Guy Aitchison (Bristol, OK):
EU Treaty: In an article in today's Times William Hague develops what Anthony predicted would become a major Tory line of attack on the Government's refusal to hold a referendum on the EU Treaty: "Mr Brown talks endlessly of a new era of openness and accountability. He says he will consult and listen more. Yet he now proposes as his first big decision as Prime Minister to break a solemn manifesto promise and deny the British people their say over who governs Britain and how it is governed."
The Daily Mail also gives prominence to the referendum argument with a piece by Christopher Brooker arguing that failure to hold a vote on the EU Treaty amounts to an "astonishing coup d'etat" which will result in the EU becoming the "supreme government of Britain and 26 other countries, with virtually unlimited powers over every aspect of our lives".
"War on Terror": In an interview with ePolitix home secretary Jacqui Smith calls for a united effort to promote British values as a way of combatting terrorism. She agrees that this is a shift from the rhetoric of the "war on terrorism'" towards an effort to win "hearts and minds", but refuses to criticise past counter-terrorism policy.
The UK government has also requested the release of five British residents held at Guantanamo Bay.
Are these developments further signs of what Kanishk sees as a change in approach from Brown in fighting terrorism?
Freedom of Speech: Restrictions placed on anti-war protestor Brian Haw by police have been ruled unlawful by the High Court, which has also massively scaled back the terms of an injunction sought by BAA against those protesting the expansion of Heathrow airport. The Indy devotes its frontpage to the rulings, declaring it a "rare good day for free speech in Britain".
Over at the Guardian George Monbiot raises serious concerns about what he sees as the repeated misuse of the 1997 Protection from Harassment Act to clamp down on legitimate protest. He calls on readers to join him at the climate camp at Heathrow next week, arguing that "What began as an environmental demonstration has now also become a protest for democracy".
Devolved government: An article in today's Scotsman focuses on the SNP administration's efforts to gain a higher profile for its international political and commercial contacts. This seems to confirm Gavin Yates's argument in OK last month that the SNP would use international, and in particular European talks, as a "nationalist lever".
Regular OK contibutor John Osmond's new book, Crossing the Rubicon, is currently causing a stir in Welsh politics. In it Osmond makes the fascinating claim that the new constitutional convention that will assess the timing of the next devolution referendum was Labour’s idea, rather than a concession to Plaid Cymru.
