Your Freedom
I've been busy this week volunteering with the International Youth Arts Festival in Kingston, which has been a huge success. But it has meant that I haven't yet written about something very dear to me - the Freedom Bill.
Uniquely it's an opportunity to get rid of laws instead of adding to them. And the Deputy Prime Minister is asking for suggestions about which laws to repeal.
You can add your thoughts on the Your Freedom website. Nick Clegg poses three main questions to get you thinking, but ideas are not restricted to these:
- Which current laws would you like to remove or change because they restrict your civil liberties?
- Which offences do you think we should remove or change, and why?
- Which regulations do you think should be removed or changed to make running your business or organisation as simple as possible?
You can have a look at all the ideas that have been submitted already and give them a star rating, or you can add a new suggestion. So far there are about 10,000 suggestions, which are going to give a couple of civil servants a lot of work!
To my huge relief, the Government has already announced that it is getting rid of ID cards - so that is one thing that doesn't need to go into the Bill. The right to non-violent protest (especailly near Parliament) was also signalled in the coalition deal.
I can see a re-run of the debates around the bans on hunting with dogs and smoking in public places. Both of these were the result of a careful balancing of civil liberties against the need to protect people and animals from harm. Which reminds us that most issues are not black-and-white and that laws and regulations have consequences, not all of which can be foreseen.
Interesting times ahead...
Comments
You said: "International Youth Arts Festival in Kingston, which has been a huge success."
I beg to differ - it has been a shambles. Far too much money has been spent and hardly anyone turned up to many of the events. A colleague of mine took his daughter to an event and the performer turned up but the person opening up the hall didn't and then it turned out my friend's daughter was the only one who attended.
I love the Rose theatre but it is starting to churn out second rate plays and has a programme not dissimilar to that at the Richmond or Wimbledon theatre. I had hoped the Rose would be different but it appears that in a struggle to keep open they are pandering to the lowest common denominator. It is very sad this has happened!
Well, I've been to several well-attended events in the Festival this week - Godspell, None but Friends, Kingston Youth Big Band, Stoneleigh Youth Orchestra - and many others that I didn't get to were well attended, like the opening Gala, Carnival, Revenger's Tragedy and last night's Circus.
There were 100 events going on - how many did you attend? They did vary a lot in attendance, but that happens at all festivals, even well-established ones like Edinburgh where some fringe events get tiny audiences.
There has been a real buzz in the town and in the Rose Cafe. You really shouldn't be knocking something in its early days that was so lively and with so much potential.
As for your comments about the Rose, I think we must be going to different theatres! Midsummer's Night Dream with Judi Dench is second rate? Productions this year by Peter Hall, Peter Brook (yes, really) and Steven Unwin? Hope you are coming to see Romeo and Juliet next week - it will be a real treat.
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