📷 North Staffs Green Party - Kill the Bill protests 2021
The right to peaceful protest, most basic rights afforded to citizens of a democracy will be put under threat if the new Police, Crime, Sentencing and Courts Bill is allowed onto the statute books.
The bill gives the police the powers to curtail any protest that is deemed to be causing ‘inconvenience’. A term open to being interpreted in ways that puts at risk the right we have as citizens to speak truth to power.
The commons Joint Committee on Human Rights made up of MPs from all parties has declared the Police, Crime, Sentencing and Courts Bill to be ‘inconsistent with our rights’ and that it increases ‘the risk of peaceful protesters being arrested or prosecuted for innocent mistakes’.
Crucially the committee stated that the authorities have a duty to facilitate protests; not to restrict them.
This matters more than ever at a time when there are so many issues where we the people have truths to tell that those who hold power would prefer not to hear. These include calling out public institutions that have either abused their powers or failed individuals and communities they have a duty to protect.
There is a strong likelihood that the powers afforded by the Police, Crime, Sentencing and Courts Bill would be used to silence legitimate protests on issues such as the threat to the environment posed by HS2, police treatment of female victims of violent crime and animal rights. All of which have in the past seen the police use their existing powers inappropriately.
📷 North Staffs Green Party - Kill the Bill protests 2021
The Green Party was founded as a protest movement to protect the environment and has a proud tradition of standing up for social justice. Protecting the right of citizens to engage in peaceful protest is something to which we are unshakably committed.
If elected to sit as a member of Stoke-on-Trent City Council I would consider is one of my key responsibilities to promote the right of local people to protest. I would do so by supporting any peaceful and positive protest movement active in the city and by using my position to speak to young people about the importance of being politically active.