Selling and buying sex has never been illegal in the UK. Yet Harriet Harman seems to think that that's simply not good enough, and that the precedents set by centuries of history - covering even the most prudest eras - isn't good enough for her. What she is attacking she says "just because something has always gone on, it doesn't mean you just wring your hands and say there's nothing we can do about it" she is ignoring the very foundation of British society, law and democracy - precedent and organic development, taking into account the past. Of course this doesn't mean that what has gone before is always right, but it certainly means that there needs to eb damn good reason before you even consider changing it.

Let's look at this from a rights perspective. I own my body, right? We all agree on that point. So I can do whatever the hell I like with it. After all, that is what manual labourers - the people Harman's party claims to represent - do when they sell their labour. And what we all do when we work - we sell our labour in whatever form. Thus, we can do what we want with out own bodies.

Then we have the fact that the money I earn, after I have paid my taxes to the State, are mine to dispose of as I wish. This money I can spend on anything I wish, as it is my money, that I have earned, and on which no-one else has any claim. Right?

So, why should I not be allowed to buy or sell sex if I so wish - wish my own body or my own money? It is right that some activities associated with prostitution - such as pimping and brothel-keeping - are illegal. But the simple activity of selling and buying sex certainly should not be. It is referred to as the "oldest profession" for a reason, and it will long outlive Harman and her ilk. After all, sex is a one of the basic needs of mankind - and not everyone can or wants to get it without paying.

Sources: BBC, The Telegraph, The Times, The Guardian