Freedoms at risk

Now that the Westminster Government has "successfully” taken back control from the EU, they intend to follow up by taking back control from the British people. They are proceeding a bill to “reform judicial review”, presumably in response to recent court casprivilege es in which they were found to have exceeded their powers, or acted illegally. This new bill would, in effect, move much Government action out of reach of the courts: the Law Society has responded by warning of a diminution of powers to curb “the might of the state”.

They are also set, under the new police bill, to curb the right to protest. For example, to cause “serious annoyance” to the public could land you or me in jail for up to ten years, while demonstrations loud enough to cause a bystander “serious unease” could be banned altogether.

Press freedom, too, is under threat, with a plan to widen the Official Secrets Act to cover more aspects of Government activity, and increase penalties for those deemed to have broken it, even if the breach is in the interests of the public.

The new Elections Bill will give the Government power over the Electoral Commission, currently independent. The bill is said to be “an attack on the UK’S proud democratic tradition and some of our most fundamental rights”.

This new bill would also tackle the non-existent problem of voter fraud by requiring voters to have photo ID, which has proved elsewhere to deter poorer voters, who are less likely to vote Conservative.

In a world in which freedoms in many countries are being limited by extreme right wing governments, we need to beware of what lies behind the the ruffled mop, the rumpled suit and the jocular jest.

LES MACKAY

Dundee