The government cannot step outside the law to do whatever it wants. This should not be a controversial statement, but in recent years it has become increasingly important to remind the current UK government of this fact. Today, the high court did exactly that, ruling that anti-protest legislation Suella Braverman brought in as home secretary last year was unlawful and undemocratic, and must now be scrapped.
This is a huge victory for our rights. The law in question gave the police almost unlimited powers to crack down on any protest it deemed as causing “more than minor” disturbance. This is an incredibly broad and deliberately vague definition, and unsurprisingly dragged whole swaths of protesters into the criminal justice system. Hundreds of people, including Greta Thunberg, have already been arrested under this unlawful legislation – as well as several other laws introduced in recent years – including more than 600 people last November alone.
Crucially, the home secretary had no power to make the law. It had been rejected by parliament just a few months earlier, and was introduced through the back door in a way that required less scrutiny and debate. In doing so, the government ignored consulting anybody except groups likely to agree. It consulted the police but not protest or community groups. Today’s ruling sends a clear message to the government: it must act within the law and must not pursue its anti-protest agenda at the expense of our rights.
We should all be able to stand up for the things we believe in. From votes for women to Pride, protests have played a crucial role in improving society for the next generation. But this right is continually being threatened by a government intent on bringing in legislation that shuts down the ways we can stand up for what we believe in.
Today’s ruling must be seen in the context of what has happened over recent years, during which the government has introduced a host of new laws that have created a hostile environment for protesters. Powers in the Policing Act and Public Order Act have criminalised fundamental ways of protesting, such as being too noisy, or locking on – a tactic associated with the suffragettes. In its bid to stop certain protest groups it disagrees with, the government has changed the rules so that it makes it illegal for any of us to protest in certain ways.
Worryingly, even more clampdowns on the right to protest are planned. In the criminal justice bill passing through parliament now, the government is attempting to ban the use of facial coverings at protests. For some people, such as political dissidents from Hong Kong, or for some disabled people, wearing a mask is the only way in which they feel safe protest and stand up to injustice. Rather than take away the rights of protesters, the government must facilitate this democratic right.
This matters. There will be a day when you want to protest about something, from your local library closure to a boycotting a brand. When that day comes, this government’s reactive laws will still be there, restricting the ways you can make your voice heard. Because of the ruling today, that right is a little bit stronger. We must stand together to protect it.
Akiko Hart is director of the human rights organisation Liberty
