[worik]

> as a people we have mostly trusted the government and its police and security services to use the powers they give themselves by law appropriately. And although obviously there have been some serious failings in the past it's probably fair to say that overall they have earned that trust more than some of their counterparts in some other Western democracies

I am not so sure. The recent history of the elites in London, and the rampant corruption and incompetence in the Metropolitan police is, surely, wearing down the English people's trust?

What does it take?

[Silhouette]

Yes - this is exactly the kind of danger I was referring to in the GP comment. The historical trend here to trust in our authorities lets strong policing powers (mostly) work as long as that trust isn't abused. But we've been learning the hard way that our governments and police services don't always live up to the standards we expect of them and some of the laws that were passed with claimed - and perhaps even honestly believed - good intentions can still lead to abuse and bad results. Then because we lack the checks and balances that less trusting cultures tend to incorporate into their systems - such as a written constitution that establishes a layer of fundamental laws that no single government can arbitrarily change - it can be difficult to stop the runaway train.