Dangerous territory

This blog rarely ventures into the muddy waters of really serious problems, but what we all need to be aware of is this

It's a curious thing about politics. The politicians all try to make us like them, whereas, increasingly, the evidence is that they don't like us. This, however, is a dangerous move, and bears some thinking about:

New regulations set to come into force later this month will see motorists forced to cough up court costs - even if they're found not guilty or acquitted of motoring offences.
The government-inspired change to the current set-up - where drivers get costs refunded if they're innocent - is being implemented to save cash, in spite of fierce opposition from legal and motoring groups who were nominally 'consulted' before the new policy was drawn up.
According to the Ministry of Justice, the age old principle of 'the loser pays' has been costing the government too much money. As a result the new rules make it clear that in future drivers will have to foot the bill for clearing their name. According to The Taxpayers Alliance, that equates to 400,000 people, or one in four of those who challenge a ticket.

If this goes through unimpeded, one has to think about the consequences for the accused in all future legislation.  British Justice is founded on the principle of 'Innocent until proven guilty', however tarnished that particular aphorism has become.  But with the innocent having to stand the costs of prosecution, what chance the rest of us in the future if the government thinks we should be punished, anyway?