Our Right To Protest Is Under Threat

URGENT: Bill being debated on Monday 15th and Tuesday 16th.

The new Police, Crime, Sentencing and Courts Bill will effectively make all protest illegal in the UK.

This Bill not only cracks down on NVDA and disruptive protests but also on any protest that the police decide is ‘impactful’... And, well, when was the last time you attended a non-impactful protest? 

The scariest part is that the Bill gives special powers to Home Secretary Priti Patel allowing her to redefine terms in the Bill without parliamentary approval. She will be able to decide whether a protest is illegal and no one will be able to contradict her.

And if Priti Patel doesn’t like a protest you’re part of? You might get a ten-year prison sentence. Even if you’re just in the wrong place at the wrong time.

This is especially disturbing when we consider the disproportionate effect these maximum sentences will have on racialised protesters, such as many from BLM.

The Government and much of the billionaire-owned media will try to pass this Bill off as ‘necessary for dealing with extreme protestors’.

In reality, this is a death knell for UK democracy. 

TAKE ACTION: FROM HOME

Let your MP know about your protest and get others to write to them with their concerns about this erosion of democracy. There’s a template letter here. Publicise this NETPOL petition to reject the Bill and take things in the other direction - protecting protestors instead of persecuting them.

TAKE ACTION: ON THE STREETS

Put pressure on your MP to let them know you don’t want this Bill. A simple placard protest could be all you need... This simple action may be as illegal as anything else before long! You could make a placard of your own or print off some A4 placards here, which you could reinforce by sticking them to cardboard. Take a picture of yourself holding your placard in front of your local police station or MP office. If you have a group who want to take part, you may want to collage the pictures of you all. Get into your local news if you can.

Publicise your pictures on social media using the hashtags #FreedomToProtest #DemocracyIsDying #ReclaimTheseStreets and #Protest4Protest and get the members of your group to share the posts.

If you have bigger ideas and want to take things further, you’re only limited by your imagination! There are #ReclaimTheseStreets protests being planned all over the UK.