Managing protest...
at 9:27am on Wednesday, 14th May 2008
It's worth taking a look at the recent Governance of Britain Draft Bill and accompanying White Paper. It's worth keeping an eye also on how the Bill develops as it passes through Parliament.
One of the headlines is a possible repeal of the requirement that protesters seek permission int the vicinity of Parliament.
These requirements are just silly constraint on free speech. Hopefully the White Paper and Draft Bill signal the end of the need to ask for permission before demonstrating. Which is good news. But it is probably too early to get too excited; the Bill has yet to be discussed in Parliament and it wouldn't be too surprising to see alternative provisions creep back in.
We wrote a response for the Managing Protest Around Parliament consultation. One of the points we make is that not only should protest be possible, but encouraged as part of a lively democratic culture. If you'd like to have a read you can download a pdf copy here.
One of the headlines is a possible repeal of the requirement that protesters seek permission int the vicinity of Parliament.
These requirements are just silly constraint on free speech. Hopefully the White Paper and Draft Bill signal the end of the need to ask for permission before demonstrating. Which is good news. But it is probably too early to get too excited; the Bill has yet to be discussed in Parliament and it wouldn't be too surprising to see alternative provisions creep back in.
We wrote a response for the Managing Protest Around Parliament consultation. One of the points we make is that not only should protest be possible, but encouraged as part of a lively democratic culture. If you'd like to have a read you can download a pdf copy here.
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