Comment on Liberal Democrats Policies : Government and Civil Liberties by Richard Frith-Macdonald.

The libdem policies are better than labour or conservative on civil liberties, but they do not go nearly far enough.

They ought to be committed to removing imprisonment without trial … a grossly repressive power which has been in existence since 1974 and just keeps being extended.

They also ought to be committed to moving arbitrary powers away from the executive and to the courts, where people can defend themselves.

On the positive side, I’d like to see them promoting the right to give offence … ie to say things that other people don’t like. In particular, this would mean that religious groups should not be able to shut people up on the basis that they have insulted their religion.