Voting TaKtiX

Right, time to get back to the real business of blogging, right? Almost.

In all the Clarke/deportations fuss, many people have been making hay over the headline grabbing (and completely unnecessary) new legislation that Clarke & Blair proposed, to change the onus on deportation, etc. They were, I feel, correct to do so. I don’t feel everyone should be deported, I feel that those who the Judge recommends should be should be considered for deportation, each case should be taken on its own merits.

Others pointed out that the measures would, themselves, contradict the Human Rights Act. Longstanding Tory policy is to repeal that Act (National Interest defence). On this, they are arong. Why? Geoff Hoon:

A Conservative Government, led by one of the greatest Englishmen who ever lived—Sir Winston Churchill—signed up to the European convention because, at the end of the second world war, the need to safeguard human rights and liberties was recognised absolutely. This country led the way—we drafted large parts of the European convention. To blame matters, for party political reasons—the hon. Gentleman will forgive me, but that is the case—on the Human Rights Act, which simply incorporates our existing international obligations into domestic law, is misleading. It is party political point scoring, which is wrong and unfair.

He’s right. The HRA simply turns international obligations into British law. That’s a good thing. That National Interest is, surely, to ensure that the basic fundamental rights of British Subjects should be respected, just as Winston Churchill et al meant them to be? Or were they merely set up to make those foreigners behave themselves?

Reminding people that the Council of Europe has nothing to do with Brussels or the Commission seems to be perpetually needed, so might as well repeat myself (again).

Two posts broadly supportive of the govt in a row? Time to lie down…

I wholeheartedly support the idea that politicians should blog more, communicate more, discuss things directly, etc. Ergo, when a Govt Minister sets up a blog, I think that’s, on balance, a good idea. For the record, I’m working on my employers to give me space for a newsblog at work, it’ll be a good way to communicate with the people I work with. Whether they’ll buy it or not I don’t know, but I don’t think work blogs are a waste of time, nor of taxpayers money.

Note the corrolary though. When it’s done right. (more…)