Over the past few years it has become almost impossible to hand out leaflets in many UK town and city centres.
Using powers contained in the Clean Neighbourhoods and Environment Act 2005, local authorities have introduced leafleting zones within which people must buy a licence if they want to flyer.
These rules have been catastrophic for village halls, circuses, political campaigners, comedy clubs and nightclubs.
Our new report Leafleting: A Liberty Lost? charts the rapid spread of these unnecessary rules, and finds that 27% of councils now restrict public leafleting.
The report calls for a review of local authorities’ no-tolerance policies, and for a more liberal regime that recognises leafleting as part of a free and vibrant civic life.
Buy the book Leafleting: A Liberty Lost?
Download a screen version of the report
See news coverage of this report: Guardian, Daily Mail, BBC News, Sunday Times, MSN News, Open Democracy, Conservative Home, UTV News, Mark Wallace’s blog, Bearsden Herald, Claire Fox in the Municipal Journal, Municipal Journal News, Buxton Advertiser, Brighton Argus