Freedom Bill
The deputy prime minister’s Freedom Bill has hit a massive obstacle after the UK public showed its bleak sense of humour, a Daily Mail report has revealed.
Nick Clegg’s bid to remove overweening state interference, by allowing the public to state which laws they wish to be repealed, was ridiculed after wags suggested repealing murder; allowing people to marry horses; and removing such ‘rights’ as Chester’s freedom to shoot with long bows Welshmen within their city walls after midnight.
The government website set up to collect public suggestions crashed after thousands of people took advantage of their ability to complain. While there were some serious suggestions, such as repealing the 20 per cent VAT rate, the majority of respondents wanted to decriminalise soft drugs and restrict large families.
The Freedom Bill is expected in the autumn. Among the top 25 demands listed by the Daily Mail were calls to: make prostitution and drugs legal; repeal the smoking ban; bring back the death penalty; repeal all immigration laws; bring back hanging; remove all speed limits on motorways; remove religion as a criterion for selection to state schools; and abolish the House of Lords.
