...over proposals for government internet snooping.
Once again Clegg and his PR advisers have made the party look idiotic and dealt a further blow to party morale on the eve of vital local elections.
Allowing the party to be painted on the illiberal side of the debate over this proposal is a disgraceful failure of leadership and communication. When David Davis and Dominic Raab are the standard bearers of personal freedom then something has gone horribly wrong.
This is a big state issue where the lazy vested interests of law enforcement are simply requesting more and more intrusive powers with little evidence they actually work. Clegg should have been outraged by the mere thought that a government that purports to be liberal should even give this idea the time of day.
It's a bad policy, it's illiberal and it is appalling issues management (again) for the party. This is a red line issue for our core support and membership - if we cannot stand up for people's rights against the big state then what is the point of the party?
The one positive from this sorry affair is that the entire party is for once united in opposition - but that's not a good place for Clegg to be. Jonathan Calder (as usual) sums up better than I can.
No comments:
Post a Comment