So the councils are charging for parking anywhere anytime even at 2am because the streets belong to them supposedly, and its very important the chief executive earns 200k in cahoots with the parking company's management. And of course freedom for the general public doesn't matter any more despite the freedom our forefathers fought for in the war. So are they missing a trick in not charging people to breath on their streets?

Strictly speaking, we are not entitles to park on the streets, except in marked bays. Otherwise, a very old law about 'not obstructing the carriageway' applies. As the wording suggests, this goes back to carriages, long before cars. Any parked car not in a marked bay, could be prosecuted for contravening this law, but it is rarely used. Some time ago I found some details of where it had been used. A residential street, cars parked both sides, delayed a fire engine attending a house fire. The fire service report detailed the cars in the way, the house insurance company pressed the police to prosecute (all the cars involved, no argument about who got there first). A minor fine, no criminal record, so people paid up. Then in stepped the insurance company with a compensation claim for the value of the additional damage due to the delay. Having paid the fine, effectively pleading guilty, car owners had to extend mortgages, take loans, etc., to pay the claim. I've seen three instances of this, but sadly, like a lot of stuff on the internet, becomes impossible to find again.

So, whenever leaving your car anywhere, consider this question. "Can a fire engine get by?"

Of course, if the council charge you, they've also given you permission to park there.