Privacy, security and public opinion

[Brian Gladman]

From: "Owen Lewis" <oml@eloka.demon.co.uk>
To: "ukcrypto" <ukcrypto@maillist.ox.ac.uk>
Sent: Sunday, June 04, 2000 7:46 PM
Subject: Re: Privacy, security and public opinion


> ----- Original Message -----
> From: "Brian Gladman" <brian.gladman@btinternet.com>
> To: <ukcrypto@maillist.ox.ac.uk>
> Sent: 02 June 2000 11:36
> Subject: Re: Privacy, security and public opinion
>
>
> > Our democracy is 'skin deep' because politcal parties and forced votes
> > have completely undermined the ability of Parliament to control the
> > behaviour of the executive arm of government who can pretty well do
> > what they like irrespective of the true wishes of citizens.
>
> I think that there is much in that. Where does a cure lie? Surely not in
> trial by media, as unfair and twisted a process as almost any other?
> Strengthening the powers of the Select Committes might be one way ahead.

I agree. And another action that would help would be to severely curtail the
power of 'whips', for example, by limiting their actions to votes that are
capable of bringing the government down.

> Most particularly, were their exercise of investigatory powers to be
> augmented by ad hoc sub-committees of co-opted experts, with the executive
> have only very curtailed powers of challenge to the co-option of any
person.

> > ... it is only
> > too evident that pretty well all of the issues raised here have not been
> > considered by the Home Office in preparing for the RIP Bill. In
> consequence
> > any answers that we do get are 'ad hoc' and not well researched and do
not
> > stand up under detailed scrutiny.  And once the weaknesses become
evident
> > the Home Office response is not to accept these and work with us to
> overcome
> > them but rather to shut down the dialogue and hope that they can simply
> > ignore our concerns.
>
> > In the area I have been concentrating on - the safety, security and cost
> > issues - there have been no serious attempts by the Home Office to meet
> the
> > issues that I have raised and it is now obvious that their intention is
to
> > simply ignore them.  And they clearly can ignore them since there are
> > sufficient Labour MPs in Parliament who will follow the government line
in
> a
> > completely unthinking way.
>
>
> I agree. But do you suppose that the situation would be markedly different
> if the Labour govt had a smaller majority - or if the Tories were in
govt?

It would certainly be different (not necessarily better) if Labour's
majority were smaller.  In respect of the Tories I don't see this making any
real difference since they are no better than Labour at having one set of
policies in opposition and another when in power.

[snip]

     Brian