The following letter was sent to the Bath Chronicle:
Although they claim to favour ‘small government’, the Conservative appetite for authoritarianism has been illustrated yet again by the upcoming Regulation of Investigatory Powers Bill, allowing the government to spy on all of our most personal computer and phone use. This measure, ineffective at actually stopping any serious crime, has been widely slammed in regard to loss of our privacy. We would have the most intrusive state in Europe.
But Bath MP Ben Howlett must consider other consequences. He claims to support the cluster of technology companies vital to Bath and Bristol, but as someone who has worked in such companies for the last 15 years I can assure him that if his government’s plans to end secure Internet communication happen, a huge number of these companies will leave the UK.
It is tempting for governments to be seen to be ‘doing something’. I suggest that Mr Howlett considers just how bad such draconian laws are, not just for the privacy of the people of Bath, but for the economy too.