You may soon be seeing gleaming new high-tech cylindrical structures appearing on a high street near you. Coin-operated public think tanks (PTT's) are the latest innovation inspired by Mr Cameron's Big Society based desire for more public input when determining future government policies. A pound coin will buy you 15 minutes of concentrated think time whilst you sit (or recline) on a circular plinth described in the blurb as the 'thought throne'. The proposal is expected to create hundreds of jobs across the UK and has so far been unopposed by opposition parties.
Sanité the french company behind the design of PTT's say microphones concealed within the panels will record all contributions made by participants. Recordings can be transmitted to 'minidumps' for databasing by Whitehall analysts. Ministers are expecting a steady flow of wide ranging contributions will be passed to government departments once the system has been commissioned.
Shadow Home Secretary Yvette Cooper described the initiative as 'probably ending up as another example of coalition waste'