CLEGG, CAMERON AND THE PUTIN INSPIRATION

Cameron and Clegg hatch 'a cunning plan.'

Sometimes you get a brilliant idea, you wake up one morning and there it is, you don’t know how it got there but you are convinced the idea is yours. In truth often it has been placed there by the inspiration provided by somebody else’s actions. Only much later do you recognise the truth, “so that’s where it come from.” I believe this is what has happened to Nick Clegg and David Cameron. 

Last year Vladimir Putin introduced a new law explicitly designed to curb the activities of NGO’, the one remaining independent element in civic society attempting to hold the state to account and consequently a severe irritant to Mr Putin. The new law requires all NGO’s to register as ‘foreign agents.’ http://www.dw.de/ngos-in-russia-refuse-agents-label/a-16947586.

I have a plan!

 Thus faced by the scandal of MP’s for hire, as exposed by The BBC and The Sunday Times, David Cameron got together with Nick Clegg and they put their heads together in an attempt to turn a problem into an opportunity. They came up with a new idea, a cunning plan as Baldric might say. As a result they have produced one of the most sinister, obnoxiously partisan, dishonest and anti democratic bills placed before the House of Commons since the time of Mrs Thatcher. Indeed this bill is, if anything, far more sinister and chilling than anything Thatcher came up with, including Section 28.* It represents a direct attack on the campaigning role of voluntary organisations, charities, NGO’s  and the trade union movement, in the 12 months leading up to a general election.

The lobbying, non-party campaigning and trade union administration bill, will create a statutory register of lobbyists, widen the definition of election campaigning by third parties and restrict how much they can spend on it.

Perhaps the first thing to note is to the inclusion of the trade union movement. Despite the fact that trade union political activity, lobbying and campaigning has always been transparent and open, Clegg and Cameron saw an opportunity to hobble the old enemy of organised labour. 

In a particularly brazen act of chutzpah the bill does nothing to address the kind of activities exposed in recent lobbying scandals, for example doing nothing about the House of Lords, but instead seeks to muzzle pesky campaign groups in the run up to an election. 

Following the steady onslaught on the poor, disabled and disadvantaged, it would greatly assist the coalition to greatly diminish the activities of charities, campaign groups and voluntary organisations in the 12 months in the run up to an election. The Lib Dems in particular have particular reason to fear the activity of the National Union of Students in the forthcoming election, who might seek revenge for Clegg’s betrayal over student fees- this bill would of course conveniently muzzle the NUS.

Of course the bill does not go anything like as far as Mr Putin’s legislation, the coalition, much to their chagrin, not having the room for manoeuvre of Mr Putin; still if passed it will successfully introduce new elements into the operation of British democracy with a very Russian feel about them.

Russia has a long history of vague and uncertain laws which can be exercised arbitrarily, anything for example could constitute ‘anti Soviet activity and agitation.’ The wording of this legislation, which places restrictions on what can be done, ‘for political purposes, is for example ‘wonderfully’ vague since political purposes is not sufficiently defined. Faced with such laws, as happens in Russia, people err on the side of caution. No charity or NGO will want to risk its financial security by falling foul of the law, self censorship will be the default position.

This bill is pure bile, motivated by a combination of spite and fear of  the power of NGO’s  and charities like Oxfam, Save the Children, Child Poverty Action Group and Shelter, who have the clout to mount a campaign challenging the governments social welfare programme during the run up to an election. It represents an onslaught on democracy and on what David Cameron once called the big society. It demonstrates his real contempt for NGO’s fighting for social justice.

Cheeringly this measure has managed to unite an extraordinary spectrum of opinion, running from The National Council for Voluntary Organisations, The British Legion, Guide Dogs for the Blind, the Wildlife Trust, Oxfam, the Children’s Society, the British Youth Council, the Quakers in Britain, Labour-List, and Conservative Home. Included in opposition are many grass roots members of the Liberal Democrats.

Indeed the actions of the Liberals in parliament in supporting this nasty little bill is  truly disgusting, representing a new low. They should never be allowed to forget it.

When Nick Clegg and David Cameron cobbled this wicked little bill together they hoped they could pull a fast one under cover of doing something about lobbying. Now the spotlight has been turned on their squalid little manoeuvre anyone who believes in a healthy democracy should now fight this measure.

 * A very Putin like measure that outlawed the 'promotion' of homosexuality in schools.

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