Having now seen the coaliton agreement, I can say that I can broadly support this government and am convinced that it will be an improvement on the bunch of authoritarian war criminals who have been replaced.
Here are the parts of the agreement that to me constitute a radical change for the better in the political possibilities for our country:
Civil Liberties
Scrap the ID card scheme, the National Identity register, the next generation of biometric passports and the ContactPoint Database.
Outlaw the finger-printing of children at school without parental permission.
Extend the scope of the Freedom of Information Act to provide greater transparency.
Adopt the Scottish approach to stopping retention of innocent people’s DNA on the DNA database.
Defend trial by jury.
Restore rights to non-violent protest.
A review of libel laws to protect freedom of speech.
Safeguards against the misuse of anti-terrorism legislation.
Further regulation of CCTV.
Ending of storage of internet and email records without good reason.
A new mechanism to prevent the proliferation of unnecessary new criminal offences.
End the detention of children for immigration purposes.
Add to that a fully elected House of Lords under PR, and fixed term parliaments, and this does represent real truly important change for the better.
The full coalition agreement is here.
Lifting the basic tax allowance towards £10,000 and restoring the state pension link to earnings are also major changes.
@Craig – While I do think any liberal likes this deal (a) the Labour party by their disorganisation, tribalism, leadership hopes and in special cases (Tom Harris) reliance on FPTP led them to scupper any progressive coalition alternative and (b) no one could say that it isn’t better than having let the Conservatives have a free reign with their manifesto.
The agreement doesn’t say anything about the Tory pledge to scrap the HRA; any word on that you’ve heard?
Duncan,
I run and own a manufacturing company, started under thatcher. All she did there was kill off a dinosaur. Labour has made it almost impossible to run a manufacturing company in this country for reasons that are to long to list here.
Min wage – ok yes I will give you that one.
Labour took us to war…. and they lied about it, should the opposition have objected… yes they should.
Not sure that devolution is a good thing or bad thing yet, for my money far better to bring the UK together than allow it to drift apart, letting it implode is easy, facing and dealing with the reasons for it falling apart takes courage – time will tell if thats a good thing or not.
Ireland – Probably more to do with the americans than anyone else.
So I’ll Give you one and a half 🙂
As for the bad ideas under the cons – yes there where some.. but why did labour not repeal them ? Theyve had 13 years to do it, but they have supported it and encouraged it especially PFI’s.
Railways have been a total disaster for a long time. Without MASSIVE investment they will continue to be a disaster.
Anyway I strongly believe that the past is the past, its about what happens now that really matters.
Despite the doom and gloom merchants I will remain optomistic until the future rolls out one way or the other.
By the way for people who want PR, this is the kind of power sharing deals that will hapen after every General Election. Kinda a good way to see if it would work with our 3 party system or not, try before you buy !
With regards to Gary McKinnon who has been mentioned here over the last few days.
Well first of all, despite what was claimed Gary McKinnon caused no damage to anything or anyone and made absolutely no personal gain.
When he was tracked down, the US Government rather than trying to persecute him as a Terrorist should have offerred him a job on a top US Security Consultants Salary which would have been well in excess of $200,000 per annum even 10 years ago, and even allowed him to continue working at home from his bedroom.
He was obviously better than the security consultants that they were employing at the time, because he exposed all their security flaws on systems that were effectively wide open.
He actually did them a Massive Favour by exposing these security flaws.
And to whoever who has been hacking my PC over the past 24 hours, can you please Fuck Off, or I may get my Lad on to you.
Can the new UK Government please release Gary McKinnon from the threat of being extradited and tortured in some US Gulag.
Thanks,
Tony
David, I agree with Duncan on this. The problem is not one particular brand of party, just that power in England since Thatcher has been largely too market-oriented, and socially regressive.
Steady on everyone, you’ll be breaking into a chorus of “Always look on the bright side of life…” if you’re not careful.
If nothing else Big Brother is back in his box for a few years.
http://freegary.org.uk/
Ian Orr: interesting analysis, thanks!
@Ian – thanks also from me for your reflections. Whilst all three parties are in favour of the war in Afghanistan, I’d like to see from the new coalition some basic honesty on the Karzai electoral fraud, some decent measures to clean it up, and a recognition that “promoting democracy abroad” is a hollow claim if the democracy turns out to be a sham.
On the basis of the Lib Dem wins in their agreement document, I am considering that this change of attitude might actually be possible in this parliament. Any chance, do you think?
@brian, if Big Brother is only temporarily waylaid, and not slain, that is still something to be pleased about. I agree that the surveillance state will always be a threat, and my view is that it will continue to be so whilst inequality – and the concomitant crime and social unrest – is so high.
Iain Orr @5:06pm
Agreed.
I view the Tories with trepidation, but am rejoicing that those scumbags are out of power.
If 3 party politics is here to stay then co-operation between parties must become the norm, and that includes with the Tories.
If the LibDems manage to get the Tories to stick substantially to this agreement I will be content.
That does not mean there will not be pain ahead. There will. The nation is skint. It was deceitful of NuLabour to pretend they could avoid cutting spending. The IMF would have been knocking on the door within months.
Jon, possibly, but I’d like to see what i think ScouseBilly mentioned on another thread, a Bill of Rights positively outlawing Big Brother type legislation, not just repealing that which has been imposed.
Jon
You asked about more honesty in dealing with Afghanistan. It’s certainly possible: indeed, any change would have to be in that direction (all roads lead north from the South Pole). It won’t be easy with Liam Fox in Defence, but Hague could be more influential from the FCO than anyone throughout the Nu-Lab Dark Ages. I might make a half exception for Robin Cook – but remember that he did not have much influence on his PM, whereas Hague will have. He’s also a far more balanced thinker and actor than when he was prematurely leader of the Conservatives.
But it will require hard work to strip away the layers of self-deception in all parties on the defence/war-on-terrorism front.
An added reason for my glass being more than half-full is no longer having Miliband at the FCO. I like UK politics too much to think it would be other than bad news for more than the Labour Party if he became its leader.
MJ –
sorry, I thought you said you were going to vote NuLab on a thread about a week ago – I have to say I was surprised at the time 🙂 Happy if I was mistaken.
Craig, you will end up disappointed. I think we’ve all seen this before. A party gains power; some policies or agreements seem good, some not so. The tendency of the believer is to forgive the bad – or put it down to expediency or compromise – and cling to the perceived good. It doesn’t work. Thousands forgave the 1997 labour party many things because we believed in the party and (Ha Ha) principles. We were betrayed, as will you be.
When Clegg first appeared, Orange Book in hand, you had your New Labour moment. To believe anything else is to cling to a political hope that is nothing more than a warm, fuzzy, illusion.
“Happy if I was mistaken”.
Be happy Craig. I think I said I was Old Labour at heart and was therefore going to vote Lib Dem.
Chris
It is interesting nobody can find fault with the intentions expressed above. We merely have a contention that because Blair was a charlatan, Clegg must be too. Not logical. Time will tell, and if the above is not implemented in a proper spirit I shall be the first to attack. But I see no reason at all to assume it will not be.
I support the BBC License Fee (and yes I noticed the censorship – that is fair enough)
But the management of the BBC is in need of a Massive Cull
To get personal again – My Daughter has actually experienced the Outrageous Opulence of the BBC….
And Channel 4
She volunteers for stuff to get her face on TV – just for a laugh of course.
Craig will delete this post in less than 30 seconds if he is on form.
Tony
Craig, please don’t get me wrong: I hope you are right. I merely offer a note of caution borne of bitter experience…. allied to the fact that your recent posts seem to reveal a similar soul searching to that I have seen before.
Craig wrote (concerning the coalition agreement, and questionable clauses within): “I see no reason at all to presume that the proposals are being put forward in bad faith.”
The Tories have been putting proposals into this agreement. What more evidence of bad faith does one need? Something about the NHS being in safe hands under the Tories springs to mind, as but a single example.
He promised to buy me
A bunch of blue ribbon
He promised to buy me
A bunch of blue ribbon
He promised to buy me……….
Some people have been slagging off Craig for changing his mind…
What people need to realise is that most people are incapable of changing their mind.
The way the human race’s mind is built is based on survival.
Its all based on fight or flight.
You either do exactly what your elders tell you without thought or your tribe is decimated and your tribes genes will only survive via rape.
Ask the indigenous American Indians if you don’t believe me…
But these rules no longer work very well…
It means that an adult human being can no longer learn anything new…
If you can’t change your mind, you can’t learn.
I have been learning all my life. I have changed my mind about almost everything, because I have searched and found new information and evidence that I was previously completely unaware of.
There is nothing wrong with changing your mind.
Yes loyalty is a good value, but not if you are being loyal to something that is intrinsically wrong, evil and corrupt (like for example the Catholic Church)
You can reject it. You can change your mind. You can think for yourself.
Tony
tony_opmoc at May 12, 2010 7:30 PM
Nice one.
YNWA
So will Chris Huhne follow the Don Quixote approach to our energy crisis?
http://uk.reuters.com/article/idUKTRE64A3ER20100511
Yes! We’re all individuals.
i predict further adventures in afghanistan, pakistan and iran .. neo con war hawks just look at the prvision made in the government
I find this completely weird. My PC is being subjected to a Massive Attack…
I even got this
Your search for Craig Murray did not match with any Web results.
Search Suggestions:
Make sure all words are spelled correctly
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Normally I get over 1.5 Million Results on a Simple Google Search of
Craig Murray
At least they are not dropping real bombs on us yet
I have several different operating systems on this computer and can also achieve multiple different IP addresses
But wiping out Craig Murray’s Over 1.5 Million connections I find completely extra-ordinary
I reckon someone must have really pissed off the bloke with Ricketts
I think he may need a Vitamin D suplement (from memory of course)
Tony
craig,
i’m not a new labour supporter, and even worse i’m not even british. i do live on this planet though.
Ian
Tony, it’s specific to your PC.
From Google about a minute ago:
Advanced searchAbout 1,630,000 results (0.26 seconds)
craig murray About 1,630,000 results (0.24 seconds), but then I have got a tinfoil hat on.
“So let us begin anew ?” remembering on both sides that civility is not a sign of weakness, and sincerity
is always subject to proof. Let us never negotiate out of fear. But let us never fear to negotiate.”
– PRESIDENT JOHN F. KENNEDY’S INAUGURAL ADDRESS JANUARY 20, 1961