As a group of civil society organisations made up of trade unions, charities, NGOs, faith, climate justice, human rights, cultural, campaigning, and solidarity organisations, we believe that the right to protest is precious and should be defended. We therefore oppose the government’s draconian crackdown on our rights to freedom of expression and assembly.
The government has introduced an extreme proposal to give police new powers to restrict protests based on their so-called ‘cumulative disruption’. If this becomes law, the police in England and Wales will be required to consider any past protests or planned future protests in the same ‘area’ when deciding whether to impose restrictions. The size of an ‘area’ is not specified, and police are not required to take into account whether the protests are for the same cause or involve the same people.
Although government statements make clear these powers have been brought forward in response to the mass national marches for Palestinian rights, the impact of this change of law would be wide-ranging. An anti-racist march could be blocked from Whitehall because of a previous farmers’ protest, or a pride march restricted because a far-right demonstration was recently held in the same town.
Effective protests often recur in the same or similar places, for example, a seat of power like Westminster or Downing Street. No protest movement has ever brought about change through a single demonstration. Britain’s democratic system itself is the outcome of successive waves of protest – the civil rights movement, the campaign for women’s suffrage and the movement against apartheid in South Africa all relied on the ‘cumulative’ impact of repeated protests over many years.
Clamping down on peaceful protests will not protect anyone’s rights or safety, and we reject cynical attempts by government to present this repressive proposal as protection for vulnerable groups. These measures could be used by this, or any future government, to effectively stamp out political demonstrations, actions linked to industrial disputes and protests altogether.
The right to protest must be defended. We call on the British government to immediately drop its dangerous proposal and repeal the succession of anti-protest laws on which it builds.
Amnesty International UK
Artists for Palestine UK
Associated Society of Locomotive Engineers and Firemen (ASLEF)
Bakers Food and Allied Workers Union (BFAWU)
British Palestinian Committee
British Society for Middle Eastern Studies
Campaign Against Arms Trade
Campaign for Nuclear Disarmament
Climate Justice Coalition
Communication Workers Union (CWU)
Equity
European Legal Support Centre
Fire Brigades Union (FBU)
Friends of Al-Aqsa
Friends of the Earth England, Wales and Northern Ireland
General Federation of Trade Unions (GFTU)
Global Justice Now
Greenpeace
INQUEST
Institute of Race Relations
International Centre of Justice for Palestinians
Jewish Voice for Liberation
Labour & Palestine
Liberty
Migrants Organise
Musicians’ Union
Muslim Association of Britain
Na’amod
National Education Union (NEU)
National Union of Rail, Maritime and Transport Workers (RMT)
Network for Police Monitoring
Palestine Solidarity Campaign
Palestinian Forum in Britain
Public and Commercial Services Union (PCS)
Quakers in Britain
Sabeel-Kairos UK
Shadow World Investigations
Stand up to Racism
Stop the War Coalition
The People’s Tribunal on Police Killings
Trades Union Congress (TUC)
Transport Salaried Staffs’ Association (TSSA)
UNISON
University and College Union (UCU)
War on Want