Clegg strikes an uncertain balance

By my count, it’s the fourth speech that Nick Clegg has delivered specifically on the subject of deflating the state since last May. And like his last three, today’s number was stuffed with words like “liberty” (23 times), “freedom” (19) and “power” (14). Much of the more specific content was familiar, too: like the confident asides about ID cards and a Freedom Bill.

What we really wanted to hear, though, was what Clegg would say about control orders. And what he said was … well, not much. Like the PM earlier this week, the Deputy PM suggested that control orders are an imperfect mechanism – and that “they must be replaced”. But as for what they ought to be replaced with, we’ll have to wait for the outcome of the government’s review into counterterrorism measures.

So, as yet, it’s too early to judge what balance the government is going to strike between liberty and security, as Clegg puts it.