The democratic right to peacefully protest

The freedom of association and the right to protest are fundamental to a liberal democracy.

We know that peaceful protest has led to historic victories for the climate, nature and the environment, not to mention for our wider society and our democracy during our country’s history.

During the late 1970s and early 1980s, I attended many protests in London including the “Protest and Survive” marches organised by the Campaign for Nuclear Disarmament at the height of the Cold War, marches and concerts organised by Rock Against Racism as a response to the increasing support for the far-right National Front and the People's March for Jobs which campaigned against Thatcherite economics and the huge rise in unemployment.

More recently, I attended 2 protests in London organised by the People's Vote which campaigned for a second referendum following the UK's Brexit vote to leave the European Union in 2016.

In addition, I have attended several events organised by Hen Harrier Day which is campaigning to help protect the birds and other wildlife of our upland areas (in particular the Hen Harrier and other raptors) by raising public awareness of widespread wildlife crime and other issues related to use of the uplands for shooting …. see here and here.

Unfortunately, I missed the People's Walk for Wildlife in September 2018 organised by Chris Packham due to family reasons.

Had it not been for the Covid-19 pandemic, there would undoubtedly have been protests last year and this year in respect of the trail hunting of Red Foxes, the Badger cull, the construction of HS2, the climate emergency and possibly other issues which I have an interest in.

However, a very serious threat to our democratic right to peacefully protest has arisen.

The Government has published a new Police, Crime, Sentencing and Courts Bill 2021 that threatens the fundamental rights of citizens and communities to undertake peaceful protest and have their voices heard by the powerful.

The UK, of course, is a democracy but it is not guaranteed to remain a functioning democracy especially if this Bill passes into legislation:

Our democratic system contains checks and balances to keep it working well.

Those checks and balances are being dismantled with remarkable speed by this Government.

We need a democratic reset as a foundation for sound governance in the future.

This is how it works or should work in a functioning democracy ....

The new Police, Crime, Sentencing and Courts Bill 2021 contains some of the most draconian crackdowns on the right of peaceful protest any of us have seen in our lifetime.

It introduces new delegated powers to the Home Secretary plus new powers to the Police to decide where, when and how citizens are allowed to protest and have their voices heard by those in power. The Bill increases sentences and fines for protestors and makes it easier for prosecutions to take place.

The Government is trying to rush this 307 page Bill through without any time for MPs, their staff or the communities that will be most impacted to understand its consequences.

 A broad range of campaigning organisations have warned of a “staggering assault” on the right to protest as well as an attack on other fundamental rights.

Among other things, the Bill will give the Home Secretary powers to create laws to define “serious disruption” to communities and organisations which the Police can then rely on to impose conditions on protests.

The Police already have extensive powers to restrict protests and frequently go beyond them even though it is their duty to facilitate the exercise of this right.

The country is still in the grip of the Covid-19 pandemic that has changed all our lives, handed enormous delegated powers to the Government and dramatically restricted our right to protest.

The proposals in the Bill are an opportunistic bid from the Government to permanently erode our rights.

Any democrat must reject the politics of division that the Government is exploiting through this Bill and protect each other and our ability to stand up to power.

There have been many dark moments in the UK’s history of policing and protest: the Peterloo Massacre in 1819, the abuses of the suffragettes in the early 20th century, the killing of Blair Peach  in 1979 and the recent spy-cops-scandal to name just a few. To this long list we must now add the scandalous Police response to a peaceful and respectful public vigil held on Clapham Common in south London, marking the disappearance and death of Sarah Everard. 

The Covid-19 pandemic has created an opportunity to crack down on peaceful and legitimate protests. Under current social distancing laws, gatherings of more than 2 people are forbidden in most circumstances. However, regardless of this legal framework, the Police are still obliged to adhere to the Human Rights Act 1998 which stipulates that power should be exercised proportionately and only when necessary. The purpose of policing isn’t primarily enforcement, let alone brutality: it is to keep the peace. 

The Conservative Party, the party of Government, seem to have conveniently forgotten that free speech is a 2-way street. It isn’t just for those with the privilege of weekly columns in the (largely biased) UK newspapers. Noisy protesters bearing placards are exercising the very same right to free speech. 

This week, the Police, Crime, Sentencing and Courts Bill 2021 passed its first hurdle in Parliament thanks to the huge majority that the Conservative Party hold. All the opposition parties voted against it. That tells you everything you need to know about this right wing populist Government.

Hopefully, as the Bill progresses through the House of Lords and returns to the House of Commons, common sense and democratic norms and standards will prevail and these proposed draconian powers to restrict the right to peaceful protest will be removed.

Does anyone really want the streets of the UK to begin resembling the streets of Moscow, Hong Kong or Myanmar?

Surely our democracy is more precious than that?

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