ABSTRACT
Most people in Britain would readily agree that the rights and freedoms of the citizen are an important part of the values which they respect and which they wish to see protected. The right to have a say in the levying of taxes, for example; the freedom to end one’s own life; or the right to the free practice of the rituals of any religion – all of these rights have been won from reluctant governments. Sometimes the problem of allocating priority between rights arises where the rights are of a different nature. The question of a fundamental freedom not to strike is controversial principally because it not only conflicts with but also has the potential to frustrate the effective exercise of the freedom to strike. Therefore when the police act to enforce general interests they should do so in ways which do not unnecessarily diminish individual or group freedoms.
