Archive for tom brake
A little problem with police procurement…
From Tom Brake on Twitter:
Two wins for the Lib Dems in government: human trafficking and visas
Two pieces of good news today where a combination of Liberal Democrat and some Conservatives in government have won out over the right of the Conservative Party. First up, human trafficking – where the opposition of Conservative Euro-sceptics to Britain opting in to the new EU directive has been overcome. Co-Chair of the Liberal Democrat [...]
Detention without charge to be cut from 28-days to 14-days
It’s long been a Liberal Democrat demand, and it was in the party’s 2010 manifesto, so good news that detention without charge is set to fall back to 14-days. The current 28-days limit expires on Monday and today the government has confirmed that it will not be trying to renew the limit. The 28-day increase [...]
The Royal Family, freedom of information and the rest of the story
At the weekend The Independent ran a piece very critical of the Liberal Democrats in government: The Royal Family is to be granted absolute protection from public scrutiny in a controversial legal reform designed to draw a veil of secrecy over the affairs of the Queen, Prince Charles and Prince William. Letters, emails and documents [...]
Ending detention of children for immigration purposes: details and dates published
Today (as predicted) Nick Clegg is announcing the details of how the government will end detention of children for immigration purposes. Since the government review started on 1 June, the number in detention has dropped sharply – 78 compared to 594 in the same period under Labour in 2009. Now the government is committed both [...]
There’s only one poll that matters: vote for Tom Brake’s moustache
As Tom Brake’s website says: Tom Brake MP for Carshalton and Wallington is taking is commitment to the Movember Campaign a step further. Unsatisfied with the run of the mill style of his current moustache, Tom is asking his constituents for input on how he should style his moustache as Movember nears its end. Tom [...]
More details published of Government’s review of anti-terrorism powers
A Home Office news release tells us: The Home Secretary has announced today that a rapid review of key counter-terrorism and security powers is underway. The review will look at what counter-terrorism powers and measures could be rolled back in order to restore the balance of civil liberties and counter-terrorism powers… The review will look [...]
Welcome for plans to scale down police stop and search
Commenting on the Home Secretary’s announcement that stop and search powers will be subject to stricter conditions, Tom Brake MP (Co-Chair of the Liberal Democrat Parliamentary Committee for Home Affairs, Justice and Equality) said: This is a very welcome announcement. Section 44 was an unreasonable power, applied in an indiscriminate way. This change strengthens our [...]
If you want to understand modern government, understand the Office of the Public Guardian
The Office of the Public Guardian (OPG) neatly encapsulates much of how modern government is run, its weaknesses and the problems our democratic systems face in trying to control or improve bureaucracy.
The Office of the Public Guardian was created for the best of reasons following the 2005 Mental Capacity Act in order to administer a [...]
