The Orange Lodge in Scotland is learning that freedom of expression is not free – they are going to be charged to march.

We learn from The Scotsman: The contribution will be voluntary because, as a non-profit organisation, the Orange Lodge is exempt from paying for any policing. However, police and council chiefs will warn that if the Lodge does not pay, they will restrict the number of parades which can take place every year.

So it’s an irregular verb, I voluntarily donate, you must bribe, he is fleeced…etc…
 
One senior source said: “A reasonable starting point is the deal the police have done with the football clubs. We want to say to the Orange Lodge, let’s talk about how you contribute to the cost of this. It would be a voluntary agreement that reflects the fact that the council is prepared to voluntarily grant a reasonable amount of expressions of freedom.”

Any reader with a libertarian streak is invited to define how much of a reasonable amount of expressions of freedom the public should be allowed.

If the Lodge refuses to pay, the source said, then “the authorities will be more prepared to refuse them permission, and that includes the Irish organisations which have been deemed to be inflammatory”. The source added: “We are also considering going to the Scottish Government and saying we need legislation that allows us to limit the number of parades which draws a limit of what is deemed to be an acceptable number on what freedom of expression is.”

They make clear that this applies to Irish Republican marchers too, so you IRA sympathisers at the back can wipe that smirk off your balaclavas. You’re in this together. 

The Lodge says it is prepared to cut down on the total number, but last night warned it would vehemently oppose any payment regime. Ian Wilson, the grand master of the Orange Lodge, said: “I don’t think it would be just us who would oppose this. This is a libertarian matter. 

Damn right. Next thing you know it’ll only be Muslims allowed to demonstrate in Luton! Ah, I’ll get my coat…

“The police force is a public service. This is a democratic society and we should be free to demonstrate.”

Love’em or loathe’em you must admit they have a very good point. It’s easy to paint this is a purely economic decision made more complicated by the charitable status of the participants. It’s a simple case to make about city disruption, traffic issues and police overtime. But to compare it to the commercial operation that is a Saturday afternoon football match is to make a false analogy. That’s a commercial venture and it’s acceptable for the police to ask for money there.

This is different. It’s a non-profit celebration of heritage and tradition. The day that political and cultural statements rely on the patronage of the authorities is a bad day for freedom.