Jullian Huppert: Liberal Democrat vision for a free and open society

Liberal Democrat Spring Conference reaffirmed its commitments to safeguarding civil liberties, condemned the damage Labour did to civil liberties and welcomed the Coalition Government's commitment to restore civil liberties.

Conference also called for the Coalition Government to do more, including:

• Going further to protect the right to free speech
• Restoring the right to protest
• Restoring individual freedom through changes to stop and search legislation, a reduction in the use of civil orders such as ASBOs for criminal activity and a ban on mosquito devices

Commenting, Julian Huppert MP, who proposed the motion, said:

"The Coalition Government is doing the right thing by working to restore our civil liberties. Labour's legislative assault on our liberties has been very damaging for our society and has been disastrous for the reputation of the police who enforced it.

"Thanks to Liberal Democrats, the Protections of Freedoms Bill, the scrapping of ID cards, the changes to the DNA database to protect innocent people and bringing an end to 'snooping powers' for councils show a clear break with our recent past.

"We have done well so far, but there is still much more to do. I am delighted that Conference endorsed the Liberal Democrat vision for a free and open society which supports individuals, their rights and freedoms."