Introduction

On 9 March 2021, the UK government introduced the Police, Crime, Sentencing and Courts Bill 2019-21 to Parliament. It dealt with a wide spectrum of the criminal justice system. Issues it addressed included the protection of the police; preventing, investigating and prosecuting crime; cautions; the sentencing and the release of convicted criminals; the treatment of youth offenders; rehabilitation; and court and tribunal procedures.

Attracting particular attention were the parts of the Bill relating to public protest. It contained provisions that would amend the Public Order Act 1986, creating powers for the police to restrict protests if they generated enough noise to cause what was defined as ‘intimidation or harassment’ and ‘serious unease, alarm or distress’ to other members of the public. These rules could apply to protests that consisted of as few as one person. The new law would enlarge the ‘controlled area’ that the Police Reform and Social Responsibility Act 2011 created around the location of the UK Parliament in Westminster, central London, often a focus for demonstrations and protests. It also added an extra restriction on protests in Westminster, precluding protestors from preventing access to parliamentary premises. The Bill contained measures making it possible to treat criminal damage to memorials more seriously. This issue was a particularly heated one at the time. Sustained criticism had developed around the way the UK commemorated aspects of its past, including, for instance, statutes of people who had profited directly from slavery, with some cases of direct action against memorials (see: chapter 13).

These measures attracted criticism on the grounds that they were an excessive intrusion on the ability of members of the public to engage in political protest. From this point of view, they were an affront to democracy, reducing the potential of people to demand change from those in positions of power. The government justification for the intended restrictions, as set out in the explanatory notes, was that there was a need to counteract ‘changes in the tactics employed by certain protesters, for example gluing themselves to buildings or vehicles, blocking bridges or otherwise obstructing access to buildings such as the Palace of Westminster and newspaper printing works’ that were not dealt with by existing laws.

Diving Deeper

Protest in political culture

There is a long tradition of political protest in the UK and its precursors (see: chapter 7). Various campaigns for change have involved activities such as large-scale marches and rallies. They have included the Chartists when pressing their demands for the expansion of the right to vote and other reforms in the mid-nineteenth century. It is notable that protest has been a means by which members of more marginalised social groups – and those who support them – can make their case. Those who are excluded from the political system, such as the Chartists and subsequently campaigners for votes for women, who cannot take part in formal political processes like elections, can gain a voice through protest. It can achieve publicity, rallying supporters and conveying a message to people and groups in positions of power. Sometimes, however, protest activities have raised concern among the authorities about the need to maintain public order. On occasion, legal restrictions on protest have been increased; and there have been various instances of disorder by protestors, and complaints about unnecessary and excessive force from law enforcement agencies. In this sense, the boundary between peaceful and non-peaceful protest can be difficult precisely to draw.

Protest in contemporary UK

Protest continues to play an important role in the UK today. In an era of online campaigning, it has retained significance; with social media being used to organise physical events, and disseminate images of them to a wider audience (see: chapter 9). In recent years, a variety of movements have employed public action to promote their ends. They have included environmental campaigners, and advocates of the rights of various groups: for instance, the Black Lives Matter inspired protests, supporters of the rights of trans people, and campaigners for women’s rights. Numerous protests of this nature took place during 2020-2021 in circumstances where pandemic restrictions made such gatherings more difficult to organise and more likely to be restricted by the police.

Marginalised groups and protest

Protest, then, continues to be a means by which groups that are discriminated against, or in some way excluded from the political system, can exert political power. It is also a means by which members of the public can influence those who govern on their behalf. In a representative democracy, elections take place only periodically, so it is important that people can signal their views without needing to wait for the next election. Moreover, in an election, voters choose between different composite programmes, and it might not be possible for them to register their view in a specific area (see: chapter 1). Protest enables them to do so, sending a signal to those who govern, and attracting publicity to and possibly sympathy for their cause, a form of soft power (see: chapters 1 and 13). It could be very difficult, for instance, to secure the removal of statues of slave traders without protest and even direct action of some kind.

The right to protest

Protest is integral to democracy in the UK. It is protected under the European Convention on Human Rights, as incorporated into UK law by the Human Rights Act 1998 (see: chapter 6. The UK government is in the process of reviewing the 1998 Act and its operation). The Convention provides for freedom of expression, and for freedom of assembly, both of which public protest is a means of realising. However, these rights are defined by the Convention as being ‘qualified’ rather than ‘absolute’. This categorisation means that – unlike an ‘absolute’ right such as the right to life – the Convention allows for them to be limited, provided it is done in a way that is proportionate and for a good reason, defined in law. However, at the time the Police, Crime, Sentencing and Courts Bill was introduced to Parliament, a broad coalition of civil society groups criticised its provisions fiercely as being excessive and likely to have a detrimental impact on the right to protest. Government efforts to restrict protest are likely to be viewed as driven by a desire to stifle undesirable public dissent, and in this sense as being a democratic abuse. It is essential to democracy that the public have the ability to give expression to discontent; balancing this need with genuine security concerns is difficult.

Gaps in the Bill

On 13 March 2021, four days after the introduction of the Bill to Parliament, a gathering of hundreds of people took place on Clapham Common, London. It was organised by the Reclaim These Streets campaign in memory of Sarah Everard, who had recently been found dead after going missing on 3 March. A male police officer was charged with their kidnap and murder. The incident promoted a wider public debate about attacks upon and harassment of women by men. Vigils were held across the country. Controversy heightened further when media coverage of the Clapham Common event showed the police, who had raised concerns that it broke pandemic restrictions, removing women by force. Pronounced criticism of this official response followed. This incident helped to link together two issues in public debate: the right to protest and the safety of women. Both were raised in relation to the Bill. One basis for objection to the Bill was the claim that it represented an inappropriate encroachment on the freedom to protest. Another was that, while the Bill dealt with a range of criminal justice matters, it did not seriously address issues concerning the protection of women. Following the introduction of the Bill, more protests took place targeting the Bill itself.

Summary

The Police, Crime, Sentencing and Courts Bill 2019-21 dealt with a wide variety of criminal justice matters. Among them, it created new powers for the police to restrict public protests.

Public protest has an established place in UK political culture. It has been a key campaign tool of many reform movements over the centuries. It is a means by which marginalised groups excluded from the political system can promote their objectives.

Protest continues to be important in the contemporary UK political environment, as demonstrated by the Black Lives Matter and Reclaim These Streets campaigns. The right to protest is safeguarded by protections for freedom of expression and of assembly.

At the time of the introduction of the Bill, controversy surrounded the police handling of the Sarah Everard vigil on Clapham Common; and criticism focused on the Bill both for seeking to restrict protest, and for failing to deal with concerns about the protection of women, that the Sarah Everard case had helped highlight.

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