Save our Democracy
Over the past few months I have become deeply concerned about the direction of travel of our current government here in the UK. So much so, I recently hosted an online "briefing" event where I shared a number my concerns, along with what people could do to help reign in what I see as the government's authoritarian overreach.
This blog is both a standalone article, and a resource for those who wish to take action. Whatever you do makes a difference. The media have been almost silent on the issues I'm about to highlight here, so even just sharing this blog with your nearest and dearest is making a contribution. If you do have more time and capacity to get involved, you can find out how by reading on.
What's going on?
Whilst we have all been distracted with an emergent virus, the government has been quietly pushing a number of laws through parliament with little scrutiny. These laws all focus of undermining our democracy and our ability to be heard - in some cases literally. For example, the Police, Crime, Sentencing and Courts Bill proposes to make protest that are "noisy" or "disruptive" illegal. Who gets to decide what constitutes noisy or disruptive? Well the Home Secretary herself of course. The bill targets almost all means of protest, essentially making the act of protest illegal. You can read more about it here.
The proposed bill will make trespassing a criminal offence and give police powers to seize the vehicles of those that are trespassing. This bill takes direct aim at the traveller community in England. Not only that, as I understand it, it will give police powers to cease any vehicle of someone that is suspected of breaking the new law i.e. intent to trespass. For many travellers, their vehicles are their home. This could render many adult travellers homeless and could consequently result in their children being taken from them. You can read more about it here. The issue is not trespass, it is that the government has not made enough provision for travellers to have safe spaces to stay.
Then there's the Nationality and Borders Bill. This is a piece of proposed legislation that would see half of British Asians and 39% of Black Britons with a looming threat of revoked citizenship. The bill also proposes to make assisting refugees seeking asylum in certain circumstances a criminal offence. Under the new law, if you were on the south coast and saw a refugee drowning, rescuing them could leave you with a criminal record. You can read more about that bill here.
There are other things worth mentioning too. The government have signalled their intention to rewrite the Human Rights Act. As with all legislation of this kind, we're told it is for our benefit. However, Human Rights Campaigners have argued it will only weaken our rights to defend ourselves against mistreatment by the government.
Added to all of the above, the government are currently trying to enforce compulsory ID when it comes to voting. They claim this to "reduce voter fraud", when in reality this is simply not an issue in the UK. The law would however, suppress votes from those more likely to vote against the current government.
What does all this mean?
To me, it is clear - this government are doing all they can to evade accountability. They want to rule unchallenged. They are seeking to gift themselves powers that would make a dictator blush. They want to silence any voices that disagree with their agenda deter voters that aren't supportive of their politics.
The way they are putting this legislation through parliament also speaks volumes. They are limiting the amount of time MPs have to debate and slipping in major amendments after the headlines have broke to avoid public and political scrutiny. They must be stopped.
Why am I writing about this?
You might suggest that I am a therapist and this is out of my lane. I disagree. Being a therapist is a political act. Many of the challenges we face as a humanity are as a result of negligent governments and bad political policy. We are in the midst of an unprecedented health crisis that has created a mental health pandemic. If we aren't able to hold those in power to account, what then? We must come together to form opposition to these proposed laws.
What can you do?
The following organisations are profiling the things I have highlighted here today, some along with petitions. You can head to their websites to find meaningful ways to make your voice heard and to read more about what's happening.
Amnesty International UK - plus petition available to sign
Liberty - plus petition available to sign
Petitions to sign
Remove Clause 9 petition - this is the clause that would allow the government to revoke citizenship without notice
Momentum Petition - Against the Nationality & Borders Bill
Bail for Immigration Detainees - petition to sign
Write to Peers (House of Lords) and your MP
The two major pieces of legislation have already passed through the House of Commons, which means MPs have already had their chance to amend the proposed laws. If the Lords make amendments, however, they will come back to the commons for amendments. So it's still worth writing to your MP and making your thoughts known. You can find out who your MP is here.
This means we need to write to the Peers in the House of Lords, and there are quite a few. As is stands, the Labour Peers are in a position to vote down the worst parts of the Police, Crime, Sentencing and Courts Bill. You can find a list of them here. Click on their names to find their email address. I intend to publish an email list ASAP so check back here in the coming days.
Things to watch, read and share
Guardian opinion piece/explainer
Video from Amnesty International experts on the Police Bill
Background piece of Nationality & Borders Bill