https://tribunemag.co.uk/2025/10/labours-war-on-protest
Labour’s plan to criminalise recurring protests strikes at the heart of democratic life, transforming political freedom into a privilege granted by the state.
On Sunday, Home Secretary Shabana Mahmood announced plans for sweeping new powers to allow the banning and restriction of protests. Her move came after the refusal of the Defend Our Juries campaign group to cancel Saturday’s demonstrations against the proscription of Palestine Action, which are increasingly becoming a mainstay on Parliament Square.
The prime minister and home secretary had both urged organisers to cancel their planned actions in light of the Manchester synagogue attack. Though they paid lip service to the right to protest, they claimed that exercising it at this moment would be ‘un-British’, with Mahmood darkly adding that just because you have freedom, ‘you don’t have to use it at every moment of every day.’ Having seen their appeals ignored, the government now intends to remove those rights.
Mahmood said the new powers would target ‘cumulative disruption’ and the ‘frequency of particular protests in particular places.’ In practice, this means giving police the authority to simply shut down demonstrations from happening. Defying police orders may result in six months in prison, an unlimited fine, or both. The home secretary described the inability to outlaw recurring protests as a technical oversight, a ‘gap in the law’ in need of closing. But far from a technical fix, the proposal amounts to the most serious assault on the freedom of assembly in a generation.
Recurring demonstrations are necessary for the very reason that the injustices they confront are recurring. In the case of pro-Palestine protests, the government continues to arm and directly support Israel’s military operations in defiance of public opinion — and even after the UN formally concluded that Israel is committing genocide. The same is true of protests against the proscription of Palestine Action, under which thousands of peaceful demonstrators have been arrested on terror charges merely for holding signs. The classification of the group as a terrorist organisation — a ‘disturbing’ misuse of anti-terror legislation, according to the UN — remains in force.
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Original article continues at https://tribunemag.co.uk/2025/10/labours-war-on-protest
