Elections ? The Blair Regime Don't Need No Steenkin' Elections ...

What will it take to get through to those trusting souls who still think Britain is a free country, with an elected government ruling by consent via a cabinet of ministers, headed by a first-among-equals' Prime Minister -- and what will it take to awaken said souls from their innocent slumbers?

Might a BBC headline such as follows at least sound some alarm bells, somewhere?

Council polls could be scrapped

The elections could make way for reform plans

Next year's local elections in England could be abandoned under plans being considered by the government, the BBC has learned.

Well, This Old Brit certainly hopes that before the next day is done, alarm bells aplenty are pealing -- loud and clear, and all over this land.

Now, pick your bottom jaw back up from the floor, pop both eyes back into their sockets and then feast them on this.

Whitehall officials have told council chiefs they are considering cancelling the May 2007 polls because of possible plans for a local government shake-up.

What ? Whitehall officials? Which effing Whitehall officials?

Neither This Old brit nor Richard remember electing any Whitehall officials -- ever. Nor does anyone else we've canvassed today. The truth is, all Whitehall officials are unelected officals. Not to put too fine a point on it, they're really no more than the hired help.

And yet these shadowy, expensive Saville Row-suit-clad cretins deign to 'consider' such spectacularly special events as the erradication of the people's elections.

Whether local or national and whether allegedly, merely temporarily or not is quite beside the bloody point. The truth be told, this whole idea almost defies belief -- even under Bush's poodle-boy Tony Blair's New Labour regime.

The thin end of the wedge? Naw! Never. 'Fraid not friends.

That came and went quite a while back.

And those of us who've been permanently paying attention not only noticed, but we ruddy well "told you so". Well, be honest now, we did, didn't we?

And to think that so many of the more astute among us on both sides of the Atlantic have recently begun remarking [rather regularly], regarding the increasing possibility of suspensions of some elections -- sometime soon -- on the strength of one government manufactured pretext or another.

Good gawd, imagine the implications. If the Bliar can get away with something like this with such a belligerent bunch as we Brits over here, then Americans should forget about any further Diebold doubts or worries -- because Bush probably won't damn well need Diebold any more.

Strewth! This Old Brit and Richard can sense some sort of super-swearing-seizure sneaking up on us. So, while we cool down via a break for blood pressure checks, you can read the full BBC report from the comfort of your own -- erm, whatever it is you personally still possess that you continue to be able to claim to call comfortable.

But to help set the scene you can expect to encounter, when the BBC site you eventually enter, first get a good gander at this.

Minister David Miliband says there has been no decision on council reform and he intends the 2007 polls to go ahead.

But Conservatives and Lib Dems say Labour would benefit from avoiding local polls as Tony Blair prepares to step down and hand power to Gordon Brown.

( snip )

BBC News 24's chief political correspondent, James Landale, said officials from the Office of the Deputy Prime Minister (ODPM) discussed the possibility of cancelling the May 2007 elections in meetings with council chiefs in the last few weeks.

In the minutes of one meeting, seen by BBC News, ODPM officials said it was "highly unlikely" the elections would go ahead, not least because "it would not be very efficient to hold elections for a one-year term".

( Today's relevant BBC report can be read right here. )