Essay Sample on Right To Protest

Why protecting our rights to protest is important?

If you haven’t been updated on what’s happening in Politics in the UK. Now is the best chance to keep informed. The conservatives have introduced a new bill known as the “Police, Crime, Sentencing and Courts Bill” which is currently in the House of Lords being debated. This Bill will give the police more powers however, this bill has been criticised by protest groups, human rights organisations and even parliament’s joint committee on human rights.

One of the terms of the Bill allows for the police to criminalise protests as “noisy, disruptive and annoying” and offenders risk sentences from up to ten years. This term violates the European Convention of Human Rights. Article 11 of the European Convention of Human Rights provides freedom of assembly. “This means that every individual, regardless of cause, has the right to protest, march or demonstrate in a public space. Every individual has this right, but the police have a duty to retain from restricting this right unnecessarily and they must take measures to protect peaceful protests. Even if they do not agree, or if there is some disturbance or offence caused to the general public, the police must demonstrate a certain degree of tolerance towards protesters.” However, the past few years has given the police powers to reduce the freedom of assembly in large crowds to reduce the transmission of covid and limit the rising covid cases.

Protesting has given so many different marginalized groups voices and we have seen the massive impact it has had on young people. In 2019, we saw over 4.1 million young people protesting calling the government prevent climate change all across the UK, young people skipped school to persuade the government to do something about climate change. This caused massive backlash as people were unhappy that students were skipping to protest which Theresa May said that student protesters miss out on important learning that can help them "develop into the top scientists, engineers and advocates that we need to help tackle this problem." But we have seen positive impacts of protesting repeatedly throughout our history.

Historical Recounts of Protesting

The Suffragettes movement is the most well-known period in history, when women fought for their right to vote in the 1900s and were rewarded in 1918 when women over 30 were allowed the vote. Another five years passed before all women were granted the right to vote. Another protest in 1963 was the Bristol Bus Boycott. Throughout the 1960s, racial discrimination was rampant, particularly in the workplace. The Transport and General Employees' Union backed Bristol Omnibus Company's refusal to recruit black or Asian bus crews, believing that hiring non-white workers, mostly immigrants, would drive down wages. This was particularly ironic given that the union at issue was a vocal opponent of apartheid in South Africa.

So why is protecting our right to protest important?

It is vital to our civic, political, economic, social, and cultural well-being. They have sparked constructive social change and aided in the growth of human rights. Furthermore, they continue to contribute to the formation of a well-informed population.

It also allows the government to hear the public's views on a range of problems, and you may meet others who share your viewpoints. On the other side, you discuss other people's perspectives with individuals who disagree with you; this enables you to comprehend other people's points of view and learn about a diversity of experiences.

Reading this post hopefully has encouraged you to protest, campaign, and discuss because it is your human right to criticize the government.