Feb 27 2007
How I long for our freedoms
We live in a snooper society. More and more cameras appear daily on our streets and in our stations, in our shopping centres and on the estates. Some may help the law abiding, but many have become ways??of extracting more money from the motorist who has misinterpreted the increasing complex speed and parking restrictions. We have to weigh our words carefully for fear of the thought police misconstruing robust debate for an offence against political correctness.
??The problem with the loss of freedom under this government is that it happens slowly and piecemeal. We are almost as free today as we were yesterday. You only appreciate how much freedom you have lost, if you dare cast a look back through ten years.
Do you remember when you could drive into London without having to pay ??8??? Remember when you could use the outside lane of the M4 in?? a car??? Remember when speeding was enforced by uniformed officers making decisions about when speeding was hazardous and worthy of punsihment? Remember when there was just one speed limit in a?? built up area, instead of constantly changing speeds that you have to notice? Do you remember when the parking instructions were simple, instead of half a dozen different regimes on the same London street requiring time and attention to work out where you might be able to park legally.
Do you remember when you put some money in a Building Society without having to take a utility bill and be screened in case you’re a money launderer? Do you remember being able to travel to Scotland without needing your passport for the check-in? Remember when you could joke about someone’s religion or age without fearing arrest? When teachers could lay a consoling arm on a young child without being accused of sexual motives??? When you could promote??who you liked??without fearing a?? discrimination case????? Remember when A levels distinguished the very good from the good and when few people got grade As at O level? Remember when local Councils employed officers who designed roads, ran social services, organised schools, without needing an army of consultants to do the difficult things for them?
??I could go on. Not because I yearn some distant golden age. The past is a foreign country, and many who led it are no more. I welcome a less snobby and more diverse Britain. I welcome a richer Britain. I don’t welcome a less free Britain. I do not like the constant assault on our democracy. Today Parliament is hollowed out. Our rights to free speech and to answers from the executive have been limited. We need a more modern government which can understand that the world of web and the internet is a world where people’s individuality should be respected, and where more latitude is given as people seek self fulfillment and self expression. The present government seems rooted in 50s and 60s socialism, where central control encourages a dull uniformity of view on pain of sending round the thought police.
John Redwood has been the Member of Parliament for Wokingham since 1987. First attending Kent College, Canterbury, he graduated from Magdalen College...
Having recently moved from London back to Northumberland where I grew up I’ve noticed a remarkable increase in my level of freedoms, whether it be on the roads, interference by the local authority or politcally correct reaction to what I say in the pub.
It’s not very snobby or diverse up here, but the road signs are straightforward, parking is easy and even though it’s a labour stronghold where I am people mock politcal correctness openly.
Down there you’ve got too many people, with too many ‘rights’ crammed into too little space and too much politics.
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Do you remember when interest rate decisions were taken for political purposes? Do you remember the days when a serious question for information from the government was met with no response? Do you remember when competition policy was a joke? How about when London Underground was considered irrelevant because some people “live above the shop”?
I don’t like this government but your comments must be considered as ironic for a former Conservative minister.
There may be over a million people petitioning against road pricing but to use this as a springboard for an attack on the government when it is a repudiation of your free market principles is a most unprincipled act worthy of the current government. Are you surprised that most people dislike politicians?
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Thanks for the censorship.
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Is that you Mum?
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Feeble.
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Dear Mr Redwood,
I am interested to note that my previous post on this thread has been removed. I wrote as little as a thousand words, but in that single action, you have demonstrated yourself more eloquent than I, and you have proved my point, at the same time. Freedoms and rights only exist to the extent that one is able to enforce them.
Best regards
Matthew Holford
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It’s back. That’s very kind. Thank you.
Matthew Holford
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