Taking Liberties

Last night I decided to hit the sack early after a long day working, then starting a radio presenter training course in the evening. Having just received the DVD 'Taking Liberties' I thought I would start watching it, as a documentary it's the kind of thing you can dip in and out of. But once I started watching I couldn't stop.

If you don't know then 'Taking Liberties' is a film, and now a book, about our loss of fundamental liberties since Blair took office in 1997. The film was released to coincide with Blair's handover to Big Gordy Brown. Somehow it passed me by but is a real must to anybody of a libertarian persuasion.

The film comes at the subject from a pretty left-wing perspective but there is an element of balance provided by regular contributions from Boris Johnson and others. The subject matter is very often of the green/left persuasion but the principle of the film is equally valid to those on the libertarian right. It provides a near perfect picture of how the New Labour experiment has united the left and right in defence of freedom and liberty. It deftly portrays the way Labour have destroyed the six basic tenets of our liberty since 1997. The six being:

Right to Protest
Right to Freedom of Speech
Right to Privacy
Right not to be detained without charge
Innocent Until Proven Guilty
Prohibition from Torture

Some aspects of the film are almost comic, such as the absurdity of officialdom, especially the police, but the underlying message is terrifying. Anybody who has sensed the development of an authoritarian state in the UK, especially those of the 'nothing to hide nothing to fear' tendency should watch this film. It tells what many of us have been warning about for many years and proves how, even those with 'nothing to hide', can easily find themselves 'banged up', living under a control order or ending up with a criminal record for no reason other than wearing a 'Bollocks to Blair' t-shirt, or for the state not liking the cut of your jib.