The Policing Bill is just the tip of the Tories’ authoritarian iceberg
When the Police, Crime, Sentencing and Courts Bill was going through parliament, many people were well aware of the dangers that such a bill posed to British democracy. The bill has many authoritarian tendencies, from criminalising travellers to denying foreign nationals the right to protest. The changes were put forth so brazenly, and defended so solidly by the Murdoch press that one can’t help to consider that British democracy is already out the window.
The protests in response to the bill, however, does give some hope for the UK. With groups such as BLM and XR standing together, despite the rocky history between the campaign groups, there is obviously still a sizable resistance to the Tories’ civil rights crackdown.
Other reforms, unfortunately, are not getting the attention they deservce. One such piece of legislation is to be announced in the Queen’s Speech this week, requiring all voters to bring photo ID to polling booths. This is despite warnings that such reforms would hit working class and minority communities the hardest; in other words, it would disenfranchise some of Labours supposed key voters.
Mayoral elections are also to be decided using first-past-the-post from 2024, according to government plans. Not only is the system known for being one of the least representative forms of government, it also will further Tory chances in mayoral elections, one of the areas they lost out in last week. This power grab has hardly been addressed by campaigners or media, and indicates more anti-democratic legislation in the future all but expected.
Authoritarian tendencies are not resticted to voter reform, either. Priti Patel’s new immigration plan threatens refugees with the permanent risk of removal, even if granted asylum, based solely on the way they entered the UK. This would leave refugees living in constant fear of repatriation, potentially to unsafe countries, and would undoubtedly limit their right to dissent. The plans are going ahead despite criticism from UNHCR, the UN refugee agency.
These policy reforms are just examples of a range of ways that the government is trying to limit voting rights, hold onto power, and degrade people’s basic rights. The Kill the Bill protests have shown us what popular resistance to authoritarian policies look like — we must ensure that this grows into a wider movement against other Tory policies that are chipping away at democracy.
