The urgent need for Business Leaders to speak out about a proposed new UK Policing Bill
The Directors of Business Declares recognise our proud history of protest in the UK which has included shaping and improving society; for example the civil rights movement and securing the right for women to vote.
The proposed Police, Crime Sentencing and Courts Bill seeks to significantly impact the right to protest through the introduction of punitive/severe measures disproportionate to actions. For example, each of these actions can lead to imprisonment of individuals for up to 51 weeks:
Attending a protest deemed ‘noisy’
Attending a protest deemed ‘illegal’
Being found with protest equipment such as signs and placards
Whilst there has been minimal press coverage to date, in their analysis of the Bill, the Financial Times comment that “This feels Orwellian. It comes on top of provisions in the original bill that skirt dangerously close to criminalising peaceful protest.” (Camilla Cavendish, 03.December .21)
This Bill is being rushed through. The 18 pages of Additional amendments added last week, (after it passed through the Commons) need proper scrutiny. The next sittings of the bill are Mon 13th and Wed 15th December. This bill could pass as soon as January 2022.
We are calling on Business Leaders to speak out before it is too late.
The Directors of Business Declares believe that protest is a vital part of democracy. We believe that clamping down on the right of people to speak out does not create a healthy, diverse and prosperous society; nor does it create the conditions in which businesses can grow and innovate.
Peaceful protest about the climate emergency and the loss of biodiversity such as the school strikes have been critical in raising public awareness and shifting government positions around the world. Similarly, we launched on the day of the largest youth protests in 2019 - which wasn't an accident - and we took everyone at the launch down to protest. This kind of action has been part of our energy since we launched. We are concerned at the impact of sweeping laws that can be used to criminalise peaceful protest in the UK.
The Directors of Business Declares are calling on the Lords to read this bill in full and think long and hard about whether it creates the kind of society we want to live in, and to our members, supporters and everyone else reading this, please share this to protect our democracy.
If you are also supportive of this position, please can you do the following:
Make a public statement (like the one above) about why you oppose the bill and share it with your networks: customers, suppliers and employees and other businesses in your networks.
Personally call or email 5 other business leaders and tell them why you oppose this Bill and encourage them to oppose it too. (even better if there’s a Lord you can or they can reach out to directly!)
Contact Lords: If you have personal relationships with any Lords, please reach out to them directly. You can find email templates here. Please also use this to reach out to Lords you don’t know!
Copy your statement to UK21 who are coordinating a campaign and plan to connect business leaders to interested journalists and make a short video. Email uk21campfire@gmail.com to get involved.