National banking and “illegal money”

There is a remarkable petition to the Prime Minister which spells out in a nutshell what monetary reformers have been saying, writing and videoing about for decades:

We the undersigned petition the Prime Minister to Stop the Bank of England from producing illegal money, stop fractional reserve banking and create a nationalised bank.

Whilst promoting it, I was asked about “illegal” and spelled my analysis out as part of the Enforcement of the Bank of England Act 1694. The act was written with the intent “not to oppress Their Majesties’ subjects!”

It seems that this good intention has not been translated into reality over the three centuries since…