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Civil Liberties

Successive governments obsessed with power have chipped away at our liberty in the name of security. Labour has systematically attacked our hard-won freedoms, often supported by the Conservatives. We are treated like children who need to be checked up on and monitored at every turn. This Government has given up on ordinary people’s rights – like freedom of speech and privacy. They have created more than 4,300 new crimes – one for every day in office.

The Government has over a million innocent people’s DNA on file. Thousands of schools monitor children’s fingerprints, and parents aren’t allowed to stop them. An Identity Card scheme is planned that is more complex and intrusive than anywhere else in the world. And worst of all they keep losing all the information they hold instead of keeping it safe.

Liberal Democrats are the only party committed to defending our most important rights. The threat of terrorist attacks must be taken seriously but it does not mean that we should sacrifice our liberty in the name of security. Previous generations died to protect our freedom, and politicians shouldn’t try to take it from us. That doesn’t just mean warm words about British tradition: it means action. The Conservatives aren’t serious about freedom – they want to scrap the laws that protect our human rights and personal privacy.

We will introduce a Freedom Bill to restore and protect our most important liberties. We will scrap expensive and unnecessary ID Cards; remove innocent people from the criminal DNA database; restore the right to protest and freedom of speech; and restore other vital freedoms. We will protect people’s privacy by strengthening data protection laws and stopping unnecessary state intervention in our lives.

Published and promoted by and on behalf of the Liberal Democrats, 4 Cowley Street, London, SW1P 3NB. Tel: (020) 7222 7999

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