The Last Ditch by Tom Paine

Link: Shadow Home Secretary David Davis resigns to force by-election – Times Online.

Labour can counter David Davis’s gesture by simply not running a candidate. We shall see how his political gambit plays out but, whatever the outcome, we must respect what he says.  It is worrying that the Times suggests David Cameron might not have had his party vote against the Government yesterday, had Davis not threatened to resign. I hope it is not true.

Yesterday’s debate focussed on 42 days, but the number is irrelevant. Detention of suspects without trial is wrong. The police should arrest no-one unless they have reasonable evidence. When I was practising criminal law, they had 48 hours to question a suspect before bringing a charge. That was plenty of time, if they had done their job.

The British blogosphere today is full of mock eulogies for Liberty. She is still not yet dead, but has been in a coma since the Prevention of Terrorism Act 2005 was passed. I started this blog because of that Act, and things have merely gone from bad to worse. Who am I to criticise Davis for futile gestures? In the end, a man must do what he thinks is best to advance the cause of liberty. Whether we think his tactics are right, we should all applaud Mr. Davis’s principled stand.