Brian Sedgemore MP says goodbye in style!

Brian Sedgemore MP (Labour) gave his farewell speech on Wednesday, and it’s quite a scorcher. He lays into the government for its authoritarian stance, including (among others) establishing a “gulag” at Belmarsh, removing the right to trial by jury and the current attempts to bypass due process.

Have we all, individually and collectively, no shame? I suppose that once one has shown contempt for liberty by voting against it in the Lobby, it becomes easier to do it a second time and after that, a third time. Thus even Members of Parliament who claim to believe in human rights vote to destroy them.

It’s a shame to see a Labour government separated so far from its roots; perhaps if a few more MPs were willing to hold the government to account in this fashion, they might be more reasonable. Of course, a large part of Sedgemore’s ability to be so forthright is the fact that he’s standing down, but still!

The Hansard transcript is here.

pax et bonum

Article posted at 2:50pm on 25 February 2005
Category: Politics, Struggling, General