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Image credit: John Barnabas Leith

The British parliament, the fountain of democracy, our lantern in the darkest of times…

This guardian like image of our Parliament has become somewhat tarnished, cracks appearing where there once seemed flawless craftsmanship, and legitimate questions being asked of exactly where do parliament stand in relation to an executive, who as of recent times, has (seemingly) gone unchecked in the process of curtailing civil liberties that the British public once took for granted.

When examining the official website of Parliament, under the heading of Parliamentary debates it states that

‘Debates are an opportunity for MPs and Lords to discuss government policy, propose new laws and current issues. It allows MPs to voice the concerns and interests of their constituents, and Members of the House of Lords can speak about issues brought to their attention by the public.’

Debates are designed to assist MPs and Lords to reach an informed decision on a subject’

Many, on reading that last sentence will respond with a certain amount of cynicism, especially in light of legislation such as Terrorism Act 2000, the Anti Terrorism, Crime & Security Act 2001, and more recently the Prevention of Terrorism Acts of 2005 and 2006, all linked in the fact they have all played a central role in the Parliamentary erosion of civil liberties here in the United Kingdom. 

However it is important to remember the above mentioned legislation did, eventually, even after serious opposition, pass through Parliament and onto the statute book. How can this be? How could our members of parliament allow this? Detention without trial? Control orders? The national identity register? I accept we live in a changing world, a world which often calls for us to compromise on what we hold most valuable, in exchange for the often misguided promise of ‘security’. Henry Porter of The Observer made an important comment on this during 2008 when he said:

‘After a decade, the account shows a devastating loss of the freedoms that we once regarded as our birthright, the self-evident and self-perpetuating virtue of the British people and their constitution.

The shocking part of it all is that it has occurred with almost no coherent analysis, scrutiny or opposition in Parliament, no debate about the direction of our society and only a little understanding and exposition in the media.’

Such a viewpoint is a harsh indictment of those within Parliament, and despite my own suspicions there are MP’s who have been vocal in their efforts to protect civil liberties in the United Kingdom.  However, it is difficult to dismiss such a comment which ultimately does begin to strike at the periphery of truth. Jacqui Smith the Home Secretary recently strengthened the provisions of The Regulation of Investigatory Powers Act 2000, an act which in itself was met with little resistance in parliament, but none the less, a piece of legislation which granted Government bodies the right to request information from an individual’s Internet Service Provider (ISP), as well as monitor emails, and even oblige ISP’s to fit equipment as to facilitate the collection of evidence within an investigation (for an excellent summary and up to date provisions of the act see here).

Once again the question is asked where are our Parliamentary guardians? 

The Convention on Modern Liberty poses an interesting question: why can’t our Parliament protect our liberties? Such a question implies the institution is simply not doing enough, but many may argue that they face an executive committed to secrecy, not transparency, diversion, not confrontation. The convention will provide a platform from which these issues may be openly discussed and debated, and to borrow a quote from the American Jesse Jackson Jr.

Deliberation and debate is the way you stir the soul of democracy.

This post was contributed to the run-up to the Convention on Modern Liberty, of which you can find out more information here, purchase tickets (with group discount rates) here and submit long comments to these pages here.