The government, old boy, is “New Labour”, not “Labour”. Labour, with its socialist principles, is now dead.

In any case, you have it both ways – you can wring your hands from the sidelines but still sleep safer in your bed.

BTW, your “stupid” insult reminds me how the Tories used to be called the Stupid Party by Gladstonian Liberals in the 19th Century, yet look what happened to them…

Good observation. I wonder if he promised to hold McGuinness for 42 days, just for a laugh.

PS: Am not good at gardening either

“Why is habeas corpus a threat to a State faced by terrorism?”

I was under the impression that habeas corpus was *not* an issue here in the 42-day extension: the suspect would still know why he is behind bars, and he would be eventually put on trial or released if no evidence has been found.

I am not making a case in favour of the 42-day extension. I just don’t understand the outrage against the extension when you already accept putting people behind bars during 28-days. The question then becomes, how do you make a decision as to what is an acceptable time frame for the police to make a case against potential terrorists.

Yes. There is no reason why anyone should not be charged as per normal, you can hold someone in prison if you feel you need to, they just have right to legal representation. Why is habeas corpus a threat to a State faced by terrorism? There is no reason, no REAL reason, to a State security, to suspend habeas corpus. the only reason is to take away the rights of individuals and give an incredible power to State apparatus.

A similar sentiment has emerged as the liberal consensus when talking about Barack Obama and Hillary Clinton. The fact that she got a similar number of delegates to him and won most of the big states is now ignored, and large numbers of people who voted for Clinton are just dismissed as ‘racists’, as the politeratti refuse to accept that not everyone worships their chosen candidate.

Not sure I agree with your characterisation. He finished ahead by 220 delegates – it is a huge margin, not a tie. If California and New York voted again a few weeks before Clinton conceded, Obama would have won confortably according to polls. And West Virginia and Kentucky did vote in mass against Obama because of racism – that is evident in exit polls – as in “is race a factor in your vote”. It is not a question of worshipping, Obama was the superior candidate by every measure – and in terms of management and strategy, Clinton finished her candidacy with the largest debt in presidential candidacy history: 30 million dollars.

Well, we did offer lots of reasons for the abortion debate. 24 reasons for 24 weeks infact!

There are has been a lot written about 42 days though, which is why I can’t be arsed to add to it. If someone taking politics seriously hasn’t read any good article on why 42 days is wrong, then they should take up gardening instead of political blogging. I’m not referring to you btw.

“I can’t even be arsed to justify why 42 days is a bad idea. If you don’t think it is, then you’re just stupid. Like, I can’t even be arsed to come up with a suitable insult, that’s how depressed and annoyed I am with this Labour government.”

Actually, you would do well to justify why 42 days is outrageous, and not 28 days. How do we determine the right period of time to lock people up without charging them? Who is best qualified to answer that question?

anyway Gordon will whip his party into line, that’s established tradition. what we should get rid of is that tradition, it should be seen as bribery and arm-twisting instead of customary practice

Sunny:

You are heading down a very slippery slope:

“I can’t even be arsed to justify why 42 days is a bad idea. If you don’t think it is, then you’re just stupid.”

This is now your attitude for 42 days, the abortion debate, climate change and so on. If you believe something is right, then you should set out the reasons why, rather than insulting anyone who disagrees with you. A similar sentiment has emerged as the liberal consensus when talking about Barack Obama and Hillary Clinton. The fact that she got a similar number of delegates to him and won most of the big states is now ignored, and large numbers of people who voted for Clinton are just dismissed as ‘racists’, as the politeratti refuse to accept that not everyone worships their chosen candidate.

Bush used 9/11 to undermine the basic freedoms of American people and Blair, like the faithful poodle, followed. Brown took over promising to return to conviction politics and do away with the politics of spin…but that is exactly what they are doing with the 42-day vote. I feel ashamed to have voted for Labour in every one of the last three elections.