Martin Bright in this New Statesman blog entry writes:

This magazine could never endorse the candidacy of David Davis in the forthcoming by-election in the Haltemprice and Howden constituency….. Davis is a right-wing conservative, as can be seen from his stance on a whole range of issues from the ‘Human Rights Act’ to the death penalty…”

Yet he agrees that the issue of the detaining suspected criminals without charge for 42 days has now moved into the public mainstream.

Liberals should support David Davis because he was the only Member of Parliament of recent times to resign on an issue of principle. This stance shames the 36 Labour MPs (they voted to oppose the imposition of 42 days) who would prefer to stay within their tainted (and almost bankrupt) party than follow their own consciences.

That may be changing. Some MPs have already declared they will be supporting Davis. Many left-leaning and liberal bloggers and commentators have already switched their political allegancies and are now openly campaigning for the present government’s removal.

It’s not just the 42 days. The forthcoming identity card scheme, the increasing spread of CCTV in our communities, the creation of more laws aimed at reducing our liberties even further…. and we, as a nation, need to fight back against the continued abuse of power by the government. David Davis highlighted the problem in his resignation speech. He is the only candidate genuine liberals should support.

Despite the fact that heard-pressed Britons are having a tough time trying to pay their bills, and seeing their cost of living rising, their wage packets falling, crime rising, and our civil liberties are being eroded, one stupid Labour government minister says:

“SO WHY IS EVERYBODY BLODDY MISERABLE?”

The minister, Tom Harris, caused public anger over what he wrote on his weblog:

“We live longer, eat healthier (if we choose), have better access to forms of entertainment never imagined a generation ago (satellite TV, DVD, computer games), the majority of us have accessto the worldwide web, which we use to enable even more spending and for entertainment. Crime is down…”

When the scandal broke, he made a hollow apology for his insensitive remarks, then went to defend himself on BBC Radio:

“I’m not belittling the genuine problems people are facing. I do think there is a more deep-seated cultural, possibly spiritual problem in this country where, is it about consumerism, is it about the instant gratification society, are we finding that buying stuff just doesn’t make us as happy as we thought?”

Well, Mr Harris, it’s your government that is creating these conditions. A generation ago, people didn’t have these things, but most of us were happy. Very little has been done to arrest the real problem of inequality, where many of us in this country do not have the right to a decent life. The gap between the wealthy and the rest has widened under this government- this would embarrass the Labour party of the past.

It seems that you spend a lot of time writing on your blog than doing your job as a minister. When facing such huge problems at the moment, I suggest you should give up the blog, and concentrate on taking your ministerial duties seriously.

COWARDS!!!!!!

What’s the point of pushing for any law if you’re not prepared to defend it in the public realm? What are you afraid of, Gordon Brown???