Freedom of Speech is UNPATRIOTIC and against BRITISH VALUES now?

The current (Labour) British Government exposed their true colours once again yesterday, and sent a message around the world to would-be British citizens what it apparently means to be British.

In a move to make it even tougher to become a British citizen, once you've somehow found a pathway into Fortress Europe and Fortress Britain, Labour Immigration Minister Phil Woolas has announced that citizenship could be refused for 'unpatriotic behaviour' legal or otherwise. What this means in practice, is that an immigrant could be turned down for citizenship because they have joined British citizens in demonstrating or criticising Government policy, such as the foreign policy of the Labour Government in 2003 which took the UK into an illegal war in Iraq.

As a British citizen myself, I thought British values were about democracy and freedom of expression, among other things. And those were certainly the ideas Bush and Blair were peddling when they were ranting so much about their enemies in the 'War on Terror'. But no, apparently British values are about being patriotic, which means strict loyalty to Government policy at all times.

I can only presume then, that the opposition parties here in the UK are unpatriotic when opposing or criticising Government plans and policies. Well the Conservative party will be OK then, because they always seem to agree with Labour on wars, immigration, foreign policy and the like.

All I can say is I agree with Chris Huhne of the Liberal Democrats that it is a good job I am already a British citizen because I think I would be turned down otherwise! But this gives me another reason not to vote Labour at the next election, I think it should be up to people like me, ordinary British people, to decide what British values are, not whichever political party happens to have won the most recent election.