Liberty: Our legal challenge to defend democracy has been put on hold while we negotiate with the new Government.
Posted: 25th July 2024
Our legal challenge to defend democracy has been put on hold while we negotiate with the new Government.
Earlier this year, we won our case against former Home Secretary, Suella Braverman’s unlawful anti-protest laws. Braverman had lowered the threshold at which police could impose conditions on protest from ‘serious’ disruption to ‘more than minor’ disruption. This change had already been democratically rejected by Parliament.
In May, the High Court ruled the then-Home Secretary had acted unlawfully. The judges said ‘serious’ couldn’t mean ‘more than minor’ and Braverman had completely ignored Parliament’s intention by changing the definition in this way.
But the former Government appealed the decision just before announcing the General Election.
The case is now against the new Labour Government, which has asked for more time to decide whether to continue the appeal or not. We will now meet with the Home Office in the coming weeks to find a resolution to the case.
We are calling on new Home Secretary, Yvette Cooper, to get rid of these powers.
Join Liberty to stand with us as we demand the new Government commits to defending democracy.
We are glad the new Government is taking a moment to reconsider, as this case has immense implications for our democracy and the potential unchecked power of ministers. The choice now facing the new Home Secretary is simple: do you want to continue the legacy of the past Government with their rule-breaking and disrespect? The new Government’s Attorney General has said that “the rule of law is imprinted into their DNA”. Now it’s time to put those words into action – will you scrap these powers that show complete contempt for our parliamentary democracy?
We hope today marks a new era of Government and respect for our democracy, and that we see this appeal dropped.
Thank you for your invaluable support during this important case. Liberty will continue to defend democracy and stand up to power.
Best wishes,
Katy Watts, Lawyer