To be afraid of Priti Patel's bill

[adeleh]

And even more afraid at the lack of reaction in the wider public.
It allows the government to determine which protests they find annoying, and hand out sentences of 10 years in jail to protesters on non-violent protests.
It allows them the power to seize the homes of travellers, which means that their children are more vulnerable to be taken into care.
And most people just don't seem to care.

Everyone I’ve spoken to in real life cares a lot about this. However, how can we go out and protest an anti-protest bill when they’re using COVID as an excuse to forcefully break up a peaceful vigil?

This is excellent timing for them to roll out, as many people won’t see it as a good time for any protest and it therefore will look like there’s no backlash.

I'm aghast at this bill. I think it's been rushed through precisely to avoid public scrutiny and criticism. This is how dictatorship is formed.

@Thehawki

Everyone I’ve spoken to in real life cares a lot about this. However, how can we go out and protest an anti-protest bill when they’re using COVID as an excuse to forcefully break up a peaceful vigil?

This is excellent timing for them to roll out, as many people won’t see it as a good time for any protest and it therefore will look like there’s no backlash.

maybe I'm being unfair. I hope so. People around me are saying it's awful, but don't seem very inclined to sign petitions, write to MPs, write to the press etc. And it seems to me that it's likely to be a tipping point in our history, and I was quite shocked to see that there was no mention of it in any of the active threads here.

I think when one party has an 80 seat majority, people feel like it is a bit pointless writing to MPs etc and are they really going to listen to us.

I think it would need to be people in Tory seats writing to Tory MPs to make anything change. Maybe small protests outside the party office of each Tory MP?

Yes, the muted response to this bill in Media and in the society is worrying, we can't even protest against it now. The capacity to protest is surely a marker of democracy and blocking this is the sign of an authoritarian government.

Feels like the government is taking advantage of our national disheartened and apathetic mood.

Thatcher had a bigger majority and the public was able to exert change.
I've heard that MPs do get jittery if enough people write to them - they assume that 10 people agree with each letter writer. It does give them an idea of how compliant people are going to be with what's proposed.

I like the idea of protest outside party offices, but it would need to be soon as the new bill includes measures against even individual protesters.

What can we suggest? That the bill is postponed until a different time when there is a chance for greater public discussion?

Contact more religious organisations to protest? (Liberty have a letter on their website for people to sign and there are a lot of rabbis, etc who have signed).

Write to our MPs and MPs in other constituencies to express our concerns?

I don’t know, I am open to suggestions as I am uncomfortable with some of this and want to read more about the legislation.

Sign any petitions, I would say.
Write to MPs, even if you think they might not listen. They should be aware of general discontent.
Write to the press?

The right to peaceful protest is absolutely fundamental. We can't let it be taken from us. And the proposals targetting Travellers are awful.

@PubicMenace

I'm aghast at this bill. I think it's been rushed through precisely to avoid public scrutiny and criticism. This is how dictatorship is formed.

Exactly

When even Theresa May thinks it's too draconian . . . Not that it stopped her voting for it along with the rest of her party, but just maybe they could be prevailed upon to amend it at committee stage.

The UK will be a police state within five years if the Tories aren't removed from power.

Soon it will be legal for police to just arrest and beat up anyone they don't like the look of.

I'm scared of Priti full stop. She's a very concerning individual.

@Thehawki while I agree to some extent we are not powerless

I've already written to my Mp who thankfully responded saying he was voting against and his response shows he clearly understands why it is so problematic

I am in the process of formulating a letter to send to various lords as it's yet to reach that stage too, and in recent times the House of Lords have actually been doing good in the form of stopping or amending Tory attempts to create a country under their cosh with a population unable to speak

Here is a link with links to find the right contact details for appropriate lords to write to

www.writetothem.com

and here is a link to the full content of the bill

publications.parliament.uk/pa/bills/cbill/58-01/0268/200268.pdf

[quote Graphista]@Thehawki while I agree to some extent we are not powerless

I've already written to my Mp who thankfully responded saying he was voting against and his response shows he clearly understands why it is so problematic

I am in the process of formulating a letter to send to various lords as it's yet to reach that stage too, and in recent times the House of Lords have actually been doing good in the form of stopping or amending Tory attempts to create a country under their cosh with a population unable to speak

Here is a link with links to find the right contact details for appropriate lords to write to

www.writetothem.com

and here is a link to the full content of the bill

publications.parliament.uk/pa/bills/cbill/58-01/0268/200268.pdf

[/quote]
Thanks Graphista - that's really helpful.

I AM disgusted at the minimal reporting on such an important and potentially catastrophic bill

I'm hoping as Labour have raised it at pmq's it MAY get some more media coverage - not holding my breath.

It's all over sm ime but I'm aware that may be down to who I follow - which isn't only those opposed to the govt, I follow as many as possible inc Johnson - know thine enemy and all that!

But the msm in this country are a Fucking joke frankly!

Actually - something has just occurred to me, I wonder if any elements of the bill might affect journalists? I shall have to read again carefully, that might be the case! If so AND we point this out to them then MAYBE they'll bloody well do their job!!

@adeleh I'm glad, I've been slowly wading through it since Monday and making notes. I'm disabled and unable to do much and often I feel more of a burden than a contributory member of society it can get me quite down but what I DO have is a LOT of time, an English degree, a law A-level (I know fairly basic and pathetic?) and a stubborn and tenacious personality!

I agree with some aspects but not others.

The state should not be able to decide what protests are justified.

The state should be able to forcefully, and without fear of reprisal, drag away prosters who are causing significant distruption and chuck them in a cell for a few days. For example people who are standing on top of trains or chaining their bodies to airports and alike.

Marina Hyde’s article below discusses this. The government are more concerned with protecting statues than women but we are in a culture war now so at least 50% of people don’t care.

On Twitter someone said that the safest women in the country are now the female statues of the suffragettes who would probably be serving 10 years in jail today for what they did.

amp.theguardian.com/commentisfree/2021/mar/16/women-statues-government-tougher-sentences?__twitter_impression=true

I don't have any problem with the bill. People will still be able to protest, it just means there are tighter restrictions against using tactics that prevent others from going about their lawful business. Nobody should have the right to disrupt public transport by gluing themselves to trains. Nobody should feel able to smash shop windows and burn cars. Nobody should be made to feel afraid by a mob, to feel they can't go to the shop or hospital or park because their is an angry mass of people in the way.

Quiet, organised protests, with people holding signs and moving on at the allotted time, will still be allowed. If someone cannot make their point peacefully without resorting to intimidation then I don't care if this bill gets in their way.

People say this is leading to a police state. Bullshit. All it is doing is moving away from the mob rule mentality that we've seen in recent years.

That is good.

Police already have the power to arrest people doing damage, such as smashing windows. This bill is so vaguely worded as to allow Patel to stop any protest if it annoys her. That is extremely sinister. That is not the bill of someone wanting to stop people smashing windows.
And what about the targetting of Travellers?

This Bill is not good at all.

You are a star graphista !!

Priti Patel is quite literally one of the most awful women in the Tory Party.
Her record from tobacco companies to Israel is just beyond belief and I cannot understand how she was allowed to sneak back in.

@skirk64

What about its effect on the traveller community? Genuinely interested in a balanced perspective

@Thewithesarehere

Priti Patel is quite literally one of the most awful women in the Tory Party. Her record from tobacco companies to Israel is just beyond belief and I cannot understand how she was allowed to sneak back in.

I think she stood for parliament in her local constituency and got voted in by her local constituents. Later on she got a place in the cabinet because she stood out to senior members of the party on account of her communication skills. Something like that. But I could be wrong.

here's a link to the petition if anyone needs it:

petition.parliament.uk/petitions/579012

Thanks, I’ve signed it