WHAT a great time the government are having after the surprise Conservative triumph in May’s General Election.

Waking up on May 8 to find that his party commanded a majority of 12 in Parliament must have surpassed even David Cameron’s wildest hopes, with pollsters ending up having a pretty bad few months at the office.

It’s kid-in-a-sweet-shop time for the Tories now, as they find themselves not only with a casting vote but without the need to go cap in hand to the likes of the Liberal Democrats or Ukip.

And it’s kid-in-a-sweet-warehouse time when you consider the shape of the government’s opposition during Parliament’s first term.

With Labour in-fighting on all fronts as members prepare to elect a new leader, the Liberal Democrats all but invisible and the SNP (eventually) unable to have much sway in English matters, it presents carte blanche for Dave and George to run riot.

And so why (oh why) was the first blue wave to crash on the parliamentary beach a partial repeal of the fox hunting ban?

A muscle flex perhaps, a first defiant grasp on the reins of power? Or were they simply testing the water, dipping their toe in to see what absurd legislation they could expect to get away with over the next five years?

As it turned out, the SNP anti-hunt rode in on horseback, tooting their bagpipes and warding off the saddled majority until another day. And I haven’t yet met anyone who wasn’t relieved at the intervention.

As a method of pest-control, fox hunting lacks a certain efficiency. How many horsed aristocrats and expensive dogs must it take to ‘keep the population under control’?

The word overkill was designed for such occasions. It’s like dropping an H-bomb on a wasps nest.

Banished but not defeated, the vote will return no doubt, once the SNP are prevented from voting on English matters.

But it was this week’s vote on the Welfare Reform and Work Bill that ruffles the most feathers.

There is a lot to be admired in the Tories’ ambitious slice of lawmaking of late, with a living wage a no-brainer and a certain vote-winner.

Odd to think that with a £9-plus minimum wage, a pot washer can earn the same as a decent office job in some parts of the country. I’m thinking of taking up.

It may have repercussions however, with some firms forced to shed jobs, paying fewer people more, and this week the Association of Convenience Stores said it may cost the sector £166m.

And so those out of work may face a rougher deal, with swinging welfare cuts across the board providing the biggest talking point of this week’s commons vote.

And it is an issue that has split Labour right down the middle. Harriet Harman sparked a 48-strong revolt in the ballot when she said the party should quit opposing Tory policies on principle, and start listening to the electorate.

Which seems bizarre and impossible to swallow for those who joined the ranks in Labour’s leftist heyday, unable to advocate Tory cuts just to curry favour with the electorate.

Labour needs to decide, and decide fast, which side of the coin it intends to land on when it elects its new leader.

The Jeremy Corbyn camp, all grubby jackets and public rallies, think Labour should blindly oppose anything in a blue tie.

The more plugged in, street-savvy Labour member knows, like Harriet Harman, that it is as important to be popular as it is to be ethical. In politics anyway.

Tony Blair’s attack on the left of his party, surprisingly fierce, underlined the fact that in the last 35 years it was New Labour, and New Labour alone, which swept with it public support – and no one ever accused Blair of being a lefty.