Letter to Nick Clegg on the Communications Data Bill
Dear Nick,
As you know, the report of the Joint Committee which considered the Draft Communications Data Bill is enough to chill the blood of any liberal.
It is a significant credit to you personally and our party’s role in government that that committee existed in the first place, and your demand that the bill be sent back to the drawing board following the report was more welcome still.
Reports in the press indicate that you are currently in negotiations with colleagues in the Home Office on the shape of the current bill, and over whether such a bill will be presented at all in the Queen’s Speech.
We write in to call on you to block the Communications Data Bill.
The arguments put forward by the Home Office in defence of the massive expansion in the amount of stored data which they seek simply did not stand up to scrutiny when examined by the Joint Committee. Even with further safeguards, little has changed in recent months to change this conclusion.
The more fundamental problem with such a bill is that it seeks to extend and increase invasions of privacy under the framework of a regulatory regime which has failed time and again. Anybody with an interest in civil liberties should not be seeking to extend the reach of RIPA to new technologies, but should be seeking to reform the regulatory system created by that Act.
Only once access to data on spurious grounds is stopped, and a new, tough, inquisitorial overseer of the system replaces the Interception of Communications Commissioner should any increase in the scope of data that is accessible be considered.
And even then, liberals should be sceptical. Those arguing for the change should be required to meet a high threshold to successfully make their case. And if the companies who would be charged with retaining this vast amount of data say it is not possible to guarantee its security, any proposals should be dropped.
You are right to say that technology presents questions over national security, but the working assumption – for liberals at least – should not be that state snooping should extend to each new area of technology as it develops.
We urge you to use your role to stop the Communications Data Bill and turn the government’s attention to reforming the failed regulatory regime which is already leading to too many invasions of the privacy of the people of the UK.
Yours,
Liberal Reform’s Response to Budget 2013
The Chancellor’s reaffirmation of the government’s commitment to bringing down Britain’s unsustainable deficit is welcome. However, nobody could accuse the coalition of not being flexible when it comes to balancing the books: as a result of harsher economic winds, primarily from the eurozone, the government is borrowing tens of billions of pounds extra for many more years.
While relaxing the deficit reduction target in the short-term is sensible to avoid compounding the economic difficulties, this should not mean elongating the process any further. The country’s borrowing binge needs to end, and the pain involved in doing so should not be continually prolonged.
It is of course extremely welcome to see the Lib Dem policy of allowing people to keep more of the money they earn by raising the income tax threshold being implemented faster than previously planned. Those on low and middle incomes are over-taxed, and it is the Liberal Democrats who are committed to reducing this burden.
We also welcome the shifting of further funds from current to capital spending, but we think the government can do more. There are many areas of day-to-day government spending which can be reduced further, with the savings used to fund both deficit reduction and infrastructure projects. Welfare spending on the wealthy is a prime area for such savings.
We are sceptical as to whether the Chancellor’s measures to help people purchase houses will really work: the key thing standing in the way of greater house-building is an overly-restrictive planning system.
This was a budget with Liberal Democrat fingerprints all over it, but we once again urge the Chancellor to be more ambitious when it comes to deficit reduction, tax cuts, supply-side reform and infrastructure spending.
Whether you’re at conference, or not, a Lib Dem member or not, the Liberal Reform Briefing will give you a good idea of what’s going on over the weekend, and what’s at stake for Liberal Democrat policy. If you’re there, please consider coming to our events too (details below).
Liberal Reform, will be holding two events at conference both on Saturday 9th of March 2013 “Inside the Coalition” at 1pm and the “Liberal Reform Reception” at 8pm (refreshments provided). Full details are below, please come along and encourage your friends to, we do look forward to meeting you all.
Inside the Coalition (Click here to join on Facebook)
13:00 – 14:00, Saturday 9th March 2013. Hall 8 B, The Hilton Metropole Brighton
Olly Grender chairs a panel of political insiders who will discuss how the coalition really works behind the scenes.
Liberal Reform Reception - Refreshments provided (Click here to join on Facebook)
20.00 – 21.15, Saturday 9th March 2013. Osborne Meeting Room, The Hilton Metropole Brighton
Liberal Reform exists to promote four-cornered freedom in the Liberal Democrats – personal, political, social and economic liberalism. Come and meet us and hear about what we are planning in the next few months.
If you would like to help Liberal Reform, you can do all or any of the following:
Join us/make a donation: http://www.liberalreform.org.uk
Follow us on Twitter: http://www.twitter.com/liberal_reform
Like us on Facebook: http://www.facebook.com/liberalreform
New Co-Chairs for Liberal Reform
I’ve met hundreds of wonderful people in the past thirteen months, many of whom with very similar views to my own. Spreading the message that we previously had fewer avenues for is exactly what I wanted from the project, and I’m glad this has already started happening.I’m moving on to other things as I finish my degree, which will give me less scope for an active involvement in party politics. What I’m most happy about is that I know from the quality of the individuals already running it and the members who have joined that it will continue to go from strength to strength.
Special thanks go to all of those who helped, especially in late 2011 when the idea was only embryonic. You all know who you are; I am and will continue to be extremely grateful.”
Zadok Day added:
“Co-chairing Liberal Reform has been a joy, the response received from launch onwards terrific.
I’d like to thank Mike for co-chairing and helping take my idea so far, and of course to Simon, Nick, Alan and Charlotte for being part of a strong team, an engaging, dynamic group full of fresh thinking and liberal values. Like Mike, I want to thank everyone who’s helped us take this forward. However, I need time away from party politics. I’ll be following the board elections with great interest, and look forward to hearing even greater things from Liberal Reform. Currently, if Liberal Reform was a party, I’d happily vote for it; now it’s up to others to continue to push economic liberalism in the party that invented it.”
Clegg agrees to meet campaigners against Justice and Security Bill
Liberal Reform has welcomed the news that Nick Clegg has agreed to meet with campaigners against the Justice and Security Bill.
The news comes at the end of a week in which two Liberal Democrat MPs on the committee considering the Bill voted against the principle of introducing secret hearings into civil cases.
Commenting, Liberal Reform co-chair Mike Bird said:
“Having corresponded with the party leadership urging engagement with those who have grave concerns about this Bill, we welcome today’s news.
“Liberal Reform has consistently campaigned against this Bill, which strikes at the heart of everything liberals believe in: open, fair and accessible justice.”
Liberal Reform at Lib Dem Spring Conference 2013
Following positive feedback at the last conference, Liberal Reform will be providing a free daily conference briefing which you can sign up to by emailing: mail@liberalreform.org.uk
Liberal Reform, will be holding two events at conference both on Saturday 9th of March 2013 “Inside the Coalition” at 1pm and the “Liberal Reform Reception” at 8pm (refreshments provided). Full details are below, please come along and encourage your friends to, we do look forward to meeting you all.
Inside the Coalition (Click here to join on Facebook)
13:00 – 14:00, Saturday 9th March 2013. Hall 8 B, The Hilton Metropole Brighton
Olly Grender chairs a panel of political insiders who will discuss how the coalition really works behind the scenes.
Liberal Reform Reception - Refreshments provided (Click here to join on Facebook)
20.00 – 21.15, Saturday 9th March 2013. Osborne Meeting Room, The Hilton Metropole Brighton
Liberal Reform exists to promote four-cornered freedom in the Liberal Democrats – personal, political, social and economic liberalism. Come and meet us and hear about what we are planning in the next few months.
If you would like to help Liberal Reform, you can do all or any of the following:
Join us/make a donation: http://www.liberalreform.org.uk
Follow us on Twitter: http://www.twitter.com/liberal_reform
Like us on Facebook: http://www.facebook.com/liberalreform
Liberal Reform comments on Autumn Statement
Liberal Reform welcomes many of the individual measures outlined in the Autumn Statement. The faster-than-expected increase in the income tax personal allowance and the freeze in fuel duty are particularly welcome, and reflect the Liberal Democrat priority of reducing the tax burden on those on low and middle incomes.
We also welcome the increase in capital expenditure, paid for by shifting current spending. This moves resources to the area with the most positive effect on economic growth, and will begin to undo some of the damages caused by Labour’s swingeing cuts to capital investment in their last months in government.
Liberal Reform is also pleased that many benefits will rise in cash terms next year, although there will be a small real terms cut in a number of benefits. However, we would much rather have seen the welfare bill reduced by stopping the numerous unnecessary payments made to those on high incomes. At a time of austerity it is indefensible to be protecting benefits for the well-off while cutting those for the poorest.
Liberal Reform’s nonetheless has concerns over the strategy adopted by the Liberal Democrats in the run up to the Autumn Statement. We supported Nick Clegg’s call for wealth taxes to contribute at least equally to any additional deficit reduction relative to welfare cuts. But the party seems to have set out its stall before walking away and forgetting about it.
Any negotiator knows that to threaten an action only to not follow through with it drastically weakens one’s position. In the face of Tory intransigence in refusing to introduce higher taxation on wealth, the Liberal Democrats should have followed through with our promise not to support further savings from the welfare bill. What incentive is there in future negotiations for the Tories to heed our demands if we don’t stick to what appear to be very clear red lines?
See the coverage of our response in The Independent, and on Lib Dem Voice.
