As Liberal Democrats there are certain liberties which we, almost uniquely on the modern political scene, seek to defend.

Our opponents - and sadly too often this means our coalition partners with whom we have much common ground in areas of social justice - accuse us of being “soft” on the issues of crime and anti-social behaviour simply because we do not accept their gung-ho approach to the issues.

Well, we defend the right to live in peace but not the liberty to intimidate your neighbour. We support our criminal justice system and the rule of law but we do not support detention without charge or dawn raids on failed asylum seekers.

Civil rights and liberties must be universal. Simply because someone has come here as an asylum seeker or has been brought here by a people trafficker to work in our black economy does not mean that they are entitled to anything other than the fair and dignified treatment of the state which you or I would expect to receive.

But without a shadow of a doubt the introduction of identity cards is the single greatest threat to our civil liberties in the UK today. It’s about a lot more than just the issue of a piece of plastic to show who you are. It is a fundamental rewriting of the relationship between the citizen and the state.

Put simply, in a liberal society the government should be answerable to the citizen. They are what that great Liberal thinker Thomas Jefferson called the “servants of the people”. But once the government starts demanding to know not just about who we are but also about where, what and when we are the tables are turned and we, the people, are suddenly answerable to those we have democratically elected.

Now when the very basis of our citizenship hangs in the balance the more Liberal voices which we can raise against this erosion of our liberties the better our chances of being heard.