I was chuffed to hear Nick Clegg speach earlier this month confirm much stronger Freedon of Speech and civil rights are going to be reintroduced.

Frankly its’ been embarassing that Britain has become a mecca for claiming libel due to our laws not supporting such freedom’s. It’s even started to interfer with scientific research.

As a Liberal Democrat I’m proud of our tradition of speaking out for liberty and freedom. One of the key ways in which I hope the Liberal Democratic contribution to the coalition government will be acknowledged is by its record on civil liberties. This doesn’t always make party meetings quick!

So local Lib Dems will be judging our party on what is done by coalition ministers to make this country a place where our civil liberties are safeguarded, reintroduced and enhanced.

Labour’s record – opposed by Lib Dems – was damaging. Not only to our rights and freedoms, but to our reputation in the world.

Already many of our priorities have been delivered – the scrapping of ID cards, the end of child detention and the instigation of an enquiry into allegations of the UK’s complicity in torture. But there are decades of restrictive legislation still to be repealed.

Nick Clegg’s major speech on civil liberties is not something that a Labour Prime Minister or Deputy Prime Minister ever did. The key liberty that underpins many other freedoms is free speech. Lib Dems have a proud record in defending free expression. Lib Dems led the campaign to defeat Tony Blair over the religious hatred legislation, and they also prompted the abolition just three years ago of England’s preposterous laws of sedition, criminal defamation and blasphemy.

Another four years of  enhancing our civil liberties and ensuring once again true freedom of speech will see Britain once again a beacon of freedom for the rest of the world.