In the past fortnight the UK has left the EU and plunged into a third lockdown (the latter some two weeks after doing so was recommended by the government’s medical advisers), while, in the US, right-wing terrorists stormed the Capitol.
Strangely, all three provoked responses along the lines of “Boris Johnson is a liberal”. For Robert Tombs, writing in The Telegraph, the chief benefit of Brexit is a “reinvigorated democracy”. For Robert Peston, Johnson’s repeated ignoring of scientific advice is due to “a political philosophy… that he will not restrict our liberties unless there is an overwhelming reason to do so.” For James Forsyth in The Times, "Johnson is not Trump's Transatlantic twin".
To call Johnson a “liberal” is to buy spin over reality. Johnson may talk about “liberty” but, as Lord Toulson (one of my favourite judges) liked to put it, “fine words butter no parsnips”. Johnson’s actions are closer to those of an autocrat. Liberals believe in maximising personal freedom, the rule of law, free markets, and small and accountable government (or at least as small as is consistent with achieving the above). Johnson’s government has stripped individuals of rights and freedoms, attacked the rule of law, created barriers to trade, and expanded the power of the centralised state.
