The government did not win an election. Governments do not fight general elections. Many of the individuals who fought and won their seats under the label of the government party opposed the legislation before the election and oppose these moves now. (Many Tories supported the legislation, including the Opposition front bench) I don;t recall seeing anything about this stuff in anyone's manifesto.
The legitimacy of the government derives solely from the fact that a majority of those individuals nonetheless would continue to support the government in the event of a vote of no confidence.
This may seem a pedantic point but I'm finding references to Tony Blair winning a general election increasingly irritating. He did no such thing, and personally I believe quite a lot of votes went to people from his party in spite of, rather than because of, him.
As for your previous point: if we're to be reduced to cheering because we're only repressing the right to free speech and free assembly with ordinary police force, not with totalitarian methods and paramilitary police, then we're in trouble.
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branchandroot
no subject
Date: 2006-05-24 05:34 pm (UTC)The legitimacy of the government derives solely from the fact that a majority of those individuals nonetheless would continue to support the government in the event of a vote of no confidence.
This may seem a pedantic point but I'm finding references to Tony Blair winning a general election increasingly irritating. He did no such thing, and personally I believe quite a lot of votes went to people from his party in spite of, rather than because of, him.
As for your previous point: if we're to be reduced to cheering because we're only repressing the right to free speech and free assembly with ordinary police force, not with totalitarian methods and paramilitary police, then we're in trouble.