Dark Days for British Democracy

 

We are living in very dark days for democracy  as Boris Johnson’s government continues to legislate away our democratic rights right under our noses. The Policing Bill, the Elections Bill, the Nationality and Borders Bill, the overhaul of the Human Rights Act, and others are indicative of Johnson’s  vision for an austere, divided and undemocratic Britain.  

Taken together, the picture looks very grim as almost every safeguard is being dismantled.Their goal is to rush as much authoritarian policy as possible through before prorogation.  

Not only has Boris lost the moral authority to lead by lying to the public repeatedly, his government has proven beyond a doubt that their priority is power consolidation, not helping regular people deal with the cost of living or the impacts of COVID and Brexit.

Boris and his government are rushing these bills through because they want to be untouchable and unquestionable.A Government, elected on a minority of votes, has used its power to stack our electoral system in its favour, while bulldozing through every safeguard our political system has.

With the Governments  racist  Anti-Refugee Bill now becoming law,the UK will no longer meet it's legal or ethical obligations to refugees and others in need of protection.It will become a criminal offense to knowingly arrive in the UK illegally. This means that people fleeing war, torture and persecution coming to the UK will be criminalised, and so will anyone who helps them. 

This is hugely contentious because Patel has closed down all legal routes for asylum-seekers to enter the UK.The daughter of refugees herself, she has literally pulled up the ladder behind her, as the saying goes.This law punishes people rather than offering protection, and is inhumane, unfair ad denies people their basic right to safety,

It also means Priti Patel’s plan to send asylum-seekers to live in Rwanda, rather than the UK, will be put into practice just as soon as she can  can get all the mechanisms in place, and never mind that it costs more than sending these people to live at the Ritz.Our rotten system, now becomes even worse, a system of punishment for those seeking safety on our shores.

The House of  Lords only  eventually backed the Bill after repeatedly amending it over recent months only to have the measures reinstated by MPs. The Bill passed just ahead of the suspension of Parliament today.  It's all utterly shameful.

Following the passage of the Bill, more than 235 groups, including some of Britain’s biggest charities, vowed to carry on the fight against the “hostile new anti-refugee laws.”

They include Oxfam, Save the Children, homeless charity Crisis and anti-racism organisation Runnymede Trust along with dozens of migrant and refugee rights groups.

Refugee Action chief executive Tim Naor Hilton, one of the signatories, said: “These extreme and vicious new laws give ministers the green light to treat refugees with ever-more hostility.

“We must stand alongside people fleeing war and persecution and continue to fight tooth and nail against all attempts to bully the families and individuals who simply want to live their lives in safety.”

The Lords eventually backed the Bill after repeatedly amending it over recent months only to have the measures reinstated by MPs. The Bill passed just ahead of the suspension of Parliament today.

The Elections Bill has also  been passed. Peers defeated the law on Monday, but it was sent back to the upper house just two days later – reportedly catching opposition parties off guard.

Just 67 Labour peers turned up to vote against eh measure, alongside 70 Lib Dems, 33 cross benchers and three rebel Tories.  

The government  has voted to officially end the independence of the Electoral Commission and that the new powers mean ministers can effectively rig election rules in their favour and .will be able to restrict whether you are allowed to vote or not, based on whether you have a particular form of photographic identification. Millions of people don’t.

 Critics say the changes represent a grave threat to free and fair elections – and amount to an “authoritarian” power grab that will let ministers shape how electoral law applies to political opponents and their own party.

This is how countries slide into authoritarianism,first you take control of the institutions, then you rig them in your favour and ban noisy protest so people can’t fight back. It’s a dark day for democracy.The Electoral Commission has admitted it is “concerned” about its independence after the government passed the new law to place it under ministerial control.

Despite public outcry The Policing Bill has being passed  too, which means  we no longer live in a country where we are legally allowed too protest against the Government. The Bill widens the definition of protest to include one-person protests, and it lowers the burden of proof on the state to show that demonstrators were knowingly non-compliant with restrictions that have been announced. It makes it possible to ban demonstrations because a person “is put at risk of suffering” any disruption – including noise – which means that no offence need even have occurred to ban the demonstration. And the maximum penalty for non-compliance is 10 years,

This cruel new law seeks to punish people fleeing torture and war for the way they flee to safty, All part of the government's plans to scapegoat refugees, The Bill was passed despite furious opposition to the anti-protest measures and provisions targeting Gypsy, Roma and Traveller communities, which gave rise to the national Kill the Bill movement.

In a joint statement an informal coalition of 350 organisations that oppose the bill, said: “Today is a dark day for democracy. Despite over a year of relentless opposition from MPs, campaigners, and many Lords, the government today passed measures that will undermine everybody’s right to protest and criminalise the way of life of Gypsy and Traveller communities. 

“Police will now have the unprecedented power to impose noise-based restrictions on protests, the power to impose large fines and jail sentences on anyone who strays from conditions imposed on a protest and criminalise Gypsy, Traveller and nomadic families who have no place to stop and rest. It's cruel to use the full strength of the law to tell people where they can't go, but offer nowhere they can go.

“Over the course of the campaign, we have succeeded in removing some of the most draconian measures impacting protests but make no mistake, this is an anti-democratic Bill and will continue to defend and promote democracy.”

Campaigners said they feared that new laws will restrict organisations’ ability to protest and hold government to account. 

Stephanie Draper, CEO at Bond, a network of NGOs, said: “In the face of worsening crises such as climate change, rising food prices and the war in Ukraine, now more than ever we need to be able to protest and hold the government to account. 

“By abandoning these principles, the UK has lost its credibility as a country that champions human rights and democratic values and stands up for minorities around the world. At a time when democracy in Europe is under attack, we must lead by example and do all we can to protect our rights and freedoms here in the UK.” 

Sam Grant, head of policy and campaigns, Liberty, described the bill as a “an attack on the fundamental right to protest”. 

He highlighted how the bill will affect Gypsy, Roma and Traveller communities, and said: “Liberty will continue to stand up against abuses of power, defend the right to protest, and resist this government’s attempt to make itself untouchable.”

Sarah Mann, director at Friends, Families and Travellers, added: “Part 4 of the Policing Bill goes above and beyond to tell people where they can’t go, but offers no alternatives for where they can go. If only the same amount of effort to criminalise trespass had simply been directed towards addressing the chronic lack of safe stopping places, we could be looking at significantly better life outcomes for Gypsy, Traveller and nomadic people. 

“It’s not only cruel but utterly illogical to criminalise trespass and further marginalise families and entire communities without offering suitable stopping places – such as sites or negotiated stopping arrangements. This sets a terrifying precedent not just for Gypsy and Traveller families, but for society at large. This bill punishes people for the ‘crime’ of having nowhere else to go.”

Campaigners said that the legislation would weaken democracy and vowed to continue to lobby against measures in the bill.

 “This is dark day for civil liberties in the UK,” said Amnesty International UK chief executive Sacha Deshmukh.

“This deeply authoritarian Bill places profound and significant restrictions on the basic right to peacefully protest and will have a severely detrimental impact on the ability of ordinary people to make their concerns heard.”

Delia Mattis of Black Lives Matter, a member of the Kill the Bill coalition, said: “They may be making this into law, but the law will be an infringement on our human rights and we will continue to protest against the injustices that our communities are faced with.

“We have been using protest as a way to challenge the state for hundreds of years and we will continue to do so for hundreds more years.”

Kevin Blowe of policing monitoring group Netpol said: “Now the Bill has passed, the real battle begins.

“We are calling on campaigners to resist new powers by making sure they are fully briefed on their rights and are ready to actively challenge limitations on protests, legally if necessary.”

As the Queen signs away our rights to protest in the UK. It is worth noting that it is also in the interests of the monarchy  to silence dissent, especially when an ascension is going to take place.The monarchy adversely affects the way we do politics.

The institution of the monarchy and the Crown (not the royals themselves) give vast, almost unlimited powers to our politicians. This is a politicians' monarchy - it makes our government far too powerful and allows parliament to ignore the wishes of the people. The Queen has significant power in that she has to invite the Prime Minister to form a government, and can reject them. She also has the power to dissolve parliament and call a general election. This is very undemocratic as it allows a single individual to wield huge amounts of power, rather than the people or their elected representatives.The Monarchy rules at the :- Peoples consent, yet we don’t have a regular referendum to voice our dissent or approval. The Monarchy simply put is an archaic institution that is utterly corrupt and rotten to its core, that is not fit for purpose anymore..

The UK is now  at grave risk of becoming a rare country in Europe without a right to peaceful protest, all  because of an undemocratic party set on dismantling democracy But if they themselves don't obey the rule of law- why should we? This law will not stop us protesting, it will however force us to protest harder than ever It is a moral  responsibility for every citizen to disobey, unjust, undemocratic and unethical laws.

The system isn't broken, it's functioning exactly as designed. As this government is moving more towards a  crypto-fascist state intent on  tearing at the very fabric of the UK , do we just stand back and watch, with hands tied and wait for demonstrators  soon to be beaten and jailed without trial,  if these undemocratic laws are nor repealed. people's human rights not attempting to devalue them

If all of the above was not alarming enough the Human Rights act is also being attacked. The act is a lifeline for thousands of vulnerable people who are mistreated and neglected, It allows people to seek justice against those who breach the right to equality, life, liberty and personal security. It lets you defend your rights in UK courts and compels public organisations – including the Government, police and local councils – to treat everyone equally, with fairness, dignity and respect.

From the Hillsborough 96 to Grenfell’s 72 innocent victims and their bereaved families, to helping prevent violence at the hands of the state and investigating deaths in police custody, we rely upon the HRA and ECHR in our fight for justice. When we sought to protect marginalised individuals—the rights of disabled people, or those of asylum seekers—the HRA and ECHR were there. In our pursuit of sexual equality, the right to fair trial, freedom of expression and religion, it was these vital protections that we again drew upon. We used the same instruments to prevent privacy invasions by the press, and arbitrary interference with our fundamental right to a private and family life. We count upon the HRA and ECHR every day.These are a few examples covered by the act which the Tory government are now attempting to weaken. The  government should be protecting people's human rights not attempting to devalue them.

The Health and Care Bill that has passed  will also accelarate the privatistion of the NHS, leading to more cuts, more cronyism and less acxess to treatments, and will make years of underfunding and privatisation far worse. It will cut medical and emergency services, and force more people to pay for their health care and let more private companies take over services and make decisions on budgets,It will do nothing to address thee state of emergency our NHS is currently in. What awful days in history we are living.  

We need to take to the streets and get loud, showing them we won’t sit idly by while they erode our democracy and our human rights. Enough is enough, change is long overdue. It’s time to give Boris Johnson the boot and address the broken system and malfunctioning democracy that enabled him to get into this position of draconian power in the first place, and for us to never to stop from working towards a fairer, kinder and better society,where everyone is welcomed wherever they come from.