Richard Gingell, Black Country Socialist Party
The recent jailing of five Just Stop Oil activists for conspiring to block the M25 motorway underscores a troubling trend: the increasing criminalisation of protest.
The severity of the sentences imposed on these activists, of four or five years, is disproportionate to the alleged offences. They are the most severe sentences ever for non-violent protest. This crackdown sends a chilling message to all those seeking to challenge the status quo. By targeting individuals for planning future actions, it undermines the fundamental right to protest and is aimed at creating a climate of fear.
The crackdown reflects a broader trend of increasing authoritarianism. As capitalism faces growing instability, the courts are resorting to more repressive measures. By focusing solely on the tactics of protesters, the government is avoiding addressing the root causes of the issues these groups are raising.
Labour was elected promising ‘change’. But under this new government, the courts are continuing the Tories’ crackdown on the right to protest.
The trade unions must demand that Labour keeps its pledge to reverse all the anti-union laws of the last Tory government, and to extend that to anti-union laws going to Thatcher. As part of that, there should be a fight against all the repressive laws designed to stop working-class people fighting back.
As the climate crisis deepens and economic inequality widens, protest is likely to increase. We have to defend our rights to protest as part of fighting for a socialist society that meets the needs of people and the environment.
