An open letter to Crawley's Labour Councillors, MP and members

12.43.21am UTC (GMT +0000) Sun 13th Nov 2005

"I fully expect history to repeat itself and there to be nothing other than a deafening silence from Labour; or even worse, a defence of the erosion of our civil liberties from the party that used to believe in and defend Civil Liberties."

What's happening? Why aren't Crawley's Labour politicians and members screaming out about the threats to our basic freedoms?

When I first became involved in politics in Crawley some 22 years ago I may have had many disagreements with Labour but I never doubted that they were committed to a fairer and more just society. A society where individual freedoms mattered and where Labour not only said so but, more importantly, actually fought for it.

Now what we are seeing nationally is our basic freedoms and what we thought were our rights, under attack. Without exception our Labour Councillors and MP locally are either actively supporting this or they have been so neutered as to not oppose it in public.

Nationally we are seeing Labour propose detention without charge for anything up to three months. This is not just a simple detention but during that time the detainee will not even be told as to what crime they have been accused of. It was less than 5 years ago when the time limit the Police could hold someone before charging them or seeking a magistrates' approval for a longer period, was 48 hours. It's already gone up to 14 days and it looks like it is now going to increase again to at least 28 days.

Labour is also proposing to make it a crime to walk in any street in Crawley unless you carry a special piece of plastic with your name on it. You will also have to pay anything up to £130 for the privilege of getting that card in the first place.

ID cards are one of those things that make it seem that "something is being done". However all it will do is turn many honest and hard working residents of Crawley into criminals without doing anything to prevent terrorism. Remember, the Twin Tower terrorists in New York and the train bombers in Madrid and London did not hide their identity and were all totally unknown to the police till after the attacks.

To quote my party leader, Charles Kennedy, in a recent article he wrote for The Guardian "A crucial division of opinion is opening up between the party of civil liberties and the party of authoritarianism. Liberal Democrats are on the side of civil liberties. Labour - which had a proud libertarian tradition - is now the party of authoritarianism. The prime minister embodies a shift that is becoming a defining issue of our politics"

I can add to that and say in Crawley our Labour Councillors and MP are also true believers in this authoritarianism. If they aren't why haven't they had the guts to say so in public? Is it because they have seen what happened to an 82 year old man at a Labour Party Conference who simply cried out "rubbish" when the Foreign Secretary spoke? Are they scared something similar, or worse, could happen to them?

Maybe I'm wrong. Maybe in answer to this letter there will be a Labour Councillor or MP who has the courage to oppose the threats to this country's hard won freedoms. But then again I fully expect history to repeat itself and there to be nothing other than a deafening silence; or even worse, a defence of the erosion of our civil liberties from the party that used to believe in and defend Civil Liberties.