UK is in top-20 countries by democracy index.[1] It is classified as 'full democracy' (as opposed to 'flawed democracy', for example in the US).
[1] https://www.eiu.com/n/campaigns/democracy-index-2021/
UPD pdf version of the linked report: https://www.docdroid.net/xCeDvHc/eiu-democracy-index-2021-pd...
The dominant paradigm is "if it is not permitted it is forbidden".
Those of us in the colonies went a long way to get away from that.
Oh gosh. It’s the exact opposite. The a principle of Common Law is ‘everything which is not forbidden is allowed’ (the US for example has done reasonably well on that principle).