COMMISSAR HARMAN

The Labour Party’s attachment to civil liberties and free speech has historically been tenuous, often taking second place to short term electoral advantage or sheer political opportunism; concerns about free speech and civil liberties being in the words of David Blunkett solely the preserve of the ‘liberati,’[1] Guardian reading bleeding hearts. This contempt has always represented a strain of Labour party thinking, suspicious of free speech as something of a capitalist weapon to hypnotize the masses; the commissar always lurking in the shadows.[2]

Now as described by Nick Cohen[3] and John Kampfner[4] the Labour party are using the unelected House of Lords to effectively sabotage libel law reform. This reform seeks to truly advance the cause of free speech, whilst removing the stain that hangs over London as the litigation capital of the world, the London libel courts being the chosen weapon for every thuggish oligarch, creepy religious cult, quack snake oil salesman and over mighty oil sheik. They seek to do so, in what Kampfner calls, ‘a fit of pique.’ Of course such a frivolous attitude towards free speech would not be possible in a party fully anchored to the protection of open and free discourse. The Commissar appears momentarily from behind the curtain.

Harriet Harman appeared on yesterday mornings Andrew Marr show to discuss Leveson. She was not asked about libel reform, though here was a woman steely eyed, with the press in her sights. Whilst mouthing all the platitudes about a free press, holding in her back pocket proposals such as prior notification and exemplary damages, that, would work to effectively handcuff investigative journalism.[5]


[1] It is instructive to note that the only measure that Tony Blair regretted enacting was freedom of information legislation, the one measure that did more to empower citizens and held public figures to account than anything else.
[2] Of course their has always been another strain exemplified, for example by Michael Foot.
[3] http://www.guardian.co.uk/commentisfree/2013/feb/24/labour-libel-empower-elite-puttnam?INTCMP=ILCNETTXT3487
[5]This being considered it would seem a price worth paying to hit The Sun and The Daily Mail, never was revenge more blind.

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