Deputy Prime Minister Nick Clegg is asking the public which laws they would like to see repealed.

He is launching the Government’s Your Freedom website at which people will be able to propose ways to get rid of regulation and bureaucracy and reduce state intrusion into everyday life.

Mr Clegg, who this week made a high-profile appearance in Bradford as part of the new Government’s policy to hold some Cabinet meetings outside of London, said: “We are turning things on its head. The traditional way of doing things is that Government tells people what to do.

“That is the old way of doing things. We are saying, ‘Tell us what you don’t want us to do’.”

Mr Clegg said letting dormant laws accumulate on the statute book sends out the “wrong signal” and there is plenty of “old stuff” that should be dropped.

He said the previous Government had gone too far in invading people’s privacy. He said that from today any minister who proposes a new regulation will also have to propose an existing law to be taken off the statute book. He said: “It’s a one-in, one-out rule.”

Ideas submitted in the online consultation process will be taken into account in the drafting of a Freedom Bill to be published this autumn with the aim of rolling back unnecessary regulation.

Speaking in London, Mr Clegg will urge members of the public to be “demanding” about their liberties and their rights.

“What I find especially exciting about this project is that, now we have got the ball rolling, the debate is totally out of government’s control,” he is expected to say.

“Real democracy is unspun – it is the raucous, unscripted debates that always throw up the best ideas.”

The website is at hmg.gov.uk/ yourfreedom will ask citizens three questions.

WHAT YOU THINK

  • "Instead of a smoking ban, I would like to see an allocated smoking area available in pubs and restaurants, so people have the choice," said Jade Driver, 20, of Wibsey, Bradford.
  • "I think CCTV cameras help reduce crimes. There is far too much data gathering on the whole for my liking," said Tony Taylor, 59, of Halifax, who said the smoking ban did not worry him.
  • "I am pleased with the smoking ban and I think that is the one thing the Labour Government did right," said Peter Drake, 67, of Greengates, Bradford.
  • "I definitely think ID cards are an invasion of privacy, but I can see the positives too, for reducing crimes and stopping criminals," said Scott Jenkins, 22, of Clayton, Bradford.
  • "I think CCTV cameras help reduce the number of crimes, however I feel many of them are in the wrong place," said Barbara Drake, 65, of Greengates, Bradford.
  • "I think there are too many speed cameras and CCTV cameras around so I would like to see the law changed on that," said student Josh Loynes, 20, of Heaton, Bradford.