White told the MA: "If you want a crowd surge and injured teens, then go ahead (with the Bill)."

Responding to the view that pubs shouldn't need a licence for live music as they don't for football, White said: "A local pub that decides to show the World Cup final does not attract football-lovers from all around.

"But a band might announce on Facebook or Twitter that it's appearing at a certain pub, and fans will come for miles around.

The LGA group's continuing prejudice against live music is as irrational as it is damaging.

Their stated position is that they are against a re-introduction of 'de minimus' exemption for small scale live music and continue to lobby against this.

As they do not continue to lobby for any change to this, the assumption must be that they are in favour of the many illogical exeptions which already do litter this Act. The most important one being the one that Cllr White tries and fails to defend, the exemption for live TV sporting events.

Cllr White's resignation from his influential role at the LGA would be a good start. His Lib Dem leader and now deputy PM is in support of measures in a Bill which Cllr White has declared to be "a very ignorant bill".