To feel uneasy about how quiet everyone is about this happening?

[Maxnon]

Here are a few articles about a new bill going through, but really there isn't enough being spoken about it in the media.

Politics.co.uk: Anti-protest bill: Freedom dies in silence "The truly frightening thing was that they didn’t even argue for it. Over two days of debate and dozens of speeches, not one government minister actually defended the anti-protest powers in the new policing bill. Only one MP did."

The Economist: An illiberal bill to suppress protest in Britain

Guardian: 'Bill that curtails ability to protest in England and Wales passes second reading' "The DUP MP Gavin Robinson said: “The loose and lazy way this legislation is drafted would make a dictator blush. Protests will be noisy, protests will disrupt and no matter how offensive we may find the issue at their heart, the right to protest should be protected.”

Opinion: The Right to Protest is important in any credible democracy. Whilst I appreciate the current covid restrictions makes protest harder, in general, this should only be temporary until the pandemic slows down and we are back to some normality. A bill making potentially permanent changes to the Right to Protest makes me feel uneasy. Is that unreasonable?

I remember when the Countryside Alliance and the blood sports loons marched in London..they thought the rozzers would be on their side .."sensible chaps, just our sort "...er no matey , the howls of outrage when the tweeds got kettled just like the rest of us and a few skulls were whacked showed that nobody is immune from police aggression in the name of control ...a lot of complacent people will be in for a shock soon ..( whatevers wrong with a police state anyway ?..looks nice and safe and cosy ..)

[quote IsThisJustLife]Here's a link to the UK parliament petition on this: it's titled do not restrict our rights to peaceful protest

petition.parliament.uk/petitions/579012[/quote]
Signed

@DimidDavilby

Deeply fascistic, terrifying how many on this thread seem fine with that!

We've been dumbed down deliberately - since the 60s at least.

@ginandbearit

I remember when the Countryside Alliance and the blood sports loons marched in London..they thought the rozzers would be on their side .."sensible chaps, just our sort "...er no matey , the howls of outrage when the tweeds got kettled just like the rest of us and a few skulls were whacked showed that nobody is immune from police aggression in the name of control ...a lot of complacent people will be in for a shock soon ..( whatevers wrong with a police state anyway ?..looks nice and safe and cosy ..)

In fairness, the advantage that China had with Corona was the police state. The disadvantage for them was that a virus doesn't care about police states. So, the police state was confronted with a force of nature. Got no idea how things are there now because of censorship.

TO ALL those folks out there who thinks its ok to slyley stop protests just think were we would be without the suffragetts for womens vote

But we've all had the right to vote now for a century.

Don't like the laws? Vote out the politicians who enact them.

YANBU it’s terrifying. People were angrier about Corbyn and universal free broadband than they are about this.

@User133847 who's "we"? You can only speak for yourself. I for one won't be listening to the Home Secretary's opinion on when I can and can't protest, if this bill gets passed into law.

It's being passed for second reading by MPs who are running the country with a 44% "majority".

We live in a very bad imitation of a democracy, why are people settling for it? www.makevotesmatter.org.uk/first-past-the-post

It's being passed for second reading by MPs who are running the country with a 44% "majority".

People voted against voting reform by about a two thirds majority in a referendum, this is what the people wanted.

[quote PersimmonTree]@User133847 who's "we"? You can only speak for yourself. I for one won't be listening to the Home Secretary's opinion on when I can and can't protest, if this bill gets passed into law.

It's being passed for second reading by MPs who are running the country with a 44% "majority".

We live in a very bad imitation of a democracy, why are people settling for it? www.makevotesmatter.org.uk/first-past-the-post[/quote]
There's a reason the USA fought for an independence from Britain that had freedom at the heart of its constitution. Democracy has been an add on to the existing monarchy.

[quote IsThisJustLife]Here's a link to the UK parliament petition on this: it's titled do not restrict our rights to peaceful protest

petition.parliament.uk/petitions/579012[/quote]
S

YANBU it’s terrifying. People were angrier about Corbyn and universal free broadband than they are about this.

Sums the situation up nicely.

@ginandbearit

I remember when the Countryside Alliance and the blood sports loons marched in London..they thought the rozzers would be on their side .."sensible chaps, just our sort "...er no matey , the howls of outrage when the tweeds got kettled just like the rest of us and a few skulls were whacked showed that nobody is immune from police aggression in the name of control ...a lot of complacent people will be in for a shock soon ..( whatevers wrong with a police state anyway ?..looks nice and safe and cosy ..)

It doesn't. I studied the GDR as part of my degree and went to a Stasi museum in Berlin, and it sounded like absolute hell, not knowing who you could trust because everyone was informing on each other. The Lives of Others was a great film but I don't want to live in it.

I meant to say I had signed. Stupid phone. Thanks for the link

@AllTheWayFromLondonDAMN

YANBU it’s terrifying. People were angrier about Corbyn and universal free broadband than they are about this.

The irony being that people were scared to vote Labour and get Corbyn as a Prime Minister thanks to his fondness for Chairman Mao and his love of Leninesque flat caps. Everyone worried he might roll in a communist dictatorship so voted for Boris.

Well that has turned out well

@ginandbearit

I remember when the Countryside Alliance and the blood sports loons marched in London..they thought the rozzers would be on their side .."sensible chaps, just our sort "...er no matey , the howls of outrage when the tweeds got kettled just like the rest of us and a few skulls were whacked showed that nobody is immune from police aggression in the name of control ...a lot of complacent people will be in for a shock soon ..( whatevers wrong with a police state anyway ?..looks nice and safe and cosy ..)

I was one of those loons. There was no aggression, aside from some anti’s. The police commented that the streets were cleaner after the protest march than before as country people couldn’t help pick up the litter they passed. It was the size that people remembered 400,000 marching. Can’t see any other protest that large not ending with trouble. Yet it was trouble free. And we certainly aren’t all posh “chaps”. Lots of very working class tough rural types who are use physical exercise and animals. Police on horses wouldn’t have bothered them.But they weren’t needed.

@tormentil

Clearly, those behind the technocratic state have never watched the Matrix or any other sci fi movie.

"Unfortunately, it's been a prolonged stealth move and it looks like we are in the eleventh hour." - Thank the universe for butterfly effects and chaos theory then lol

Don't like the laws? Vote out the politicians who enact them.

We've had hundreds of laws passed in the last 12 months that haven't even been debated in parliament. Bills to make our fundamental freedoms (e.g. the right to walk into our mum's house) illegal have been rushed through in the middle of the night with no opposition. This is not a democracy! Wake up!

Thank you to PP for posting links to the petition I have signed it. We have sufficient laws in place to deal with damage to people or property during protests. Much of the population is in a fugue state due to the pandemic and Brexit. This is allowing increasing erosion of our freedoms to slip through virtually unnoticed.

[quote IsThisJustLife]Interesting just-published update on this debate, bearing the Clapham Common vigils in mind. Seems to be saying that the Home Secretary instructed that vigils at the weekend should be prevented – but then u-turned on supporting police once it went wrong and she saw how it looked.

www.theguardian.com/uk-news/2021/mar/19/priti-patel-wanted-police-stop-people-gathering-sarah-everard-vigil[/quote]
That's exactly what I thought Patel had done.

I've heard about is constantly. So not slipping through unnoticed. But is is going through with people having very little power to stop it? Yes.

@MsFannySqueers

Thank you to PP for posting links to the petition I have signed it. We have sufficient laws in place to deal with damage to people or property during protests. Much of the population is in a fugue state due to the pandemic and Brexit. This is allowing increasing erosion of our freedoms to slip through virtually unnoticed.

And it's scary because if eroded those same people would be too cowardly or lazy to fight for them back. Prevention is better and easier than cure.

@Crankley

skirk64 The voice of sense and reason but the left wing woke folk on here aren't interested in either.

The voice of tyranny speaks. Guess only woke leftists should be denied their rights. Let's think, what does that remind me of?

now now ..me must be nice to china and kiss its ass

@Crankley

skirk64 The voice of sense and reason but the left wing woke folk on here aren't interested in either.

You think a laissez-faire attitude is how you enjoy your current privileges in a democracy with freedom of speech?

Fool.

So. If we protested the bill

By standing completely silent. In a cube. Two metres apart from each other. Holding signs. Not in anyone’s way

Could that happen? Could you still be arrested?