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Underground > Switchboard >

Blunkett does it again.

09:41 / 21.11.04

Beeb article.

Jesus. What next? Legislation allowing us to jail "people suspected of knowing a guy who met this bloke in the pub who said that he read the anarchist cookbook."

Just how many new crimes is this government going to cook up for the sake of political expediency at the expense of personal privacy? You just know this is for the election- a way to calm the hysterical Daily Mail demographic, people who see evil, asylum-seeking, benefit cheating, "anti-social", terrorists in every shadow. That and the opportunity to spy on us all and if they don't like what they see- put us away quickly and quietly.

Does anyone know if these measures would be implemented in Scotland? I'm not sure if laws to counter terrorism are still under the control of central government or if it's been devolved.

I think Blunkett is a very sad man. He seems to be scared of everyone, perhaps he should quit politics and learn to cope with his anxiety problem.

13:07 / 21.11.04

Oh, fucking hell. It seems to me that the whole principle of 'innocent until proven guilty' is being progressively eroded by the current ethos of pre-emptive attacks and faith-based over evidence-based reasoning - and Blunkett's pushing this even further which what is, in many ways, the UK equivalent of the Patriot Act.

Either he's managing his own massive anxiety, or he's gleefully enacting some personal bitterness against the human race. Or both. Another reason not to vote Labour in the coming election...

13:34 / 21.11.04

Well, I'd be very surprised if it was actually much to do with Blunkett himself; I remember jolly old Jack Straw being called a fascist bastard in pretty much the same way. Being the Home Secretary in this sort of government really makes you a mouthpiece for domestic policy, though I'm sure you have an influence of course.

Clearly we need laws which make it easier to arrest and convict people for terrorism, because we all know the country is full of Islamofascists and Al Qaeda Sleeper Cells itching to blow us all up with dirty ricin bombs - yet mysteriously, nobody has actually been convicted of anything of the sort. So the laws must not be working. Stands to reason. (See the US, the Mail et al for this logic being proposed seriously.)

I'm not sure at this point whether it's a sign that the election campaign will be about "security" - it did work for Bush, but then there's not the same level of hysteria about it in the UK as the US, and there are reasonably prominent sceptical voices in the media. I'm sure that "security" will be an issue but to what degree? This may simply be a part of "tough on crime or at least crime that we say" - on-the-spot points on your licence for binge-drinking, crack down on those damn illegal immigrants etc, all of which are also being promoted by the government as problems from which they are there to save us.

Stoat-ROW ROW FIGHT THE POWAH

13:38 / 21.11.04

We'd be able to use civil (orders), like anti-social behaviour orders

Yup, Blunkett's beloved Asbos have paved the way for this kind of shit...

And fridge, yeah, point taken, but Blunkett really does seem to have a love of this sort of thing.

14:34 / 21.11.04

Well, I'd be very surprised if it was actually much to do with Blunkett himself; I remember jolly old Jack Straw being called a fascist bastard in pretty much the same way. Being the Home Secretary in this sort of government really makes you a mouthpiece for domestic policy, though I'm sure you have an influence of course.

Well, yes and no. I mean, I'm sure being Home Secretary does entail a fair amount of unpleasant tasks which will not necessarily ensure your popularity and Blunkett couldn't propose these laws without approval of Tony at least.

I don't trust Blunkett because a relative of mine is a fast-track civil servant and has worked for both the Cabinet and the Home Office and has assured me that he is, in fact, "a fascist". I don't expect anyone else to agree with me just because some woman on an internet message board has a relative who works at Whitehall who told her that Blunkett's a fascist, but it certainly confirmed my suspicions.

Grandma loves children
(prev. Old dear. Gin. Problems)

15:07 / 21.11.04

I get the feeling Blunkett's nursing some insane idea about being Prime Minister one day, and basically starts to panic if he thinks he's been out of the headlines for too long. Hence he comes up with this kind of thing, for which as far as I can make out there's almost no public demand, pretty much as a means of getting attention. He is, if you like, a legislative troll.

It seems to be a job that turns everyone into a raving nazi ( Jack Straw's seemed almost tolerable since he moved to the Foreign Office, and this from a man who shopped his own son to the Police, ) but all the same, there's a real sense of personal investment to a lot of what Blunkett does. And I seem to remember reading somewhere that as a minister, the staff at the Home Office find Blunkett 'particularly' difficult to deal with.

04:04 / 22.11.04

You just know this is for the election

This is why we're all voting Lib Dem this time around, rather than complaining about how they'll never gather enough support to make such a vote anything but a waste of time, yes?

Yes.

Stoat-ROW ROW FIGHT THE POWAH

11:16 / 22.11.04

Well yes, I'm voting LibDem this time, in the hope that maybe next time (or the time after) they WILL be a force to be reckoned with.

16:15 / 22.11.04

you all only hate him cos he's blind and it's a chuffing disgrace. follow the link below the pic