Jeremy Hunt proudly proclaimed that the UK is “Europe’s biggest defender of democracy” in his Spring Budget speech. Yet, the UK’s civil liberties rating has been whittled down from “narrowed” to “obstructed” as a result of the government’s new crackdowns on protests, voting, and strikes. The UK is now in the same category as countries such as Poland, South Africa and Hungary, according to the Civicus Monitor’s recently published civic freedoms index.
The report’s authors said “For the last three years, civic space in the UK has been in decline. In September 2021, the country was placed on the CIVICUS Monitor Watchlist to signal a rapid decline in civic freedoms,”
According to the report, the Police, Crime, Sentencing and Courts Act and the controversial Public Order Bill, seriously undermine the right to protest. More than twenty worldwide civil society organisations highlight a worrying trend of drastic clamp down on civic freedoms. In a bid to crack down on “eco-zealots” (i.e. groups such as Extinction Rebellion, Insulate Britain, and Just Stop Oil) new criminal offences have been introduced, including Serious Disruption Prevention Orders (SDPOs). People carrying ordinary objects such as bike can be deemed to be attempting ‘locking-on’ (a tactic where protesters physically attach themselves to buildings) and there are extended police stop and search powers, which give authority to the police to shut down protests before any disruption has even occurred.
The report also criticised the UK government’s increasing authoritarianism as creating a hostile environment towards civil society, especially towards those charities and campaigners who actively oppose or speak out against its policies on climate change, anti-racism, and refugee and asylum seeker rights. This carries a chilling effect on some of their wider activities.
Civicus says that the results of the downgraded rating should be a wake-up call on striking the right balance between maintaining daily activities, essential services and effective governance while protecting citizens right to peaceful assembly. The report notes that it is crucial that the government review the implications of new legislation on civil society, to ensure that the UK is not taking a backward step and undermining the democratic principles which society is founded upon.
