Dr Howells appears to only have one approach, it is both his strength, when
he wants to publicise himself or his novel, and now when he has to defend
what the words of his Bill actually say, his weakness.

He makes an appeal to the popular voter, usually in the form of a general
statement or attack that most of us would go along with. The 'bullshit'
comment on the Turner prize, is a good example.

If you examining the transcript, in his attempts to maintain this tactic, he
manages to claim the Bill will encourage and free all live music from
complaints , however loud the music may be and at the same time will also
enable local residents to prevent it?

That drinking can go on all through the night and at the same time all the
local resident's concerns will be met?

That local authorities wrongly make money out of entertainment licensing but
can still be trusted, with even more power over us under the Bill, not to be
over-zealous?

If we can encourage him to carry on long enough like this, he will sooner or
later have put everyone's backs up and worried the life out of us all. For a
mindless and unsupported attack on someone else's concern from a powerless
opponent can be overlooked, but the strength of an attack by the Government
supported Dr Howells on your corner, is quite another.

He will have to try and sell this Bill as being all things to all people and
he and his limited tactical range, is just the wrong person to make the
attempt. If the Government are still seriously intending to inflict this
Bill on us, and it looks as if they are, I fear they will be placing Dr Howells on
the sidelines very shortly.