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| By Adam Bienkov "I'd like to make one thing clear" declared Nick Clegg in his first speech as deputy prime minister. "This government is going to be unlike any other. This government is going to transform our politics so the state has far less control over you, and you have far more control over the state." This would be a government unlike any other. A government that would "end the culture of spying on its citizens". A government that would "introduce safeguards to prevent the misuse of anti-terrorism legislation". A government "that is proud when British citizens stand up against illegitimate advances of the state". Clegg's words now look laughably hollow. Not only has he failed to reduce the power of the state, he has actually placed himself at the very frontline of defending that power. In the past three years Clegg has backed the "snoopers' charter", pushed for secret courts and stood mutely as evidence emerged of widespread electronic surveillance by the security services. But it is this week that has really showed how far the Liberal Democrat leader has changed. Once upon a time, news that spooks were routinely monitoring our electronic communications, detaining those involved in reporting that fact and forcing newspapers to destroy their evidence of it would have brought Mr Clegg out in a rash. And yet now he is in government he is unwilling to mount even the most rudimentary defence against these abuses by the state. This is a fact that places Clegg to the right, not only of his own party membership, but even of the Russian government. In a statement this week, Clegg insisted that the destruction of the Guardian's hard drive was a "reasonable" step for the government to take, before adding that he was also "keen" to protect the paper's freedom of speech. Quite how this keenness will demonstrate itself remains to be seen. But what Clegg's transformation from civil libertarian to state authoritarian really shows us is just how far being in government can change you. As one commentator put it this week: parties of government support more repression, while parties of opposition support less. The truth of this statement becomes even clearer when you look at the Labour party. In the past few years Labour has transformed from the party of 28-day detention and ID cards to a party that was among the first to "demand answers" over the detention of David Miranda. Ed Miliband has worked hard to win over disaffected Lib Dem supporters and is probably far more instinctively liberal than his predecessors. But the truth is that Labour's newfound concern for civil liberties will last right up until the point they return to government. Just as the Liberal Democrat's concern for civil liberties will return right at the point that they leave it. Where's Ed? It's been another terrible week for Ed Miliband, with countless members of his party queuing up to offer their "friendly advice" for the Labour leader. While criticisms of Miliband were once restricted to embittered Blairites, even the party's left-wingers now seem eager to give him a shoeing. Added together it all looks pretty precarious for Ed, but there has been little if any sign of panic from the man himself. In fact there's been little or any sign of him full stop. At some point in the next few weeks that will need to change. MondayRevealed: The schools which still enforce Section 28 At least 44 schools in England and Wales have sex and relationship policies which resemble Section 28, a decade after it was repealed. Labour demands answers on Heathrow terror arrest Labour has demanded answers from the Home Office after the partner of a journalist connected to the Edward Snowden revelations was detained under anti-terror laws. Chief medical officer: I took drugs England's chief medical officer has admitted taking drugs, in an interview which sees her demand that use of narcotics be treated as a medical issue rather than a criminal one. TuesdayComment: Let's face it – men and women are different Plans to impose gender quotas ignore the fact that men and women are good at different things. Comment: Our legal battle against schedule seven Schedule seven is stripping journalists and Muslims of their civil liberties. We're taking the government to the courts to stop it. What did Theresa May know and when did she know it? Labour demands answers over Miranda Labour stepped up its attack on the Home Office over the nine-hour detention of David Miranda today, as the international row escalated. WednesdayComment: The lobbying bill is either cock-up or conspiracy Was this legislation hastily drafted - or is it a deliberate attempt to let the government attack interest groups it doesn't like? Germany left red-faced by naked drug taker who danced on Merkel's jet Germany security officials have been left red-faced after it emerged a man high on ecstasy and wearing only his underpants was able to dance on Angela Merkel's government jet for four hours before he was arrested. Clegg 'backed decision to destroy Guardian hard drives' Nick Clegg's reputation for liberalism took another hit this morning after it was revealed he backed the government's efforts to have the Guardian's hard drives destroyed. ThursdayBBC addicted to bashing Murdoch, Boris claims The BBC are addicted to bashing Rupert Murdoch, London mayor Boris Johnson claimed today during a visit to Australia. Comment: How banks fail the poorest in society Brutal payday lending has replaced mainstream credit for those who need it most, but it won't lead us to economic growth. The humiliation of Britain: International outcry following Miranda detention Britain is being subject to embarrassing criticism on the global stage, after international bodies reacted angrily to the nine-hour detention of David Miranda. FridayEyewitness: The truth about Chelsea Manning's sentencing hearing An eyewitness account of Chelsea Manning's sentencing hearing, where the US private was sentenced to 35 years over Wikileaks documents. Acrimony lingers as Grantham mulls Maggie statue Labour's proposals for a publicly funded statute of Margaret Thatcher in her hometown of Grantham are "rank hypocrisy of the highest order", the town's museum director has said. Employers failing to pay minimum wage to be named and shamed More employers will be named and shamed if they fail to pay the minimum wage, the government insisted today. | CIOB video: It's all about people NASUWT comments on GCSE resultsCommenting on the GCSE results, Chris Keates, General Secretary of the NASUWT, the largest teachers’ union, said: NUT Wales comment on GCSE ResultsCommenting on this year’s GCSE results, NUT Secretary, David Evans, said: NUT comment on GCSE resultsCommenting on today’s GCSE results for England, Wales and Northern Ireland, Christine Blower, General Secretary of the National Union of Teachers, the largest teachers’ union, said: NASUWT comments ahead of publication of GCSE resultsThe fact that GCSEs are challenging and demanding qualifications is buried in an avalanche of politically motivated, false claims of grade inflation, dumbing-down and easy options, say the NASUWT. CIOT: Institute warns of ‘dangerous precedent’ over tax code for banksGovernment proposals for a strengthened Code of Practice on Taxation for Banks1 will set a “dangerous precedent” by giving HMRC power to determine and publicly announce non-compliance with the Code without any right of appeal, the Chartered Institute of Taxation has warned. |
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