Spectator Parliamentary Speech Of The Year

Via Head of Legal this video of Diane Abbot's speech in the recent 42 days detention debate which was awarded the Spectator's Speech of the Year Award.

I don't often agree with her but on this issue she is brilliant. I missed this speech at the time and if you did its well worth 5 minutes of anyone's time as she sets out the objections to the 42 days bill so well.

Unfortunately the embed script doesn't work and I haven't got time to work out why so here's a link to it.

http://www.theyworkforyou.com/debate/?id=2008-06-11c.379.2

On this day

in 1974, a bomb exploded in a London restaurant near to where opposition leader Edward Heath was dining. Three members of staff were injured

and

1975, the 'Guildford Four' were sentenced to life imprisonment after being found guilty of planting IRA bombs in pubs in Guildford and Woolwich. Fifteen years later they had their convictions quashed by the Court of Appeal, following an extensive inquiry into the original police investigation.

Funnily enough I don't remember calls for 42 days detention* of the creation of a national database.

*Yes I know it hasn't been passed, but it hasn't gone away and their is no indication that our leaders are any less authoritarian for having to drop it

Harridan Harman on David Davis

**Update** I worte this off line on the train and knew it was a "by-election" what on earth poossesed me to press the "publish" button is beyond me!

Catching up with the beeb's Weekly Political Review in the car last night I couldn't believe it when Harman object to DD's move on the grounds that the Bye -Election will cost tax payer's money. I'm not sure how much a Bye -Election costs but I'm prepared to be a hefty sum that it is less that we pay our MP's in John Lewis expenses.

But my bet's a side issue – if the Labour Party's Deputy Leader is prepared to come on a serious political programme and make this point rather than argue the case for locking up dark skinned suspects for 6 weeks without charge then they really have lost the debate and the moral high ground.

The military and authoritarianism

Luke Akehurst who claims to be on the moderate wing of the Labour Party has caused a bit of a stir with this post.

Maybe instead of Labour fielding a candidate in Haltemprice & Howden we should find a Martin Bell type candidate - preferably a recently retired senior police officer, or a survivor or relative of a victim of a terrorist attack, to run under the following 5 word candidate description: "Independent - for detaining terrorism suspects".

I'm fed up with us playing softball with the Tories while they posture and pontificate on this issue. If they want to play liberal they should pay the full political price for it and be eviscerated at the polls for being soft on national security. We should have their stance on this issue on every single poster and leaflet at the next General Election and then see how Davis and his mates feel about a referendum on this issue.

Needless to say I don't agree with him but better people than me have taken on the direct argument. What struck be, apart from the appalling arrogance of his idea, was the tribalism of his supporters (and some of his opponents) and the assumption of one poster that the the military and especially Tim Collins would support 42 days detention without charge and be willing to stand against DD.

I read this a couple of days ago and this was the comment and my response:

" Andy said...
Spot on Luke, ignore the weak minded liberal cretin commenters. This is the perfect opportunity to spank the tories on an issue of principle. Does anyone have Lieutenant Colonel (retd.) Tim Collins number? He'd be the perfect independent for national security candidate."

You really are in cloud cuckoo land if you believer the people like Tim Collins will support this vile move. He has spent his life preparing to fight, and fighting, regimes that that treat the people with such utter contempt. He and his fellow officers understand that life has to be sacrificed to defend freedoms.

On reflection I'm even more annoyed that people have this assumption that those of us who have served in the military are automatically authoritarians who would lock people up for 6 weeks on mere suspicion. I am sure there are some, the military is a microcosm of society after all, but these will be very few and far between amongst Officers, Warrant Officers and Senior NCO's. The military has a very proud tradition of education those serving in the traditions of liberty and noblesse oblige.

Notwithstanding that, didn't it occur to this buffoon that Tim Collins is Irish and steeped in the tradition of oppression and what it means? He has seen the damage that was done by internment, which is effectively what we have with "42 days".

Andy is obviously the worst kind in politics - tribal to the point of putting party before principle and not caring how many innocents suffer as long as they stay in power. Did he really believe that someone who could produce a speech like this
would want to throw people in jail for 6 weeks without charge, on the merest suspicion of some bureaucrat?

The more I read and hear from people like Andy (and Luke) the more I am convinced this legislation is dangerous and needs killing in the womb. Thank God Blair didn't succeed in completely killing off the house of Lords.