Heather Rawling, Leicester Socialist Party
We are celebrating a victory over Leicester Labour council. Last April, the council introduced a controversial Public Spaces Protection Order, covering the whole of the city centre inside the inner ring road.
The ban claimed it was aimed at prohibiting anti-social behaviour, like riding e-bikes in pedestrian areas. But tagged onto the end, was a clause banning ‘amplification and stall tables’.
Whilst some other left groups looked for ways to circumvent the ban, Leicester Socialist Party saw this ban for what it was – an attack on our democratic right to campaign effectively.
We discussed how we would oppose this ban. We drew up a strategy to include local trade unions and other campaigning organisations, and organised together to hold ‘defiance’ stalls.
Fined
On 31 May last year, Socialist Party members were campaigning against Labour council cuts. I was reluctantly asked by a street warden to take down our stall table – I have been campaigning with a stall table for over 30 years. When I refused, I was issued with a Fixed Penalty Notice that came with a £100 fine. I wrote to the council refusing to pay, pleading not guilty, and sought legal advice.
Our stand attracted media attention that put the Labour council in a poor light. We have had support from far and wide, including the trade union councils in Peterborough and Nottingham, even trade unionists and activists in other countries.
By the beginning of this year, having not been summoned to court, it became clear that the council wasn’t confident that they would win their legal case against me.
Defiance
We held a joint defiance stall day and issued press releases, which again attracted media attention. The council backed down, and withdrew the fine.
However, they still claim that you have to apply for a licence to hold a stall. Your Party supporters did just that to have a stall to mobilise for the anti-far right demonstration in London on 28 February.
They were told a weekday stall for a charity would cost £110, a weekend stall £500, and given options on where they could hold the stall. Also, they would need to submit Public Liability Insurance, and a risk assessment. It would be cheaper to pay the fine!
This is totally unacceptable on many fronts. Often, we have held stalls at very short notice in response to something in the news, like war, Black Lives Matter, Me Too, trans rights, and Labour austerity.
Other councils are looking to Leicester to implement similar bans. We will continue to hold stalls in the city centre, that enables us to discuss with the public, and build opposition to wars, austerity, and oppression.
