Really I feel like I have to. Sticking one's head in the sand and going "lalala" instead of criticising actions you think are really, genuinely bad would be the lamest thing of all.
Before starting let's make something clear: if at any point while reading this the phrase "but I have nothing to hide" crosses your mind, read this then drown yourself. You either don't have much imagination or go to bed every night cuddling a well-thumbed copy of Nineteen Eighty-Four.
If you support Labour in the coming election you're supporting:
- State powers to snoop on your email, facebook, location, web, SMS and call history and preserve them for months via the Intercept Modernisation Programme. Ask your Labour MP (I did) and they'll spin a yarn about only reading the headers / it being vital to stop evil in the world / we promise only to use it for serious crimes. Google some phrases from their response and you'll most likely find they parroted it from the officially supplied literature. Press them (again, I did) and they'll waffle tabloid-friendly claims about how much safer we'll all be when the police know our every movement. Get that? They want to record your email traffic, web usage and physical location at all times.
- HMRC powers to open your letters (!) - ostensibly "to combat tobacco smuggling" but really usable whenever a tax inspector deems it necessary.
- Policy-based evidence making. This isn't just a funny term - it describes how those in power choose a policy to follow then invent evidence to justify it, usually supported by a lazy media. Cf. war in Iraq, banning of ill-defined "violent porn".
- ID cards. They'll keep on trying.
- Mandatory CRB checks for anyone who works with children to combat the utterly overblown paedophile threat. This means you need, effectively, to seek the state's permission before going near anyone else's children. This is moronic; apart from the insult implied by deeming everyone a potential nonce the chilling effect it has on voluntary work with kids (Scouts? Football practice?) will be greatly to their detriment.
- Unmanned spy balloons operated 24x7 by police to watch people from many miles away to "greatly extend" the government's surveillance capacity and "revolutionise policing". Don't you love the phrase "revolutionize policing"? Just think of the possibilities...
Policymakers in the current government have a heartfelt belief in the ability of a controlling state to cure all ills and bring about their version of utopia. "We watch you", they think, "to save you from yourselves". The slew of laws they've introduced prescribing widespread state monitoring of the populace demonstrate an utter disregard for the privacy & liberty of individuals. Which means us. And if they win the next election it's going to get a whole lot worse.
Please, don't vote for these thugs.
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