated by this Government - and should not be ignored by future Governments.
I agree with the sentiment, but that's all it is really as 75% of our laws come from the EU (OK often with gold plating by our own goverment).
To PJ, (although you’re by no means the only one)
When Islamist terrorists decide to let off bombs their aim is not to “cause a disproportionate response and make life difficult or intolerable for the rest of us.” Their aim is to kill lots of people and through the threat and fear of more strikes influence the policy of the government. They don’t lie in bed at night dreaming of the day we have to carry ID cards.
The logic that says whenever an authoritarian law is introduced the terrorists are winning rests on this preposterous notion. No this particular bunch of terrorists will be winning if we withdraw from Afghanistan and Iraq and allow future foreign policy to be shaped by the reaction of these extremists rather than our national interests.
Authoritarian laws are rightly considered unpleasant but they are useful in the fight against terrorism. If you remove them you don’t suddenly ‘win’ the war on terror, indeed you make it harder to stop their attacks. Oppose these laws for their illiberal consequences and their impact on the innocent if you want but please refrain from the rather silly suggestion that making your life intolerable through the introduction of laws was the terrorists aim.
LibDems say something people will agree with SHOCK?
So what? They do that all the time.
They said they wanted Freedom of Information in Scotland and then keep Government reports secret when in Government:
"Mr David Davidson (North East Scotland) (Con): John Swinney described a perverse situation. Does he agree that it is even more perverse that the Liberal Democrats, who went on about freedom of information in the first session, have been sent out to carry the can today?"
They're full of crap and this is another example of playing to the gallery when they have no intention of meeting these objectives if they ever sniff power.
Sehr geEhter Iain
How about scrapping :
1. Stamp Duty
For House-purchases, it is an expensive shambles, with incomprehensible Tax Forms
2. Inheritance Tax
which is soon going to impoverish poor & rich alike
Freedom requires some finaincial independence - you cannot be free if Government taxation is bankrupting everybody except the fat-cats on lavish Government benefits
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