Category: Law

William Wilberforce (1759-1833) was an MP who tirelessly campaigned for the abolition of slavery on moral grounds. He finally achieved his aim just three days before he died, with the final stages of the Slavery Abolition Act successfully passing through Parliament. It came into force in 1834 and applied to almost all of the British Empire, with the remaining colonies following later.

The Society for the Abolition of the Slave Trade was formed in 1787 and was one of the influential voices which led to this result. Others included the Quakers and more than five hundred public petitions. The initial step was the abolition of the horrific slave trade itself in a series of Slave Trade Acts starting in 1807. The next step was to free 800,000 people already held as slaves.

The main objection from opponents was that abolition would ruin the economy of the West Indies, the main destination of captives brought from Africa. Consequently, the Act included financial compensation for the plantation owners and provision for freed slaves to be apprenticed in a transitionary period which ended in 1838. Some members of the anti-slavery movement wanted to continue their lobbying in other countries and the current organisation is called ‘Anti-Slavery International’.

(Image: from Amelia Opie’s ‘The Black Man’s Lament’ / Public domain)

Becoming eighteen years of age in the UK means that you are then considered to be an adult… more or less. There are a few rights which have to wait until you are twenty-one, but all the major ones now come into play. At eighteen you can:

• get married without parental permission
• join the Armed Forces without parental permission
• donate your body or organs after death
• buy, drink and sell alcohol
• buy crossbows, knives, tobacco, tattoos, fireworks
• buy or rent property, since you can now enter into legal contracts
• move up a level on the Minimum Wage scale, to the 18-20 band
• vote and stand in elections
• leave education or vocational training
• fly a commercial aeroplane if qualified
• watch adult films (rated ’18’)
• serve on a jury
• apply for Legal Aid
• be treated as an adult by the judiciary system

It is one of the major ‘milestone’ birthdays, as it is seen as the passing from childhood to adulthood. Some eighteen-year-olds leave home for the first time, at least temporarily, to go to university for a few years, thereby experiencing some measure of adult independence. Others enter the world of work and learn how to handle income and expenses for themselves.

(Image [cropped]: City of Stoke-on-Trent Sixth Form College at Flickr.com / CC BY 2.0)

The Licensing Act, 2003, (for England and Wales) allows premises selling alcohol to be open for twenty-three hours a day, but in reality this is either impractical or undesirable. A major factor is the availability of staff. Another is the effect on neighbouring businesses and homes, not just of continual activity but also of customers’ potential drunken behaviour.

The Act was intended to bring the UK in line with Europe and to discourage squeezing lots of drinks into a short time (‘binge drinking’). However, most pubs, pub-restaurants and restaurants stick to the standard times, which are 11am – 11pm Monday to Saturday and 12pm – 10.30pm on Sundays. Restaurants may further reduce this, according to their own circumstances. Pubs rarely stay open after midnight. Traditionally, a bell is rung ten minutes before closing time, or a bar-person will shout “Last orders!”. A second bell, or “Time please!”, marks the end of the evening. ‘Lock-ins’, whereby sales continue after the pub doors are locked, are illegal.

When applying for a Licence, the pub or restaurant owner must provide a schedule of opening hours and the police and neighbours may raise objections at that stage. Licences can be revoked for illegal, dangerous or annoying activity.

(Image: wasi1370 at pixabay.com)

Income tax was first used to finance wars. This began in 1799 with the Napoleonic wars and the tax was so closely tied into this purpose that it was stopped in peace-time. It only applied to the wealthy and it was very unpopular. Parliament made a great show of debating its pros and cons in the second half of the nineteenth century, including promises to abolish it altogether, but it has become a permanent fixture since its re-introduction in 1842.

Its connection with wars continued up to and including World War 2, after which it became the means by which a huge ‘welfare state‘ was enabled. It is therefore almost unthinkable today that there would be no income tax, as it is accepted as a normal part of employment and self-employment for everyone, and it provides the government with a quarter of its revenue.

The rich have, in the past, been charged very high percentages of income tax, leading to some of them emigrating to other countries. The tax bands and ‘personal allowance’ are reviewed by the Chancellor every year and the current rates can be found on the government website.

(Image: moneycortex at pixabay.com)

The government passed the immensely significant Education Act of 1944 for England and Wales in readiness for post-WW2 social reforms. It is also known as the ‘Butler Act’, as its forward-thinking proposer was Rab Butler, a Conservative politician of great repute. The Act created a separate tier of education for 11- to 15-year-olds, called ‘secondary education’, with the younger students assigned to ‘primary education’.

As students had previously been in single ‘elementary’ schools up to the age of 14, this resulted in new schools being built. It also encouraged more school leavers to consider moving onto higher education. Another result was the creation of the 11-plus entrance exam for grammar schools, as the idea was that children should be given the opportunity for high-grade education according to their intellect rather than their family’s finances.

Those who did not pass the exam went mainly to the new secondary modern schools. There were supposed to be ‘technical’ schools as well, but in practice these were too expensive to equip so did not really materialise. Many of the already existing church schools changed to ‘voluntary-aided’ status, which allowed them to remain as they were but receive state subsidies.

(Image of secondary modern school built after the Butler Act: Dave Croker at geograph.org.uk / CC BY-SA 2.0)

Justices of the Peace (JPs) are also known as Magistrates and they deal with the more minor criminal offences and with family cases. They are unpaid volunteers but they have full training and are assisted by legal advisors. Three Magistrates/JPs sit together in the court (hence the term ‘the bench’), one of whom takes the lead.  They can issue fines, order community service or imprisonment for up to six months per conviction (60 days in Scotland). Serious crimes are passed up to the Crown Courts.

The post of JP was created in 1361 by King Edward III to help him administer law and order. They were male aristocrats in those times and their punishments would include placing in the stocks, whipping and branding. They had much more power than today’s JPs and were even tasked with some civil administration, such as the maintenance of public amenities.

Today, any citizen can apply to be a JP, provided they are of good character and health, are reliable, intelligent and can demonstrate logical thinking, fairness and an understanding of human nature. They must be aged between 18 and 65 and be prepared to serve for at least five years, retiring at age 70.

(Image: Matt Watson-Power at Flickr.com / CC BY-NC 2.0)

Adult British subjects must have a National Insurance (NI) number as it is very difficult to live outside of the system of paid employment and state benefits. An NI number is unique and allows the government to keep a record of payments and entitlements. Its format is XY 12 34 56 Z. It is requested by government departments, employers and financial institutions, including the student loan companies.

The National Insurance Act of 1911 introduced NI numbers and for many decades people were required to buy NI stamps to stick on a record card. This is where the phrase to ‘get your cards’ comes from, meaning that you are fired! Youngsters receive their numbers when they are aged 15 years and 9 months and they must take care to keep them confidential for the rest of their lives to avoid identity fraud by unscrupulous fiends.

If you lose your NI number there is a government helpline but you will never be told the number over the phone for security reasons. Instead, it will be posted to your address within fifteen days. Foreigners wishing to move to the UK must apply for a number, which may involve attending an interview at a Jobcentre Plus.

(Image of 1940 NI card: Wikimedia Commons / Public domain)

Prior to the formation of professional police forces in the UK, law and order was dealt with at a local community level by a few trusted volunteers and some paid nightwatchmen. With the increase in the population during the Industrial Revolution, this became inadequate.

The City of Glasgow Police, established in 1800, was the first organised police body in the UK. Following this, Sir Robert Peel (1788-1850), who was Home Secretary twice and Prime Minister twice, assisted with the setting up of the Irish Constabulary in 1816 and, most famously, the Metropolitan Police in London in 1829. This is the origin of the first slang terms for the police ~ ‘the Peelers’ or ‘Bobbies‘ ~ both derived from his name.

Peel ensured that the aim of the police was to reduce incidents of crime, rather than to reach a target number of arrests. By the middle of the 19th century, there were police forces all over the UK. Today, there are thirty-nine in England, four in Wales, one in Northern Ireland and one in Scotland, plus four specialist forces. There are also many other nicknames for the police, including: coppers, the cops, the fuzz, old Bill, the rozzers, the boys in blue and Mr. Plod.

(Image: Richard Croft at geograph.org.uk / CC BY-SA 2.0)

Until the Marriage Act of 1753, a marriage was a private matter of mutual consent that was not even necessarily recorded. Sometimes marriages took place in the porch of a church, but not inside. Couples could separate but not divorce (this was introduced in the Reformation). Engagements, or ‘handfastings’, were similar to agreeing a contract, with hand-holding sealing the deal.

After 1753 the minimum age for marriage was 21 and weddings had to be held in a church. Registry offices were established in 1836 for couples wanting non-religious weddings. The 1929 Ages of Marriage Act reduced the minimum age to 16 with parental consent. The 2013 Marriage (Same Sex Couples) Act allowed homosexuals to marry in registry offices. It is illegal to marry a relative closer than a cousin, though marriage of cousins is frowned upon. Adopted people can marry anyone in their adopted family except for the parents, but this is also rare.

One marriage ritual now performed only as a nod to our Victorian past is the prospective husband requesting permission from the father for his daughter’s hand in marriage. This used to be because the husband inherited his father-in-law’s property. A woman therefore had to be very selective in her male acquaintances.

(Top image: pixabay.com)