In todays Independent Helena Kennedy, QC, comments that the decision by David Davis to resign on a matter of principle and seek the explicit support of his constituents is a reminder of what politics ought to be about.

Ms Kennedy, a labour peer, is strongly against the erosion of our civil liberties and cries out for a public debate over encroaching authoritarianism.

Here is my response, published by the Independent on the same day:

I find myself in agreement with both a Labour peer and a Conservative (ex) shadow Home Secretary which tells me that the issue at hand transcends party politics.

The erosion of freedom has happened by stages: ubiquitous cctv, torture, lies about Iraq, the introduction of new laws and surveillance systems etc.

State control extends into the creation of Community Support Officers, Civilian Enforcement Officers, Accredited Community Support Officers, Community Wardens - all new groups established to keep an eye on us and with extraordinary powers of detention.

Project Griffin, piloted in the City, and now being rolled out around the country, is designed to get these groups plus other public servants (like dustmen) to report on their neighbours. It includes plans for 'Griffin Guards' to help police in emergency situations. Businesses will be trained in how to respond by attending free Argus Project sessions. The Stasi is being reincarnated in Britain.

One small step at a time in the direction of greater state control is hardly noticed. But one day we wake up to see that those small steps were a giant leap towards the fusion of corporatism and state - what Mussolini defined as Fascism.