Could this happen in the UK/US/Europe?

There are similarities between a capitailist (so called) democracy and dictatorships, once a political party/parties are in power they pretty much dictate what happens in that country. We may have things better here but since the financial collapse the gap between rich and poor has widened, less well paid working people are struggling to make ends meet due to job losses, rising fuel, energy and food prices. It may not be the same level of poverty as many other nations who have things much worse, but it is relative poverty. Still my orginal question not really answered, theortically at a time of political unrest ect....do the western nations goverments have the power to legally shut down the internet?