Sign the Freedom Bill petition
Feb 24th, 2009 | By Web Team | Category: Campaign news, Featured article
The Freedom Bill would reverse the many attacks on civil liberties and democratic rights that UK citizens have suffered. We want to get it passed through Parliament – and for that we need your help. Please sign our petition and share this site with your friends to help build up the pressure to make the Freedom Bill become the Freedom Act.
An excellent initiative which is most welcome in advance of the Convention on Modern Liberty this coming Saturday . Henry Porter – co-director Convention on Modern Liberty
Well, this would certainly be a good start: given the spare time I don’t have, I could come up with a list of additions. Guaranteeing independence of coroners is one that comes immediately to mind.
Good work! I hope the bill gets passed.
Excellent job! I hope the Conservative Party engages with it too.
Thank you for making this stand; it’s long overdue! If the Lib Dems are also prepared to commit to making this a manifesto commitment, and preferably a non-negotiable requirement for coalition in the event of a hung parliament – because let’s face it, neither Labour nor the Tories will permit its passage otherwise – you’ll have my vote in the next general election. (I’ll be in the Sheffield Central constituency.)
On a side point, the quality of Conservative support for this bill will be an interesting test of the Tories’ newly-espoused friendliness towards civil rights. What indications are there so far?
I applaud this proposed bill in every regard, but I also think we need some fundamental changes to our system of democracy to help support and maintain it:-
• The bill should be set in place by a majority vote of the people i.e. a referendum and it should only be amended or replaced by a majority vote of the people.
(This is to ensure that future governments cannot nibble away at it again without our support).
• The parliamentary whip system should be abolished – to ensure that all MPs can always vote based upon their conscience and not because they are forced to vote in a particular way.
• The lobby system should be reformed to allow only individual members of the public to lobby and not corporations.
• A voting system based upon some form of PR needs to be introduced.
• The current prerogative powers should be transferred to parliament.
• Commons select committees should be given more teeth.
• Timing of elections and the period in office of any government should be fixed.
• An independent body should be created that evaluates and measures manifesto pledges against outcome – to effectively assess and monitor the success of each party – a kind of ‘Which?’ for government.
An excellent initiative, and one that I hope the Conservatives will emulate.
Everybody should oppose this current Government’s agenda to control every facet of our lives.
It is vital that this bill gets passed. Shame on Jack Straw for his recent vetoe and shame on the government that seeks ever more to strip us of our natural rights as citizens.
With Blue Labour and the Tories very much akin, is it not time to constitute a social democratic party? Free-wheeling, unregulated capitalism has been shown to fail and for a much longer time we have seen how societies suffer for it. The Lib Dems were, at one point, going to try and beat the Conservatives by shifting rightward in terms of economics, will they now give this up since right-wing economics have been proven wrong (it was all smoke and mirrors anyway – right-wing economics).
Otherwise, yeah, I like this proposal here. Will the Lib Dems stick firm if they are invited to form a coalition with the Tories and the Tories do not really want to give up on the power Blue Labour have amassed for them as an incoming government?
Excellent Bill – let’s hope that you build upon it and reverse all the illiberal policies by the ’supposed’ Labour party (government).
Well done for a great start!
I am curious as what you are going to do about the infringement of civil liberties coming from the EU across the pond? I am guessing nothing as usual because you cannot do anything. If this bill is passed the measures in it will be implemented on EU level anyway and since you have all signed away our freedom you are acting very hypocritically when British courts are subject to the EU court. As teenagers like to say today “epic fail”.
Excellent, at last a bill that matters. I haven’t voted for either of the left/right paradigm parties for ten years, I fully support this bill and next election I’ll vote Lib Dems.
Hurrah for the Lib Dems! I’ve always voted Lib Dem and now you have confirmed my belief in Lib Dem principles and values.
Many congratulations – I approve. Might I add a few things:
Internet Surveillance shall be done only with a warrant. The European Data Retention Directive shall be nulified. Routine logging/retention/data-mining of communications and location data shall not be permitted.
ISPs shall be obligated to provide full, uncensored Internet access. Blacklists (such as the IWF), must be strictly opt-in for the consumer. The recent wikipedia-scandal demonstrates why this matters.
Freedom of speech needs to be strengthened. In particular, Freedom of speech/Public interest defence must always trump claims based on Copyright or Official Secrets. We need whistleblowers. [Copyright-claims must never be used to stifle debate, as has happened especially in USA wrt Scientology].
The use and recording of Biometric information from the general populace (fingerprints, automated facial recognition in CCTV etc) must be banned. It must not be supported in passports either. Companies should not be allowed to store such information from their employees.
The State has no business knowing (or being in principle able to know) which of its citizens is travelling where. It should only be able to establish that a returning citizen is a valid holder of a British passport; not which citizen is returning. We must refuse to co-operate with international schemes such as CAPPS, and prevent airlines from doing so.
Existing databases (and their backups) must be permanently destroyed.
Lastly a measure to make the press more accountable for privacy invasions, while not restricting press freedom. If a media organisation accuses an person of a crime, and he is later found to be innocent, that newspaper/TV/radio/website must publish an “all-clear” with at least as much prominence as the original article(s). Headlines reading “Murat not guilty” for example. [We might also adopt a principle similar to the French "Droit d'Image" by saying that every subject of a photograph is entitled to a copy of the photographer's copyright. If your privacy is invaded, you'd have no right to prevent publication of the image, but you would have the right to distribute that photo yourself in any manner of your choosing. You could also profit by it, or could release it gratis thereby causing its market value to disappear.]
A good proposal. Why not bring back the right to keep silent without being presumed guilty? That also used to be a fundamental principle of civil liberties.
Excellent work. Also, can we descope the anti-terror laws somewhat, so that they apply to terrorist activity, rather than photography, cycling, trainspotting, protesting, etc. Thanks.
Absolutely brilliant, congratulations. It is about time we had some serious opposition to Labours growing arrogance and indifference to peoples rights.
I would suggest a setting up a regular review of all laws which A; infringe the HRA and B; all laws which gather data on private citizens, without their permission.
Any such law, that cannot be properly justified, that is, either by the evidence used to push it through parliament or its failure to achieve the results the Government set for it, should be struck from the statute books.
I support this bill as it currently stands, but I would also like to see something in there about greater protection for freedom of speech, particularly considering the efforts by certain pressure groups to limit free speech regarding religion. Aside of course from free speech in general being a fundamental human right, if we are to have any serious discussion about religion (particularly religious conflict and the assimilation of different religious cultures in British society), then we must be free to question and to criticise certain religions or religious practices, without pressure groups (like Christian Voice) attempting to use the law to silence us on the basis that we are being “offensive” towards their faith. Where do we stop when we start trying to put legal limitations on what people are allowed to say or to write because it offends someone?
Surely anything we say or do will offend someone, somewhere? It is impossible to protect all people at all times from being offended; that’s a part of life and something all mature people learn to deal with. However, there is no good reason why we can’t protect everyone’s right to freedom of speech. If we think certain groups (like the BNP and certain Islamic fundamentalists) are wrong, then silencing them will not defeat them, it will only make them stronger. Let’s confront these people at the debating table and show the public just how wrong they are.
At last!
What we need is to hold the government to its promise of only creating evidence led legislation, a promise very quickly abandoned. 3000+ new laws in ten years is extraordinary. How on Earth does parliament properly scrutinise so many laws? And how do courts keep up, never mind the individual? Too many new laws are steered through with the promise, by the Government, that “You can trust us not to abuse this power”.
Any law that can be abused will be, this is something that has been proven again and again.
We clearly cannot trust the Conservatives to repeal these mad, intrusive laws. Fast as they might be to grab any opportunity to bash the Government, they still will not give up any power which is dropped in their laps if they get in to Government.
Good luck with this initiative, it deserves massive support.
well done to Chris Huhne for putting this front and centre, we seem to be sleepwalking into this nightmare. We should never let security fears allow over zealous law enforcement to erode liberties. In terms of additions I believe that ‘freedom from religion’ should be included, the recent (succesful) efforts of religions to place thier beliefs on par with ethnic, gener and sexual orientation within equality legislation is a great danger to civil liberties ( refer to Johann Hari ‘Why Should I respect these oppressive religions’ in The Independent 21 Jan for an excellent anaysis of the danger)
Iwould like to support the Freedom bill and would like to see it include repeal of the prime minister’s ability to exercise “Royal Prerogative”.
A great Bill. I’ll spread the word. This will see whether the Tories are all talk or not. I’m guessing the former, but I’d be delighted to be proved wrong.
In terms of improving the Bill, what about the issue of the growing prescription of what we cannot do in public spaces? Why are children never allowed to play ball in public spaces near to where they live? Why can’t we drink wine with a picnic in our local parks? Why should police forces be allowed to constantly move homeless people on to a place where they cannot be seen if they’re not doing any harm?
If people are not harming others, then the authorities should get off our backs. The whole point of public space is that the public can enjoy it. There should be a presumption in law that public space can be used as the public want to use it, unless there are compelling reasons why this cannot be the case.
Hear hear
I am disappointed that high on the list there is no place for — Giving priority to the Human Rights of the Innocent over the Human Rights of the Guilty.
Long overdue!
well done chris……….
Good to see these so-called “anti-terror” measures are being challenged.
Finally something positive in a bill- rather than finding more and more things come out of pessimistic tendencies to see the worst in people. When the government doesn’t trust its people, how can any government have the right to call itself trustworthy? It’s been long overdue to get something like this, I really hope this actually happens.
The police should be prevented from using anti-terrorism laws as an excuse to arrest anyone for anything. I cite the case of the elderly gentleman who was forcibly removed from the Labout Party conference for heckling and then arrested under the anti-terrorism act when he tried to re-enter the conference as was his lawful right. It should be noted that at this time, the younger gentleman who was removed with him was violently assualted by ’security’ staff and has yet to receive an apology or recompense.
I.D. Cards will not prevent terrorism.
Consider this petition signed.
This is a truly excellent bill and covers everything that I can think of.
The Freedom of Information clause is essential as a mop-up cover all – one obvious area where its application is essential is our part (government’s part) in the ‘War on Terror’. The accompanying prosecutions and reparations will allow us to finally move forward.
Very good.
About time! we could do with getting rid of almost all of the awful new laws that have been past by labour! New governments never do that, it would be good if the libdems did.
All individuals in society are now assumed to be guilty unless proved otherwise, and treated as such.
It breaks my heart!
exelant bill
Hi
i would like to ask you, the liberals
ehy under the draconian law of the proceeds of crime act, are people who got mortgages, when the BANKS,
etc offered them these loans no questions asked, self assestments, no credit checks, no tax payment checks etc, are being done for mortgage fraud, and when they are being prosecuted, even though that morgage loan as been repaid to the banks, they are charged with the full loan they borrowed, and not just for the profit which they may have gained,which is what this act came into force for, profits from crime, now a question why are the likes of these bankers such as Mr Godwin, with is massive wages and pension pot not being pursued under this law, as it can go back 6 years to see how you earnt your money, now would i be right to say, that he bumped is wages, bounses, and pension fund by giving the false imprection that his bank was profitable, useing other people money to lend to just about anybody no questions asked, just this not amount to serious fraud on a grand scale?????
CCTV camera’s should be in the public domain. IE . Available to all, all the time. (Maybe even shown on huge public screens, by law.),. No exception’s.
I will try to explain my thinking.
They exist to help the public and should be maned openly by the public.
Since their function is to reduce crime there is no conflict of interests between the state and the publics wish to reduce crime.
An example of why the present system is disfunctional.
I have 3 times needed film from one but was never allowed to see them, but the state can have permanent access meaning the state’s need takes priority over the publics need,, (but the state is placed there there by the public, who have put it there to respond to the publics needs, not for it to do its own thing.)
The point is that having CCTV cameras has not made us safer or reduced crime happening but it has put a lot of power in a small groups hands. There should be no clique who has that amount of power over others, its too easy to abuse. (”power corrupts and absolute power corrupts ,,,,”)
Given that we are not likley to get rid of mass CCTV survailance, makeing all views instantly availably to all is the best way to defuse the power imbalance and it still achieves its task of being a security help.
Anything that is deemed to private should promote the question
“If its so private, why are we recording it?”
Freedom of speach and freedom to protest are fundamental to our civil liberty, and i would say to those that would deny us of our liberty to take advantage of our freedom and leave.
Thank you for bringing these principles into action, these individually small infringements of liberty amount to a mounting and sliding problem that is not welcome and obstructive to the freedom of will that we all deserve.
This Freedom Bill is very important, and must go ahead.
Then please let’s have some more of your propositions made law…
ID cards should be scrapped. What next – being chipped, tracked, hunted? We should be able to protest in Parliament Square providing Parliament is secure. I believe DNA should be kept for people who have either committed a crime or are likely too commit a certain level of crime but not for everyone arrested and especially those who are innocent. Also, this should only be for a length of time.
Please also add about taking photography in public. Are we now going to be arrested everytime a police officer walks infront of our camera/camcorder.
The British goverment have a habit of taking away freedoms and abusing european rulings. If given power they will hold onto it at all costs so when voting on bills or party politics politicians should think about the difference between right and wrong first.
restore full right to freedom of speech
The Nazis would be proud the way our concessive governments have done to our freedom at work and at home. Its time say enough is enough, please sign the petition..
I’m with you all the way
I support your efforts.
Crucial stuff – we mustn’t let our freedoms slip away from us!
As a collapsed Catholic, I recoiled in horror when a parish priest divulged that there were plans afoot to put cctv in the confessional. Is nothing sacred?
For every regulation or law there has to be someone to oversee that it is enforced ; we can’t afford it so further restriction is a waste of time anyway. See farming today: lots of regulators in EC and in GB thinking up what to do next to restrict farmers freedom to run their own business and massive cost implications. Good wishes for the Bill.
I object strongly to the fact that despite doctors’ protests, confidential information was taken from every surgery on every patient and transferred to data bases in Brussels a couple of years ago, not only without patients’ premission but without our knowledge. I would like to see a motion included in the Freedom Bill to prevent this abuse of our rights to patient confidentiality.
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good luck with this – time somebody stood up for our rights.
please include the right to photography in public places, & of police (see eg http://www.flickr.com/groups/surveillancemirror/).
remember film/photos of police beating up protesters in civil rights demos in N.Ireland? Would now presumably be confiscated
Good work!
We also need to stop and dismantle the databases that will be used to track us and the open access that (supposed) civil servants have to them. Our private data should be sacrosanct to us, and the best way of keeping it safe is to not store it anywhere, especially not on laptops or zip drives that slapdash officials will lose.
It’s about time somone defended civil liberties, I only remember more restrictions & tightening of laws over the last 25 years & we don’t seem any safer or better off for it. Keep up the good work.
What do people expect, when you have a left wing party, within the new labour party. When you cannot take a photograph of a policeman without fear of arrest, I presume that there are many other nets within the criminal justice law that any person can be arrested. I am glad I am 61 as I would not like to live under these conditions as a young man.
“There is no greater power in the universe than the need for freedom. Against that power, governments and tyrants and armies cannot stand”
– Citizen G’Kar
Thanks for placing all relevant information on the proposed Bill on this website – I now feel that if I decide to sign the supporters petition that it will be after having a more informed opinion and not just as a knee jerk to a headline topic .
England has become a police state and that is why I now live in France. Terrorism is used as an excuse for every infringement of civil liberties that we have. In England now, one can leave for work an innocent person and by tea time have a criminal record or a fine for a small lapse in concentration. England is quite frankly an awful place to live and I am allways glad to get back home to France. Good luck with the bill.
Couldn’t dissagree more with respect to ID cards, we need to keep tracks on certain undesirables and the rest have nothing to hide. No wonder you will never win an election. You won’t get my vote I’m afraid.
You should read Steve Alten’s, The Shell Game, it is too truthful about Bush and the US government’s behaviour for comfort. Our government is on the same way, with government taking actions without Parliament being involved!
Excellent idea, about time someone stood up to protect our civil rights. I believe the Police need to be reduced back to the status being a PUBLIC SERVICE and not a law unto themselves.
Civil liberties erosion has been worrying me for some time. I sincerely hope you will have some success wit this bill.
Excellent, this proposed bill is one of the reasons I’ve just joined the lib dems and will stand as a town Councillor at the next Election.
Beth: thanks – that’s the idea!
look at the latest attack on fishermens licences, this government as capped their licences on under ten meter vessels that only fish on a casual bases, this attack is on the bases of protecting fish stocks ?? but the main culprits of the decline of stocks are the large factory vessels,this is a attack on people of this country stopping fishermen to exprdite their human right to fish the seas of this nation ,but the sinister part is that this is only applied to england????,not to WALES ,SCOTLAND, OR NORTHERN IRELAND, is this not another seruptisous attack on this nation of GREAT BRITAIN the people of this country by this LABOUR GOVERNMENT, ANOTHER ATTACK ON OUR RIGHTS TO BE TREATED THE SAME IN BRITAIN FOR ALL PEOPLES
Daniel: the Bill is drafted as something which can be passed by Parliament and enacted. There shouldn’t be anything in the Bill that would get blocked by our membership of the EU. If you think otherwise, let’s hear the details and debate them rather than just the inaccurate, blanket statement that it would all be blocked by the EU.
Paul: there are many arguments against ID cards, but here’s one in response: they will be extremely expensive. We think that money would be much better spent on things such as more police – catching criminals, rather than spending money on keeping tabs on the innocent.
This is a welcome and long overdue initiative. As a single parent (widower) I would like to see some focus on the rights of parents, and particularly single parents, which the neo-Stalinists have trampled on. A battle I am currently engaged in via the local press is the way Durham County Council has been using the threat of fines or even imprisonment to make parents bother busy GPs every time a child gets a bug which requires time off school, but which the doctor can do little about. When the government believes one-size-fits-all legislation is to the benefit of individual parents and their children, then the government has clearly lost touch with reality. It is not simply ignoring the rights of individuals, it has ceased believing in the concept of the individual.
Thank goodness someone in Parliament is at last doing something to redress the erosion of our civil liberties.
I have watched in horror over the last few years as our country has slipped further and further towards becoming a police state. I hope this Bill will be passed and I have made my feelings known about some of these issues previously to my local MP who is unfortunately a Conservative. I was much heartened to see so many comments from people obviously as worried as myself about the loss of our freedoms. I would love to see a proper Constitution eventually,something like a modern Magna Carta but to protect all our rights not just the rich and powerful.
I’m glad atleast one political party has the sense to see this direct infringement of our personal liberty.
I think this is a brilliant idea and has been long overdue. May I suggest that the bill be written in order to compliment the Human Rights act and to refer to it wherever possible? I feel this is a very important act already in law that is abused and ignored to an alarming degree. If you want solid legislation improving already passed legislation is the best way to introduce that. I also strongly agree that a PR voting system is the way forward for this country, especially as dual party politics is a thing of the past. Best of luck.
I, too, am getting very concerned at the erosion of our civil liberties. The Government is getting increasingly arrogant, and guilt of double standards in trying to deny the public freedom of information over the invasion of Iraq.
Our freedom of speech is under threat. As you say, Maya Evans’ experience was a case in point. All she was doing was peacefully reading out names. Another example was a chap who was arrested for shouting “Rubbish!” at a – what? – a Labour conference?
Also, Carol Thatcher’s recent comment about a tennis player resembling a gollywog on a jam jar, which was made during a private conversation with friends, albiet in a public place.
The Government needs to be seriously challenged.
I agree it is time the country took a long hard look at the erosion of our rights over a considerable number of years, but far more aggresively in more recent times.As far as i am aware we do not live in a “Police State” yet or then again DO WE?
Thank you Mr.Huhne, for the courage to face up to these spineless control freaks. It’s gives myself, and no doubt many others a glimmer of hope for the future of this country.
I am generally a Liberal Democrat supporter, but consider a national DNA register a good thing in many ways. I cannot think of a single drawback even if I am innocent.. You need to have a hidden agenda to be against such a register,crime,parent or imposter,, not a Liberal Democrat – think again with a clear head !!!
Roy: this article from one of our MPs addresses the question of what innocent people have to fear from the DNA database: “As with most much hailed, cure-all solutions, the gritty reality is with concerns and dangers. Some are issues of principle around the civil liberties agenda and equalities. Some are issues of a more practical nature: of fallibility, of misuse and abuse, of security and lack of safeguard, and of possible commercial use and abuse of DNA information….”. The full piece is well worth a read.
Chris, AT LAST something concrete. The situation re our on-going loss of liberty (in all its forms) has been causing me so much concern that I have begun to talk about emigrating. The only thing that stops me is that at the age of 79, and with no capital whatsoever, there are so few places I could afford to go to – not to mention the awful thought of leaving my sons here to face the problem without me. It makes me cry with frustration and anger.
You are right to call it a nightmare, and I love your final words “1984 was a warning, not an instruction manual” because we really do seem to be sleepwalking into that very world.
However, knowing what I do of local politics (which I discover are not so far removed from the national variety) I can only hope the LibDem MPs can make as big a public splash as possible, to GET THIS ACROSS to those who prefer to walk through life with their eyes closed. So many like me are feeling helpless and betrayed. But there are also the elderly on state pensions who are afraid of losing what they have. Too often wary of politicians, they simply hope the bad laws will go away and leave them to live the rest of their lives in peace. Unlike the lady who was forcibly ejected from her home while the bailiffs took away her life-long treasured possessions. Please what can I do to help?
This is a great idea for Britain and for the Liberal Democrats. The erosion of fundamental liberties is worrying in itself, even more so is the lack of interest in this vital issue from politicians and the public. This is also an area in which (unfortunately) the Liberal Democrats are distinct.
I fully support the Liberal Democrats’ Freedom Bill.
The erosion of our traditional liberties over the last 30 years has been huge, but the proposals now before us will push us close to a police state. An article in The Times recently compared our position to that of the Soviet Union, or other dictatorships!
This is all driven by fear, played up by the Red Top press – while the current Government is made up of control freaks they see a political advantage here.
Franklin Roosevelt said the greatest fear if fear itself.
On a lighter note, Tony Hancock said, ” Remember Magna Carta! Did she die in vain?”
Finally – a political party that actually wants to make Britain great again, and not infringe our civil liberties!
I am disgusted with the way that New Labour have foistered numerous pieces of legislation that all curb our freedom to do as we want, without fear of those in charge! The Extreme Pornography Bill; the constant rewriting of the Terrorism legislation – both of these affect me directly, not because I have broken the law, but because the law has turned me into a criminal, due to these stupid regulations, that I – as an ordinary member of the public – was ignored, like so many thousands of others.
When the government is willing to ignore the feeling of millions of British people who protest against the invasion of Iraq; in a time when the government refuse to allow a full and unrestrained investigation into what decisions and who made them about the War On Terror, because they know that once the public hears the truth, the proverbial poop will hit the fans, I am ashamed to be a member of this country!
Civil Liberties are what made our country great, and what millions of people gave their lifes for, in two World Wars! What hypocrits our government be!
While I am by no means fully in agreement with every letter of the Liberal Democrat Manifesto, I support this Bill with heart and soul. I am sick to death of the Government sticking its nose into my life and intimidating me into obedience. I, like many others, have had ENOUGH. It stops NOW.
As a Lib Dem member I fully support Chris Huhne in all aspects of this Bill. But what concerns me the most is the Government’s desire to snoop into every aspect of our lives and travel movements. I thought this interference passed away when the war ended. I do not want every aspect of my travel movements recorded for a national database that they are bound to lose like millions of other records over the last few months. I object to the idea of divulging the contents of my suitcases and the nature of my trips abroad for recording on a database prior to travel – what next, wanting to know every detail of all trips taken in this country. I have two pieces of ID which are passport and Citizen Card which prove who I am – I have nothing to hide but don’t want anymore ID cards. And as for CCTV – where is this snooping going to end, hope they don’t want to put cameras in our homes and see what one gets up to. THIS SNOOPING IS GOING TOO FAR, AND THE SOONER THIS GOVERNMENT ET AL ARE OUT OF OFFICE THE SOONER THE BETTER AS FAR AS I AM CONCERNED AS THEY HAVE TOTALLY DESTROYED THIS COUNTRY.
dont have time to write much i just wanna say:
i strongly agree with this bill. David Davis and the Labour left would definately support this.
Why I support the LibDems as the less evil….
I’m signing:)
Great initiative. Maybe it’s a little too comprehensive for Parliament to be able to pass it all in one go. For example, we now have a time limit on detention without trial of 28 days. I’d be prepared to leave out the reduction of this to 14 days if it gave the bill a chance to pass.
If this bill comes before Parliament, I would encourage everyone to write to their MP to ask whether they were prepared to vote against it and if so, to justify their decision publicly.
An excellent proposal, and whilst not exhaustive of things that need repealing (such as the latest pornography laws and proposed dangerous drawings act) it is something that would create a goodly hole in the block of illiberal authoritarianism.
I fully support the Liberal Democrats “Freedom Bill.For far to long our hard won freedoms have been eroded by spurious claims that it will help fighting terrorism In far too many incidents law abiding people have been criminalised whilst taking part in peaceful protests..
We do not want big brother watching you all the time. It is frightening to think that our freedom is being slowly erroded and someone somewhere is watching your every move. England is a democratic society and may it stay that way without these people trying to pry into every aspect of our lives. Unfortunately the Government are the very people who are bringing this country to its knees and we need to get Labour out. These Labour control freaks have become soft on terrorists who are living in this country at the expense of the taxpayer. Labour have thrown thousands of pounds to the failing banks and are rewarding people who cannot do their jobs with massive payoffs.
This is what we expect from Liberals. Delighted to sign this petition.
One possible addition:
The law on “safety” cameras requires the owner of a vehicle to reveal who was driving. This goes against the old right not to incriminate oneself. Remove this breach of civil liberties so that the police just collect the fine and cannot impose penalty points and we might get back to a position where the police are respected.
We need to restore due process of law and respect for Parliament. Passing the Freedom Bill would go some way to achieving these goals.
The Freedom Bill will / would need to be linked to a Parlimentary Reform (Elections and Expenses) Bill to become a meaningful Act. There needs to be a change to a PR (Proportinal Representation) Electoral system as has taken place in Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland. For MP’s and MEP’s there neeeds to be a clear definition of what expenses are allowed and what are not allowed. It should be based upon standard business practice that you can only claim against a valid receipt.. There needs to be a restriction or even prevention on MP’s and MEp’s “second jobs” . They should only be alowed to do the training hours needed say 30 hours per year) to keep professionally competent outside the Parliament. The Westminster parliament has broken down so far as British residents are concerned and needs this reform .
I support the Freedom Bill but if this other reform does not also take place, then it (the Freedom Bill) will become impossible to enforce if it is passed into law.
A real contribution into building a stable and democratic society.
The only thing wrong is the pre-charging limit of 14 days. 14 minutes is too long
I support this whole heartly
This is an excellent proposal that takes the Party back to its libertarian roots. Although I hate the idea of any detention without trial I fear that Plod would be unable to get a case together and watertight in the proposed 14 days; otherwise I am with you all the way. Incidentally, the HOW of your presentation will be as important as the WHAT. You have to assume Labour will have nothing to do with it so the key will be to CHALLENGE the Tories to prove their support for civil liberties is more than skin deep. If they join you, you have critical mass and momentum; if they don’t, you have a media story that exposes their hypocrisy.
Great job on the bill, you have my full support.
One of the dangers of having an ID card, is the consequences if it’s stolen or lost. It could mean that someone, somewhere could steal your identity ! and commit crimes or buy things which you haven’t bought but you will be forced to pay for, because it will be done with your ID. Even if it’s not you who has done the purchases. It could land anyone, into serious trouble just by getting into the wrong hands if it’s stolen by a person unknown. You could even be arrested and the real culprit will be getting away with it because he or she will be using your name, address and biometric data. It would be terrible to have something like this happen to someone.
This is a very important initiative. ‘New Labour: Nosy Neighbour’
At last someone taking the initiative in trying to stop this “Control Freak” of a supposed “DEMOCRATIC” government completely destroying our freedom and in fact trying to completely control our lives. I thought those in government were there to serve the people and to listen to their concerns not to “Ride Rough Shod” over them, especially when the latest leader was not actually voted for in that capacity at any general election.
Is use of finacial history included in this? I personally have been penalised financially because of incorrect information held by credit agencies and is a nightmare to clear. I know many other people have had similar problems, one of which was because someone stole credit card details which resulted in unfair blacklisting. CCTV isn’t resulting in a decrease in crime or it seems increase in prosecutions. The recent trial of using passport scanners to simply gain access to a pub in Croyden is beyond funny… This petition should be forwarded to as many people as possible, but once again the governement will probably ignore our wishes. In addition to this, when laws are put in place for ‘SPECIFIC’ situations, i.e. terrorism, those same laws should not be mis-used in other less serious circumstances. Good luck.
It’s about time our legislature asserted itself as the first line of defence for our freedom against an erosive executive branch. I appreciate the gravity of the threat we face, but Government take note. A majority in the Commons is not a licence to pass any law that makes your life a bit easier. Being ‘the good guys’ is supposed to be harder.
If events of the last century have taught us nothing else, it must be that the means are JUST AS IMPORTANT as the end to which they are put. Something the Blair/Brown government has apparently overlooked. Overcoming the threats that face our nation from extremism would be hollow to say the least if we were to emerge as extremist as those we struggled to protect ourselves against.
In my opinion, this Bill is a step in the right direction. Good luck with it!
Hooray for the UK! It’s about time you brits starting defending and fighting for your rights. Together we can stop the Globalist onslaught!!
-American Libertarian (not liberal)
‘to those who give up a little liberty to gain a little security, deserve neither, and should lose both’
an old saying from an American politician with whom i completely agree. Our liberties have been hard fought over the centuries. They are the liberties that the world admires us for, and which terrorists would like to see destroyed, we do ourselves and the terrorists no favours by dancing to their tune.
I welcome this initiative by the social democrat party to reclaim British liberty’s, to protest against injustice on Parliament square. To reduce imprisonment without charge to 14 days and remove the DNA database Labour has proposed.
bring back ‘innocent before proven guilty’ and restore justice to our country.
In reference to the Lisbon treaty also, if a referendem has been promised by our politicians who represent us, then a referrendem should by instigated, i’m all for common market and European co-operation but not when it infringes the democratic voice of the people at large.
Having waded through all the notes and comments I am impressed with the detail included and would urge the LibDems to look at other major concerns with the same depth. Education, NHS, Local Government, not to mention the Police and armed forces have all been tampered with by unelected levels of control and the ‘tweaking’ of rules and regulation. These all need new initiatives from a fresh perspective.
I have been concerned with the piecemeal erosion of our liberties continually from this government and am delighted that at last my party is prepared to make a stand.
I do think the law of trespass desperately needs overhauling. There should be the inclusion of an independent financial adviser to the jury in fraud cases but believe a jury is likely to have as much understanding of details of the fraud as the judge! I have no problem with CCTV but believe there must be controls on the use of the evidence gained. I do agree that they are not an alternative to better policing.
I think that the mere fact that the government will control the use of the information on ID cards is the best reason to get rid of them, again, it’s not having the information but keeping it securely that is most worrying!
Well done on this splendid work and thank you.
Just thought I’d add my support, can we have something on freedom of speach as well?
Freedom’s not some wishy-washy issue, not as important as bread-and-butter issues like jobs. The intrusive database state is ruining peoples lives, right now.
The Joseph Rowntree Foundation’s highlighted how a 13-year-old girl left with a criminal record for life because of a playground incident, and a mother was deterred from talking to a GP about post-natal depression because she was anxious that the information would be passed on and social services would take her child. See: http://www.guardian.co.uk/poli.....dren-index
I have started a debate about borrowing the idea of the Freedom Bill but using it as an educational campaign by creating a Great Repeal Bill that could engage all politicians and the public by asking them what they think should be repealed. It’s on Liberal Conspiracy here:
http://freedom.libdems.org.uk/.....edom-bill/
Liberalism and personal freedom are the sign of a healthy society and healthy people.
Not sure if this is relevant to the bill or not. Back in January I was sent on a Capability for Work Assessment. on 19th March received the results to say my Incapacity Benefit was stopped from 17th March, I was on this benefit due to stress, anxiety and nervous debiltity and still do get them. this stoppage was very short notice and I had to cancel all my standing orders and direct debits, notify everyone I owed money to as payments were due out Friday 20th March when at the time I had only a tenner in the bank, hardly any food in the cupboard. I also had to reapply for ESA which takes 14 days or so to be processed. In the meantime I have had to beg for money off friends to help me out foodwise. At the same time my bills such as gas, electric and water which have not been paid, are mounting up and causing additional debt problems and I won’t be able to find the money when I do start receiving the new benefit. The action by the benefit agency has caused me more stress and anxiety that was not needed. Because I am now ending up on £60 a week rather than 90 the government will end up paying me the full 100 percent award on rent and council tax despite their continual announcements that they are wanting to cut back on spending on benefits. I am all for the government trying to get people off benefits and back into work, only for the right reasons but giving the claimant such as myself very short notice in stopping money and leaving me high and dry, like thousands of others no doubt especially at a time of high unemployment in these uncertain times does not help matters and causes more aggravation than its worth, such as increased debt on unpaid bills, possible loss of home because of not being able to pay rent is not the right way to go about things Making folks wait up to 2 or 3 weeks for receipt of money on a new claim is not the answer nor is giving them very short notice. This labour and tory government don’t live in the real world to the rest of us and don’t care who they hurt, and it appears they are the bigger parasites sponging off the taxpayer to line their bulging bank accounts from their illegal expenses – they are no better than most benefit claimants who do claim legitimately. As I said before GET THIS LABOUR GOVERNMETN OUT AND NOW TO SAVE US FROM MORE HELL.
Why is it that my friend who lives in Lisburn NI is due to travel from Belfast International to Blackpool Lancashire has to use a passport for identity when Northern Ireland and Blackpool are both in the United Kingdom. Previously his driving licence was all that was needed. Why do we need passports to now travel between two places which are in Great Britain. Can someone explain this new rule because it certainly beats me, or is this to do with stopping terrorism which it won’t. Soon we will be needing our passports to travel between counties or from town to town of from village to village with border guards at every turn, whetehr it be on foot, or private / public transport . Heaven forbid us even needing them every time we visit the local supermarket to make a purchase. Our forefathers who fought in two world wars for our freedom of movement must be spinning in their graves with this latest ruling. Incidentally when my friend rang the airline to query the passport only rule, the call centre staff thanked my friend for raising it but was furious at not being told by their superiors about this new rule. Many travellers to Blackpool would now be turned away from their flight if they haven’t checked and only carried ID they thought once suitable. How is that for freedom of movement?
I agree about Human Rights. Sod the PC brigade who say we cannot give the yobs a telling off as it may hurt their feelings. Poor souls. These yobs certainly don’t care about the rights or feelings of those they commit crimes against and I who have been the butt of their abuse or treated as if they have stepped on something nasty on many occasion I defend my right as a law abiding citizen to give them the same treatment so they know how it feels, and humilate them in front of their friends as most of them think they are tough but not when it comes down to it, and if they do not like receiving what they dish out, then that is tough luck. How many of these so called little darlings have gone running home to their mummy and daddy or the police complaining that someone has had a go at them and denied they have ever committed a heinous crime against their fellow human beings. ough on the outside most of them I therefore defend my human right to go about my daily business. And the courts / police need to take tougher action or they should be sent to boot camp for a few years and see how they like being treated by the army sergeants – many who abuse members of the general public would not even last a week – look at those who ended up in the TV series Boot Camp Most never lasted the course let alone a few days. Law and Order in this country is a joke and being overrun unruly yobs of all ages and hardly any police around to deal with them. Cut down the police paperwork, Bring back the days when bobbies on the beat were seen on most street corners in pairs and to help tackle crime lets use the soldiers returning from current war zones. Get the PCSOs behind the desks doing the paperwork and have the full time bobbies back on the beat. I would feel much safer. As at the moment this country is going down the proverbal toilet pan and If this government doesn’t tackle crime head on in a zero tolerance manner and lock up these yobs then we will have mass mass protests on our hands demanding action is taken.
What about including a law that says that car drivers must not go around disturbing the peace with ear splitting car stereo systems, pumping out dreadful music (if you can call it music) which can be heard up to half a mile away even when you have doors and windows closed. Sometimes putting strain on the the bodywork by excessive bass, A law should be passed to curb this menace whereby anyone wishing to play music in their vehicles must keep it down to a reasonable level, similar to that for residents and tenants, and anyone caught with their stereos at levels above a certain level, and which creates a disturbance to everyone on the street where they live or the streets they drive along, which makes hearing the sirens of emergency vehicles approaching very difficult should be automatically fined heavily and risk a jail sentence plus having their car impounded and crushed along with their expensive stereo systems . I know this is harsh and the performing rights society says the licence required to play music in public (which these drivers are doing) only covers venues and not moving vehicles or those parked outside on the street. There must be millions of others like me in this country who are sick and tired of hearing the awful so called music from mobile discos with their windows wide open and parked up outside someones house when we the victim is trying to sleep or watch the telly . Do hope they support me in this request to get this antisocial behaviour stamped out. Hands up for all those who are in favour as we have a right to live in peace and not be subject to this moronic selfish inconsiderate behaviour – such drivers are breaking the law and also abusing our civil liberties and human rights of everone around them. Its about time the police were given powers to stop this as they always targeting motorists for all other offences.
Good – a great initiative hope it goes through.
given that this relates to privacy, i think you would have been better off putting the petition on the downing st petitions website where many, like myself, have already given over their details but are loath to give it to every organisation whose petition i want to sign.
Back to my earlier comment about the benefits, I learn through a chance phone call to the jobcentre requesting paperwork to show city treasury in order to calculate my benefit entitlement, the JC inform me they could not find me on the system, this morning was told a new form would have to be filled out meaning more waiting for money to be paid and meanwhile, utility bills are mounting up,rent and council tax goes unpaid causing more debt, stress and worry I don’t need, I will end up borrowing off friends again to help me meet the cost of food bills until such time I can afford to pay them back from a meagre 60 pounds a week – I will be surviving but not living on this. I understand from a little bird that the jobcentre is upgrading their computer systems which is causing loss of data. Why are computers not centralised between jobcentre and benefits agency? The hassle I’ve received since losing my original entitlement on 17th March has gone way past a joke and will be taken to my local councillor as this slipshod service is not good enough. How on earth do the government expext one to live on 60 a week.is beyond me when their ministers are claiming expenses for everything under the sun and claim they are doing no wrong AND force the likes of me to suffer. If I were an asylum seeker and could not speak English, or a Polish man with no grasp of English I would get all the help and money I needed, but as I was born and bred in this country I get treated likie a door mat and given a pittance which leaves nothing spare for travelling to interviews etc after all bills and food is accounted for.
get this government out!!!
Politicians seem confident that they know what’s best for the population and repeatedly curtail perceived freedoms.
The most dangerous people are those in power who are sure they know what’s best for others.
Consequently I consider that this Freedom Bill is not only important , it is essential for ensuring that our public rights are safeguarded and not eroded by over zealous or ill considered legislation.
I am against retention of DNA which is not related to criminal events because such open ended collection would tend to clog up retrieval systems,cause confusion and in any case DNA is not a 100% reliable identifier I believe.
I am against the introduction of ID cards as I feel sure they would be a costly waste . The idea possibly results from a hard sell to a government desperate to be seen to be doing something by means of easy ‘off the shelf” plastic bureaucracy.
Further note to my statement about benefit payments. I learned the other day that following a reapplication of ESA by form (which wanted to know the ins and outs of almost everything personal bar sex life) it would take up the 3 weeks before money is paid due to a backlog of claims. How on earth do these organisations expect us poor folk to live on in the meantime and how do they expect us to find the money for the increasing debt accrued on household bills such as water, gas, electric useage etc. The jobcentre / DWP staff and all government ministers should hang their heads in shame by putting benefit claimants like me through this mess, and also should themselves made to go through similar circumstances to me to see how they like being forced into making ends meet on fresh air while waiting for new claims to be processed. GET THIS GOVERNMENT OUT – AS THEY ARE NOT FIT TO RUN A BATH
Further comment – I forgot to add that I have now gone almost 6 weeks without any benefit payment bar one which was incapacity benefit on 1st April which was obviously not stopped after the last payment before 17th March (as per letter) due to the shortsightedness and failure to log me on the system.
A couple of suggestions for this bill which I feel would complement it nicely:
Amend the Public Order Act 1986 so people can be “insulting” in public. Currently, the test for breaking the law is someone uses words which are “threatening, abusive or Insulting in the vicinity of anybody who could likely be offended”. We’ve got to stop this culture of feeling people have a right not to be offended because it’s s a very slippery slope indeed. Threatening and abusive language play no part in legitimate democratic debate, but the idea of banning insulting words is a nonsense when you are probably highly likely to insult someone’s belief system, or their way of life in the course of free and open debate – the current provisions could be very broadly interpreted.
There should only be 4 bars to free speech as I’m concerned, which I have given a great deal of thought to over the last few months:
Seditious language
Harrassment
Abusive language
Threatening language
Many might well argue “these are some of the tests we already adopt for limits to free speech”. However, it is mainly how violations are dealt with currently where I find myself in disagreement – a different legal approach is needed.
To begin with, I would propose a variety of safeguards that ensure that free speech is better protected, so that potential protestors are not immediately arrested by an often overzealous police force if they fall foul of these provisions. To begin with, if abusive language is used, which can certainly happen in a spontaneous debate even if unintended, the police may at first tell the protestors to moderate their comments. If this fails (and is not nearly another slip of the tongue, but a recurring pattern of abusive language), only then should the police be able to arrest the specific a individual or individuals. They may not record the protest with audio and visual equipment, as has been used by the Metropolitan Police in London. The police should only ever be able to stop a protest altogether if it turns violent (and not “may turn violent”, as is the current draconian benchmark), but never stop a protest for the free speech violations of others which may prevent other people from having their views heard. The police may however have the power to immediately arrest an individual speaker for threatening or seditious language, on the spot and without warning, unlike with ‘abusive’ language. People responsible for free speech violations using abusive language should following arrest and charge, receive a maximum penalty of only be a fine. A custodial sentence for free speech violations, in the exception of treason and threatening language, should never be allowed. Free speech should be able to cover all manner of topical issues. The person writing this is a gay man, and I would much rather someone have the opportunity to criticise me for my homosexuality, than feel he has to keep his opinions to himself (in public at least), which is much worse in my opinion than the temporary offense that any criticism, or any slip of the tongue in terms of abusive language, would cause me. Therefore “incitement to hatred” legislation would be abolished altogether.
Harrassment should be considered differently than is currently the case too. Everyone should have the right to make their opinions, whatever they are, providing they aren’t abusive, threatening or seditious, known to their audience or or target party at least once. However, if the affected party feels directly harrassed by the actions, i.e. the protest is happening within eat shot or eye sight of the affected party and leaving them unable to go about the majority of their daily business comfortably, and has happened more than once within any given election cycle, the police, having received a request from the affected party, should then be able to move the protesters on, and tell them to stop protesting in the area they currently occupy, and have the power to move them on elsewhere. However, they can only have the power to shut the protest down altogether with a court warrant, which can only be obtained providing the protestors move back to the affected area and violate the conditions imposed on the protest. The “election cycle” test is designed to ensure than any debates put under restrictions, can be openly resumed once again at the next election so their opinions ca be heard, and issues debated which may affect the outcome of the election.
These are just a few of my suggestions, I’d be interested in any feedback!
Ben.
its high time this useless government started linking up the computers throughut the jobcentre claims departments with the dwp as my local jobcentre plus branch told me that they don’t have access to the ESA section handling my current claim and was told to phone up the department – there is no personal service in these departments these days. More money in BT’s pockets. There is no facility to even leave a telephone message if I wanted to ring after 6 pm when its cheaper. I cannot keep ringing during the daytime to sort out my claim as its costing me money I don’t have. I conclude this Labour Government have taken away my right to freedom to talk face to face with a claims advisor.
Further to earlier messages regarding difficulties in meeting the bills due to problems with benefit claims, I am sorry to inform you that when I went to sign on today at Bulwell Jobcentre, I learned that my original claim for Employment Support Allowance (which was supposed to have been cancelled on Wednesday 13th May) to allow new claim for Jobseekers Allowance to be put into place immediately, was still live as per information showing on the Jobcentre computer systems, yet no ESA payments have been made into my bank account The jobcentre advisor has emailed the DWP to ask them to speed up the claim, with a view to asking them to ring me to let me know when the money will be paid. Talk about incompetence of the highest degree!
These government departments set up by Ministers who are at the centre of the expenses row could not run a p**** up in a brewery, are not concerned about those on the receiving end of their departments’ failure to process claims properly
Been to cab today who had the same problems of not geting through to the benefit enquiries, got through to my local jobcentre plus office who said we have done all we can here, and gave me a number which is the same one as the benefit enquiries, so still going round in circles. Was also told today my payment centre is in Nottingham city centre which was the first time I had heard. I am off to the that office first thing tomorrow and kick ass, and my problems have been passed onto my MP Graham Allen and Nick Clegg of Lib Dems as Jobcentre Plus/DWP are blooming useless. Anyone else had similar problems I would be interested to hear about.
went to nottingham city centre jobcentre to ask for help and was told to ring benefits centre, told them they were useless and so frustrated I went to the local rag for help.
I’ve been a card-carrying member of the Labour Party for almost seven years and I’ve had enough of the Government’s continuing authoritarianism. Blair promised the terrorists wouldn’t scare us or change our way of life, but just try protesting outside Westminster and you’ll soon find out what has been given up and mutilated in the shadow of 9/11 and 7/7.
I’m joining the Liberal Democrats and backing this petition because they seem the only mainstream political party with even a shred of integrity left with interest in social freedoms. I say this with a heavy heart and leave many a decent Labour Party member, however they are isolated grassroot elements, easily ignored by a leadership they refuse to openly attack for fear of losing power.
this morning went to jobcentre and explained my predicament yet again, no money debts piling up etc resulting in an urgent email being sent to manager of the benefits payment section and got a phone call beck to say they are sorting out a payment for tomorrow. good news all round there.
Meanwhile I am still being pressurised by a well known card company MBNA into paying up the current instalment by this Saturday, even though I have explained till I am blue in the face my situation of no money etc, at one point they had the blooming cheek to suggest I borrow of folks to pay the outstanding payment. How dare they suggest I borrow from every tom dick and harry I said well if you want a miracle I will pray in front of the Catholic priest at Venice! That washed over the woman’s head.
We MUST push forward with this, both liberal and conservatives NEED to make sure that our human rights are not ignored
What!!!! Am I seeing correctly?
Is this from the man who wants to remove MY freedom to choose what is best for my little dog???
Perhaps I am mistaken but I thought it was Norman Baker member for Lewes who had jumped on the “Microchip” ALL dogs irespective of the owners consent bandwaggon.
Am I wrong??
The erosion of our civil liberties is a far bigger threat to society than al Qaeda could ever be. Only the public can reverse this poison.
Brian Hill founder The Edinburgh Techniques