Now don't be fooled
By fools who promise you
The world and all that glitters
More fool you

David Bowie

Autumn in the capital and the only smell worse than the rotting piles of leaves on every street corner, is the stench of hypocrisy surrounding the Conservative leadership campaign.
The resignation of David Blunkett was yet another twist in the remarkable life of a man who, it would appear, is constantly and ruthlessly pursued by the national, principally Conservative media. Whilst the media pored over the private life of David Blunkett (again) and, rightfully, asked him questions relating to his private financial dealings, this illustrated a stark contrast with the approach of the media towards the individuals vying to be the next Leader of the Conservatives.
For some reason it is legitimate for David Cameron to refuse to answer questions about alleged drug taking (let us not forget, a criminal offence) and for David Blunkett to be expected to answer any and every question about his own private life (with no trace of alleged criminality whatsoever). Clearly, Labour is judged by a higher standard - unfair but not entirely unjustified. It is unlikely that the British people will ever forget the number of former Ministers from the last Conservative government who were imprisoned for a variety of criminal offences.
But the hypocrisy doesn't stop there. Whilst Davids Davis and Cameron compete for politics' most tarnished prize, their absence from the Commons has been striking. Michael Howard has gone on record as saying that the Conservatives' best hope of being re-elected is for Britain to suffer an economic collapse. In doing so he correctly aligned an upturn in the fortunes of the Conservative Party with the misery of the British people; Howard hopes that our pain will lead to his successor's gain - a truly shocking admission.
On top of this, the Conservatives refusal to support the anti-terrorism recommendations of the police and security forces illustrates a shocking lack of responsibility. This penchant for opportunism is the worst kind of politics; placing the fortunes of the Conservative Party above those of ordinary British people. To echo the Prime Minister I hope that we as a country, a society and a people never rue the the day.
Amongst some Parliamentarians there is a refusal to accept or even acknowledge the rapidly changing world within which we now find ourselves. I sincerely wish there was no need for ID cards or increasingly stringent anti-terrorism legislation, but the facts are that sadly, irrefutably, compellingly, legislation of this kind is now necessary. I support, and will continue to support, anti-terrorism legislation and ID cards for two principal reasons.
First of all, the nature of terrorism, as we have all seen in recent years , has changed almost beyond recognition. This change demands different methods for which to combat and defeat terrorism; older practices are simply not sufficient if we are to overcome the technological intricacies and global complexities of the modern terrorist threat.
Secondly, the people whom we entrust to fight terrorism on our behalf; principally the police and security forces of this country, believe that they need more effective anti-terrorist powers if they are to succeed. I respect those who are genuinely concerned about civil liberties in the United Kingdom and this concern is to be commended. However, I have a duty and responsibility to the people of both Copeland and the United Kingdom to do everything within my power to help combat terrorism and in so doing preserve not only innocent human life, but the kind of society we value within which our respect of civil liberties rests.
The times are not changing; the times have changed.