From PoliticsHome report of BBC news:
Mr. Clegg called the arrest of Damian Green “a mayday warning for British democracy.” He said “We have one of the most unaccountable, secretive forms of government anywhere in the modern world. Now we have an opposition frontbench spokesman raided by anti-terror police. It’s the kind of thing you’d expect in a tinpot dictatorship.
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16 Comments
Total lack of principles. Of course the rot set in when political parties had so little popular support that they started taking their funding from conmen.
http://www.timesonline.co.uk/tol/news/uk/crime/article5252726.ece
Glad to see you speaking out.
In my humble opinion, the arrest of Nick Griffin was where it really started unravelling. There wasn’t enough opposition to that. Because he is reviled, New Labour got away with giving authoritarianism a trial on him.
I wouldn’t really file any complaints about him & George Galloway never saying or doing anything again, but that’s not the point & our views are irrelevant.
I am no friend to Green, but so what? The idea of arresting him should never have been entertained & I hope all within the LDs will agree to this.
I agree Asquith though my attitude is to wish a pox on both their houses…the bottom line is what will be discredited is the political process…
I’m glad we have spoken out; I just wish as the party of Liberty, we could have got in very early in the day, attacking Labour for its anti-democratic authoritarianism. Although, we may disagree with the Tories on many things, New Labour is a treat to us all and ‘a pox on both your houses’ is not a way to build a united front that can mobilize effectively against a party convinced of its own pious goodness and right to be in total power.
David,
Well Tories on Lib Conspiracy have had no problem with me having that position; the fact is that Mr Green would love to inflict what was inflicted on him on asylum seekers and wouldnt bat an eyelid if it was so to give the Tories kudos as a ‘party of freedom’ is a bit much for me to stomach to be honest…
Darrell, the difference between us and them is that we defend the liberties of our enemies as well as our friends; that we defend the right of people to do things we find distasteful as well as things that we like.
Mark,
I agree and nothing I have said implies anything different but neither does your position have to imply a lunge into a desperate ‘united front’.
Darrell,
Lunge? Desperate? I have no idea where you get such emotive language from. If you think that our liberties are best defended by ourselves standing alone, knowing full well we remain much smaller than Labour, who will evilly exploit that weakness for its own ends, I’m afraid I disagree with you.
It’s like my old dad used to say, “If you go out looking for enemies, you will find you have few friends, but if you go to find friends, you will find your real enemies much weaker.”
David
David,
Speaking personally I am not worried about any vists from West Yorkshires finest anytime soon and I dont expect them to be raiding the dinner I am attending tomorrow either. Our liberties are not best defended by a ‘united front’ with the inconsistent Tories (after all, as has been pointed out on the blogsphere they had no compunction when it was Labour ministers going ‘down the station’). In power they would do exactly the same thing and have done in the past…
Don’t let’s reprise the David Davis arguments 🙂
Lol Asquith spotted where this is heading 🙂 in respect of that all I will say is what makes us strong is standing on our own two feet…
Am I the only one wondering if Mr Green could be guilty?
I must admit I believe we are strongest when we stand alongside those who would stand with us.
E.G. Vote 1: No extension of detention beyond 28 days Lab – 24 For, 104 Against; Us 0 For, 56 Against; Con 143 For, 1 Against. We won.
Vote 2: EU (Amendment) Bill – Lab 15 For, 294 Against; Us 51 For, 0 Against; Con 0 For; 168 Against. We lost.
You can guess which one I consider a real success.
Mark Williams ‘Of course the rot set in when political parties had so little popular support that they started taking their funding from conmen’ You mean the Tories taking all that money from Azil Nadir!
David,
How we vote in Parliament where by definition we will sometimes vote with the opposition and no shock we sometimes win – sometimes we will vote with the government against the opposition but that doesnt equate to the need for a ‘united front’ against a common enemy mainly because that ‘enemy’ changes from issue to issue.
And, as has been pointed out the Conservatives are by no means firm friends on this issue…who knows after the next election we may well find out ‘united front’ is with Labour against the Tories…
“I just wish as the party of Liberty, we could have got in very early in the day,”
Chris Huhne was laying into Labour at around midnight which seemed pretty quick off the mark to me.