Britain’s got issues

A day doesn’t pass without individuals, pressure groups and organisations seeking to raise awareness of an issue that vexes them. The fight for share of voice could be about to get even tougher following the launch of the Government’s Your Freedom website. The initiative announced by Nick Clegg asks the public to put forward suggestions of which “unnecessary laws” should be repealed.

Derided by some commentators, the idea is likely to be embraced by those with an issue to raise. The government says that ideas, comments and ratings submitted to the site will ‘directly inform the Government’s policy making’. Some of the proposals ‘could even end up making it into bills before Parliament’. This opportunity, however remote, will surely lead to new pressure groups forming and existing ones being reinvigorated. In setting three three broad categories – restoring civil liberties, repealing unnecessary laws, and cutting business and third sector regulations – the government has looked to focus the debate. The initiative though will inevitably be seen as an opportunity to discuss a whole range of issues outside of the stated remit. Contentious issues like Europe and foxhunting may well dominate much of the debate. However, come the autumn when the government publishes which ideas will be taken forward, other, lower profile, issues may hit the big time.

While changing the law is quite an incentive I suspect that few pressure groups will use this as a serious opportunity to change the law. Instead, many will see this as a platform to profile their campaign. There is, of course, a big danger that campaigners will get lost in all the noise. If the media if not already swamped by pressure groups now it will surely be deluged in the autumn.

On balance, the positives will probably outweigh the negatives. If an organisation can clearly articulate their beef through the media, without the taint of commercial or local interest, using some creative tactics and a good figurehead then their pet issue could shoot up the agenda in double quick time. For efficient, well-run campaigns a summer’s worth of effort could well pay dividends come the autumn.