manchester foe logo

Ask your Member of Parliament to protect the right to noisy protest!

news release

As the government’s Police, Crime, Sentencing and Courts Bill (“policing bill”) returns to the House of Commons shortly, Manchester Friends of the Earth are calling on all Greater Manchester MPs to support the changes that the House of Lords made to the bill.

Concern has been expressed across the political spectrum, including in the House of Lords where members recently voted against some of the more extreme provisions the government had proposed.

These include giving the police greater powers over peaceful rallies and assemblies, and even to restrict protests because of their noise level. With possible prison sentences for protest organisers that breach the restrictions, and fines and criminal records for those attending.

MPs will soon have another chance to debate the legislation and the Government has made it clear it wants to try to reverse the House of Lords decision.

Manchester Friends of the Earth is calling on all Greater Manchester Members of Parliament to vote against Government attempts to reverse the changes made by the House of Lords.

Catherine Thomson, Manchester Friends of the Earth co-ordinator said: 

“The fight for our right to protest is far from over. Our MPs will soon have another chance to reject the serious threats to our rights to protest. Many of our basic rights, such as votes for women, have been won through protest. We mustn’t let Government ministers erode this precious freedom.”
More than 250 organisations and over 500,000 individuals have signed  an open letter against the government’s proposals to criminalise peaceful protest and trespass. (3).

Friends of the Earth are asking people to call on their MPs from all political parties to seize this historic opportunity and stand up for the fundamental democratic rights of all UK citizens to be heard. (4)

ENDS

Notes for Editors

(1)  Part 3 of the policing bill proposed a series of changes that restrict the right to protest:

* The policing bill dramatically expands the conditions that can be placed by the police on “static assemblies” (demonstrations). These could include the protest being deemed too noisy, causing “serious disruption” to an organisation’s activities or having a “relevant impact” on people in the vicinity.

* The policing bill reduces the threshold for prosecuting someone for breaching police conditions imposed on a protest, so that the individual merely “ought to have known” about the conditions’ existence, rather than knowingly breaching them, as is the case currently. This places the burden on protesters to find out about such conditions and on organisers to make them known. As a result, many ordinary citizens could be deterred from attending or organising a protest for fear of arrest for breaching conditions they didn’t actually know about.

* The policing bill increases the penalty for breaches of police conditions to up to 11 months imprisonment for organisers (from 3 months currently) and an increased fine for individuals attending.

* The policing bill places an offence of intentionally causing a “public nuisance” in law, with a maximum sentence of 10 years imprisonment. A person could be convicted of this offence if their actions have caused someone serious annoyance or serious inconvenience, or the risk of this. These vague terms are left open to interpretation.

See https://campaigning.friendsoftheearth.uk/news/how-campaign-against-policing-bill

(2) Out of site: Britain’s nomadic people. https://friendsoftheearth.uk/system-change/out-site-britains-nomadic-people

(3)  See: Open letter to the Home Secretary and Secretary of State for Justicehttps://friendsoftheearth.uk/system-change/open-letter-home-secretary-and-secretary-state-justice

(4) Ask your MP to support the right to noisy protest.  https://act.friendsoftheearth.uk/target/tell-your-mp-oppose-hostile-measures-policing-bill

(5) Manchester Friends of the Earth is an award-winning environmental campaign group, raising awareness and lobbying for policy changes at a local, regional, national and international level. The group consists entirely of volunteers, and its campaigns are funded by membership fees and individual donations. Up-to-date information is available on the group’s website: www.manchesterfoe.org.uk. Manchester Friends of the Earth is a Licensed Local Group of Friends of the Earth, England, Wales and Northern Ireland. www.foe.co.uk

Find us on

Facebook

Support Us

Donate or join us using a standing order or PayPal.

Twitter @foemcr