The Bonfire of the Liberties: New Labour, Human Rights, and the Rule of Law

by Keith Ewing

Overview

This provocative book confronts the erosion of civil liberties under New Labour. It unfolds a compelling narrative of the major battles fought before Parliament and in the courts, and attacks the failure of the political and legal systems to offer protection to those suffering abuses of their civil liberty at the hands of an aggressive Executive.

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9780199584772
Publisher:	Oxford University Press
Publication date:	05/06/2010
Pages:	336
Product dimensions:	6.20(w) x 9.30(h) x 1.10(d)

About the Author

Keith Ewing is Professor of Public Law at King's College London, and is one of the country's leading civil liberties lawyers. He is the author of Freedom under Thatcher: Civil Liberties in Modern Britain (with Conor Gearty) and his other books include The Right to Strike and The Struggle for Civil Liberties (also with Conor Gearty).

Table of Contents

Introduction
1. The Growth of Police Powers
2. Surveillance and the Right to Privacy
3. Freedom of Assembly and the Right of Public Protest
4. Free Speech and the National Security State
5. A Permanent Emergency and the Eclipse of Human Rights
6. From Detention - to Control Orders - to Rendition
7. Conclusion - Political Power not Legal Rights

Editorial Reviews

"A thought-provoking addition to current debates regarding the best form of protection of human rights in the United Kingdom, and will no doubt add fuel to the fire of those already calling for a reassertion of the supremacy of Parliamentary sovereignty in the face of perceived attacks from "unelected judges" under the Human Rights Act 1998"
—Jane Gordon, Public Law

"The book more than makes the case for the need for a new approach to civil liberties"
—Janel McLean, The Edinburgh Law Review

"Keith Ewing has written an excellent and damning indictment of New Labour's record on human rights and the rule of law, marshalling his evidence with ease and great narrative power. It is a real tour de force."
—James A. Grant, University of Oxford, The Modern Law Review

From the Publisher