Protestors prosecuted for their slogans, a minority group banned and a trial without jury: whatever happened to British justice?

By Matthew West

I've always wondered when people say they've had enough of the UK where they would go and why they think things in any other country would be better. Mostly because I have generally held the belief that the grass really isn't greener elsewhere and that actually we've generally got it quite good here.

But as the years have gone by I've been sorely tempted to utter the immortal words: "Right that's it. I'm emigrating. This country is going to hell in a hand basket!"

I haven't quite done so. Yet.

But I came close yesterday. I think, when I am older, I will honestly remember it as the day Britain really did go to the dogs. It marked the day when we all lost a little more freedom. Not only has a fairly minor political/religious group - which would have probably disappeared into obscurity had the media let it - been banned by the government but we

It's a chilly day for a walk in the park, but that didn't bother Alastair Campbell. Appearing before the Iraq inquiry was basically the same thing.

By Alex Stevenson

This was about as one-sided an encounter as you could envisage. Campbell, who stands accused by his own admission of "the ghastly sex-up" and other crimes, spent a relaxing day knocking the Iraq inquiry for six.

He was brusque and apparently irritable, yes. His feet twitched under the table in the first few minutes of his appearance. He would occasionally put on his reading glasses, whose chief purpose appeared to be to give him extra gravitas as he peered over the top of them sternly. His left arm usually clutched the desk or arm-rest, while his right did all the work of chopping, point-emphasising movements.

But these are his ways. They do not mean his inner calm was shattered.

For the Iraq inquiry gave Alastair Campbell as hard a time as a terrorist chief worrying about whether his staff's improvised explosive devices

Nick Clegg, the leader of the hot air balloon Liberal Democrats, is having to jettison policies fast. Are we uncovering a new definition of 'lightweight'?

By Alex Stevenson

The political climate as Britain heads to the polls this spring is a nervous, uncertain sort of place. The public finances are in a grave state. Confidence in politics is at rock-bottom. Neither Gordon Brown nor David Cameron can be said to have truly won over the hearts of the British people.

This is, potentially at least, solid hunting ground for the third party. Instability in Westminster could help them avoid the perils of the two-party squeeze which has been their curse over the years.

But party activists continue to cling pessimistically to the expectation the number of Lib Dem MPs will go down, not up, after polling day. Clegg's hand-wringing assessment of the situation at a speech in Canary Wharf certainly placed the emphasis on the challenges ahead.

"The party which will win the argument in this year's

Here's the big question vexing Labour over the weekend: how divorced are its inhabitants of the Westminster village from the rest of the country?

By Alex Stevenson

At the beginning of the week I spoke to Labour campaigners from up and down Britain. I might have expected to find them shuddering, not from the cold, but from the prospect of having to fight for a fourth term. Instead they are motivated and ready for the fight.

Candidates are out on the doorstep every day, working "extremely hard", one activist told me. Another said optimism was steadily increasing as Gordon Brown's position in the polls improved. The sense was of a party spoiling for a fight, finally given a chance to end years of having its back to the wall.

I wrote on Monday: "The governing party are showing a fighting spirit which was utterly lacking two months ago... Labour have something to fight for. And it shows."

That piece, published as the clock ticked down to the likely May 6th election date hit the

It's in Labour's interests as a whole to get rid of Brown, but not in the interest of individual MPs and Cabinet members.

By Ian Dunt

If you're struggling to understand yesterday's events in Westminster, you could do worse than look to Jean-Paul Sartre.

The French existentialist tells a story of a group of peasants living on a hill. They each wish to increase their arable land and therefore cut down the trees on it. But in the process they collectively denude the land and induce flooding. Allowing the flooding is irrational for all concerned. But just one bloke cutting down his trees won't cause the flooding, so he continues to do so. That's what's rational for him. But if everyone behaves according to their individual rationality, then the group rationality will be undone.

The same problem is at the heart of many political debates, such as the environment. The plight of Labour MPs falls into the same category, even if it is far less interesting or important.

We're not sure if

As the Westminster village obsesses over the general election date, isn't it time we asked why the prime minister gets to choose at all?

By Ian Dunt

After all this rumour and speculation, it still looks like May 6th is the likely date for the general election. A slight flutter of concern over the last month, of course, but it looks like politics.co.uk, and most other sensible commentators, got it right two months ago when we stuck our neck out and had our first big feature package counting down until May 6th.

Gordon Brown confirmed on Sunday that there will be a Budget, which puts us past March, which returns May 6th as the likely date, due to the local election poll and the daylight hours. But he refused to be "boxed in", he added. Quite. How unfair of us to be interested in when our leader will be generous enough to allow us to vote.

While half of Westminster is spending all its waking hours speculating about the date, we could stop for a moment and ask why the prime minister gets to

Politicians have proved quite unable to secure decent defence contracts, and cuts are on the way. Britain may well see its standing decline as a result.

By Azeem Ibrahim

The chancellor's most recent pre-budget report promised to ring-fence spending for frontline public sector workers. But over the winter, spare a thought for the brave men and women of our armed forces. Many of them will be in Afghanistan, more than three thousand miles away, missing their family, and being missed.

As we come out of the Christmas season, nobody can ignore how much of a sacrifice it is to do a difficult job in such difficult conditions. But this year, the forces will have it especially tough. Recent news has indicated that cuts are on the way. If you have ever continued working somewhere in the knowledge that there is to be deep and painful restructuring ahead, you will know what it can do for morale. In the case of our forces, it is bound to make a hard job even harder.

In his Pre-Budget Report, the

The fightback against product placement has begun. If it fails, our TV screens will be become a little more American, and a lot less meaningful.

By Ian Dunt

Money distorts truth. It influences minds and bribes opinion.

The news that the British Medical Association (BMA) has written to the Department for Culture, Media and Sport (DCMS) opposing government plans to allow product placement in TV programmes marks the beginning of the fight back against the impending Americanisation of British TV.

As the BMA realises, money distorts truth. By throwing financing at TV producers, companies can get their brands figured prominently in entertainment programmes. There are protections for children's programming but, as the BAA realises, children are just as likely to watch general shows such as X-Factor as they are programming for kids.

"The BMA is deeply concerned about the decision to allow any form of product placement in relation to alcohol, gambling and foods high in fat, sugar or salt