Photo: Christian Eriksson.

It was a busy and exciting day for street art and performance in Liverpool, even whilst the council’s coercive and needlessly bureaucratic policy took effect across the city.

The planned celebration of Liverpool’s vibrant street performance culture was well received by all parties, buskers and general public alike. Debates and discussions were opened up and enjoyed. Hearts and minds were won (not a hard task, admittedly, given the ludicrous stipulations of Liverpool’s new policy). Besides collecting hundreds, maybe even thousands, of signatures from sympathetic and incredulous members of the public, we spoke to concerned members of the wider business community whose rights and interests we feel this policy is overwhelmingly aimed at safeguarding.

When he wasn’t busking, our very own Johnny, had the opportunity to speak to various media outlets throughout the course of the day, debating the real issues at the heart of Liverpool City Council’s new policy, and raising awareness of the real problems which Liverpool City Council ought to be devoting their time and scarce resources to.

Liverpool Echo’s Peter Guy took to the streets to report on events and interview a number of members of the public (‘Liverpool musicians take to the streets to protest against council’s new busking rules’). Unsurprisingly, many of them were sympathetic to our campaign.

But yet again, Liverpool Confidential have proved themselves amongst the cream of Liverpool’s journalistic crop in filming a confrontation between Jonny and one Ged Gibbons, CEO of Liverpool’s City Central Business Improvement District (BID), a man who bears partial responsibility for the current shape of the council’s shambolic new street performance policy.