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UK government policing bill suffers defeat in parliament

Wednesday, 19 January 2022 12:28 AM [ Last Update: Wednesday, 19 January 2022 12:28 AM ]

Saeed Pourreza
Press TV, London

After a national weekend of action across Britain against a proposed new law that would give police extra powers to curb protests, the upper chamber of the country’s parliament has introduced multiple amendments to it. While campaigners have welcomed the changes, they still consider the proposed legislation as an attack on their civil liberties and are calling for it to be thrown out.

While the conservative government claims the bill is aimed at proactively preventing chaos and disruption, caused for example by people gluing themselves to motorways, its critics say, it’s not about law and order, but about taking away their right to protest.

The proposed legislation was quickly pushed through the House of Commons last year. This week, it was put up for debate at the upper chamber of the UK parliament amid cries of KILL the BILL from drum-beating protesters forming an emotive backdrop to it outside the legislative body. What ensued was several amendments made to the proposed legislation to the chagrin of the government.

Campaigners say the parliamentary defeat because people took to the streets and raised the alarm about the government’s growing authoritarianism. They say, it is now time to build the movement and kill the contentious bill once and for all.

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