Daily Mail
25 March 2010
PM Invokes Civil Contingencies Act: General Election Delayed
25 March 2010
PM Invokes Civil Contingencies Act: General Election Delayed
The General Election, scheduled for April 11 2010, has been delayed by Gordon Brown following the announcement of a ‘serious and credible’ terrorist threat.
Addressing the House of Commons in Emergency Session, Mr Brown said that he was invoking the Civil Contingencies Act in order to ‘protect democracy’.
The PM declined to give details of the alleged plot, saying only that his job was to protect the people of Britain from all attacks, and that a delay to the General Election was a ‘small price to pay’ for the safety of the population.
Information Minister Ed Balls brushed off suggestions that the delay was related to the latest opinion polls, which put Labour at their lowest point since records began. A recent YouGov poll put the Tories on 58%, with the Liberal Democrats on 20% and Labour on 12%.
Mr Brown’s personal approval ratings have also dropped since the announcement yesterday, to a record low of 4%.
A planned demonstration against the announcement has been banned, with Home Secretary Hazel Blears saying that “at this time of heightened threat, protest is inadvisable”.
Tory leader David Cameron said “while the safety of the country is, of course, paramount, I say that he should make the evidence public so that the people can make their own decisions about why the General Election has been postponed".
No revised date has as yet been set for the Election, with Mr Balls saying it would be kept ‘under review pending the security situation’.
Addressing the House of Commons in Emergency Session, Mr Brown said that he was invoking the Civil Contingencies Act in order to ‘protect democracy’.
The PM declined to give details of the alleged plot, saying only that his job was to protect the people of Britain from all attacks, and that a delay to the General Election was a ‘small price to pay’ for the safety of the population.
Information Minister Ed Balls brushed off suggestions that the delay was related to the latest opinion polls, which put Labour at their lowest point since records began. A recent YouGov poll put the Tories on 58%, with the Liberal Democrats on 20% and Labour on 12%.
Mr Brown’s personal approval ratings have also dropped since the announcement yesterday, to a record low of 4%.
A planned demonstration against the announcement has been banned, with Home Secretary Hazel Blears saying that “at this time of heightened threat, protest is inadvisable”.
Tory leader David Cameron said “while the safety of the country is, of course, paramount, I say that he should make the evidence public so that the people can make their own decisions about why the General Election has been postponed".
No revised date has as yet been set for the Election, with Mr Balls saying it would be kept ‘under review pending the security situation’.
1 comment:
Interesting links on this.
http://adrianpeirson.spaces.live.com
Post a Comment