So are they???

[HRHQoQ]

OK we all know that most of our MP's are completely out of touch with public opinion but do you agree with this article where Blair accuses them of being out of touch with public opinion on the terror threat?

For me - I think (for once) the MP's have got it right.

He's only saying that because they (shock, horror) disagree with HIM

I suspect a large number of people would also like to see the hanging, drawing and quartering of men who looked a bit like paedophiles.
Since when has Parliament been a simple referendum? Why doesn't TB simply get rid of MPs. I'd sure he'd love to.

This is quite interesting to me, IMHO it seems like the tories have lept on this as a way to defeat the governmenet. Traditionally Labour and Lib dem would be on the side of 'human rights' and teh tories would be pushing for the longer time period.

I think since some labour mp's were alwasys going to vote against this proposal the tories saw a gap they could go for.

Listening to the radio a local poll has said that Blair was right, with 84% backing the bill (but we live in a garrison town! Our MP voted against it - he is lib dem)

Personally I feel this is being whipped up by the tabloids

I was and still am strongly in favour of the 90 day rule as are most people I speak with. Once again though it appears as though the MP's of this country who are only elected because we choose to vote for them have ignored what there "people" want and have just done as they pleased.

Well actually public opinion is often wrong. Lots of the public believe that paediatricians ought to be stoned to death, because they don't know the difference between paediatricians and paedophiles. Lots of the public believe all sorts of simply wrong things, because they get all their information from the Sun or the Express and nowhere else, and so therefore there are very wide gaps in their knowledge which means that they are simply not qualified to make informed judgements. Sorry if that sounds patronising, but it's true. And the day MP's start voting according to what press barons say (because let's face it, "public opinion" is driven by press barons) we may as well all just give up and look around for an attractive, charismatic dictator we can crown. Can't think of any at the moment.

And I like the way that when it's something the government wants and it's populist, uninformed rubbish, it's "public opionion" but when it's something they don't want and it's informed and well-researched opinion, it's "chattering classes." What's the difference?

That is a very fair point Caligula, especially where your examples apply. Personally I did not have a particular problem with 90 days vs 28 and am sorry he took the risk of pushing it.
Still feel it was rich of Michael "Something of the Night" Howard of all people to start crowing about lame dog leadership...

I am certainly in favour of the 90 day detention of terror suspects. Not because I am an ill informed Sun reading muppet, but because I think it is an appropriate measure in this day and age.

I agree Shannen and funnily enough I also do not read the Sun or any other newsapaper for that matter because it is always yesterdays news and whether you read the Sun or the Times you will always be influenced by the editors point of view.

Dingdong - I've just foudn the yougov one (I'ts a PDF just to warn you if you have trouble reading PDF files).

I have to say it's not the best laid out YouGov survery I've seen (I do most of the surveys on there so I've seen a few ) - although didn't do this one). Seems to "sway^ towards giving lots of reasons why they SHOULD increase it.

Apparently (according to DH) David Davies had quite a good point about this computer encryption stuff.....make it illegal to withold the encryption information to police if arrested under the terrorism act. If they refuse to comply - then they can be charged - then you've got them!

I also don't think that you can class the British public as a whole as not being capable to form an opinion. I do think that the publics views should be taken into account in these situations. I don't back TB in everything he says but he was right about this.

I have to agree with Caligula on this one. Shes puts things so much more elegantly than I ever could.

Yes but TB only takes "public opinion" into account when he wants to.

Most people want to have the death penalty re-introduced. Survey after survey in the last forty years has consistently shown that a majority of the British public are in favour of capital punishment. MP's routinely ignore public opinion on that issue. I don't see TB getting worried about that.

Yes in my opinion!!!!!

Oh and on Iraq a majority were agin, but that opinion gap didn't bother him too much either.

Oh yes, Caligula, I agree about TB picking and choosing on that front, beacuase he lost the vote.

Did anyone read the link I posted? There is someone who knows a lot more about it than we do. And someone I respect enormously.

about decryption and the haebus corpus:

these comments on the guardian Newblog may interest you:

1. Politicians don't understand decryption

They told us they needed 90 days to give them a chance to decrypt data on computers. I sincerely hope that this was a cynically misleading attempt to sway public opinion.

Writing as somebody who knows something about encryption: if it's done competently you won't be able to decrypt it: it will make little difference whether you have 14 days or 14 years. It's clear that most of our politicians have no idea whatsoever about such issues - just look at some of the legislation floated or even passed over the last few years - but if this is really what the police think, then we're in even bigger trouble than we know.
Sacco

2. The death of habeas corpus:

The detention of an accused person to be held by police has increased from three days to 28 days since Blair came into power. Yesterday's vote means that a person can now be held incommunicado for 28 days without charge or evidence of a crime, and just on a whim. Yesterday's vote was the death of habeas corpus and the British people are dancing in the streets and calling it a victory for justice and liberty? Please explain how so?
Sharpie

Yes, I understand everyone has differing opinions on this, MT but I have mine also, if thats OK!?!!

Called you MT, presume you were formally called Malory Towers before you got Xmased up??