On TV NOW: Jack booted authoritarian Jack Straw!

[jimslip]

The coalition must be doing something right. It's great watching Jack Straw bitterly complaining, like some jumped up Politburo member from the 1970's, how the coalition is dismantling, New Labour plans for DNA collection and holding, CCTV and various other Big Brother measures to remove all of our civil liberties.

To all you New Labour supporters, who also like porn. How long do you think it would have been before New Labour snoopers/ PC Parasnoopers had started collecting ISP data of all people who contributed and were memebers of forums like BGAFD?

How long before you would have been labelled as an, "Undesirable", because you had knowingly, "Contributed to a forum that unashamedly, promotes and encourages pornography between heterosexual men and women!"

You may scoff, but if you could have seen Straw's face contorted with rage at having his master plan slowly dismantled, you'd be worried too!!adolf!

[andy at handiwork]

Welcome to the ranks of the chattering classes, Jim. For years Labour told us that to object to authoritarian measures such as RIPA, CCTV, DNA, data retention etc was to be in favour of terrorism, criminality, fly-tipping, and what have you. We were informed that such worries were the preserve of the chattering classes at their dinner parties in Islington, and not those of hard working families, who were more concerned about schools, hospitals, immigration....
I wish I'd seen the piece you mentioned. Nothing makes me chuckle like seeing Straw and his ilk on the back foot. I must include Vernon Coker in my hate list as well. He was the little shit who pushed through the so-called extreme porn legislation, on the way lying on the radio about the submissions made to the consultation before the law was introduced.

[Alex L]

A little reminder of his preference to shun Specsavers in favour of the Heinrich Himmler look:



A thoroughly despicable character, Straw, I mean.

[jimslip]

Yes, you are right, he cited the retort of all dictators ie, "You will no longer be protected!" Not mentioning that New Labour has more or less created a society far more dangerous for the individual than when they were first elected.I truly believe that we were heading for an insiduous, creeping, dictatorship, based on whether your beliefs were politically correct or not. A Harriet Harman's Nanny Superstate!

[mrmcfister]

Even Labour got sick of the feckless underclass that permeates these shores.

[RoddersUK]

I don't really know who was/is the worst. All of the fuckwits who formed the Cabinet were for the most part complete and utter useless gobshytes.
The only one who came up with any good ideas was booted out to the back benches. I mean Frank Field, one of very few principalled politicians of any party. He is much too good for the fucking commissars like Blair and his fucking ilk.

[andy at handiwork]

I did hear Blunkett (by no means my favourite Labour ex cabinet member) the other day admiting that he had not got the balance right in the legislation on extradition to the US and European arrest warrants, and that it requires re-negotiating to stop what would appear to many to be unfair requests from the States for extradition.

[David Johnson]

"To all you New Labour supporters, who also like porn. How long do you think it would have been before New Labour snoopers/ PC Parasnoopers had started collecting ISP data of all people who contributed and were memebers of forums like BGAFD?"

Is your memory giving way, James? Can you not remember what it was like under the previous Tory government? Here's a little stimulus for the grey matter.

http://www.thefreelibrary.com/EUROPE+OR ... 0110888992

And wasnt it under the Labour party's time in government when the purchase of hardcore videos was legalised?

Never mind, Theresa May looks like a very open minded sort of woman, not!

CHeers
D

[andy at handiwork]

To be fair, Labour probably had to be dragged screaming to the allowing legal access to porn. Their natural inclination would have been to continue as things were. In the years since they have tightened legislation including the so-called extreme porn provisions, as well as never allowing the sale of R18 material outside registered sex shops. Had they been given the chance laws would have been introduced that would have forced the retention by ISPs of every mobile call, email, text, web site visit, and download we make, and you can bet that in no time the police would have been trawling the data for 'sexual perverts', ie you and me.
The Con-Dems are likely to be no more in favour of porn but at least we will probably be spared some of the intrusions into our privacy that NL would have by now put on the statute book.

[David Johnson]

Fair comment. I would guess it was more down to EU laws that this happened under Labour's watch. Having said that, I can recall the Tory party's opposition to porn being absolutely ferocious, particularly satellite channels. Certainly more than any Labour party opposition.

On the subject of civil liberties, let's see how Milliband shapes up. I agree that Labour went too far on civil liberties restrictions.

Cheers
D