December 02, 2004

Blunkett's Britain. David Blunkett has been the driving force behind some the most sweeping, repressive laws and policies sweeping Britain under the auspices of the so-called war on terror, as well as a miscellany of immigrant-bashing; this is one journo's encounter with some of his representitives. Of course, Mr Blunkett himself appears to consider rules as being something for others to follow.

If it's all a bit too much, you can have a laugh at the Blunkett policy generator.

posted by rodgerd 20 years ago
  • It's always interesting how former left-wingers seem to go down this road once they get their hands on real power (see this Trot's - scroll down a bit - take on Blunkett's shift from his days as generalissimo of the Republic of South Yorkshire). On the one hand I understand it's Labour strategy to keep the Tories marginalised by pre-emptively hijacking any issue - crime, asylum- etc. that they might use to build electoral momentum. On the other, and despite mellowing in my understanding of the complexities required of actual government as opposed to my life of lefty causes, surely there comes a point when you really have lost any connection with any principle other than maintaining power. I look (from afar now) at the upsides of this Labour government - minimum wage, NHS funding - and they pale beside Blunkett, PFIs, the Iraq war et al. I suppose the Michael Foot era party performance shows that at best you're going to get not much more than 30% of the electorate supporting anything like a genuinely left agenda though, so I presume we can only expect more of the same.
  • Something I advise anyone whose worried about this shit is to go here and show your opposition to the ID card - expensive, invasive, useless and indicative of this government's eagerness to follow the (Republican) American model and erode our freedoms in the name of security. We're British, goddammit, and won't be cowed like this. It is also a good reason not to vote Labour next time (just don't vote Conservative instead...) Rant over.
  • "... Britons never, never, never shall be slaves." Anyone remember the poll tax?
  • Or the massively entertaining riots it provoked?
  • Much as Blunkett is veering us towards a republic of Draconia, the article where the guy gets arrested for posession of both a knife and a retractable baton is not worth getting upset about. Offensive weapons have been illegal in public for much longer than Blunkett has been home secretary and the guy sounds like an thoroughly dislikable person anyway, viz his comments that the police should be stopping arabs rather than him.
  • Entertainment? I think setting fire to the South African embassy was a reasonable course of action, given the amount we were each going to be taxed.