So Peter Hain thinks that Nu Lab should pay more attention to liberty does he?

He calls for a "re-balancing" of its attitude to both
social policy and law and order to give greater emphasis to the
importance of freedom.

"We
have been very tough on security and people want us to be," he says.
"But we have to stress that we are a Government that is not about a big
brother state; it is about individual liberties as well. We have to get
the balance right.

"I don’t think we have worked hard enough to say that if Labour is about anything it is about the fight for individual liberty."

Hey, great, all for it. So, get rid of ID cards, ASBOs, SOCPA, comtrol orders, reinstate double jeopardy, the presumption of innocence…..that’s just a short list mind, but moving in hte right direction.

Ah:

Ministers have also been accused of trying to create a nanny state with
a series of policies such as the introduction of bans on smoking in
public places and hunting with hounds. Mr Hain says the Government has
tended to place too much emphasis on being tough rather than liberal in
the way it presents policies.

So he doesn’t in fact intend to do any of these things at all. Just to talk about them in a different way. How very New Labour.