The Last Ditch by Tom Paine

Link: Telegraph | News | Rowdy families could be kicked out of their homes .

John Reid’s approach to property rights does not seem to have changed much since his days as an overt Communist. Had Britain a written constitution, it would almost certainly protect the right to private property and prevent anyone from being deprived of the use of theirs without due process of law. That’s pretty much a constitutional norm in a free society. Yet Reid is proposing summary powers to exclude people from their own homes for anti-social conduct.

Nightmare neighbours are no joke, but neither are they a new problem. The law offers remedies, including the tort of nuisance. Local authorities already have extensive powers. Fines of up to £20,000 can be levied.

Pointless “initiatives” designed to please illiberal voters with no understanding of the consequences are very much the New Labour modus operandi. The endless quest for legal novelty, however, has led Reid and his colleagues off the map of civilisation. They have led us into the uncharted territories marked only “Here be dragons”.