Lord Beaumont of Whitley is a peer for the Green Party. As you’d imagine, he’s using his presence in the House of Lords to do lots of important work. In particular, he’s introduced a bill to the House of Lords that is perhaps the epitome of central control. Ladies and gents, the Piped Music etc. (Hospitals) Bill.

Provide for the Secretary of State to draw up a plan to prohibit piped music and the showing of television programmes in the public areas of hospitals; and to require the wearing of headphones by persons listening to music in the public areas of hospitals.

Now, I’m not denying it could be a vote-winner, but surely the Secretary of State for Health of the United Kingdom might have better things to do, and hospitals are capable of making these sorts of arrangements themselves…?