The Fellowship of Reconciliation joined 45 other signatories in a joint letter expressing concern about continued shrinkage in the right to protest in the UK. Following recent speeches by the Prime Minister and the Secretary of State for Housing, Levelling Up and Communities, the Fellowship is concerend at the ongoing politicisation over what is acceptable.
John Cooper, Director of the Fellowship, said
“It was important to sign this letter and to stand up for the basic right to freedom of speech and expression. The increasingly woolly and vague words used for political impact have real life consequences. All public representatives should have the right to go about their work in safety. Part of that role is to recognise that people may wish to protest about what you are doing. Steps to restrict that continue a trend to allow politicians to define what is respectable and allowable, when it is often the same politicians who are making policies the protests are against. Non-violent protest is central to, not a bonus of, a functioning democracy”
The full letter was co-ordianated by Amnesty International UK and can be found here
