Dear John,

Every year, Bond – a network of UK civil society organisations – reports on the state of our civic space in the UK. The 2024 report ([link removed]) is clear and damning: our rights to protest and free expression remain under threat.

Open Britain has long warned about the chilling effects of the Police, Crime, Sentencing and Courts Act (2022) and the Public Order Act (2023), both pushed through under the Conservatives. But the current government shows little interest in turning the tide.

Bond’s Rowan Popplewell sums it up: “Over the last 12 months, we have seen several egregious examples of over-policing, including the decision to raid a meeting at a Quaker Meeting House, where six young women were discussing climate change and the war in Gaza. Another was the arrest of a woman attending a pro-Palestine demonstration whose placard went viral on social media.”

He added:

“It’s become apparent over the last year that laws on protest are out of step with public opinion, which is more balanced and considered than we are often led to believe.”

That view is backed up by research from Demos: 83% of people in the UK support the right to protest about issues they care about.

Matt Gallagher – Ugly Politix


** The UK is a World Leader in Stomping Peaceful Protest
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READ ([link removed])

Meanwhile, across the Atlantic, Donald Trump claims to champion “free speech” while cracking down on any and all dissent. He speaks of consequences for those with “improper ideologies.”

Student activists like Mahmoud Khalil face detention and deportation without trial, and universities that don’t suppress protests risk losing funding.

Whatever you think of the protestors or their causes, this is not what democracy looks like.

Keir Starmer, too, insists the UK “guards free speech preciously” – but actions speak louder than words.

Home Secretary Yvette Cooper pressed ahead with an appeal to defend anti-protest laws, allowing police to shut down demonstrations causing “more than minor disruption.” The Court of Appeals threw it out, siding with human rights group Liberty and ruling that the government unlawfully used Henry VIII powers to bypass Parliament.

It was a win for civil liberties, but the fact that it took a legal battle to stop an executive overreach speaks volumes.

The government is still playing fast and loose with our freedoms. And if this is how they behave now, what happens under a future Conservative – or Farage-led – government?

Protest isn’t a threat to democracy. It’s a warning signal that democracy isn’t working as it should. When governments ignore the people, protest becomes essential. A truly democratic government doesn’t silence dissent. It listens.

All the best,

Matt

Matt Gallagher

Communications Officer

Open Britain
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