The Government’s new public order legislation received Royal Assent today and will become law.
This legislation - repeatedly opposed by the Labour Party who would rather play politics than represent their constituent’s interests - gives new powers for the police to protect the public from the misery of protest disruption created by a small minority of activists.
The law will equip the police to better manage and tackle dangerous and highly disruptive tactics, as well as prevent major transport projects and infrastructure from being targeted by protestors. This follows the Police, Crime, Sentencing and Courts (PSCS) Act, which received Royal Assent at the end of the last parliamentary session and introduced a number of measures to enable the police to better manage protests.
The law will introduce:
- Tougher sentences for protestors blocking our roads, railways, and emergency services
- New measures to clamp down on road blocking “lock-on” protestors
- More powers for police to carry out stop and search on protestors and intervene before chaos is caused
- New court orders to stop reoffending protestors who repeatedly use highly disruptive protest tactics
I am assured that these new changes to public order law will put a stop to the relentless reoffending and significant disruption caused by a selfish minority of protesters, striking an important balance between upholding an individual’s right to protest peacefully with the rights of the British public to go about their daily lives in peace.
The Conservatives will continue to legislate to ensure that the police have the tools necessary to maintain law & order and keep our streets safe.
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