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Dear John,

British civil liberties have already taken a massive blow in recent years, but it’s never enough for this government. For many experts and much of the British public, the government’s Policing Act and Public Order Act already crossed the line. For authoritarian zealots like Suella Braverman and James Cleverly, there’s no limit in sight.

In the early hours of the morning, James Cleverly announced ([link removed]) yet another set of new laws clamping down on peaceful protest. In a fashion befitting this deeply unserious government, Cleverly opted to proclaim the new rules via an article in the Daily Mail.

It’s shaping up to be yet another crusade in the government’s long-standing war on human rights, giving police new powers to arrest masked protestors and creating a myriad of new protest-related offences. Just as the Public Order Act aimed to censor environmental activists, the new laws set their sights on the latest wave of anti-war protests ([link removed]) across the UK. Whether or not one agrees with the protestors is irrelevant. It’s about the fundamental right to voice loud opposition to government policy. That’s democracy.

As for Braverman, even these new policies fall short of her authoritarian fantasies. In a recent article ([link removed]) published by the Telegraph (the right-wing media is really not even attempting to appear unbiased), the former Home Secretary calls for new Ministerial powers to ban protests unilaterally. In simple terms, she wants government to mercilessly crush any and all opposition.

Since 2019, from premiership to premiership, we’ve watched successive governments chip away bit by bit at the fundamental building blocks of liberal society. Yes, protests can be annoying and inconvenient. Yes, the government does have a responsibility to protect people when things get out of hand. But after numerous illiberal and censorious bills (in addition to a host of other anti-democratic policies), we have to ask – where does this stop? If no line is drawn, all of our rights have become fair game.

Most concerning to me is the fact that, just as with the Policing and Public Order Acts, there is no official opposition plan ([link removed]) to fight the Conservatives on these policies. Labour is sitting back and letting it happen, lest the Murdoch press write nasty articles about them (oh wait… that’s happening anyway).

That means that what may seem like simply another egregious policy choice from a rogue and reckless government could actually be etched in stone. This may be the Britain we become, one where papers are demanded at every corner and any inkling of opposition to the party line is met with censorship and repression.

But we don’t have to go down that route. We have the option, right here, right now, to push our politics in a better direction. Open Britain – and many others like us – are building the movement for a fairer, freer, and more democratic Britain. But we can’t do it without all hands on deck.

Thanks and enjoy the rest of your week,

Matt Gallagher

Communications Officer, Open Britain Team
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