Two things David Davis has done

One, highlight the erosion of civil liberties under this government (and it's worth noting that this erosion began before 11th September, 2001 - the Human Rights Act that effectively allows the police to ban any peaceful protest was passed in 1998). The fact that Brown is quoting an opinion poll which claims two thirds of the British public support the 42-day limit is indicative of how clever this government has been (or how persuasive - as always - the Murdoch media empire is. Remember, this is an empire run with a draconian fist by an American citizen who doesn't pay a penny in taxes). Either that or people really are dumber than they look.

Second, it's also revealed the gulf between what's really happening and what politicians think are happening - see here. The obsession with "strong government" that people have, which basically means the likes of Thatcher, Blair and now Brown have exercised increasingly dictatorial power on a minority of the public vote, means that politicans spend longer in positions of unassailable power. Power corrupts everyone who has it, so to allow politicians to sit in their ivory towers for a decade at a time slowly losing touch with the reality around them is clearly not good for democracy.