The Guest above is me, by the way.

Even if it's not being imposed, this legislation is one more gun for the government's repressive armoury. It may not be enforced now, but it could in the future when the situation requires. Just imagine a couple of possible examples - a fund-raising benefit for a local protest campaign? A picket line outside a workplace (the public place being the pavement) involving instruments and singing?

When Gordon Brown as Chancellor raised tax by getting rid of the 10p minimum, it started off as something that was initially hardly noticed. It took a year or so before the shit hit the fan over that. Similar, in some ways, to this. It's just a piece of casual legislation that supposedly affects few people, and that no one really cares about anyway. Or so they they think......