Commenting on the passing of an emergency motion at the National
Education Union’s Annual Conference, which is being held
virtually, Kevin Courtney, Joint General Secretary of the
National Education Union, said:
“This emergency motion reflects the concerns of many in our
union, the trade union movement and much of civil society
generally, about the proper role of the police in policing
protest.
“The present Bill gives far too much discretion to prohibit and
limit protest by requiring the police to decide whether ‘serious
annoyance’ or ‘nuisance’ is caused to those who are the subject
of the protest or even indirectly affected by it. The
Government's idea of the acceptable protest as one having no
effect is absurd.
“The police have not sought and do not want this discretion. It
will put them at the centre of arguments around which protests to
prohibit and restrict, and which to allow. The backdrop since
lockdown has included demonstrations around Black Lives Matter,
violence against women, and Covid related restrictions. The
virus, made worse by the government's failures in combatting it,
has revealed structural weaknesses in our society, affecting in
particular the more vulnerable and marginalised in society.
“This Bill also unnecessarily widens the scope of the events
covered – from mass demonstrations, it will now include
single-person and static protests. Local lobbies against parking
restrictions or library closures will now be in scope.
“We believe that this Bill attempts to solve a problem that does
not exist, diverting the police into partisan ‘culture wars’, and
restricting an inherent aspect of a free society – the right to
protest.”
