Busybody State

Busybody State

Freedom news roundup

It has been a busy fortnight for the machinery of public-space control, but we begin with a win. The Pilates instructor told she must pay £85 a week to run a free class on the beach is back, after reaching a deal with the council. Elsewhere: police in Liverpool have used the new protest powers for the first time, drawing a zone on a map inside which covering your face became a crime. Two councils are consulting on renewed Public Spaces Protection Orders, including a ban on making ‘sexual comments’. And in Chiswick, police officers walked into a pub to warn a…

Busybody State • Democracy

Why we need a Campaign for Democratic Governance

(Guest post by Peter Lloyd). If we take ‘governance’ to mean the processes of decision-making, including appointments, scrutiny, responsibility and accountability in our democracy, then much of it has been undermined, bypassed, hidden and ultimately corrupted in recent years. This has been laid bare over the last two years of the Covid-19 pandemic, but it also applies with a series of Net Zero measures and other major policies. These are policies and legislation which have enormous costs that are ultimately borne by the public, and which affect their everyday lives to a significant extent yet they are not subject to proper scrutiny.…

Busybody State • Coronavirus

Covid Marshals: Do we trust in society?

An essay reviewing the role and function of Covid Marshals, by Nikolas Koch. When introducing ‘COVID-secure marshals’, Boris Johnson suggested they would ‘help ensure social distancing in town and city centres’. Marshals should ‘support members of the public in one-way systems and remind them of guidelines,’ or ‘give out masks and hand sanitiser in public places’. In reality, the role of COVID marshals continues to be ambiguous, broadly defined, and most importantly, without formal enforcement powers. Marshals can ‘advise’ and highlight failures to comply with coronavirus legislation but not officially sanction those who ignore guidelines. Often, it remains unclear what marshals actually…

Blog • Busybody State

‘Hand delivery not allowed’

(Guest post by Rupert Lipton) There is a new trend of public organisations refusing to accept documents, applications, correspondence etc. delivered by hand. I have now experienced this three times and it certainly makes my blood boil and seems a wholly inappropriate policy for any public organisation. The first occasion was when trying to deliver a Private Hire Drivers Licence application to Transport for London’s office in Blackfriars Road a few years ago. I wanted to be sure that the application was received, not trusting it to the post and of course, as a private hire driver what could be more obvious that…

Busybody State

On the background of the private litter police

There is a degree of corruption in Anglo-Saxon criminal justice which has not been seen for several centuries. Because the use of power is neither governed by law, nor by systematic elite interests, the door is left open for punishment to be driven by personal material interests of officials themselves. The on-the-spot fine provides a base pecuniary motive to punishment. Some council departments now subsist in large part from their fines income, meaning that an environmental department issuing fines starts to have a private, parasitic interest, apart from the public interest of the local authority. The department becomes a private business with…

Blog • Busybody State

My Aunt and her form-filling local authority carers

(A guest post by Tracey Logan) I recently had responsibility for organising the care of an elderly aunt with dementia. It shocked me how much time was spent by visiting local authority carers –  none of whom knew my aunt – writing notes about her mood and demeanour, and leaving them in a folder on the sideboard that nobody ever looked at. When my aunt eventually went into extra-care sheltered housing, the form-filling continued, even though there was an on-site team of carers who met daily and shared updates on residents. Each breakfast, lunch, evening meal and intervening visit would be recorded…

Blog • Busking • Busybody State

Busking and Public Space in the Busybody State

(A guest post by Jack Lowe) Last month, Havering Council announced their proposals for a Public Space Protection Order (PSPO) in Romford town centre. If their plans go ahead, busking with an amplifier, or anywhere apart from locations designated by the council, would be a criminal offence punishable by a £100 Fixed Penalty Notice or a fine of up to £1000 if taken to court. What might seem like an exceptionally draconian response to performing in public space is an increasingly familiar story in towns and cities across the UK. Not only has busking been regularly included in plans for PSPOs, but…