On 27th March 2025 twenty uniformed police officers, some equipped with tasers, forcibly entered the Quaker Friends Meeting House in Westminster and set about arresting six women holding a meeting in a hired room. According to the Metropolitan Police the arrests were on the ground of suspicion of conspiring to cause a public nuisance.
The alleged crime relates to the activities of Youth Demand who are planning 'swarm roadblocks' in London as an element of opposition to the government supplying arms to Israel and also the need for urgent action to counter the climate change crisis, a crisis already causing the deaths of marginalised people worldwide.
Make no mistake, this police action is an attempt to stifle, hinder, threaten, call it what you will, the ability of people to publicly protest against government policies by peaceful acts of civil disobedience. The state is using the police to deter criticism, backed up by legislation placing restrictions on meeting in public places.
The recent decisions of the government to reduce benefits for disabled people, the ending of the automatic winter fuel allowance and failure to address the causes of poverty and destitution have fuelled discontent, not just with the current government, but with the political process. Seeking to restrict civil protest plays into the hands of right wing political organisations, as witness the rise of Reform in the UK and the success of far right parties in Europe.
It is time for more civil disobedience, to show contempt for the failure of the political system to tackle social injustice. It is not enough to pussyfoot around with petitions and hand-wringing letters. Direct action is needed.
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