Lawyers, of course, love to argue law. It matters little, however, in "the court of public opinion", if the law was broken in this instance. I do not seek to make any party political point, but it does seem to me that this particular Government makes a habit of shooting itself in the foot on a fairly regular, and increasingly frequent, basis. I think a large section of the electorate has already concluded that the Government is inept but, in between general elections, public opinion counts for little. What really matters is how the Government is perceived by its own MPs. And this might be influenced by their perception of the threat to their prospects of re-election posed by the Opposition. Until recently, the perceived weakness of the Opposition insulated the Government from attack by a majority of it's supporters in the House of Commons. What many see as a recent strengthening of the Opposition Front Bench could embolden the Government's own, increasingly critical, supporters. One wonders whether grey suits are being dry-cleaned and long knives sharpened up and down the land.
Lawyers, of course, love to argue law. It matters little, however, in "the court of public opinion", if the law was broken in this instance. I do not seek to make any party political point, but it does seem to me that this particular Government makes a habit of shooting itself in the foot on a fairly regular, and increasingly frequent, basis. I think a large section of the electorate has already concluded that the Government is inept but, in between general elections, public opinion counts for little. What really matters is how the Government is perceived by its own MPs. And this might be influenced by their perception of the threat to their prospects of re-election posed by the Opposition. Until recently, the perceived weakness of the Opposition insulated the Government from attack by a majority of it's supporters in the House of Commons. What many see as a recent strengthening of the Opposition Front Bench could embolden the Government's own, increasingly critical, supporters. One wonders whether grey suits are being dry-cleaned and long knives sharpened up and down the land.