Of course Boris can't vote without ID - don't be silly

Several of us here have spent years, decades, living in places and cultures that are not Britain. At which point Boris turning up to vote without ID produces a chortle in everyone. Marina Hyde gives us more such mirthtful examples.

Did we really expect Tory MPs who fought for voter ID rules to follow them? Don’t be ridiculous

But in that is one of the glories of Britain. One that we’d all miss, terribly, when it’s gone.

Yes, of course, it’s possible to think that voter ID is the best thing since that sandwich bread came out. It’s possible to think that it’s voter suppression and all that. And clearly there’s more than just the single chortle to be had from the architects of the idea not being able to vote as a result of not, erm, having their ID.

But the glory? Absolutely no one has said but, but, that’s Boris! Being ex-PM (and who knows, future once again?) doesn’t make any difference. Being, as is pointed out, a current MP (Tom Hunt) makes no difference either. The law says no ID no vote. This applies equally to all, from the very grandest in the country to you, me and the bloke sleeping under the bridge.

That experience of in foreign tells us that this is rare in a society. Sure, argue about what the rules should be but rules are going to be obeyed.

As we’ve noted before the English, then British, deal was always that there weren’t going to be many rules but those there were were going to be important. This brought the societal buy-in which led to near all the population, near all the time, obeying what rules there were. As opposed to many places we’ve been where rules are the thing you swap advice on how to avoid, ignore or undermine. Those places where there are rules about everything, in detail, thus the very concept of rules being important is undermined.

Yes, of course this is slightly handwavey and even romanticising. Yet there’s still that nub of truth to it. As we said yesterday about waste disposal - make the rules too detailed, too expensive, and the black market will arrive. As is obviously going to be true of the foolishness over smoking and vapes.

Britain, largely, obeys the law because there isn’t much law to obey. What law there is is important. Or, rather, that was the old deal. As we become ever more like the Roman Law continent (or, Lord Forbid, like the Soviet system) then the attitude to the law will become like it is there.

We’ll miss the rule of law when it’s gone.