Your face may be taken down in evidence

Labour has been the worst government in living memory for civil rights - and I say that as a party member. Their trick is to trumpet their identity politics triumphs (e.g. repealing homophobic laws) while hoping you don't notice that freedom of speech, freedom of assembly and the right to protest have largely been withdrawn, often through unchallengeable administrative methods. (The Lib Dems are far and away the best party for civil liberties).

There are 3000 more criminal offences since 1997. The police behave as though they have the right to know everything about you, in every situation - as photographers have found out - to 'prevent terrorism', despite none of these laws being necessary when the IRA was conducting a serious campaign.

As an example:

Police have paid compensation and apologised to the comedian and activist Mark Thomas after they admitted unlawfully searching him for looking "over-confident" at a demonstration. A police officer recorded on an official form that Thomas may have been carrying weapons as he had an "over-confident attitude". Nothing was found.

In January the European court of human rights ruled it was unlawful for police to use arbitrary stop-and-search powers against peace protesters and photographers under terrorism legislation. Kent police admitted conducting unlawful searches on 11-year-old twins and other activists at an environmental demonstration.