Thread by @PoliceBillAll

Good evening everyone! The Police, Crime, Sentencing and Courts Bill (aka the #PolicingBill) is back in the Lords this evening. We understand that many Lords are planning to insist on noise a third time.

Live tweets will be on this thread below!

Possibly only a few minutes more until the #PolicingBill is up! There’s a division on the Health and Care Bill, and I think I just saw the Minister sit down.

Apologies, there’s a second division on the Health and Care Bill. Another ten minute division.

The #PolicingBill will be soon. Enough time to make a cup of tea.

And we’re on. #PolicingBill about to start.

Minister is introducing the motions. There are only two — one on noise, one on types of protest.

The Minister says, in an echo of Kit Malthouse yesterday, that the noise clause is essential to stop lengthy noise, or noise between the hours of 11pm and 7am.

However, this is not what is written in the #PolicingBill. The Bill simply speaks of noise.

The other issue is when a static demonstration becomes a procession.

Lord Coaker speaking now for Labour. He is moving a compromise amendment — they have narrowed the amendment to just noise. It’s more focused.

Lord Coaker: “The govt has promised us a review, which is always what governments do when they are in trouble.” #PolicingBill

Lord Coaker: “The House of Lords is doing its job. We are pushing, and the Commons does have the right to get its way, but not until we have pushed them. It’s our constitutional right to say ‘you have got this wrong on noise’.”

Lord Coaker: “To seek to ban a protest on the grounds of noise is simply undemocratic.” #PolicingBill

Lord Coaker: “These thresholds are becoming difficult. This is a script for Yes Minister. Will a protest in a city meet the threshold, but not in a town? Will the police need to establish how many windows along the route are double-glazed?” #PolicingBill

Lord Coaker: “The ‘too noisy’ provision is a nonsense. This House has the right to push on matters which are nonsensical.” #PolicingBill

Lord Coaker: “The noise provision is a nonsense. It is ridiculous. It doesn’t work and it will never work.” #PolicingBill

Lord Paddick for the Liberal Democrats, speaking about how this will undermine the trust in the police.

Lord Paddick: “The more popular the protest, the more likely it is to be noisy, and so the more likely it is to be banned.” #PolicingBill

Lord Paddick: “Everyone has the right to freedom of peaceful assembly. When it comes to taking this away…it is excessive. It puts us on a slippery slope to a police state.” #PolicingBill

Baroness Bennett (Green) is quoting suffragette songs - the ‘thunder of freedom’.

Baroness Bennett is clear that we cannot have our voices taken away by this #PolicingBill.

The Minister is wrapping up. We should have a division soon. As it is late, and the last business of the day, it may go either way.

Division. This is on the Labour amendment, so we are hoping for the ‘contents’ (aka ‘yes’). #PolicingBill

The government has won.

This is disappointing. Noise will therefore be in the #PolicingBill.

It was 133 content to 180 not content.

They have moved on to the second division, which is the Liberal Democrat motion to insist on the clause about public assemblies is removed.

Again, we support this amendment, so are looking for the ‘contents’.

Content 84, not content 171. Another government win.

There is one further vote, and it’s on another Labour motion. This one is about noise in static assemblies. Again, we are looking for the ‘contents’.

If you’re interested in the process, then the place to find information is the Bills section of parliament.uk. Specifically here for all the documents: bills.parliament.uk/bills/2839/pub… The one we are following tonight is the most recent under ‘amendments’.

Result. Content 113, not content 169.

Another government win.

That was the last business for tonight, so the House has adjourned.

This was disappointing. Peers voted to reject most of the government’s new amendments and many of the existing clauses in a spectacular 14 defeat evening — then insisted twice on some of those existing clauses. Now most of those clauses have returned to the #PolicingBill.

We shouldn’t forget that proposals such as the Protest Banning Orders and increased penalties for locking on were removed. However, the #PolicingBill which will receive Royal Assent is a very damaging piece of legislation.

The #PolicingBill has just squeaked through before Parliament is prorogued. There are a few other pieces of legislation still to come — watch out for the #ElectionsBill in the Commons tomorrow.

Thank you everyone for following along. I’m @QuakerDissent, and I hang out on Twitter quite a bit. I’ve enjoyed tweeting the passage of the #PolicingBill, despite the disappointments.