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Copyright Bruce Nixon 2010. All rights reserved. This electronic copy is provided free for personal, non-commercial use only. www.brucenixon.com “It does not help when your job description says you have to oppose, be decisive, you cannot say things are complex or difficult – a sign of weakness, you have to have a position and the press try to push you into a position.” The anachronistic rituals, procedures and layout of the Commons chamber are dysfunctional and do not inspire confidence. The monarchy, representing a long gone age of deference and empire, although conscientious and loved, is part of the problem. The honours system appreciates many deserving people, but is an anachronism, corrupted by party patronage and virtually automatic honours. Benjamin Zephaniah showed integrity in refusing the Order of the British Empire. He did not want to be associated with that Empire. Undermining our hard fought for liberties. The right to peaceful protest, freedom to campaign and demonstrate, essential for democracy, has been eroded. Last year, treatment by the police of some 5,000 G20 demonstrators, the majority peaceful, raised questions about police intimidation and violence – hitting people who were sitting down, driving people into police cordons, known as “kettling”, holding them for several hours, taking photographs of protestors. In July, at this year’s G20 protest newsvendor Ian Tomlinson was hit from behind and died. Obviously harmless demonstrations within a kilometre of Parliament are banned without prior permission and face arrest. The extent of surveillance and government data collection causes increasing concern. The Conservative-Lib Dem government will scrap the ID cards scheme and the National Identity Register. Equally disturbing is the growth in what are known as “private – public” areas, in private ownership and management. They may be a threat to democracy. Anna Minton, author of “The Privatisation of Public Space” 2006 report for the Royal Institute of Chartered Surveyors, warns the UK is "sleepwalking into a privatisation of the public realm". She says, “a new genuinely inclusive approach to public space and community is needed” Privatisation of public space is becoming an integral feature of city regeneration. In Liverpool, streets have been privatised as part of the Duke of Westminster's Grosvenor Estates Paradise Street redevelopment. Rights of way are replaced by public realm arrangements policed by US-style sheriffs. Some see these developments as threats to local cultural activities. Liberty called Paradise Street "disturbing," voicing concerns about private police forces deciding who can come and go. Human Rights and Civil Liberties Winston Churchill held human rights and civil liberties as sacred. Immediately after the Second World War, he restored them and initiated the European Convention of Human Rights that led to the United Nations Declaration of the Convention of Human Rights proclaimed in 1948. After the war, Labour wanted to continue ID cards, but there was considerable public opposition. The issue was brought to a head by the efforts of a small rebellious group, the civil disobedience of a small group of women and Clarence Harry Wilcock’s brave stance. Wilcock’s defiance led to his conviction and the High Court comment that a measure now not justified was turning “law abiding subjects into law breakers”. The newly elected Tory government abolished ID cards in 1951. 148
Copyright Bruce Nixon 2010. All rights reserved. This electronic copy is provided free for personal, non-commercial use only. www.brucenixon.com History may is repeating itself. It is a dilemma for any government facing terrorist atrocities, but New Labour did not seem to grasp that the best defence against terrorism is to uphold, not to abuse, human rights and civil liberties. The six central pillars of civil liberty are: Right to Protest, Right to Freedom of Speech, Right to Privacy, Right not to Be Detained without Charge, Innocent until Proven Guilty and Prohibition from Torture. Under New Labour, following the events of 9/11 and 7/7, these six central pillars of liberty were systematically destroyed and whilst a climate of fear was created by media and government. The DVD Taking Liberties uncovers “stories the government don’t want you to hear – so ridiculous you will laugh, so ultimately terrifying you will want to take action. Teenage sisters detained for 36 hours for a peaceful protest; RAF war veteran arrested for wearing an anti-Bush and Blair T-shirt” and the story of an 82 year old party member, Walter Wolfgang, roughly carried out of a Labour party conference by stewards after shouting "nonsense" during Jack Straw's speech defending Iraq policy. It gives an account of police handling of a bus load of peaceful protesters seeking to demonstrate against the use of UK RAF Fairford base for the US led attacks on Iraq. The police shut them in their bus, forced the driver to turn it round and sent them back to London like prisoners. "When governments fear the people, there is liberty. When the people fear the government, there is tyranny." Attributed to Thomas Jefferson UK government’s alleged involvement in extraordinary rendition and torture is coming to a head thanks to the efforts of Liberty and its response to the Joint Committee on Human Rights Committee (JCHRC) inquiry into proposed legislation on war crimes, genocide and torture. A Torture (Damages) Bill would enable prosecution and damages in the case of UK involvement in torture taking place in other countries. Quangos In July 2009, there were 1162 quangos in the UK, costing the taxpayer of £64 billion, equivalent to £2550 per household. Many perform invaluable functions. However they are unelected and unaccountable. Yet some perform governmental functions and receive funding or other support from government. They are accused of bureaucratic waste. A report by the independent Local Government Information Unit said that local quangos in England and Wales are subject to inadequate, haphazard and usually voluntary mechanisms of accountability and openness. The coalition looks set to put this right. What kind of democracy do we want? We need to transform our notion of politics. People need to be sovereign, not government. The Power Report, chaired by Labour peer Baroness Helena Kennedy QC, said the parties were "killing" politics. They must learn. "Politics and government are increasingly in the hands of privileged elites as if democracy has run out of steam. Too often citizens are being evicted from decision-making - rarely asked to get involved and rarely listened to. As a result, they see no point in voting, joining a party or engaging with formal politics”. It called for: a responsive electoral system for the House of Commons, House of Lords and local councils to replace the first past the post system "to ensure that all votes count by having some influence on the final outcome of an election;" 70 per cent of the House of Lords should be elected by a “responsive electoral system”; Parliament should be able to initiate legislation, launch inquiries and act on petitions; voting and 149
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