Scott Horton has the definitive word:

But today Britons have a take on Guy Fawkes that is much at odds with the historical one. Once Fawkes was a symbol of the traitor within. The people were called to be on guard against his like. No longer. Today Guy Fawkes is increasingly viewed as the heroic figure prepared to stand against an unjust and oppressive state, as a martyr and a victim of torture. What are the lessons of Guy Fawkes Day for 2007? I propose three:

1. Torture Never Works and is Always Wrong

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2. Beware the Government that Rules By Fear

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3. A Government That Stereotypes Is Unjust

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It should be noted that the brutality, fear-mongering, xenophobia, and paranoia of the Stuart Kings, those who tortured Guy Fawkes, led inexorably to the revolution in England that placed Oliver Cromwell in control of England as a dictator.