Now, this announcement kind of got a bit overshadowed by another announcement from the same press office, but this one is more relevant to us. The Liberal Democrats yesterday said they would challenge the government to "rescue live music" from the "needless red tape" which, they claim, was introduced by the much preciously reported 2003 Licensing Act. Under rules stemming from that Act pubs and small venues who want to offer live music now have to go through various bureaucratic processes - something which, opponents to the Act claim, has reduced the number of such places offering music, which in turn reduces the opportunities for grass roots musicians to play. The Lib Dems planned to raise the problem in a House Of Lords debate on licensing last night.
Commenting on it all, Liberal Democrat Culture, Media and Sport Spokesperson Lord Clement-Jones said yesterday: "The Government promised that the new licensing laws would result in an explosion in live music, it is quite clear that this has not happened. Under the current regime, a group of musicians playing in the corner pose more of a threat to crime and disorder in a pub than the gang watching a football match on the big screen. We need a proper review of the effectiveness of these laws so that innocuous and well meaning performances of live music are not unfairly discriminated against."