1984 is alive and well in the United Kingdom, and not far behind in America.

Anthony, Charleston, WV, USA

Probaly too late, but for your own sakes find, borrow, buy a copy of ZEITGEIST_2007.

It can be found on the Internet. It is, as ever, from a US perspective.

But watch it and understand the content .

The very same is happening in the UK.

The best part is that the people have the POWER to change thing once they know why.

paul, newbury,

It is to late to stop the police state partly created in the UK. A change of government will have no effect.
You dont hear the Tories saying we will get rid of the constant CCTV cameras or reduce the number of different police groups so that we have one police force which cares about all crime, including petty crime. No it will still go on being a police force made up of specialist groups as it was in Germany backed up by a government and big business.
The only hope the uk has are its judges and many of them already reflect the policies of a labour government which has introduced over 3000 new laws and 1000s of trained and community police.
The USA through terrorism has convinced the UK to tow their line. What ever happened to British independence?
Britian does not quite have 1984 but its people are so apathetic that they will miss what is happening. The lack of media interest in the move to a police state and the I will never do anything wrong attitude never seems to change.

Paul, York, England

Good God.We really are sliding into a Police State.How dare the P.M. even be considering such a move.(As it is I have decided not to renew my passport in 2012 if it means I have to have an ID card!) Lib Dem member (and proud of it.)

H.D., WsM, UK

Wake up people.

We are sliding into a totalitarian state at breakneck speed

We don't have long to fight for our freedom and liberty

Thomas Jefferson, Redhill, UK

I have a better idea. Why don't we get 'powers' to, say, lash politicians with a fluffy pink flamingo feather when come up with silly ideas?

Farrukh, Woking, UK

Let us be quite clear here...New Labour are finished and there is nothing they can do now to stop the absolute defeat at the next General Election.

Whatever Stalinist measures they try to force on us no will have no effect - they have gone too far and we WILL defy them on every measure where our basic freedoms are denied.

Nu Labour long ago lost their moral authority and now we, the people, will deny them political and administrative authority also.

The People's Revolution has begin.

Andrew Murray, Zurich, Switzerland

Nigel Miller and others. Once you have established legal residence in another EU country, you may apply and receive a passport from that country as in the EU Directives. Also, Nigel, a Spanish passport costs a fraction of the rip-off British one, and the way Britain is going with all the potential terrorists there, the British passport will have lost its former glory anyway.

B J Deller, Marbella, Spain

Brown has no mandate whatsoever to make any of these Stalinist changes. I've always thought that the British get the government they deserve but these proposed measures are just plain wrong.
Time to clean out the stables. Root and branch reform of the heavilly politicised Civil Service is now the only way forward.

Dave Bassett, London, UK

I have been reading about Nazi economic policy over the weekend in the thirties. I sadly think this is where this Government is taking us.

M Ashley, London, UK

What if one has dual nationality and two passports? Bad luck to the British government. Bunch of has beens.

michael chapman, Budapest, Hungary

i think with these policies growth will go down, as im leaving

amit hindocha, leicester,

You poor old Pom's must be 'Browned off'.' TeflonTony does a runner, comes into money and finds God. While you mug punters inherit Mr Bumble. Thank the Lord I came to Oz in '73.

Gerry.

Gerald Peck, Brisbane, Australia

You don't need a passport thesedays to travel to most of Europe and Ireland - and by the state of Labours Britain of late you certainly don't need one to enter !

Richard, Greater Manchester,

This is simply outrageous - hopefully, the Opposition will halt this nonsxense. Time to get rid of the most authoritarian government we've ever had.

Ian Burgess, Bristol,

Yet another nail in Labour's coffin. Vince Cable would have made an infinitely more wise PM. How could Mr. Bean be so daft? Doesn't he see another thirty years in the Wilderness ahead of them?

Saint Tony, Ice Station Zebra,

The enabling bill nodded through parliament november 2006 with only one vioce of dissent allows the government to virtually do what it wants, depending on a change of government making a difference is just changing one lot of tyrants for another.
Why was a bill last used under Hilter allowed to even enter our statute books?
In ikes words, The people will only notice the bars once the door has been slammed shut.

SIOE UK, Le Resistance.

veronica, Doncaster, England.

Such a blatant grasp for authoritative power should be a bright flashing neon light warning the British to take a stand against Brown and protect their fundamental rights. It's a scary thought that the government would have that right.

Kelly, Washington DC, USA

There is no doubt whatsoever that this Labour Government has totally lost the plot.
They seem 'hell bent' on creating a totalitarian state with them in sole charge - at least under the overall control of their masters in Brussels. Is it possible that there is more to this than first meets the eye.
Whatever, the sooner we ditch Brown and his cronies and leave the EU, the sooner we can restore proper democracy in this land.
The problem is not going to go away - it is up to us, the British people to stand united and say we have had enough and insist that our Westminster MPs start acting for rather than against our interests.

Alan Johnson, Middlewich, England

Well done, another step towards repression and loss of liberties.
It might be time to read again that article from Naomi Wolf:
"Fascist America, in 10 Easy Steps". Google it.
While reading swap America by UK, Bush by Blair and Brown etc. We are monitored 24/7, and cannot get out of your flats without being observed.
Be ready to be the next Menezes, because soon, it will be impossible not to be a criminal in the eyes of this institution. Well that is if you are not working in the police or governmental organization.
Meanwhile, they are putting our pennies in their pockets, and that seems to be perfectly legal. Thanks to the layers.

Laurent, London, UK

I said to someone a few years ago that I believe the English are being ethnically cleansed. " England is a free country for everyone except the English".

She was horrified by my remarks but a few weeks ago she telephoned me and apologised saying 'you were right'.

New Labour are absolutely disgraceful but remember it was the Conservative Party that took Britain into the EEC knowing full well the consequences. (That was the start of Britain's trade damage). So if they were in power or even the Liberal Democrats or the Green Party they would be just the same because of their willingness to give our country away to the European Union.

Think about it . What are these other parties doing in Parliament about the state of our country - NOTHING - they are not allowed to?

Frances A Fox , Peterborough , England

Shouldnt worry too much about this - the goverment will lose them, and you will be able to buy them back from the internet for less than the cost of the original - plus a drivers license, nhs card, id card and never worry about the law again.

Dave Evans, Reading,

One comment ends with an inquiry about when we can have an election.The state we are at present constructing will not need them.We are all being measured for the straightjacket of political, bureaucratic and police control.
If we continue to make politicians and bureacrates lives difficult -WE WILL BE REPLACED.

robert everitt, wolverhampton,

It has been reported in the Scottish press that anyone stopped and searched by the British Transport Police is automatically logged as a terrorist suspect, justification for the search.
Consequently all those searched are excluded from the US Visa Waiver scheme and will have to apply for a visa if the wish to enter the US.

John J, Edinburgh, Scotland

Please..get over it.......and see how the colonials do it.

http://www.csa.gov.au/media/csamediarelease.aspx?articleID=266

Bruce, Sydney, Australia

JHC!!!!

And most of the people here also think that this crowd are just bumbling and incompetetn like Mr. Bean!

They are NOT incompetent. They are cold and calculating (probably many of the front bench inc. Crash being Psycopathic in nature). These 'reforms' are calculated and carefully planned -


very sinister!

Still at least until recently Legal Aid was available to challenge the government - now that has gone!

Austin Tassletine, South West, UK

Edwin, Bucharest, my comment was meant to draw a parallel between this government's behaviour and that of the East Germans during the Cold War. The 'Anglian Wall' represents the Berlin Wall, and the gun emplacements designed, as in that wall to keep the inhabitants in whilst ostensibly keeping the 'enemies'out.

Merry Christmas

Bill Q, Derby,

The prison without bars has been built around us:
- Passport removal [!]
- Identity cards with biometrics [coming soon]
- Illegal detention [here]
- Use of tasers on women and children [here]
- Removal of the right to trial by jury [coming soon]
- Removal of the right to spontaneous protest.
We are sleepwalking into a fascist state. Last one please turn the lights off.

Dominic, Sheffield, England

I think it is time to leave this terrible country while we still can!!

Durbridge, London, UK

It really is time to take to the streets. On many occasions in the past I have warned friends and family of the dangers of this demented government. Politicised civil service, politicised police (see 'Vote Labour' stickers on Met police cars and the retention of Ian Blair at any cost), politicised education system, politicised Crown Prosecution Service, politicised judicial system.

We are in very dangerous waters - don' t be surprised if you are NEVER given a further chance to vote in a General Election. Sounds crazy? No more crazy than the complete hogwash that comes out of this government every day!

Be afraid, be very afraid!!

Rob, Isle of Wight,

I thought the right to "Free Movement" was one of our fundamental "Human Rights".
Clearly there will be plenty of work for Cherie Blair.

Brian E, London, England

As usual the Times puts the key bigger picture facts at the end of the piece. Brown is proposing transferring powers away from the Government to Parliament, yes, to the people’s representatives and away from him. When did Stalin, Hitler or Mugabe do this?

The characterizations in the UK press of Brown bot, reporting and blog contributions, are becoming so weird as to go far beyond distortion and rant. It's beginning to look like a form of collective self loathing.

Ian, Toronto, Canada

And when the passports have been confiscated, no doubt they will then be lost

James Legon, Loughton, Essex

How much more evidence do people need that New Labour is the most reckless, sinister and dangerous Government in British history? Our civil liberties, legal rights, basic checks and balances are evaporating in a scorched earth frenzy of legislation.
First they came for the absent fathers, but I didn't speak up because I wasn't an absent father........

dave, England, UK

So ,Labour having made us into a Police State over the past 10 incompetent years of their rule they now seek to trap us in that Police State without reference to the Courts . Why do Labour just not dissolve all Courts and dispense with Judges and make all decisions themselves ??. The sooner we get rid of this bunch of brainless incompetents who call themselves a "Labour" Government the better. And they had the gall to sing "it can only get better" when voted into power.

John, Woking, Surrey

Bill Q, the threat to Britain comes from within, not without. Wjay is actually needed is a new power to force an election within, say 3 months. This would be done when a threshold of signatures is reached on a petition within 1 month.

1 million signatures on a petition; result a forced election.

These polticians are stealing the very soul and heart of the country. What they have not corrupted or stolen for themselves, they have given to the EU.

Edwin, Bucharest,

Hmmm, sounds very much like things in the UK will soon be like those in middle eastern countries, police states everywhere...& all wat has been accomplished through centuries of civil rights will be swished away by a tick of a pen...way to go brown.

Sherif, Cairo,

Typical of the spineless creeps who inhabit Whitehall in general and the "child protection" industry in particular. An easy way to attack those who obviously have already become involved with child support, albeit with some current disagreement, but it does nothing to pursue those who simply escape altogether. Still no doubt it helps with the stats. Conveniently 99% of the targets will be men so its win all the way in those policy areas that are all that matter.

D.L> Stephens, York, England

Just another excuse to enable the ID card scheme. This will allow an administrator to take your passport and for you to apply for an ID/passport. CORRUPTION of power by an unelected prime minister

Steve, chester, cheshire

How long do you think before a wall is built around the coast and Hadrian's wall is renovated (might be a good idea to turn Offa's Dyke into a more substantial barrier as well). Then, with a few strategically placed gun emplacements, this nation state could repel all those who threaten it. Let's call it the Anglian Wall.

Bill Q, Derby,

"the right to remove a person’s passport and identity card "

So the ID card is being written into new legislation already ?
A bit presumptuous tho' doesn't the EU require ID cards anyway and Brown will be surrendering to them after a mock debate(?) in the Commons next spring.

Stan_Expat, USA, USA

This is truly frightening.
I am British with a British passport and live in Spain.
Under this new rule, some pen pusher with a pathologinal hatred of expats (called Brown) can send me a letter saying that I no longer have a valid passport.
The man is completely nuts and will say anything to cling to office without thinking of the consequences legal or otherwise of what he is saying.
Thank heavens I still have a vote at a general election, or at least I do at the moment.

Nigel Miller, Valencia, Spain

The only right being removed is choosing to spend money on travel instead of maintaining one's children isn't it?

Nicolas Rioux, Moncton, NB, Canada

They say this is for errant fathers, remember people the smoking ban was only going to be a partial ban, Iraq had weapons of mass destruction and you were to be given a vote on the EU treaty. Does anyone anywhere believe a word our politicians say anymore? As for those who believe that the next election will rid us of these clowns, who do you think all the immigrants will vote for?
When they came for the fox hunters I said nothing for I was not a fox hunter. When they came for the smokers I said nothing for I was not a smoker. When they came for errant fathers I said nothing for I was not an errant father. Now they have come for me and there is no one to speak for me.

Cromwell, Leeds, England

We are already the most watched Nation on the Planet, now we are to become the most oppressed since Stalinist Russia, I think that the Scotish Parliament will be not accepting this, and if it is not good enough for them, then it is not good enough for those in England, the once proud nation.

Dominic Tattersall, Burnley, England

If a male can afford the price of a ticket to leave the country then he can well afford to support his children. Taxpayers are sick and tired of paying out for these parasites who walk away and leave others to pick up the tab because they have grown tired of their responsibilities. Let them keep their passports, instead give them a vasectomy.

Viv, London, England

I've always taken the view that, regardless of how many of our liberties were chipped away, as long as the most essential right of a free society - the right to leave it if one wants - was left unmolested in this country then things had not gotten too bad. Incrimentally, we are turning into the Western version of the People's Republic of China - extended economic freedom to distract the public, while civil and political freedoms are systematically broken down.

To call this undemocratic, illiberal, weak-minded, morally vaccuous, joke of a government a socialist regime is an insult to socialism.

James, London, England, UK

This only confirms my view that under Labour and specifically Gordon Brown, we are increasingly becoming a Stalinist state, and the sooner this group of anti-democrats, nanny knows best group of incompetents are removed; the better.

John, London, UK

As far as running the country is concerned, we need to take stock of the full meaning of the hand-over of power from Blair to Brown. Tony Blair is an Oxford graduate in Law. Gordon Brown doesn't appear to know the first thing about it.

Edmund Burke, Kingston upon Thames, England

Another outrage from the national socialists of New Labour.

oldasiahand, Nice, France

It really is quite extraordinary but at the outset of the Saddam Hussein regime - if my reading of the history is correct - the things described in this article were among the first "freedoms" to go. And all in the name it seems of protecting the rights of the many - an almost exact rationale to what seems to be going on here! Is it that having infected ourselves by recklessly going into Iraq the "virus" has now reversed itself to travel back into what used to be our democratic system - an example to the world and accepted by the world as such? Since the voting public cannot do anything about this for at least a couple of years, the judiciary is the only safeguard we have. I would hope that in 2008 they will set about this quite appalling regime and strive to set up all the conditions necessary for an early regime change - but ensuring that this time all the plans are thought through and in place to prevent a collapse, recovery from which would take at least a full generation.

Terry, Chichester, UK

This would clearly only be done as a last resort if the father had consistently and wilfully refused a fair, legal contribution to the cost of bringing up his child(ren). I think it would be an effective deterrent.

John, Manchester, UK

An absolutely corrupt nulabor government must apply the principle of Control or Destroy if it is to impose its social re-engineering project. Magna Carta is an inconvenience and the Judiciary must be replaced. This is just another nulabor step that is consistent with its policy of devolving, not power down to its lowest practicable level, but total control upon every decent citizen, from the top down. What we see today is another example of a government that treats its people as the enemy, and a corrupt government that has become the enemy of The State. History has taught us what happens when this happens - is nulabor deliberately engineering the perfect conditions for sedition, insurrection and revolution - and if so, why?

martin brighton, sheffield,

There seems to be a concerted campaign to slowly chip away our rights in the UK and we are slowly drifting towards a situation where our every activity is controlled by the Government. This is even more worrying because of the incompetence of civil servants and the Government. How can we be sure civil servants will make the correct decisions? Recent events prove that we cannot trust them and this proposal is a further escalation in the control the state has over our lives.

Would a change of Government reverse this trend? I doubt it. Once such proposals are in place, successive Governments are unlikely to revoke the laws. One can only hope that a change in Government will, at least temporarily stop the drift towards a totalitarian state.

John, Eastbourne, UK

McRuin is turning the country into a fascist state.

Ken, London,

Can it be that Gordon Brown has been taking lessons from Mugabe? It would explain our country's lack of reasonable response to Mugabe's excesses.

Charles, Sandhurst, Berks

Now I know why Brown has been compared to Stalin.

Mike, Brighton, England

The Mr Bean joke must have hurt because he's now trying to out-Stalin Stalin. When can we have that election?

Ian, London,

Electric companies breaking into houses to 'change electricity meters', civil servants confiscating passports because fathers won't pay child support, Police refusing to dispose of DNA from the innocent and then retaining this on record for ever...

We should be contacting the Simon Wiesenthal Centre without delay; there's obviously a large, fully functioning Gestapo cell operating in Whitehall.

Nick, Warrington, England

The British passport is both worthless and priceless, depending on your origins.

wayne, huntingdon, cambridgeshire

All I have to say is this. Britain, wake up....this is what Stalin did in the old Soviet Union. Are you people that fat and lazy that you just stand still and allow your freedom's to be taken by a mini dictator and his party of imbiciles???
Any party, Tory, Labour or Lib/Dem that takes away the right's and privledges thousands of Britain's have died for deserves to be out of power for 30 years.
I think the time has come for Britains to demand an election, and demand that their MP's vote no confidence in the goverment, surely there are Labour MP's whose love of their country and freedom is stronger than their love of Gordon Brown and dictatorship. At least I would hope so.

Joshua, Buckeye, AZ/USA

Another soundbite Government proposal that bites the dust before it hits the news stands.
What would the last resort, the EU courts have to say about that?

Howard, Chester,

As an ex pat, the more news I hear about the erosion of ordinary people's rights, the more I think I might be wise never to return to the UK again. Time to make the move permanent I think.

A N Other, Vancouver, Canada

here's another Big Brother law. if the proposed law was meant against abusive fathers, then why shouldn't it be just jailing them? - and maybe if there is not enough rooms in prison, then force them into civil service. but to confiscate passports in a democratic civilized nation will have that negative impact on UK's image worldwide and it will not allow the government to breach other countries, like Zimbabwe for instance, if they cross the line.

Saleh, London,

Gordon Brown must be trying to send Labour into political oblivion, his only answer to unhappiness with his parties authoritarian and controlling policies is to be even more draconian.
The sooner we are given our chance to vote the better.

N Appleton, Birmgingham, UK

I take the view that our rights are being slowly chipped away by this government and this is the latest example which is being discussed.I ask why politicians,here today,gone tomorrow,persistantly make proposals which fly in the face of basic rights?
With a nod to Rob.

Al, fremantle ex glasgow,

Are'nt they going to refuse you permission to travel abroad if you refuse an ID Card?
The writing is on the wall;if the British are to dumb to see it ,so be it.
There is an alternative.
Don't vote Labour.

Michael Rigby, Blackburn, England