There are more important things to worry about than song circles. Brits tolerate more than guitar players.

British people allowed a authoritarian state to creep into being right under their noses.   In many other countries there would have been rioting in the streets. For instance, years ago, when the Greek government passed a law that required the early closing of entertainment venues, Greeks promptly partied all night in the streets forcing the government to back down.

At the same time the rich-poor divide has widened with class once again becoming an issue.

People at the lower end of the scale are battered by disproportionately high taxation - much of it indirect and hidden - as well as unprecedented levels of personal debt to banks and credit companies.

Hospital wards are plagued with deadly MRSA and other bugs.

Youngsters are leaving school unable to read and write

Violent crime has doubled

Prisons are overflowing to the extent ships are to be used as temporary jails.

ASBOS (Anti-social Behavior Orders), confines people to certain parts of town and exclude them from others.

Britons have become the most spied-upon people in the world.

In the pipeline are compulsory biometric ID cards and genetic harvesting by law enforcement.

Proposed satellite tags to track the elderly.