The battle lines are drawn

Rob Knight — Wed, 30 May 2007 16:49:07 +0100

Britain today is at a crossroads. The ideological foment of the 20th century has given way to an uneasy consensus, with no obvious way forward. Government does more than ever before, but provides less accountability for its actions and little thought seems to be given to the long-term consequences.

We now face a stark choice: do we want to continue with ever-greater encroachment on the lives of private citizens, ever more information being gathered on our movements, actions, words and thoughts? Or do we want to be a free country, promoting the values of fairness, tolerance and trust?

Under Blair, Britain has been governed as though it were a huge open prison. House arrest, DNA databases, ID cards, double the length of detention without charge - we liberals know the litany of illiberal legislation that has become the defining feature of New Labour. Thuggish illiberalism seems to have become almost a reflex for some within New Labour, applied apparently without consideration of anything more than keeping the tabloids at bay. But a law is for life, not just for tomorrow's headline and Tony Blair's legacy is to be a dangerous collection of legislation that has progressively accelerated the decline in trust between the electorate and politicians; accelerated the decline of voluntary civil society; fundamentally altered the relationship between citizen and state.

Gordon Brown has been at great pains to wrap himself in the flag and to talk up the notion of 'Britishness'; in his farewell speech Tony Blair described Britain as the 'greatest' country in the world. Both of these miss the point: greatness is not something you own, it's something you achieve. Do we really want our national achievement to be the record for the most CCTV cameras for the fewest people? Can we rightly feel proud of a government that seeks to belittle its citizens at every turn? If Blair and Brown really believed in the greatness of the British people, they would start by trusting them more.

This choice is of fundamental importance, and the path we take really does matter. Liberty is fragile, and will not withstand another ten years of constant erosion. Liberal Democrats must stand up for the positive virtues of a free Britain, where people are respected as free citizens, not potential suspects to be monitored; where imprisonment is reserved for those who have committed a crime, not those who happen to fit a 'profile' and where all citizens are free to carry on their lawful business without harassment.

There is much more to our vision of Britain than this, but the fundamental values of liberty are the foundation upon which everything else is built. We must defend these values, and be prepared to fight those who, whatever their intentions, seek to diminish them.