There Oughta Be a Law

Bad laws are the worst sort of tyranny.

   - Edmund Burke (1729-1797), Irish born British statesman

The London Daily Telegraph's Philip Johnson is a wee bit upset at the spate of new legislation flowing from his country's parliament. I would imagine that many of his countrymen share his distress. He recalls freer times:

It is said, though less often now than it used to be, that the basis of English liberty is the rule of law, under which everything is allowed unless specifically prohibited. According to A.V.Dicey, the 19th century constitutionalist, this was one of the features that distinguished England from its continental counterparts...

Effectively, this principle limited the scope of the state to intervene in people's lives. Law set boundaries of personal action but did not dictate the course of such action.

Mr. Johnson laments the continuing erosion of British liberty, providing example after example of parliamentary intrusions into the lives of ordinary citizens:

The Housing Bill will make it an offence to place your own home on the market without first spending £600 or more on a home information pack...

By February, or within a few years, depending on what happens in Parliament this week, it will be a crime to mount a horse and ride off in pursuit of a fox...

Since 1997, it has been a criminal offence to possess any handgun, even a .22 calibre, for sporting purposes. An individual whose most aggressive instinct is to fire at a target can no longer do so in this country, even under licence...

Since June, it has been illegal to own a horse, a donkey or a Shetland pony without obtaining an ID card for the animal to ensure it does not poison anyone who eats it...Atthe last count, for we are a law-abiding nation, 400,000 owners had registered their animals, paying £50 or more for a 20-page document that must include a description drawn up by a vet, who, understandably, charges for doing so...Failure to get the "passport" will mean a £5,000 fine or three months' imprisonment, or both...

Pausing, perhaps to catch his breath, Johnson takes a moment to share one of the ironies of all the new legislation:

Yet, at the same time, the Government has introduced a new regulation whereby a thief who steals goods worth £200 or less from a shop will not automatically be arrested and taken to the police station but handed an £80 fixed penalty notice, without any criminal record provided it is paid on time.

So, you can go to prison for not getting a horse an ID card when it has been perfectly lawful to own an animal without state interference since our forbears painted their faces blue. But if you are a thief, expect a rap on the knuckles, apparently because it takes up too much police time to deal effectively with "low-grade" shoplifters.

New laws have also been passed prohibiting the use of cell phones in cars even though the car is not moving but the engine is running and criminalizing teenage necking, or "canoodling" as the Brits call it. Setting off a firework after 11 PM is now a crime as well--punishable by a £5000 fine or six months in jail.

Mr. Johnson, obviously writing out of some frustration with all of this, concludes that even the right to exist may be in jeopardy:

Until now, at least it has not been an offence simply to exist; but the Identity Card Bill in next week's Queen's Speech will mean that, from 2007, everyone renewing a passport will be issued with a compulsory ID document and their details entered on a national register.

He has my sympathy. As time goes by, it seems there's a natural tendency for governments to pass more and more laws. Many are well-thought out and necessary to ensure that society functions smoothly, citizens are secure and the thieves among us are appropriately punished for the crimes they commit. But some legislation, as Johnson suggests, seems to be ill-considered and appears to hinder rather than enhance the freedom of those being governed.

I suppose English citizens have the right to express their disapproval to those in power as we do here in the U.S. If they're all as unhappy about what's coming out of London as Johnson seems to be, they need to start writing, calling and e-mailing. Tomorrow would be a good time to begin.

Update: In an earlier Telegraph article by Caroline Davies, Dr. John Reid, Britain's Health Secretary, expresses the bureaucratic viewpoint which raises the ire of Philip Johnson and others like him:

"What people want in today's world is as much support and assistance from the Government as possible to help them make the healthy choices that will give them a better quality of life," he said.

Oh really? Blogger Andrew Sullivan begs to differ. Money quote: We can't even eat anymore without government help?