Sunday, June 03, 2007
Brave New World
Reports in today's papers indicate that Gordon Brown's brave new world is not actually going to be that new after all. Firstly, the Observer tells us that hardline anti-terror laws are to be proposed by Gordon Brown - including an extension of the 28-day limit on detention without charge.
This is the Chancellor's way of saying that he is going to be even more forceful than Tony Blair. It is also a signal that he is going to take on his party's left wing head on, particularly deputy leadership candidate, Peter Hain, who has described such measures as 'macho posturing'. He should be careful though, these sorts of confrontations with your own party can backfire, as David Cameron can testify all too well.
Later in the same paper we learn that the Treasury is launching a High Court appeal against a decision instructing it to release information about the cost of ID cards. This contrasts sharply with Brown's pledge earlier this year of a new era of transparent government. He told potential voters in the Labour leadership battle that 'Government must be more open and more accountable to Parliament.'
It seems that regime change on 27 June will just yield more of the same from a politician who has been fully immersed in Blairism and New Labour from the start and who will have a great deal of difficulty shedding that baggage, if he wants to at all.
This is the Chancellor's way of saying that he is going to be even more forceful than Tony Blair. It is also a signal that he is going to take on his party's left wing head on, particularly deputy leadership candidate, Peter Hain, who has described such measures as 'macho posturing'. He should be careful though, these sorts of confrontations with your own party can backfire, as David Cameron can testify all too well.
Later in the same paper we learn that the Treasury is launching a High Court appeal against a decision instructing it to release information about the cost of ID cards. This contrasts sharply with Brown's pledge earlier this year of a new era of transparent government. He told potential voters in the Labour leadership battle that 'Government must be more open and more accountable to Parliament.'
It seems that regime change on 27 June will just yield more of the same from a politician who has been fully immersed in Blairism and New Labour from the start and who will have a great deal of difficulty shedding that baggage, if he wants to at all.
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To be honest, I was surprised Brown even attempted to differentiate himself from Blair at all in matters of policy. Whitehall is much larger than Brown, this neo-convervative ideology has been intrenched there for sometime, and they are the ones that want these things.
Any attempt to defy them on matters such as "anti-terrorism/national security measures" (such as ID cards and detention) is pretty stupid as provoking and then calming public fear is one of the main stategies the goverment has.
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Any attempt to defy them on matters such as "anti-terrorism/national security measures" (such as ID cards and detention) is pretty stupid as provoking and then calming public fear is one of the main stategies the goverment has.
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