Thread by @QuakerDissent

What can you actually do about the Police, Courts, Sentencing and Courts Bill? If you’ve read the recent press coverage about the #PolicingBill and want to do something, here is what would actually be useful.

Please pass this thread on!

Action: Write to your MP before 17 Jan.

1. Your letter should start with something like “I am concerned about this Bill because Part 3 will allow almost any protest, gathering, or assembly of people in public to be severely restricted.”

Change the words to your personal tone.

2. Write about a protest or march you attended. It’s useful but not essential to mention how noisy (or not) it was, how busy (or not) it was, how much you knew, why you cared so much, what sorts of campaigning you had tried before that, and what change resulted from the protest.

3. Say that you are very concerned about the new Serious Disruption Prevention Orders (the protest banning orders) which have been reported in the press.

4. End your letter by asking your MP to pass your concerns to members of their party in the House of Lords, and/or to the Minister, Baroness Williams.

Conservatives are in a strong position to pass the letter on to the Minister — if they can be persuaded to do so.

Why 17 Jan? The Bill has just started Report stage in the Lords. This is one of the last stages in the legislative process. After this there is Third Reading in the Lords (dots and commas, things they accidentally forgot) and then Ping Pong (the Lords and Commons try to agree).

17 Jan is when Part 3 is due to be voted on. And it’s a crucial vote because the most authoritarian parts of Part 3 not yet on the face of the Bill — they’re still in a government amendment.

The most authoritarian clauses are about protest banning orders, extra offences for locking on. They are in a set of government amendments which have not been to the Commons, having only been written while the Bill was in the Lords. Only the Lords have debated them.

If the House of Lords votes against these amendments on 17 Jan, they cannot be re-inserted by the House of Commons.

That’s because Ping Pong does not allow new amendments to be tabled. And these amendments would be new to the Commons.

Please ask MPs to encourage Peers to vote against the government amendments on 17 Jan. If the House of Lords manages to vote these down (which will be difficult) then it will be a significant win for democracy.

Finally, just to say that when you write to your MP, please be kind. It may make you feel better to shout, but it’s likely to be counterproductive. Remember that MPs are human too!

PS — I suggesting writing to MPs rather than direct to Peers for a few reasons.
1. Many Peers don’t have staff and so can be overwhelmed by emails.
2. The opposition front benches become aware of public concern quicker.
3. MPs may need to vote it down at Ping Pong.

If you wish to write to a Peer, then I suggest that you hand write a letter on paper and post it. Even better, send them a Christmas card! Lots of emails to Peers is likely to be counterproductive.

If you’d like to use an online template, I recommend this one from @friends_earth
act.friendsoftheearth.uk/target/tell-yo…

If you’d like to see the suggestions in one place, along with some more helpful context, I recommend this blog post from @BritishQuakers quaker.org.uk/blog/crunch-ti…

If you’d like more information on the Bill, then head over to @libertyhq and take a look at some of their detailed briefings. libertyhumanrights.org.uk/wp-content/upl…

And if you have time today, 13 December, then please support @GypsyTravellers with Part 4 of the Bill, which will devastate nomadic communities. Peers expect to vote on Part 4 tonight.

Here is a supporter action from @GypsyTravellers which you can do on Part 4 today.

https://twitter.com/gypsytravellers/status/1468899528225042433