41. All merchants [inclusive of sellers of their own labour power] shall have safe and secure exit from England, and entry to England, with the right to tarry there and to move about as well by land as by water, for buying and selling by the ancient and right customs, quit from all evil tolls, except (in time of war) such merchants as are of the land at war with us.
MAGNA CARTA – 1215 —English Translation
Does the Magna Carta enshrine in law free movement of all workers in and out of the borders of Britain, Ireland and France?
I'm going to go with "no",…
I'm going to go with "no", because I don't think that definition of merchant [in square brackets] would have been widely accepted at the time.
Also no free movement for people in gaol. And of course no free movement for people who lack the means to move.
It is interesting to see which bits of Magna Carta are still in force today.
Some merchants export/import…
Some merchants export/import; some just import; others concentrate on the export. We are limited to sale of our labour power, or withholding it.
Robert Nestor Marley, OM
There are some wonderful Jewish counsellors out there—Benjamin Myers KC comes to mind—but Joshua Rozenburg, the houseboy, is not one.