Tuesday, August 20, 2013

The monstrous silence of Nick Clegg

Britain in 2013.

The police detain a journalist's partner under anti-terrorism legislation in what look likes an attempt at intimidation. The police supervise the destruction of computers on the premises of a national newspaper.

And what does Nick Clegg have to say about it?

Nothing.

The longer his silence continues, the harder it becomes not to share the conclusion of Liberator's blog: Nick is abandoning the party's traditional concern for civil liberties in order to make it easier for him to continue his coalition with the Conservatives after the election.

But, I hear you protest, Nick once vowed to go to prison rather than carry a compulsory ID card.

The trouble is, as I pointed out in April when writing about his failure to support libel reform, Nick has previous:
This pattern seems all too well established. Nick courts an interest group with almost exaggerated language - think students or civil libertarians who oppose secret courts - only to let them down when he gets the chance to do something about it in government. 
I do not think people would mind being let down quite so much if Nick had not originally been so good at convincing them of his support for their cause.
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7 comments:

Anonymous said...

"The longer his silence continues, the harder it becomes not to share the conclusion of Liberator's blog: Nick is abandoning the party's traditional concern for civil liberties in order to make it easier for him to continue his coalition with the Conservatives after the election."

Does he really think he will be in a position to form a coalition with anyone?

Tim (Kalyr) said...

It will make it impossible for a coalition with Labour (Statistically more likely than one with the Conservatives) with him as leader.

barry said...

"The conversations between Whitehall and the Guardian took place with the explicit approval of Mr Cameron, Deputy Prime Minister Nick Clegg and Foreign Secretary William Hague."

http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-23776063

People who believe Nick Clegg is a Liberal/isn't useless/corrupt, have not been paying attention. He is a bonafide scumbag of the highest quality that only westminster could produce.

Barry said...

and now he's spelt it out for you http://politicshome.com/uk/story/36722/

Herbert Eppel said...

Well done for making it to No. 3 in yesterday's Breakfast Briefing Top Ten Must-Reads! See "https://dl.dropboxusercontent.com/u/15973585/Miscellaneous/Breakfast%20Briefing.pdf"

Unknown said...

Now the same Clegg is supporting war on Syria. What is the legal basis? What is the end-game? what is the plan when there is regional conflagration? How do we end up on the same side as the illiberal Suadis and the very liberal al_Qaedda sub-contractors in Syria?

The liberal way in which Clegg treats the values of the party is breathtaking. The question is how the membership is holding him to account.

Miranda in Palestine said...

Clegg has repeatedly betrayed the values of his party. Where human rights, social justice or individual freedom is concerned, he seems more concerned with his position in power than to promote the Party ethos. In fact, by not standing up and voicing he is being short-sighted. people are more likely to vote for a party that they respect for being strong on its ethos under pressure. Clegg fails at every juncture.