Political Reform - Handing power back to people.

4.04.00pm BST (GMT +0100) Wed 19th May 2010

Nick Clegg, "This government is going to transform our politics so that the state has far less control over you, and you have far more control over the state."

Plans to replace the House of Lords with an elected second chamber of Parliament, scrap I.D. cards and the DNA database and referendum on introducing a new voting system - all part of a raft of proposals Nick Clegg unveiled today.

Also proposed that schools will not be allowed to take children's fingerprints without parental consent, and the government will review libel laws and limits to the right to peaceful protest.

The Deputy Prime Minister said, "Britain must not be a country where our children grow up so used to their liberty being infringed that they expect it without question," He promised to get rid of "unnecessary laws" and introduce a mechanism to block "pointless new criminal offenses," saying "thousands" of such offenses were created under the previous Labour Government. "Taking people's freedom away didn't make our streets safer, obsessive lawmaking simply makes criminals out of ordinary people."

"This government is going to transform our politics so that the state has far less control over you, and you have far more control over the state"