Unforeseen consequences of Labour’s surveillance state

Mr Wick is the chap who passed the details of MP’s expenses to the Daily Telegraph.

The BBC quote him as saying

“Mr Wick added that he felt there was an injustice in how much information the government wanted to have about the public, while they wanted to keep their own affairs secret.”

and

“They want to know everything about us, I think we’re entitled to know about them.”

Readers may also recall some political fuss resulting from video and photographs of the G20 policing.

So, how is the surveillance state working out for you Gordon?

 

Brown keeps digging on ID cards

The government is to continue with its plan to introduce ID cards.

This is great news for those who look forward to Labour being resoundingly defeated at the next election, and out of office for the next ten years.

The public is becoming increasingly aware of Labour’s attempt to turn Britain into a police state. Brown’s authoritarian approach is worrying more and more people. I suspect it already worries enough people to cause Labour to lose several key marginal seats.

A sensible government, and one that is short of money, might have hastened to drop the ID card scheme. That would have demonstrated finacial responsibility and some respect for peoples privacy.

That path is not The Way of the Gordon. When he is in an hole the Brown instinct is to keep digging.

Keep shovelling, Gordon. You are all set to get kicked out of office without winning an election and marked as a girning idiot.

 

Useful surveillance

The BBC reports that “New CCTV cars to catch drivers using their mobile phones or being otherwise distracted at the wheel are being piloted by Greater Manchester Police. The small Smart cars, which have a 12ft (3.6m) mast with a camera attached, are parked at junctions to monitor traffic. …Anyone seen driving while distracted – eating at the wheel, playing with the radio or applying make-up for instance – is filmed by the cameras.

Later, a letter is sent to the owner of the car, in many cases along with a fine. Anyone caught using their mobile will be asked to pay £60 and have three points added to their licence. Fines could also be handed out to anyone who is thought to be driving without due care and attention, or similar offences.”

Though I believe we are subject to far too much uncontrolled surveillance in the UK, I have no objection to this process.

Driving whilst using a mobile phone is like driving whilst drunk. In the past people have been able to get away with this dangerous behaviour. I still see a lot of people using their mobile phone whilst at the wheel.

As long as the data which is collected is not used for other purposes and is destroyed after a reasonable period of time, I think Manchester Police are to be applauded for trying to tackle this problem.

There are so many more serious issues with Labour’s surveillance state [such as data retention, that targeting distracted drivers is trivial.

There has also been a lot of unnecessary fuss about Google Street View. Anybody who is getting excited about this are straining at a gnat, and swallowing an elephant.