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AIBU?

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Original poster

Priti Patel wants to ban protest. Bill going through this week.

258 replies

flashbac · 14/03/2021 08:22

The Police, Crime, Sentencing and Courts Bill is some scary looking stuff. 10 year sentence for being at any protest that, amongst other things, causes or is at risk of causing 'serious annoyance'. That's all protests then is it?
The right to protest is the cornerstone of every democracy.
Aibu to be scared about where this is heading?

OP posts:
Frazzled2207 · 17/03/2021 08:10

@plumpuddisnice

This passed yesterday is there any way of stopping the criminalisation of peaceful protests?

Should I write to my MP or is it too late for that now?

This is frightening!

Not too late no as it now goes to the committee stage for more scrutiny 🧐 before going back to the commons
plumpuddisnice · 17/03/2021 09:23

Thank you @Frazzled2207 I'll email my MP

GiveIrelandBackToTheIrish · 17/03/2021 09:27

Jesus take the wheel

caringcarer · 17/03/2021 09:54

Why does Kier Starlmer almost always order Labour to abstain? I find it sickening he is not doing what he was elected to do and oppose such bills. Even some back bench Conservatives will oppose the bill. Starlmer is as disappointing as Tony Blair, blue Labour.

CrunchyBiscs · 17/03/2021 10:01

An extinction rebellioner hiding in a tree on a main London road brings the traffic to a stop until they can be safely removed - how do you safely remove someone from a tree? For their health and safety the traffic must stop? Middle class EXR followers destroying the livelihoods of ordinary workers is a nono imv.

JustAnotherPoster00 · 17/03/2021 11:01

@caringcarer

Why does Kier Starlmer almost always order Labour to abstain? I find it sickening he is not doing what he was elected to do and oppose such bills. Even some back bench Conservatives will oppose the bill. Starlmer is as disappointing as Tony Blair, blue Labour.
Keiths too busy fighting the left
Mittens030869 · 17/03/2021 11:08

Labour did oppose the Bill in the end, though.

LexMitior · 17/03/2021 11:08

@CrunchyBiscs

An extinction rebellioner hiding in a tree on a main London road brings the traffic to a stop until they can be safely removed - how do you safely remove someone from a tree? For their health and safety the traffic must stop? Middle class EXR followers destroying the livelihoods of ordinary workers is a nono imv.
It’s not a criminal offence! And if you accept this logic, be prepared next time to have a left wing government with its own definition of annoyance to ban you from protesting.

As if this would only ever apply to XR: law applies to all. And governments change.

Frazzled2207 · 17/03/2021 15:36

@CrunchyBiscs

An extinction rebellioner hiding in a tree on a main London road brings the traffic to a stop until they can be safely removed - how do you safely remove someone from a tree? For their health and safety the traffic must stop? Middle class EXR followers destroying the livelihoods of ordinary workers is a nono imv.
I agree to some extent but where do you draw the line? This bill allows police to intervene when any protest creates serious disruption but that is now going to include 'noise'. I think people would accept a bit of noise on their way to work far more readily than not being able to get to work at all.

And if can't make a noise when we are upset, and are potentially criminalised for making one, what else can we do? A dangerous path towards a dictatorship this is

MercyBooth · 17/03/2021 20:51

Its also to prevent any protests that may well happen when people find out in 2022/23/24/25 that they still may not get treatment despite having lost their job/home/marriage to lock down and save the NHS.

plumpuddisnice · 18/03/2021 09:28

@MercyBooth

Its also to prevent any protests that may well happen when people find out in 2022/23/24/25 that they still may not get treatment despite having lost their job/home/marriage to lock down and save the NHS.
My initial thoughts too when I realised that this bill was going through.

There's much more to this!

LunaHeather · 18/03/2021 10:26

I think it might also be to prevent protests from people who think lockdown is ending in summer.

MercyBooth · 18/03/2021 15:51

Yep!

Original poster
flashbac · 19/03/2021 10:52

Update, instead of pushing it through committee starting this week the Tories have decided to delay. Probably until we are distracted or a royal gives birth or something...Hmm

I don't think they anticipated they would get as much of a backlash. Timing is everything of course. If it wasn't for the actions of the Met police at the vigil there would not have been this much of an uproar I reckon.

OP posts:
IntermittentParps · 19/03/2021 11:31

flashbac, I totally agree, I think they thought people who opposed/disapproved of the Clapham vigil would come out in mass support, but hadn't counted on the weight of outrage on the opposite side after the way the Met conducted themselves.

I do feel that since Dominic Cummings slithered off, there is a marked decline in the party's ability to read public mood. Loathe him as I do, he did have that skill.

Original poster
flashbac · 19/03/2021 13:53

I'm not celebrating yet. They will find a way to suppress the public once the public realise what charlatans they are.

OP posts:
MercyBooth · 19/03/2021 15:30

Private Eye Magazine
@PrivateEyeNews
·
6h
Up to a third of applications for Covid Bounce Back loans may be dodgy - but police have ruled out investigating, and banks have no incentive to chase up repayments because taxpayers will foot the bill. Full story in the new Private Eye, on sale now.

Dustyboots · 19/03/2021 15:36

@flashbac - how do we stay alert to this, so they can’t sneak it through?

The media won’t let us know - so how can everyone be informed and awake?

JackieWeaverHandforthCouncil · 19/03/2021 16:03

Don’t worry, they’ll wait until Meghan gives birth. DM will manufacture some outrage and then the Tories can slip it through unnoticed.

Graphista · 19/03/2021 16:17

The media won’t let us know - so how can everyone be informed and awake?

Not properly caught up on thread but, I'm thinking those of us with mps who oppose the bill could write to them asking to be kept up to date on it?

That's just a quick off the top of my head idea at the moment.

There MUST be a way of registering for some kind of online alert or something?

Like when you sign a govt petition you can ask to be kept up to date.

I'm in a rush at mo busy with other stuff but I'll have a look later/over weekend

Graphista · 19/03/2021 16:24

Sorry meant to include - and those of us with good MPs can update on here too?

As I said just a quick idea for now

MercyBooth · 19/03/2021 20:37

Channel 4 News
@Channel4News
In this C4 News exclusive footage, this is the moment police officer PC Oliver Banfield violently attacked a woman walking home at night in 2020.

She faced an uphill battle to get justice from the police forces involved

Maxnon · 19/03/2021 20:44

@CrunchyBiscs

An extinction rebellioner hiding in a tree on a main London road brings the traffic to a stop until they can be safely removed - how do you safely remove someone from a tree? For their health and safety the traffic must stop? Middle class EXR followers destroying the livelihoods of ordinary workers is a nono imv.
Extinction Rebellion is one extreme example. The response should not be a blanket extreme bill to restrict protest for everyone. The point is that this looks like a permanent change in law and that applies to all protests. Evens ones about issues that you may come to care about.
Maxnon · 19/03/2021 20:45

*Even protests you may care about too.

MercyBooth · 19/03/2021 20:49

XR handed them the excuse on a silver platter.