‘Kill the Bill’ protests are happening across the country this weekend
Protests to “Kill the Bill” will be held across the country on 20 and 21 March.
The bill
The Tory government’s authoritarian Police, Crime, Sentencing and Courts Bill will not only clamp down on protest but will also target marginalised communities, criminalising the Gypsy and Romany Traveller (GRT) community and introducing more stop and search powers. As the call to action from Cornwall explains:
The new bill gives the police more power to impose conditions on a protest, including ones they view as too noisy…And it’s not just protest. The bill will make trespass an offence, criminalising Gypsy, Roma and Traveller communities. And it introduces new stop and search powers that will increase racial profiling and harassment.
The Canary warned earlier this week that:
The Bill will ban protests that block roads around Parliament. It also allows the police to impose conditions on one-person protests. And it will introduce a new offence, punishable by up to ten years in prison, of ‘public nuisance’ for actions that cause “serious distress”, “serious annoyance”, “serious inconvenience”. Yes, that’s right. If you cause serious annoyance on a protest, you could go to jail for a decade!
Oh, and then there’s the ten year sentences for damaging a memorial or statue. Yep – you could get a longer sentence for damaging an inanimate object than the average sentence given to rapists.
The coalition
Read on...
As a result, a coalition of groups is coming together to oppose the bill.
Sisters Uncut have led the charge against the bill and in women’s demonstrations. In a press release, an anonymous member urged supporters to keep up the pressure:
The last week has shown that protest works. That’s why they want to ban it, and that’s why we’re fighting back. The coalition that is coming together shows just how many people are angry about the brutal reality of policing in this country, and who are determined to roll back this dangerous extension of state power. Saturday night has shown us that the police are drunk on power, and should not be rewarded with more.
Policing by consent is a story this country likes to tell about itself. The reality is that policing is unaccountable, aggressive and violent. Targets of police repression – working class people, racial minorities, sex workers and many others – have had enough.
Take action!
Not all details have been announced yet, but protests against the bill will be held in:
Liverpool at 4pm, Saturday 20, location to be decided.
Bristol College Green at 2pm, Sunday 21.
Piccadilly Circus, Manchester, 16:30 Saturday 20.
Leeds, Sunday 21, 5pm, location to be decided.
Cornwall, Truro, Lemon Quay, Saturday 20, 2pm.
Newcastle, Grey’s Monument, Sunday 21, 14:00.
London (Deptford), Deptford High Street, Saturday 20, 12.30pm.
Plymouth, Charles Cross station, Sunday 21, 2pm.
Brighton, The Level, Saturday 20, 2pm, information here and here.
Cardiff, Cardiff Central Police Station, Saturday 20, 2pm.
Birmingham, Victoria Square, Saturday 20, 2pm.
Sheffield, time and date to be announced.
London, New Cross, Telegraph Park Hill, Saturday 20, information here.
News that the bill has been delayed is welcome and a victory. But the battle is far from over. And everyone still needs to take urgent action to ensure this repressive bill doesn’t become law.
Featured image via YouTube screengrab/Real Media
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Thank you for the information, well done Canary.
This is the most oppressive piece of proposed legislation in my lifetime. Amongst others, Joseph Stalin, Adolf Hitler and the leaders of the military coup in Myanmar would all be proud of it. Big business and those with money can employ lobbyists, all the average citizen has is the right to protest and one vote in a broken electoral system every 5 years. Now the rich and powerful want to curtail the former and create a total sham of a democracy. It’s time to be counted, this bill must be stopped.
Hi!
I total abhor how we are witnessing dictatorship being brought in via the backdoor in the UK.
But I just want to drop a comment about violent language. Having taken a lot of what Charles Eisenstein says on-board, and with wide experience in XR activities, the issue of violent language is important. #KillTheBill is violent, especially with its double entendre. We can not carry on with this adversorial way of communicating. It does not help any cause and I am pleased that both BLM and XR here in North Devon now use #ResistTheBill. We must learn to talk to our adverseries with repect, no matter how much we disagree with them, and maybe we can start making a difference. Craftivism here in Devon is also helping in getting an increasing number of Councils to support the Climate and Ecological Emergency Bill. Reaching out with love and compassion and not using violent language is, in my humble opinion, the only way we can start to communicate a new message.
Hi!
I totally abhor how we are witnessing dictatorship being brought in via the backdoor in the UK.
But I just want to drop a comment about violent language. Having taken a lot of what Charles Eisenstein says on-board, and with wide experience in XR activities, the issue of violent language is important. #KillTheBill is violent, especially with its double entendre. We can not carry on with this adversorial way of communicating. It does not help any cause and I am pleased that both BLM and XR here in North Devon now use #ResistTheBill. We must learn to talk to our adverseries with repect, no matter how much we disagree with them, and maybe we can start making a difference. Craftivism here in Devon is also helping in getting an increasing number of Councils to support the Climate and Ecological Emergency Bill. Reaching out with love and compassion and not using violent language is, in my humble opinion, the only way we can start to communicate a new message.