THE THREAT OF TOTALITARIANISM

The Hunting Ban reveals the real intentions of several of the MPs that voted it in. Alun Michael (the Minister responsible for Hunting Bills) has admitted that the legislation passed has nothing to do with animal welfare or wildlife management. Dennis Skinner M.P. was honest enough to tell the House of Commons the real reason; ”Payback for the treatment of the miners”. Another of these MPs (Peter Bradley MP for The Wrekin, a Parliamentary Private Secretary in DEFRA) said in public (probably with the tacit consent of others in authority):

"Labour governments have come and gone and left little impression on the gentry. But a ban on hunting touches them. It threatens their inalienable right to do as they please on their land. For the first time, a decision of a Parliament they don't control has breached the lodge gates."

"That old order no longer prevails (i.e. the authority of landowners which these MPs equate with "gentry"! farmers? ). Deference has been eroded by a new, universal prosperity. It's the recognition of that irrevocable change that has made the campaign for hunting so fierce and yet so futile."

"But in an age in which we are all aspirational and few are deferential, that is an increasingly unappealing philosophy. The tide is against the Tories as it is against the hunters and, now more than ever, the House of Lords.

And if Labour really wants a radical edge to the next manifesto, how about the long-neglected issue of land reform?"

We have seen sentiments like these expressed in E.G. the Russian Revolution, in Sinn Fein Ireland in the 1920s, in Zimbabwe now. Politicians did not stop at landowners. Totalitarianism spread throughout private enterprise. The inevitable outcome in every case was loss of freedoms for significant minorities and, eventually, the majority. The irony is that all these grabs were in the name of democracy and the majority of the people. AS HAS BEEN THE HUNTING BAN. Have the anti-hunt MPs ever realised that they have been elected to govern wisely by compromising so as not to have excessive bias towards the majority or towards any minority that is to say in the spirit of government by tolerance just acceptable to all of the people?---TRUE DEMOCRACY.

It is so easy to let the "Nanny State" and "Big Government" develop towards totalitarianism. How much "help" do people really want?

We have seen those in favour of compromise (e.g. The Prime Minister) "throw in the towel" in the face of the "emergent totalitarians". What hope has TRUE DEMOCRACY now?

Where will the "Compromisers" next give way to the "Totalitarians"? Shooting? Fishing? Reform of The House of Lords to become an elected or appointed "poodle" of The Commons? Excuses such as terrorism to further erode Human Rights? We have seen the last practised by several Totalitarian Regimes. The last bastion of TRUE DEMOCRACY has often been the Highest Court in the land. Erosion of this is threatened in the UK. The signs are clear.

WORSE, the UK has no adequate safeguards against dictatorship or “bad law”. The Attorney General, for the Government, has said that "in his view the 1911 Parliament Act gives the House of Commons the power to force through extreme constitutional changes." By implication this could include abolishing the House of Lords or even extending the life of Parliament indefinitely. This is the view that would allow any political party with a majority to over-ride any written or unwritten constitution for its own ends. We have seen this happen frequently in creating E.G. Fascist Dictatorships. It seems to me that the UK needs a written Constitution, amended only by a referendum approved by a true majority of the people (not just of those who voted). That is to say, a general vote (say, minimum 70%), having a large minimum allowable majority, (say, 80%). Followed by repeal of both Parliament Acts provided that the Constitution has defined the extent and depth of the powers of The Lords vis-a-vis The Commons. Anything else might allow an unscrupulous politician to bludgeon his way to virtual dictatorship as did a Liberal (sic) Prime Minister in the events that lead up to the 1911 Parliament Act.

In Foxman's view the "Hunting Saga" should be used to trigger resolution of this vital Constitutional Issue.

ALL "TRUE DEMOCRATS" BE WARNED. THE NEXT GENERAL ELECTION IS POSSIBLY THE LAST OPPORTUNITY TO HALT THE SLIDE TOWARDS "SOCIAL TOTALITARIANISM”. THIS WARNING HAS BEEN AMPLIFIED BY THE BLAIR GOVERNMENT’S ATTEMPTS TO INTRODUCE A PREVENTION OF TERRORISM BILL WITH THE MINIMUM OF LEGAL SAFEGUARDS FOR THE POTENTIAL DETAINEE.