Miliband retains Labour line on DNA and CCTV
But criticises party's civil liberty blunders
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The new Labour leader has expressed support for DNA in policing and the role of CCTV, while criticising the party's 'casual' attitude towards civil liberties.
Ed Miliband, giving his first speech to the Labour party conference on 28 September 2010, said of civil liberties, "too often we seemed casual about them.
"I won't let the Tories or the Liberals take ownership of the British tradition of liberty," he said. "I want our party to reclaim that tradition."
As examples of a casual attitude, Miliband mentioned as examples Tony Blair's plans for 90 days' detention without crime – which were blocked by Parliament – and the "broad use" of anti-terrorism laws.
But he added: "They just undermined the important things we did like CCTV and DNA testing." Elements of such measures were also criticised by civil liberties campaigners, and the coalition government plans to make changes to policy on both.
Under the previous government, the Home Office provided hundreds of millions of pounds to support the installation of CCTV cameras. It also allowed the retention of DNA profiles of people who were arrested but not convicted of a crime.
Miliband did not mention identity cards, which are currently in the process of being abolished by the coalition government. However, in an article for Guardian.co.uk during the leadership race, he wrote: "The argument is being won that on issues like ID cards and stop-and-search we became too casual about the liberties of individuals."
This article was originally published at Kable.
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COMMENTS
Still doesn't quite get it does he?
Has it dawned on the latest career politican who has never done a productive days work in his life, that the major reason that they were voted out was the micromanaging, idiotic, anal attitude to controlling the public.
If they really want to come back as a real political force they need to push for removal of all of the draconian neu arbeit laws.
However as this would be seen for what it would be, political self serving opportunism, so I don't think even they would be that stupid.
On the other hand
Seriously?
"I won't let the Tories or the Liberals take ownership of the British tradition of liberty," he said. "I want our party to reclaim that tradition."
The Labour Party are the ones who did the most to erode the British tradition of liberty!
This Miliband is just like the other Miliband, and just like all the other fuckwit wannabe fascist dictators. Come back when you have the interests of people at heart. Until then piss off back under a stone.
They're still missing the point...
Nu Labour seem not to have twigged that those policies and their implementations were, and still continue to be, so "anti-citizen". They, clearly, are unable to see that the ever-deepening invasion in to people's lives was causing more and more people to not just feel but actually become 'criminalised'.
All reasonable notions of a free society; of innocence being assumed before guilt were tossed aside in a seemingly very casual manner and always on the pretext that "If you've nothing to hide, you've nothing to fear" - True enough, but the danger to the individual exists where the yardstick of what is private and what is deemed to be "fearful" and so has to be "unhidden" was/is constantly being re-interpreted and individual freedom and responibility being eroded.
Worst still, Nu Labour's anti-citizenship approach was, and looks like it continues to be, goverance through Stazi-like control, implemented through fear - I, for one, was so glad to see tha back of that government and it's anti-person politics and at the same time, so sad that as a one-time supporter, was unable (having tried) to find a champion within that party that would stand up for the liberal stance and individual freedoms that they used to hold so dear.
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