London Daily

Focus on the big picture.
Wednesday, Jul 23, 2025

New anti-protest bill targets Britain’s most marginalised, but history shows us that the people will not be silenced

New anti-protest bill targets Britain’s most marginalised, but history shows us that the people will not be silenced

Introduction of new legislation in the UK that will make it more difficult for people to protest is already causing great controversy. A glance at the past suggests the authoritarian measures will not end well for the government.
The Conservative Party is at it again, launching a pre-emptive strike by introducing draconian laws that will try to prevent people coming out on to the streets to protest in the shape of the new Police, Crime, Sentencing and Courts bill.

After all, they know what is coming. We have just spent a year indoors, impotent to what has been happening around us during the pandemic. But at some point, the Government and the public know that we will have to be freed. And when that happens, what will we be coming out to?

I have expressed my fears on RT before, but I’ll reiterate: Landlords have not been lawfully able to evict tenants, and that will change – so mass evictions are on the way. Millions are on furlough, on top of nearly 2 million unemployed. This figure will soar once furlough ends. Our high streets have been devastated, and many pubs, clubs, and live music venues will not reopen.

Britain will be a very grim place, and as new austerity measures arrive, inevitably hurting the poorest the most, as they always do, people will want to protest.

They will want to tell the Government that nuclear weapons and millions of pounds in hand-outs to private companies run by associates of Government ministers through poor procurement deals are unacceptable.

After a year where people’s lives have been devastated in so many ways, hope is what is needed. But what the Government is offering, instead, is the likelihood of state violence.

The Government rushed through the new bill earlier this week by 359 votes to 263 – a majority of 96 – after it was overwhelmingly backed by Tory MPs.

The new legislation has authoritarian Home Secretary Priti Patel’s fingerprints all over it, and includes provisions to crack down on demonstrations if they are too noisy or cause “serious annoyance.” It also seeks to extend the punishment for people who damage statues – up to 10 years in prison – and give more powers to police to shut down peaceful protests. There are even more robust powers intended to criminalise the living circumstances of Gypsy, Roma and Traveller communities.

Like all British Governments, the Tories want order – the British ruling elite love laws and rules, and love harsh penalties if they are breached. No matter which party they represent, or what board of directors they sit on, they need order, as it is the only way this deeply unequal society can function.

Protest and disorder terrify the British ruling class, and draconian measures are always implemented to try to prevent them. And yet the British public have often found ways to navigate the prison sentences, the penalties, the public scorn through the mainstream media and the oppressive policing. Very rarely do we riot, but when push comes to shove it occasionally happens, forcing political change.

The years 1987 and 1988 were busy for the then-Conservative government, with Prime Minister Margaret Thatcher leading a deeply conservative and right-wing cabinet that introduced the Poll Tax to Scotland and then amended Section 28 of the local Government act.

Clause 28 (or Section 28 as it was commonly known) was an open attack on the gay community. It considered LQBTQ relationships immoral and illegitimate, and said that no Government institution could promote any relationship that was not heterosexual.

This had a devastating effect not only on the LGBTQ community, but also on black and working-class families, especially single mothers, as the only family that appeared to be state sanctioned were the conventional ones that were white and middle class. In doing this, the government alienated millions of British people, whose hatred for the Conservative Party ran so deep it has taken a generation for it to recover.

Those marginalised by Thatcher and her Nasty Party tactics found common cause, and the period was full of turmoil rather than order. In March 1990, after a long and successful campaign throughout the country and hundreds of protests, plus mass non-payment of the Poll Tax, thousands gathered in Trafalgar Square in London and after a day of peaceful protest, but with heavy policing, campaigners and officers clashed.

Hundreds of people were injured and hospitalised, and 340 people were arrested. But the levels of anger throughout the country towards the Poll Tax rather than the protesters shocked the Conservatives, and helped pave the way for the replacement of Thatcher by John Major later that year.

Only four years after the Poll Tax protests, Major’s Conservatives were getting jittery again as the youth of Britain engaged in ‘disorder’ by travelling around the country and dancing in fields at raves and festivals. In order to stop this, they introduced The Criminal Justice and Public Order Act 1994, which gave the police greater powers to close down rave parties, and stop any large gathering of people, including protests. The Labour Party did what it does best when faced with a problem that may cost it some middle-class votes, and abstained, while again the Gypsy and Traveller communities were targeted.

So, this latest bill is nothing we haven’t seen before. Yet again, it’s the British government being aware of a grim future for the poorest communities and – allied with their fear of working class and black people, and sections of society who are unwilling to fall into order – realising that new legislation is needed.

But this Conservative government needs to be aware that history will judge it, and those who implement state violence on the British people generally face the consequences. Thatcher’s legacy was people openly cheering her death, the Poll Tax was scrapped and the protesters celebrated rather than denigrated, and former Tory leader David Cameron eventually apologised for Section 28.

This new crime and policing bill is already attracting plenty of debate and discussion, and bringing together strange bedfellows in the shape of freedom-of-speech liberals, anarchists, ex-police chiefs, and even some of the left who are finally seeing beyond their own authoritarian lockdown obsession. They are already getting together online and will soon be meeting up in person, with something concrete to organise around – killing the bill.
Newsletter

Related Articles

0:00
0:00
Close
US Treasury Secretary Calls for Institutional Review of Federal Reserve Amid AI‑Driven Growth Expectations
UK Government Considers Dropping Demand for Apple Encryption Backdoor
Severe Flooding in South Korea Claims Lives Amid Ongoing Rescue Operations
Japanese Man Discovers Family Connection Through DNA Testing After Decades of Separation
Russia Signals Openness to Ukraine Peace Talks Amid Escalating Drone Warfare
Switzerland Implements Ban on Mammography Screening
Japanese Prime Minister Vows to Stay After Coalition Loses Upper House Majority
Pogacar Extends Dominance with Stage Fifteen Triumph at Tour de France
CEO Resigns Amid Controversy Over Relationship with HR Executive
Man Dies After Being Pulled Into MRI Machine Due to Metal Chain in New York Clinic
NVIDIA Achieves $4 Trillion Valuation Amid AI Demand
US Revokes Visas of Brazilian Corrupted Judges Amid Fake Bolsonaro Investigation
U.S. Congress Approves Rescissions Act Cutting Federal Funding for NPR and PBS
North Korea Restricts Foreign Tourist Access to New Seaside Resort
Brazil's Supreme Court Imposes Radical Restrictions on Former President Bolsonaro
Centrist Criticism of von der Leyen Resurfaces as she Survives EU Confidence Vote
Judge Criticizes DOJ Over Secrecy in Dropping Charges Against Gang Leader
Apple Closes $16.5 Billion Tax Dispute With Ireland
Von der Leyen Faces Setback Over €2 Trillion EU Budget Proposal
UK and Germany Collaborate on Global Military Equipment Sales
Trump Plans Over 10% Tariffs on African and Caribbean Nations
Flying Taxi CEO Reclaims Billionaire Status After Stock Surge
Epstein Files Deepen Republican Party Divide
Zuckerberg Faces $8 Billion Privacy Lawsuit From Meta Shareholders
FIFA Pressured to Rethink World Cup Calendar Due to Climate Change
SpaceX Nears $400 Billion Valuation With New Share Sale
Microsoft, US Lab to Use AI for Faster Nuclear Plant Licensing
Trump Walks Back Talk of Firing Fed Chair Jerome Powell
Zelensky Reshuffles Cabinet to Win Support at Home and in Washington
"Can You Hit Moscow?" Trump Asked Zelensky To Make Putin "Feel The Pain"
Irish Tech Worker Detained 100 days by US Authorities for Overstaying Visa
Dimon Warns on Fed Independence as Trump Administration Eyes Powell’s Succession
Church of England Removes 1991 Sexuality Guidelines from Clergy Selection
Superman Franchise Achieves Success with Latest Release
Hungary's Viktor Orban Rejects Agreements on Illegal Migration
Jeff Bezos Considers Purchasing Condé Nast as a Wedding Gift
Ghislaine Maxwell Says She’s Ready to Testify Before Congress on Epstein’s Criminal Empire
Bal des Pompiers: A Celebration of Community and Firefighter Culture in France
FBI Chief Kash Patel Denies Resignation Speculations Amid Epstein List Controversy
Air India Pilot’s Mental Health Records Under Scrutiny
Google Secures Windsurf AI Coding Team in $2.4 Billion Licence Deal
Jamie Dimon Warns Europe Is Losing Global Competitiveness and Flags Market Complacency
South African Police Minister Suspended Amid Organised Crime Allegations
Nvidia CEO Claims Chinese Military Reluctance to Use US AI Technology
Hong Kong Advances Digital Asset Strategy to Address Economic Challenges
Australia Rules Out Pre‑commitment of Troops, Reinforces Defence Posture Amid US‑China Tensions
Martha Wells Says Humanity Still Far from True Artificial Intelligence
Nvidia Becomes World’s First Four‑Trillion‑Dollar Company Amid AI Boom
U.S. Resumes Deportations to Third Countries After Supreme Court Ruling
Excavation Begins at Site of Mass Grave for Children at Former Irish Institution
×