Philip Johnston's award winning essay on the UK Labour Government's creepy surveillance police nanny state
The Times has published the full text (9 screen refreshes needed) of this year's Charles Douglas Home Memorial Trust Award winning essay, by Philip Johnston, assistant editor of the Daily Telegraph.
All of the numerous examples he cites of the Labour Government's creeping and creepy surveillance police nanny state authoritarianism, in thrall to "new technology" which is supposed to magically solve intractable social problems, should be familiar to regular readers of Spy Blog.
It is still shocking to read the dismal litany of some of their shameful policy decisions, all of which the current Prime Minister Gordon Brown could have prevented as Chancellor of the Exchequer, simply by demanding a proper value for money cost benefit business plan from his Labour Ministerial colleagues and their political appartachiki, the bureaucracy and vested commercial interests.
The fact that Gordon Brown did not do so, devalues his alleged promises about more accountable and transparent Government in the future - he cannot be trusted to champion the freedoms and liberties of the innocent majority, and he risks further alienating many vulnerable minorities, without actually hindering serious criminals or terrorists.
Comments
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Posted by: ED | July 21, 2007 10:43 PM
But if Mr. "Call me Dave" was in power - would things be any better?
I think not - what we have here is a case of terminal corruption ...
As I have always said: "Whoever you vote for the government gets in" - but maybe I should just say "the unelected mandarins of the 'civil service' - are the real government of the UK.
Next up - secret police and encouragement to inform on your fellow citizens ... ooops .. it is already happening!!
Posted by: drk | July 22, 2007 10:57 AM