42 Days Detention - No. Just.... no.

The vote on 42 days detention will be tight. Which is good - although not as good as it being a landslide against this freedom consuming, ill thought out piece of abject nonsense. Hopefully the Commons will vote against this awful piece of would-be law - not just because it will further embarrass and enfeeble the man in Number 10, but also because it is hysterical nonsense rather than real policy. This isn't a party political issue, it is far more than that. This policy represents a fundamental attack on civil liberties in this country. It must be stopped.

But part of me wonders who actually supports this policy, other than the bitter, paranoid chumps at the head of the broken, compromised Nu Labour hierarchy. It isn't MI5. It isn't even the Labour party. And the sort of celebrities who would normally embrace any Labour policy or politician are also coming out against this policy. So what on earth do Nu Labour think they will achieve by supporting the policy? It is absolutely beyond me.

Whilst I do despise Brown and his cabinet, I actually think they feel they are doing the right thing with this policy. In their pious, holier-than-thou little worlds, they actually believe this policy will save lives. I think they are so scared of a terrorist attack that they have lost all sense of perspective, and will blindly pursue any piece of policy they think will save lives - regardless of the cost in other aspects of British life.

Well, fair enough. They think they are doing the right thing. But they are absolutely, and completely, wrong on all levels. They are blind to the problems of their policies, that much is clear. So it falls to everyone else to point out how crass they are, and that the support of the narrow minded, ignorant Sun reading fools who might back this legislation is not worth the cost of pursuing this idea. Everyone who has opposes this policy should use their voice and shout out their objections, by any means possible. Everyone in Parliament who has a vote should vote against this. They should engage whatever intellect they have, rather than falling foul of the nagging paranoia and air of quiet panic that so consumes the Labour Cabinet both on this issue, and arguably now everything else they do.

It is not so much the case that this policy should be voted down, but rather it must be voted down. Otherwise we sit and watch as our government sleepwalks towards the dystopian nightmare of the film version of V For Vendetta. Or as they re-enact McCarthyism in a way that is both anachronistic or absolutely wrong for any modern democracy.

Policy should be based on pragmatism and intelligence. Not paranoia.