I'm sure we had legislative threats to encryption under Cameron, and Blair, and quite possibly every prime minister between.
I'm uncertain whether to be relieved (because multiple previous attempts have come to naught) or worried (because they might actually do it this time).
Brown was elected. He was elected as MP by his constituents, and selected as PM by the Queen, just like every other PM. Or, essentially, he was elected by the House, which is the electorate for the PM, but instead of actually holding a vote, the Queen just assumed what the result would be, which is how the UK always does it.
(Ireland actually holds the vote for Taoiseach, and every party solemnly puts forward their own candidate, and makes speeches on their behalf, despite the fact that everyone knows what the result would be. It's a piece of political theatre.)
You're right; we don't elect PMs. And it's true that Brown was elected as an MP by his constituents; and I was elected chair by my local resident's association. So what?
I still think a PM that doesn't lead their party into an election lacks legitimacy, and isn't a 'proper' PM. The most recent two - Sunak and Truss - weren't elected in that sense, because they didn't have any popular mandate.
We don't elect the party of government either, though; few people can name their MP. They vote based on party leaders, as long as voting is permitted.
The idea that the PM is "elected by the House" is nonsense. No such election occurs.
Being "selected as PM" by the monarch doesn't count at all. It's completely irrelevant (I'm a republican). The monarch appoints anyone that can "command the support of the House", which invariably means the leader of the majority party.
But in the absence of a General Election, the appointee cannot claim a popular mandate, and shouldn't do anything that would "surprise" people. Truss, outrageously, claimed to have a popular mandate, relying on the mandate that Johnson won. But he won his mandate more-or-less exclusively on the Brexit thing.
I'm uncertain whether to be relieved (because multiple previous attempts have come to naught) or worried (because they might actually do it this time).