A Brave Man ...

David Davis's decision to resign over the erosion of liberties and specifically detention without charge for 42 days took me, like most people involved in politics, completely by surprise.

It is not entirely unprecedented for a politician to put his job on the line in this way, but it is extremely rare, and nobody ever does it unless they genuinely feel strongly on an issue. I doubt if he is in much danger of losing the by election but he may well have prejudiced his chances for a senior government office if Cameron becomes PM. So I don't accept the view that this is just a stunt.

I thought David Davis's arguments about the cumulative impact of current and proposed laws and measures was very powerful. Personally I'm with DD in opposing ID cards and detention without charge for longer than 28 days, disagree with him on CCTV systems, and have an open mind on biometric data provided there are much stronger safeguards. But you don't have to agree with all his individual points to recognise that when added together all the measures to increase state and police powers amount to a serious shift in the balance.

I think it was Franklin who said "The price of liberty is eternal vigilance" and we are due a payment. I hope DD us re-elected because we need more senior figures in parliament who are willing to pay a price for freedom.

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