Labour won last year’s general election on a promise to reverse the damage done by the previous Conservative governments, offering a politics that would, in the memorable words of the prime minister, “tread more lightly on our lives”. I won a historic victory in Poole for Labour last July on the basis that things would change – and change for the better.

But my constituents, already fearful of plans for the largest cuts to disability support in a generation, have been getting in touch with me about new legislation that might be news to you: the government is resurrecting Tory proposals for mass spying on people who receive state support.

The powers contained in the public authorities (fraud, error and recovery) bill quite rightly seek to tackle organised crime and online fraud, but they also usher in new powers for the banks to trawl through bank details of individuals – even where there is no suspicion of wrongdoing.

This legislation........

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