I think there is a place for free schools, but not for the reasons West London Free School was set up.
I know of two schools - one a special school and the other a specialist school for autistic children - which were set up by parents, because local authority provision was inadequate (non-existent) and there was definitely a local need.
These schools are very different from schools set up so that local children don't have to go the same comprehensives as their peers. West London Free School reserves places for musical aptitude, makes a big deal about teaching Latin and used to have a very long school day with extra-curriculum activities, which cost parents money, thus it became partially selective.
Whatever the rights and wrongs of the model, Toby Young made a hash of it and admitted that running a school was more complicated than he thought. Unbelievable! I wonder how many people would be successful at a job interview, if they admitted that the job is more complicated than they are capable of doing.