State Powers and the BNP

When in previous postings I have criticised the way that the British Government has eroded civil liberties, I always said that while this government was not deliberately seeking to be totalitarian, there were political parties out there that would use and seriously abuse the powers the state has created for its self.

The events of the European Elections should be a wake up call for all the mainstream political parties, as the United Kingdom are now represented in Europe by two far right, neo Nazi, MEPs from the British Nationalist Party.

While this was not a General Election, and the voting system for a general election would make it much more difficult for the BNP to gain a seat in Westminster, it is difficult not impossible.

Even with this government, the anti terrorist powers of investigation and monitoring have been abused. Investigations in to if a parent is entitled to send their child to a certain school, or dog fouling were not why these powers were enacted. Nor was the use of anti terrorist powers to freeze the assets of an Icelandic bank when the banks were falling like, well banks. In all three examples they are abuses of powers that we the public were told were needed specifically to keep us safe.

As we now face the risk of political parties that would abuse those powers in ways that could be far more sinister, the government needs to urgently reconsider the powers the state has taken for its self.