Privacy is not about having something to hide or not. Our psychology is built around private v public. If someone asserts privacy can be disregarded ask them to hand over their phone for you to scoll through, reading private messages. Chances are they mean privacy for me not for thee.
Legal advice and medical are privileged and these days often in emails. No-one should have the right to scrutinise private correspondence.
Hi Steve. Yes they think this is a slam dunk. It’s so wrong I could write on it all day. So I’ll spare everyone. But essentially, in a free society, it is not incumbent on a citizen to constantly prove his or her innocence to the state. It is incumbent on the state to prove his or her guilt. This turns that basic principle on its head.
Ask for his phone and start reading his messages. Even with nothing to hide (most of mine to the wife are about the shopping, dogs or where we left the car keys) I guarantee he will get nervous. Now open a browser and go through his web history. Now imagine when he asks for it back you held a gun to his head to refuse his request for *his* property.
I'm sure now he'll not be happy. That is what the state wants to do. It will not stop until it controls everything we say, do and think. The intent is obvious: to stop you saying whatever you like to whoever you like. It is enforced social ostracism to silence dissent.
We know the state doesn't care about crime any more. It is only bothered by those who dissent. Those are who state force are used against.
LSO....this is the most wonderful critique of the ever creeping criminalisation, and restriction of free speech, free discovery, free sharing and free thought.
Nobody asked for this yet we are forced to endure it.
Our radicalised political class cannot understand their own unpopularity and so their only rational conclusion is that the people are wrong, that they are victims of misinformation and must be re-educated.
Thank you for this brilliant writing! I loved it (kind of hated it!) and as a paid subscriber I'm so glad I get to support your work.
Thank you so much David. Yes. It’s very much a case that we, the voters, are seen as cattle to be corralled, rather than a population of free minded citizens to be served.
Your support is very much appreciated, thanks again.
The elites have spent the 24 years since The Wire creating the YooKay by turning Britain into something approximating West Baltimore. Aristole makes clear in Book 5 of his Politics the only way to rule a diverse society is by tyranny and tyranny is what we are getting. As he observes, to have a free, democratic society people must have philia, a sense of kinship and shared identity. Mass immigration has shattered Britain’s ethnic, cultural, linguistic and religious homogeneity and with it gone, the country can only be ruled by the rod. That is not Britain, home of democracy, free speech, the Mother of Parliaments etc. The YooKay is more than a meme; sadly, Britain no longer exists.
Excellent as always. The Wire reference from 2002 was instructive. In 2026 criminals still get protection under the law but as LSO says, it’s just the law abiding people who now suffer. Samuel T. Francis created the term ‘Anarcho-Tyranny’ ten years earlier in 1992 and I challenge anyone to deny that this is the state of where we are currently.
Hi Paul, you make a great point. The crooks still have their rights respected, it’s just the rest of us who are targeted by law enforcement. Yes. It is Anarcho-Tyranny’ on every level.
It hit me the other day on a small level. I’s just paid hundreds to ensure my motorbike/scooter. As I was riding around London I wondered how many Deliveroo riders I saw everywhere had also made sure their eye wateringly expensive bike insurance is up to date. I’d guess about 0%. But nothing ever seems to happen about it, so why should they bother?
Yes, I completely agree. And they all seem to have L plates too which I thought was strange. Here is what Grok says: Deliveroo riders often display L plates because they ride on a Compulsory Basic Training (CBT) certificate rather than a full motorcycle license. The CBT is faster and cheaper to obtain, allowing them to legally ride a moped or scooter (up to 125cc) for commercial work. In the UK, riders only need to pass a CBT to ride on public roads, but they are legally required to display L plates until they pass a full motorcycle test. A CBT certificate is valid for two years. While it was designed as a stepping stone to a full license, many riders continually retake the CBT every two years, meaning they technically remain "learners" indefinitely while working. Under current UK law, this is completely legal.
In a similar vein, I had a near miss on the road last week. I was on a main road and the car in front of me had to brake suddenly when a driver with provisional plates pulled out suddenly from a side road. The offending car then turned right and drove straight at me so that I had to take evasive action while the car swerved the other way when they belatedly saw me and they bumped up a curve before racing away.
Two incidents of incredibly dangerous driving in the space of just 10 seconds. Either of which would have failed a driving test. The first incident you might - at a push - explain away as an error from a new driver but the second incident was beyond defence.
Needless to say, the (female) driver didn't look like a 'Susan Jones' or a 'Katie Smith' and I'm as certain as I can be that she hadn't passed a UK driving test.
I didn't get a chance to get the number plate but then I thought what I would have done anyway? I wouldn't trust the police to take any action unless I got misgendered as the car raced away. So it's likely that when the police do eventually get involved it will be to pick up the pieces after a fatal RTA and we pick up the tab via higher insurance premiums because the car driver wasn't - like those mopeds - insured.
Exactly. I don’t ride my motorbike much these days. For various different reasons. But I certainly have noticed how indicating has become optional for many drivers. On a bike it’s best to proceed as if you are invisible anyway.
I remember doing my CBT! In some car park in Dalston. On a 50 cc Vespa. I wonder how many of my fellow riders have survived this far. 🫣
I have survived, but MY Vespa was 150cc and I never had to take a test to ride it. Bought it for £60, put L plates on, and away I went. Later I took the driving test, passed, and then moved onto a Bubble Car (the only BMW I have ever owned) which I could drive with a motor bike licence. That made the next stage (a proper car - a Standard 8) easy - the car test was a breeze after driving the Bubble for over a year.
Excellent comparison with the printing press which, I believe, caused apoplexy in the elites of the time - the Church. I'm afraid that history is once again rhyming. The fearfulness of those who would rule over us is a constant through the ages. The obvious solution for this sad state of affairs is for them all to do themselves and us a favour and step down.
Burnham has made it clear that he is following in Starmer's footsteps. At least he has sidelined Miliband in the irrelevant Foreign office. And Healey and MacFadden in Treasury and DWP are relatively safe pairs of hands. Rayner will build no houses and Cooper will fail the NHS. Reynolds is a harmless lying waste of space. His only mis-step is the Energy secretary.
Yes the Foreign Office is a waste of space. We wield no influence on the world stage, project no power, and have given away all our overseas territories. Even Miliband can do little harm there. Plus we’ll get rid of him for the half the year on pointless ‘fact finding missions’. It’s a good call from Our Andy.
Yes. Or he will make a big deal of occasionally flying commercial, and then claim he is offsetting his emmssions by making us pay an additional cost, to plant an imaginary tree or two.
We may not wield influence any more but Milliband has the power and the means to upset America and Trump. Other than that danger he's done well to push Millitwat out.
Well if you’ve made it this far I guess you must be liking it Stuart. Such a great series. Such brilliant characters. And so many interconnecting themes and storylines. Enjoy the rest of it. 👍
It really stands up, doesn’t it? We would have assumed, watching the show 20 years ago, that this technology would make it more difficult to track us, the opposite has turned out to be true. Such a layered deep show. A lot of the stories in it come from real life it seems. I read David Simon’s book “Homicide” about his time with Baltimore homicide cops. The series really draws from his experience.
Just to be devil's advocate, I don't think Jim's view can be waved away quite so easily. Let's avoid binary stereotypes. Sharing kiddie porn used to be a very tricky operation that always involved hard copy. The old rules were adequate. They are no longer adequate. And I'll agree with you completely on the dangers to freedom that are implicit if we have an AI scanning *everything* but a kneejerk clinging to the old rules might not be the solution. Me, I'll always default to the Fundamental Freedoms, but one might also look for some non-binary answer to all this shit.
What world do you inhabit? Not this one. No one of sense now trusts the police or the Government. And this from someone who used to believe that any poor outcomes were from mistakes, rather than intent.
Privacy is not about having something to hide or not. Our psychology is built around private v public. If someone asserts privacy can be disregarded ask them to hand over their phone for you to scoll through, reading private messages. Chances are they mean privacy for me not for thee.
Legal advice and medical are privileged and these days often in emails. No-one should have the right to scrutinise private correspondence.
Great points Stout. I’ll try that phone trick next time someone tries the ‘nothing to hide’ line on me! Thanks. 🙏
I was discussing this with a left wing friend and he replied, “if you have nothing to hide you’ll be fine!” end of discussion.
I will point him to this article and see if it changes his mind.
Hi Steve. Yes they think this is a slam dunk. It’s so wrong I could write on it all day. So I’ll spare everyone. But essentially, in a free society, it is not incumbent on a citizen to constantly prove his or her innocence to the state. It is incumbent on the state to prove his or her guilt. This turns that basic principle on its head.
Ask him if he closes the door when using the toilet, and if so what he has to hide.
Ask for his phone and start reading his messages. Even with nothing to hide (most of mine to the wife are about the shopping, dogs or where we left the car keys) I guarantee he will get nervous. Now open a browser and go through his web history. Now imagine when he asks for it back you held a gun to his head to refuse his request for *his* property.
I'm sure now he'll not be happy. That is what the state wants to do. It will not stop until it controls everything we say, do and think. The intent is obvious: to stop you saying whatever you like to whoever you like. It is enforced social ostracism to silence dissent.
We know the state doesn't care about crime any more. It is only bothered by those who dissent. Those are who state force are used against.
LSO....this is the most wonderful critique of the ever creeping criminalisation, and restriction of free speech, free discovery, free sharing and free thought.
Nobody asked for this yet we are forced to endure it.
Our radicalised political class cannot understand their own unpopularity and so their only rational conclusion is that the people are wrong, that they are victims of misinformation and must be re-educated.
Thank you for this brilliant writing! I loved it (kind of hated it!) and as a paid subscriber I'm so glad I get to support your work.
Thank you so much David. Yes. It’s very much a case that we, the voters, are seen as cattle to be corralled, rather than a population of free minded citizens to be served.
Your support is very much appreciated, thanks again.
The elites have spent the 24 years since The Wire creating the YooKay by turning Britain into something approximating West Baltimore. Aristole makes clear in Book 5 of his Politics the only way to rule a diverse society is by tyranny and tyranny is what we are getting. As he observes, to have a free, democratic society people must have philia, a sense of kinship and shared identity. Mass immigration has shattered Britain’s ethnic, cultural, linguistic and religious homogeneity and with it gone, the country can only be ruled by the rod. That is not Britain, home of democracy, free speech, the Mother of Parliaments etc. The YooKay is more than a meme; sadly, Britain no longer exists.
🎯
Excellent as always. The Wire reference from 2002 was instructive. In 2026 criminals still get protection under the law but as LSO says, it’s just the law abiding people who now suffer. Samuel T. Francis created the term ‘Anarcho-Tyranny’ ten years earlier in 1992 and I challenge anyone to deny that this is the state of where we are currently.
Hi Paul, you make a great point. The crooks still have their rights respected, it’s just the rest of us who are targeted by law enforcement. Yes. It is Anarcho-Tyranny’ on every level.
It hit me the other day on a small level. I’s just paid hundreds to ensure my motorbike/scooter. As I was riding around London I wondered how many Deliveroo riders I saw everywhere had also made sure their eye wateringly expensive bike insurance is up to date. I’d guess about 0%. But nothing ever seems to happen about it, so why should they bother?
Yes, I completely agree. And they all seem to have L plates too which I thought was strange. Here is what Grok says: Deliveroo riders often display L plates because they ride on a Compulsory Basic Training (CBT) certificate rather than a full motorcycle license. The CBT is faster and cheaper to obtain, allowing them to legally ride a moped or scooter (up to 125cc) for commercial work. In the UK, riders only need to pass a CBT to ride on public roads, but they are legally required to display L plates until they pass a full motorcycle test. A CBT certificate is valid for two years. While it was designed as a stepping stone to a full license, many riders continually retake the CBT every two years, meaning they technically remain "learners" indefinitely while working. Under current UK law, this is completely legal.
In a similar vein, I had a near miss on the road last week. I was on a main road and the car in front of me had to brake suddenly when a driver with provisional plates pulled out suddenly from a side road. The offending car then turned right and drove straight at me so that I had to take evasive action while the car swerved the other way when they belatedly saw me and they bumped up a curve before racing away.
Two incidents of incredibly dangerous driving in the space of just 10 seconds. Either of which would have failed a driving test. The first incident you might - at a push - explain away as an error from a new driver but the second incident was beyond defence.
Needless to say, the (female) driver didn't look like a 'Susan Jones' or a 'Katie Smith' and I'm as certain as I can be that she hadn't passed a UK driving test.
I didn't get a chance to get the number plate but then I thought what I would have done anyway? I wouldn't trust the police to take any action unless I got misgendered as the car raced away. So it's likely that when the police do eventually get involved it will be to pick up the pieces after a fatal RTA and we pick up the tab via higher insurance premiums because the car driver wasn't - like those mopeds - insured.
Exactly. I don’t ride my motorbike much these days. For various different reasons. But I certainly have noticed how indicating has become optional for many drivers. On a bike it’s best to proceed as if you are invisible anyway.
I remember doing my CBT! In some car park in Dalston. On a 50 cc Vespa. I wonder how many of my fellow riders have survived this far. 🫣
I have survived, but MY Vespa was 150cc and I never had to take a test to ride it. Bought it for £60, put L plates on, and away I went. Later I took the driving test, passed, and then moved onto a Bubble Car (the only BMW I have ever owned) which I could drive with a motor bike licence. That made the next stage (a proper car - a Standard 8) easy - the car test was a breeze after driving the Bubble for over a year.
A dashcam might have been useful?
Excellent comparison with the printing press which, I believe, caused apoplexy in the elites of the time - the Church. I'm afraid that history is once again rhyming. The fearfulness of those who would rule over us is a constant through the ages. The obvious solution for this sad state of affairs is for them all to do themselves and us a favour and step down.
Burnham has made it clear that he is following in Starmer's footsteps. At least he has sidelined Miliband in the irrelevant Foreign office. And Healey and MacFadden in Treasury and DWP are relatively safe pairs of hands. Rayner will build no houses and Cooper will fail the NHS. Reynolds is a harmless lying waste of space. His only mis-step is the Energy secretary.
Yes the Foreign Office is a waste of space. We wield no influence on the world stage, project no power, and have given away all our overseas territories. Even Miliband can do little harm there. Plus we’ll get rid of him for the half the year on pointless ‘fact finding missions’. It’s a good call from Our Andy.
Seems I’m already wrong! Miliband’s appointment has wound up the Americans it seems. Still. As long as Brussels is happy.
Betcha any money Miliband will be flying round the world on his fact-finding missions in a private jet.
Net zero my arse! (Jim Royle mode.)
Yes. Or he will make a big deal of occasionally flying commercial, and then claim he is offsetting his emmssions by making us pay an additional cost, to plant an imaginary tree or two.
We may not wield influence any more but Milliband has the power and the means to upset America and Trump. Other than that danger he's done well to push Millitwat out.
If you've got nothing to hide, there's nothing to worry about.
And you'll have nothing to hide, because they can see it all.
So no worries!
I'm on series five at the moment :)
Well if you’ve made it this far I guess you must be liking it Stuart. Such a great series. Such brilliant characters. And so many interconnecting themes and storylines. Enjoy the rest of it. 👍
I rewatched the series for a second time recently too. I wonder what a show like that would look like today with ubiquitous tracking being the norm?
I imagine there would be one or more hackers on the team. Who needs a warrant when our phones track us at all times and Alexa is always listening?
It really stands up, doesn’t it? We would have assumed, watching the show 20 years ago, that this technology would make it more difficult to track us, the opposite has turned out to be true. Such a layered deep show. A lot of the stories in it come from real life it seems. I read David Simon’s book “Homicide” about his time with Baltimore homicide cops. The series really draws from his experience.
Glorious series. And Omar is a character Shakespeare would have been proud of.
Absolutely! Stringer Bell’s end. Pure tragedy.
It's going to get so much worse I fear.
😳
I cannot disagree with you more Jim. If you read this article as a defence of child abuse and terrorism then there’s not a lot more I can add.
Suffice to say ‘The world is different now so we have to take your rights away’ is not an argument that works for me I’m afraid.
And we are not ‘weakening public trust in the police’. The police have managed that all on their own.
Anyway. Thanks for taking the time to read it. And I look forward to agreeing with you again on something in the future. ATB.
Just to be devil's advocate, I don't think Jim's view can be waved away quite so easily. Let's avoid binary stereotypes. Sharing kiddie porn used to be a very tricky operation that always involved hard copy. The old rules were adequate. They are no longer adequate. And I'll agree with you completely on the dangers to freedom that are implicit if we have an AI scanning *everything* but a kneejerk clinging to the old rules might not be the solution. Me, I'll always default to the Fundamental Freedoms, but one might also look for some non-binary answer to all this shit.
What world do you inhabit? Not this one. No one of sense now trusts the police or the Government. And this from someone who used to believe that any poor outcomes were from mistakes, rather than intent.