Heather Rawling, Leicester Socialist Party
A small victory was won today in the battle to defend the right to protest and campaign in Leicester. Protest and campaign stalls, and amplification are banned by the Labour council using a Public Spaces Protection Order (PSPO).
A stall defiance day was organised which included socialist organisations and Unite the Union. We agreed a strategy to not get fined, to engage with the city wardens in a good-natured way.
Protest not banned
The trades council had been in email correspondence with the council over their intentions to hold a ceremony for Workers’ Memorial Day in April. They have shared the correspondence with us. Eventually the Community Safety Team manager stated: “That where the activities are relevant to protest, the use of amplification or stalls/structures is not restricted for these purposes.”
Socialist Party members printed off the relevant email and gave copies to all those taking part in the stall defiance.
We used our stalls to campaign on a variety of issues, including fighting the cuts and opposing Trump’s visit, for 90 minutes before being approached by two city wardens who asked a group to take their stall table down.
I handed the city wardens a copy of the email and suggested they discuss with their line manager for clarification. They agreed and we decided to end the stalls at 2pm which we were going to do in any case.
The clock tower in Leicester has long been a meeting place for protests. Today it was surrounded by traders and a stage promoting music, alongside nearby fair rides.
The council first said that our stalls are a nuisance and then changed that to ‘untidy’. The only difference I can see between our protest stalls and the stalls around the clock tower is that they would have paid and we can’t afford to.
Community neglect
City wardens are being pulled out of their neighbourhoods to police the city centre, meaning issues like fly tipping are being neglected. And yet the PSPO has been difficult to enforce.
We agreed to return next week and push for our right to have campaign and protest stalls.
Heather was issued a notice for setting up a campaign stall on 31 May. A defence campaign has been set up and we plan to challenge it in court on the principle of the right to campaign.
- A legal defence fund has been established and we are going to trade unions and campaigning organisations for support. If you can raise it in your organisation please contact Heatherrawling154@outlook.com for more details.
