Josie Appleton

Blog • Photo bans

City promises to rein in over-officious security guards

It is common knowledge that photographers in the City of London face constant hassle from private security guards (see a film and blogpost on this here). The Manifesto Club’s Peter Lloyd approached City authorities, asking whether they planned to do anything about these over-officious private security guards. With the help of councilman Alex Deane, we received the following heartening response: Given the City’s history, it is vital that we remain vigilant. However, there is a need to strike the balance between the rights of the individual and the need to ensure that the City is safe for all those who either live,…

Blog • Free movement - visiting artists

US pianist falls foul of UK immigration rules

Statement by Manick Govinda, on a cancelled tour by a US pianist The Manifesto Club was informed of a cancelled recital by the US pianist Christopher Atzinger who was billed to perform in Woking on Saturday 14 April. The recital is promoted by the Breinton Recital Society a non-profit, member society passionate about hosting top class musicians to perform in an intimate, informal and enjoyable surrounding. Atzinger was forced to cancel his UK tour due to “a tightening of UK immigration rules.” Lionel Smith-Gordon, Secretary & Treasurer of the Breinton Recital Society informed us that that “Christopher Atzinger had come to the…

Blog • ID checks

Why should a 27-year-old have to carry their passport to the supermarket?

A blog post by Sarah Boyes I was recently asked for ID at the till of a large London supermarket after a weekly shop that included a few bottles of wine. The cashier explained that she had just finished her training and had been sternly warned to ask for identification from anybody looking under 25, or else face a potential fine and criminal record. She added that the standards agency regularly send around underage shoppers to check cashiers are complying with ‘Think 25’ legislation, so was sorry but had to be very careful. Since I decided to argue the point, her supervisor…

Blog • Freedom hotline

Glasgow council charges thousands of pounds for arts licence

Under the Criminal Justice and Licensing (Scotland) Act of 2010, free arts events will have to pay up to £7500 for an ‘arts licence’. This appears to be an even more draconian version of the UK Licensing Act 2003, which has had a devastating effect on the live music scene in England and Wales. The idea that free, grassroots arts events need to buy a council licence before they can put on a show means the death of independent civic life. We need a licence before we can leaflet, sing, dance, or show art. This sort of rule penalises the smaller and…

Blog • On-the-spot fines

1000 people fined for dropping cigarette butts in Exeter

This is Exeter finds that 1000 people have been fined for dropping cigarette butts – many of them were fined £100 or more. Of course, people shouldn’t drop cigarette butts. But fines on this level look less like a reasonable penalty, and more like a money-making venture. Many councils are now making thousands of pounds from littering fines, and the tighter their finances become the more predatory wardens send out on the street to nick people. In fact, the issue of littering is better dealt with through public provision of (cigarette-butt-friendly) litter bins – and public education, encouraging people to take pride…

Blog • Football Fans Not Criminals

Portsmouth v Southampton – Another ‘bubble’ football match

A follow up post from Manifesto Club member, Peter Lloyd, on the phenomenon of ‘bubble football matches’ (where away fans are banned from travelling to a match under their own steam, and must instead take approved coaches at defined pickup places and times)… If you are a Portsmouth Football Club supporter you will probably be aware that you will only be able to see your team play on 7th April at local rivals Southampton if you travel by designated coach from a designated pick up point at a designated time to a designated drop off point. That’s because the fixture is a…

Blog • Leafleting bans

Political leafleteers asked for leafleting licences in London

This email came from a political leafleteer, who is increasingly being stopped and asked for a licence. Yet the boroughs concerned have not, so far as we know, enacted a leafleting licence system. The context is growing powers for London councils and PSCOs, to be granted by the London Local Authorities Act. A worrying case, which we will investigate… ‘I’ve leafleted for several years (from a stall) without ever contacting the authorities – under the auspices of the Clean Neighbourhoods and Environment Act (CNEA) 2005 (*) – in Islington and Camden (and Westminster). I’ve not had any bother from the police, and…

Blog • Leafleting bans

Brighton and Hove council responds to Manifesto Club petition against leafleting bans

Here is Brighton and Hove council’s woeful response to our Petition Against the Brighton leafleting ban. The requirement that people pay the council before leafleting, apparently, is not a ban but ‘allows flyering in a controlled way’. At the same time – the crackdown on leafleteers is continuing, with at least 4 people given on the spot fines at the weekend for the crime of ‘unlicensed leafleting’. Message to Brighton and Hove council: this debate is to be continued… ‘Thank you for your petition, which was presented to Full Council on 15 December 2011 and which I formally note here. Issuing leaflets…

Blog • Freedom hotline

Liverpool art gallery gets ‘noise abatement notice’

An art gallery in Liverpool has been served with a ‘noise abatement notice’, prohibiting it from holding live music events. Assuming the music wasn’t that loud – this is yet another sign of the growing regulation of live music. Music is often now classified as ‘noise pollution’, and many live music events have to measure sound levels outside. Of course – not all music is to everyone’s taste, but this uniform definition of music as ‘noise’ is part of the growing official view that sees all social life as messy pollution. It’s a view that comes from the EU too – with…

Blog • Leafleting bans

Islington council warns people not to attach notices to trees – in a notice attached to a tree

Islington council warns people not to attach notices to trees – in a notice attached to a tree. This was was clearly a mistake, the actions of a junior worker without a huge amount of common sense. Yet the incident represents a real trend – which is while community posters are being cracked down on, council posters in public space are growing apace. So while you may be threatened with an on-the-spot fine for putting up a lost cat poster, councils are hanging more and more notices off lampposts, on bins and electricity boxes – urging you to give up smoking, drink…