Miliband: We were too draconian

Ed Miliband: Labour overstepped the mark on civil liberties

Ed Miliband: Labour overstepped the mark on civil liberties

By politics.co.uk staff

Labour overstepped the mark on civil liberty issues, leadership candidate Ed Miliband has admitted.

The shadow energy and climate change secretary made the comment in an interview with Liberal Conspiracy in which he came close to endorsing gay marriage and branded himself a feminst.

“As someone who is liberal on social issues and civil liberties, I accept that in government we were too draconian on aspects of our civil liberties,” Mr Miliband said.

“We have to have to be able to say we won’t go back to ID cards. Stop and search went too far.”

Mr Miliband said roughly half his shadow Cabinet would be female if he won the election and described himself as a feminist.

“You don’t have to be a woman to understand that if our political system does not reflect society then there is a an urgent need for change,” he said.

He was slightly less certain on the issue of gay marriage.

“I will listen to what people have to say on going further than that if there is a demand,” he said.

“No one has yet put that to me in the leadership election.”