News: Blair announces abolition of elections

Link ( Quick! Click before it's taken down!)

It is a very cheeky and naughty spoof by the way, and really should be reported to the BBC at once

Posted for posterity, however

Blair announces abolition of elections


'We cannot risk changing course now', Tony Blair said today, as the government published proposals to cancel parliamentary elections.
Speaking at a Downing Street press conference, the Prime Minister said that "even the chance of a change of government would be a victory for the terrorists".
"We must not let them change our way of life", said Mr Blair. "Terrorism will not be defeated until our determination is as complete as theirs, our defence of freedom as absolute as their fanaticism, our passion for our way of life as great as their passion for tyranny."
Advice from the police
Mr Blair said that the police had advised him that elections would be dangerous. "They would divert attention from the war on terror", he said. "If the public chose a new government, that would be a victory for terrorism. We must not take that chance. Holding elections would be contrary to the strong advice given to us by our security services and our police, and I am simply not prepared to do it."
"This is not an issue to play around with," he said, accusing critics of trying to generate a propaganda victory for terrorists. "The civil liberties of the majority who need protection should come first," the prime minister said. There had to be a "very good reason" for politicians to say to the police, "no, we know better than you", he argued.
Conservative leader David Davis said that his party would fully support the government's proposals. "We recognise that times have changed", he said. "The most important liberty is the right to life, and we have to accept that some of our other liberties must be curtailed.
Mr Blair has announced that MPs will in future be nominated by the Government. He is under pressure from backbenchers to create a Parliamentary Appointments Panel to advice on nominations. But a Downing Street spokesman ruled out any concessions: "We have to be make sure that only properly vetted people are appointed", he said.
The security services and the police are advising us that we need to take these unusual steps to defeat those who are planning and plotting terrorist activity in our country
Tony Blair
Home Secretary David Blunkett, whose return to front-line politics has caught Westminster by surprise, said that "middle class do gooders are putting our lives at risk". Speaking to the Sheffield Echo, he said "They complained when we abolished trial by jury. They complained when we introduced detention without trial. They complained about the introduction of ID cards. They wanted us to stop using evidence obtained by torture and to end rendition. But the vast majority of hard-working families up and down the land don't want all these procedures: they want speedy and effective justice. They are fed up with the civil liberties lobby crying wolf. "
Stan Miner, MP for Yorkshire North, said he would reluctantly support the idea. "The Prime Minister would not be proposing this unless he had clear advice from the intelligence services", he said. Angus McFaddyn, who represents a constituency in the Scottish highlands, said that he too would be supporting the Government. "This is a necessary evil in England and Wales", he said. "I am pleased that the Government has accepted that, with the lower risk of political instability here in Scotland, we should to continue to hold elections."
Addressing MPs at Prime Minister's Questions in the Commons, Mr Blair added: "What I have to do is to try to do my best to protect people in this country and to make sure that their safety and their civil liberty to life come first, and that is what I'm going to try to do."