Comments on: Will Freedom Survive?

By: Tim

Tim — Thu, 19 Jun 2008 17:57:43 +0000

Hmm I almost feel like I’m commenting just to comment, but I was under the impression that the House of Lords could only delay not kill this bill. Also given the move by the EU legislators to increase the period you can detain illegal immigrants coupled with Britain’s efforts to reduce the allure of immigrant benefits as well as the bizarre protection from deportation back to countries where they have been convicted of crimes and would receive the death penalty( Abu Qatada) I doubt there will be sustained opposition to the law change.

By: cosmodaddy

cosmodaddy — Thu, 19 Jun 2008 06:15:56 +0000

There wasn’t all this hysteria then, because Diane Abbott was dead right – this is about Muslims. 42 days won’t be used against the Real IRA or the Continuation IRA or any other faction if they reassert themselves briefly, it’ll be young Muslim men (and women).

I do think that Davis’ inconsistent background on civil liberties and human rights is important, sadly, because it paints an uneven picture. He does indeed support the death penalty, he was against the repeal of Section 28, and was hardly supportive of equality when debating same-sex adoption rights. It calls into question his motivation on these issues, although as with you, I couldn’t support his actions more strongly. Could he have had more influence if he’d waited till becoming Home Secretary in 2010? Maybe, but I don’t think ‘Dave’’s natural position is to be against the ’strangulation’ of civil liberties – it’s sure not the natural position of the Tory Party. With Labour choosing not to field a candidate after all, it’ll be interesting to see where this campaign goes. The only other one man protest movement I’ve seen before is Brian Haw.

By: Justin

Justin — Thu, 19 Jun 2008 00:24:29 +0000

I back Davis all the way. It’s nice to see a politician standing up and taking extraordinary measures. I’ve heard a lot of people criticise him for giving up a position where he could have been a lot more influencial in the fight for civil liberties but the publicity this move has attracted is a big bonus. It encourages debate and provides a rallying point. Labours retaliatory statements are useless. Who cares if he supports capital punishment? That’s not the issue in question cos nobody’s trying to reenstate it. He’s against these intrusive and disproportionate measures which is all that matters. Someone needs to remind everyone what thirty years of terrorism from the IRA was like. There wasn’t all this histeria then! I hope people won’t be gulled by the media into a negative view of him.