The government Bansturbating again

On Samizdata Johnathan Pearce has a post on the "quiet revolution" in the way in which the UK is governed that has taken place since 1997. In it he enumerates some of Labour's achievements over the last 10 years.

* Emasculation of the House of Lords
* Erosion of the right to trial by jury
* Removal of the double-jeopardy protection in court trials
* Extension of blasphemy laws
* Law enabling the creation of a centralised state database and ID card system
* Anti-social behaviour orders - many of which can be imposed without full due process of law
* Civil Contingencies Act, giving sweeping powers in the case of "national emergencies"
* Erosion of right to hold public demonstrations
* Erosion of rights of private property owners to use their premises as they seek fit: bans on smoking in pubs and restaurants, for example
* European Arrest Warrant

And of course:

The passing of more than 3,000 criminal offences

Which is rather timely given that the government has been found Bansturbating again. Didn't Gordon's mother ever tell him that Bansturbation could make you go blind?

This time wanting to control what ornaments people can buy. This because they lead to a whole 5 deaths in recent years. That is 75 less than died from the incredibly rare Creutzfeldt-Jakob disease in 2005, or 101 less than died in police custody in 2004/5. If five deaths is such a massive tragedy that it absolutely has to lead to a ban then perhaps it would be better to reduce the amount of time people spent in Police Custody? But no, this Labour government loves to lock people up. It finds more and more reasons to do so. This government loves the clink of chains so much that since coming to power even when the state can show no evidence people are being locked up for longer and longer.