Thank you to all those who have contacted me about the Government’s Public Order Bill.

As you know, the Public Order Bill will create new offences including in relation to locking on, going equipped to lock on, and obstructing major transport works and national infrastructure. The Bill will also extend stop and search powers and introduce serious disruption prevention orders (SDPOs) that will target repeat protesters.

This is the Government’s second bill relating to public order in 12 months even though it has apparently shelved the much-needed Victims Law, first promised seven years ago, and the Online Safety Bill. I believe the Government seems more focused on divisive, headline-grabbing policies rather than dealing with the people’s priorities, such as the appallingly low charge rates for rape and sexual offences; worrying levels of violent crime; the thousands of criminals going unpunished; and victims withdrawing from the investigation process because they do not believe they will see justice.

While it is of course important to safeguard vital national infrastructure, the right to protest peacefully must also be safeguarded. The police and courts already have powers to deal with serious disruption or dangerous protests including injunctions; offences such as obstruction of a highway, criminal damage, aggravated trespass, and public nuisance; and the power to apply conditions to processions and static protests that people can be arrested for breaching. These powers have been used frequently to deal with recent disruptive protests including locking on and blocking roads.

I believe the Public Order Bill is too broad and imprecise, putting the burden on police to interpret the legislation and making it difficult to apply consistently. I think the threshold for triggering the new offences and SDPOs is too low and casts the net too wide, risking legitimate, peaceful protests and non-criminal action falling within their scope. I also think the Bill will disproportionately interfere with human rights legislation and that there are not enough safeguards in place to mitigate this risk

For these reasons I have voted against the Public Order Bill at every opportunity, most recently at the Bill’s Third Reading in the House of Commons on 18 October 2022. Sadly, attempts to amend the new powers in this Bill have so far been unsuccessful. The Bill will now be considered in the House of Lords where I hope such amendments will have more chance of success.