Postscript
2003:
Please
note, despite our efforts and that of many good people (although
not enough people), this Bill was later passed by the House
of Lords, this was made possible as the mainstream media remained
silent!
We
have now entered a Police State.
This
article is was posted in 2003 and published
in Namaste Magazine Vol 7 Issue 2
PO Box 127, Shrewsbury SY3 7WS
Email: info@namastepublishing.co.uk
Tele: + 44 (0)1743 341303
To subscribe
By
Elizabeth Gray
All
well-meaning people need to take action against the Civil
Contingencies Bill now before the House of Lords. This extremely
dangerous Bill would give the Government the legal power to
put an end to democratic institutions and civil liberties
in the UK. Believe it or not, it’s true. No exaggeration.
Lord Lucas, speaking in the House of Lords during the July
5th second reading, came to the point:
"Are we opening up our system to the equivalent of what
happened in Germany in 1933, where it became possible for
an extreme party legitimately to hijack a democracy and turn
it into something totalitarian? . . . They [the
New Labour Government] appear to want a role of
issuing diktats." He concluded by calling for amendments
to the Bill which would safeguard our rights, "or
we are signing our death warrant as a democracy".
That
is exactly the issue and the menace.
Lord Lucas was not exaggerating.
This
Bill, which is not far from passage (and demands radical amendment),
enables the Government to declare a State of Emergency on
practically any grounds - insignificant events (e.g. “damage
to property”); “threatened” insignificant events (e.g. threatened
disruption of a supply of money), even a “situation” would
do, and a situation occurring outside the United Kingdom would
also do.
In other words, anything goes.
If
Parliament then approves the State of Emergency insisted upon
by the Government (most of them know how to use a rubber stamp),
then the Government can effectively rule by decree ---dictatorial
power.
As
the forthright, libertarian Lord Lucas said, “We can run
on from there and ask at what point we recover our democracy.”
The reader of this article can guess at the answer as well
as anyone.
If the loss of democracy and civil liberties is of little
concern to a particular reader, then consider the clause in
the Bill that provides for the confiscation of property, “with
or without compensation.”
This horrific Bill went through the House of Commons with
paltry discussion, little opposition, and silence from the
irresponsible corporate News Media. And the News Media remains
silent as it proceeds through the House of Lords. This must
not continue.
This
Bill should be REJECTED OUTRIGHT
and put forward crippling amendments below**
**What
kind of amendments should be proposed?
One
may well question why any additional powers at all should
be granted to the Government. We already have Acts of Parliament
that were quite sufficient for World War II and the Northern
Ireland troubles. Touch them up a little if necessary, but
no dictatorships here in Great Britain. No !!
What
can we do in a little SPARE TIME to keep our Democracy and
Civil Liberties - to take the teeth out of this subversive,
anti-democratic Civil Contingencies Bill?
First,
know that YOU, as an individual, have a great deal of potential
influence. Legislators are not accustomed to hearing from
Jo Public. (In contrast, they hear from corporations all the
time.) When they do hear a sincere, reasonable opinion from
a member of the Public, they immediately (explicitly or implicitly)
multiply by hundreds. Why? Because they calculate that one
sincere person telephoned or wrote, and therefore perhaps
300 or 500 people hold the same view but lack the initiative
to communicate it to them. You can have real influence, if
you’ll use it. Let me suggest what you can do, in just a little
SPARETIME.
Make
some telephone calls. Just some phone calls. We MUST contact
members of the House of Lords, and members of the News Media.
HOUSE OF LORDS
Note: Parliament has just gone on recess and returns September
7th. But you can, and should call and leave messages now on
tel: 0207 2195353. You can leave up to 3 messages with your
phone call, one for each of 3 different Peers and/or MPs.
You will get two sentences per message, plus your name and
telephone number. So have your 2 sentences ready. Some Peers/MPs
may indeed telephone you. Don’t be embarrassed or shy. They
are pretty decent folk. Just get to the point because they
are quite busy.
Please note: you can call and leave a message for any Peer
or MP, 24 hours a day, every day of the year at 0207 2195353.
Repeat: During the recess, telephone: 0207 2195353. When Lords
and MPs return on September 7th, use telephone number: 0207
2193107 (Lords) and 0207 2193000 (MPs) during opening hours,
and 0207 2195353 after hours and on weekends.
[In addition, you can, write a short letter. Send it to Lord
or Baroness . . .,
House of Lords, London SW1A OPW.]
We need to send them messages now, and from 7th September,
when Parliament resumes, we must really let them know. 15th
September is the day for discussion of the Bill on the floor
of the House of Lords. So, September 15th is D-Day and we
must act in advance.
Between 7th September and 15th September, ask the switchboard
for the Lord or Baroness. Mention your strong opposition to
the Bill, and why you oppose it, and specify that tooth pulling,
substantial amendments be tabled concerning the Grounds for
declaring an Emergency and the Powers granted. You will probably
talk to an assistant or leave a message on their message machine.
More than likely you will again need to leave a 2-sentence
message with the switchboard.
Conservatives:
(the largest group in the Lords). Call Baroness Buscombe (Conservative
leader on this Bill who wants to amend it. Tell her we need
tooth-extracting amendments). Call other Conservative Lords
(a list of Lords and their party affiliation can be found
at www.parliament.uk) - they need to be stirred up by you.
Call Conservative Party leader, MP Michael Howard’s office
(House of Commons switchboard 0207 2103000) or leave a message
at 5353. Request he exercise leadership on this Bill and energise
Conservative Lords against it. And call Conservative MPs Ian
Duncan Smith and David Davis. (If one of them moves, Howard
figures to get a move on.)
Liberal
Democrats:
Call Lord McNally (and any other Lib Dem Lord).
Cross-Bench
Peers:
They have no party, are independent, and are plentiful. Call
any of them, especially the Convenor, Lord Craig (ask at the
switchboard), the 12 law Lords (ask for the appropriate office),
Baronesses and Countesses.
In
addition to the above. Here is a shortish list of Peers I
feel are well worth calling/writing a little letter. They
are very likely to take up our cause if only alerted about
it. (A comprehensive list will be available on this website
in a few days of all potentially supportive Peers -- a good
80% of Peers, if I am right.)
A message may be left by telephone at all hours every day
at 0207 219 5353, and a letter sent to the House of Lords
(London SW1A OPW) addressed to a Peer will get to them.
B = Baroness L = Lord After the name, in parenthesis will
be the abbreviation of the Party (L=Labour, LD, Lib Dem, C
is Conservative, CB is a non-party, Cross Bench Peer. All
Labour Peers in my lists are estimated to be traditional Labourites,
not the New Labour type. )
Here is a shortish list of Peers I feel are well worth calling/writing
a little letter. They are very likely to take up our cause
if only alerted about it. (A comprehensive list will follow
after some days of all potentially supportive Peers -- a good
80% of Peers, if I am right.)
A message may be left by telephone at all hours every day
at 0207 219 5353, and a letter sent to the House of Lords
(London SW1A OPW) addressed to a Peer will get to them.
To Help RESCUE BRITISH DEMOCRACY, telephone/write some of
these people below and insist they reject and table wrecking
amendments to this evil Civil Contingencies Bill.
Important
Email Adresses
B. Barker (LD) ; B. Buscombe (the Conservative leader on the
bill, she's important), buscombeP@parliament.uk; L. Clinton-Davis
(L) ; L. Craig (Convenor of the Cross Bench Peers), craigd@parliament.uk; L. Dubs (L) DubsA@parliament.uk; B. Howe of Idlicote
(CB) howeE@parliament.uk; B. Howells of St. Davids
(L); L. Lester (LD), lesterA@parliament.uk
L. McCluskey (CB); L. Neill (CB), Pneill@serlecourt.ac.uk B. Nicholson
(LD), Enicholson@europarl.eu.int L. Rea
(L), reajn@parliament.uk; L. Scarman (CB), a judge
and human rights supporter, please contact him ; L. Thomas
of Swynnerton (CB)
Newsmedia:
Nick Cohen, columnist at the Observer (0207 2782332); Michael
White, political editor of the Guardian (0207 2782332, same
tel. as Observer); Daily Mail - very important to get to this
newspaper - political editor David Hughes, journalists Simon
Heffer, Geoffrey Lean, and Graeme Wilson, 0207 9386000; Daily
Mirror editor Oonagh Blackman (0207 2933000); The Independent,
political editor Andrew Grice 0207 005 2000; Sun - Political
editor Trevor Kavanagh at 0207 7824100 & email address
trevor.kavanagh@the-sun.co.uk
