Britain tightens its legislation against protests »point of view

The British government wants to suppress the demonstrations with a new law. Various forms of protest causing “anarchy” are now banned in Britain under penalty of long prison terms.

With the new law tightening up, the British state now knows it all illegal protest, which causes “a bit more” of overlap. Forms of protest such as building, staying in tunnels, blocking traffic, and walking slowly are now criminalized and can lead to long prison sentences. Thus the British government is directly interacting with the actions of the climate movement. Protests by groups like “Just Stop Oil” can now be crushed by the police.

This extension of police powers was in fact rejected by the British House of Lords. But the government bypassed the vote and instead issued the tightening by decree. Critics talked about one “authoritarian” process.

The government is trying to justify the tightening of the law as a necessary step in calming the climate protests. In the meantime, politicians hope to be able to turn an already very negative mood towards climate activists among the population into approval of the new restrictions. British Home Secretary Soella Braverman, for example, said that the new law would allow the police to stop “selfish protesters” if they “wreak havoc on people’s daily lives.”

In fact, the tightening of the law and the restrictions are targeting all unwanted protesters. Already about the coronation of the new British monarch, Charles III. The government has taken steps to ensure that streets can be cleared by the police with a new regulation, the Public Order Act. During the celebrations in early May, many arbitrary arrests were made once the police suspected people of wanting to disrupt the coronation process.

Great Britain: “We must find ways to implement our demands!”

The law can also be applied against strikers. When a great wave of strikes swept across Great Britain in the winter, the government was already trying to pass compulsory labor with a Minimum Levels of Service Bill. According to the draft, important sectors must ensure through commitments and forced labor that regular operations are not disrupted due to labor disputes. After human rights activists and opposition politicians have expressed significant concerns about the law, the new anti-protest legislation could at least prevent mass gatherings of strikers, as happened in December or January when hundreds of thousands took to the streets in UK cities.