The Labour government intends to create a new criminal offence targeting protesters who demonstrate outside the homes of public officials. This includes MPs, councillors, and others in positions of power. Under changes to the Crime and Policing Bill, anyone protesting outside a politician’s home with the aim of influencing policy could face up to six months in prison.
Labour’s leadership claims this is about ‘protecting democracy’ and making politicians feel safe. This is a calculated attempt to shield those in power from the anger of working people while continuing to push through austerity, war, and policies that harm our most vulnerable.
The Labour Party knows the consequences of its actions. It has maintained the two-child benefit cap. It backs and defends the Israeli state’s genocide in Gaza. It is preparing a budget under Rachel Reeves that will inflict deeper cuts to public services and living standards. They intend to make the working class foot the bill for capitalism’s failures.
People have taken their anger to the doorsteps of those responsible. Last year, Just Stop Oil placed children’s shoes outside Keir Starmer’s home and sang carols against the continuing polluting of the planet. It was peaceful and symbolic. The response from the political establishment is to criminalise it.
Threat?
Security Minister Dan Jarvis claims that protests outside MPs’ homes are “a threat to democracy.” What he calls a threat is the public holding power to account. Democracy is not politicians acting without scrutiny behind police lines. Democracy is the people making their voices heard in the places where decisions are made.
This law will not make politicians safer but it will make them less accountable. There are already laws against harassment. Labour is protecting itself from the consequences of its own betrayals.
Labour knows that anger is on the rise. It knows its policies will cause further backlash from the working class. So it is turning to repression. These are not the actions of a confident government. They are the actions of politicians who know they are governing against the interests of the majority of the country.
Labour is not a party of the working class. It’s not even pretending! If we want a party that fights for us, we must build it. Such a party would remove the undemocratic anti-protest laws from the books – including all the anti-trade union laws that are used to hinder workers fighting back.
Don't forget removing the right to jury trial, in response to protestors who got acquitted by a jury. Literally taking away the peoples' last chance to say the law is wrong.
Wish I had thought of that while writing this