Nick Clegg's Remarkable Little Website

The URL alone is pretty striking: http://yourfreedom.hmg.gov.uk/

It's the pet project of U.K. Deputy Prime Minister Nick Clegg,
who has made civil liberties a priority of Britain's new coalition
government. The site's langauge is even more remarkable. The first
full sentence reads:

The Coalition Government is committed to restoring and defending
your freedom – and we're asking you to participate.

The word "restoring" is pretty incredible. It concedes that the
British government has taken a good amount of freedom in the first
place, something governments are generally loathe to concede.
Here's more rare language, describing what the site is all
about:

We're working to create a more open and less intrusive society
through our Programme for
Government. We want to restore Britain’s traditions of
freedom and fairness, and free our society of unnecessary laws and
regulations – both for individuals and businesses.

This site gives you the chance to submit, comment on, or vote
for ideas about how we can do this. Your ideas will inform
government policy and some of your proposals could end up making it
into bills we bring before Parliament to change the law.

So if there are any laws or regulations you'd like us to do away
with, then submit your idea. If you see ideas here already that you
like the look of, then rate them and get them moved up the list.
And if there’s more you’d like to say, then talk to others in the
comments section for each proposal.

It’s time to have your say. After all – it’s your freedom.

I suppose it remains to be seen what sort of actual policy
changes the site inspires. But damn. This is certainly a good
start. It's the kind of thing that might—just might—warm the
liberty loving hearts even of jaded Hit & Run commenters.

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