The UK Parliament has approved a controversial bill granting police unprecedented powers to restrict, prevent, and impose strict conditions on protests . The move has triggered sustained opposition from campaigners who say the measures threaten the right to demonstrate, particularly in support of Palestine and against the US-Israel war against Palestinians, Lebanon, and Iran.
During debate in the House of Commons on Tuesday evening, 14 April, Labour MP Andy McDonald led a rebellion within his party. He proposed rejection of the expanded powers, describing them as "a serious erosion of civil liberties". Labour MP Apsana Begum warned that an attack on the right to protest could lead to "a very concerning path".
The Labour government, which holds a majority in the House of Commons, rejected calls from McDonald and 31 members across different parties. They had sought separate votes on amendments introduced to the bill on protest rights. Instead, the government insisted on a single vote covering the legislation in full.
Sarah Jones, minister of state at the Home Office, told the House of Commons that the new police powers represented a "minor change". "We have no desire, and will never seek, to reduce people's rights to protest," she added, further describing the bill, which runs to more than 550 pages, as "the largest criminal justice bill enacted in a generation".
Independent MP Adnan Hussain wrote on X that he would continue to defend long-established fundamental freedoms. He criticised what he described as attempts to restrict peaceful protest by granting police authority to ban demonstrations or impose conditions on them. Concerns over the bill centre on two main clauses, which critics describe as threatening the rights to protest and free expression in the United Kingdom. The measures were added during scrutiny in the House of Lords. The first clause relates to "cumulative disruption." It requires police to consider, when deciding on protest applications, the overall impact of demonstrations on an area.
It also allows police to take into account previous protests in the same location, even when organisers and causes differ.
The second clause concerns protests near places of worship. It gives police the authority to impose conditions that prevent gatherings near sites such as synagogues.
The term "near" is not clearly defined. Critics say this creates concern that it could be applied broadly to block protests for political reasons.
Labour MP Kim Johnson posted a video from Parliament criticising the bill. She said on X that "your right to protest is becoming a gift granted by the state."
An independent MP and co-leader of the new Your Party said Labour MPs voted to remove the right to protest and to grant sweeping powers that could criminalise strikes.
She described the legislation as a direct escalation against the Palestine solidarity movement, which has mobilised hundreds of thousands in the streets.
Labour MP John McDonnell criticised the government's approach. He said it repeated the method used in a vote on legislation banning the group Palestine Action.
He said the government prevented a dedicated vote on protest rights and combined the issue into a single vote covering multiple amendments.
In a post on X, he said he voted against plans to restrict protest rights.
The bill will now return to the House of Lords for consideration of amendments made by the House of Commons.
Both chambers must agree on a final version before it receives royal assent to become law. Palestine Coalition defies restrictions While MPs debated the government amendments, the Palestine Coalition held a demonstration outside Parliament calling for rejection of the changes.
Although permission to protest had been granted, police prevented organisers and speakers from using loudspeakers. Participants described this as unacceptable.
Actor Juliet Stevenson criticised the bill, saying it gives police "authoritarian powers to prevent and repeat protests."
She said she believed the aim was to "cover up complicity with the crimes of genocide against the Palestinian people", adding that the law "will not stop protest in support of Palestine and against genocide". Protesters echoed her remarks, chanting slogans calling for a free Palestine and describing Israel as a terrorist state.
Sophie Bolt, general secretary of the Campaign for Nuclear Disarmament, told The New Arab that the law "will not silence our voice".
She said the Palestine Coalition "will not stop until Palestine is free and its people, and the people of Lebanon and Iran, live in safety."
Alex Kenny, general secretary of the Stop the War Coalition, told TNA that protests will continue. Responding to police criticism of ongoing demonstrations, he said, "We will not stop until the killing, occupation and genocide stop." Jewish criticism of Zionism Rabbi Jacob Weiss, of Jews Against Zionism and for Palestine, told TNA that the law is a gift to Zionism. He pledged continued action, including demonstrations, in support of Palestinians despite approval of the bill, saying the British public should not allow Zionism to gain control in Britain in the way he said it had in the United States. Weiss rejected government claims that the bill aims to protect the Jewish community. He said even Jews in Britain who support Israel do not feel threatened by Palestinian demonstrations.
He added that the passage of the bill will not prevent him and others from protesting, saying demonstrations continue globally amid what he described as ongoing killings, starvation and war crimes in Gaza and Lebanon.
Some protesters carried Iranian flags and images of Marwan Barghouti, a senior Fatah figure held in Israeli custody since 2002. Other banners called for freedom for Palestinian prisoners in Israeli jails. Protesters say only rebellion remains Zahra, a British woman of Somali origin, said the bill leaves only rebellion as an option. She asked what remains when the right to protest is removed in a society that claims to uphold democracy and free expression.
She criticised MPs who supported the bill, saying they are meant to work in the public interest. She said she and many in her generation will continue to protest for Palestine regardless of consequences.
Some pro-Israel individuals attempted to harass demonstrators, but police deployed heavily around the protest to prevent physical confrontation, though some continued shouting and calling protesters terrorists.
A delegation delivered petitions to the office of Prime Minister Keir Starmer on Monday, 13 April, expressing anger over the bill. The Palestine Solidarity Campaign said the petitions carried more than 40,000 signatures condemning what it described as attacks on the right to protest.
More than 45 rights, trade unions, arts, research and professional organisations joined the pressure campaign, alongside the Palestine Coalition, which includes six other groups supporting the Palestinian cause. The government says it remains committed to the right to protest, stating that the bill does not undermine that right.
It also says the legislation is necessary to ensure public safety, protect vulnerable groups, including the Jewish community, and reduce economic disruption caused by protests.
However, organisations opposing the bill said suppression of peaceful protest will not protect anyone's rights or safety. They warned that the measures could be used by current or future governments to effectively eliminate political demonstrations, labour-related actions, and protest activity in general. Article translated from Arabic by Afrah Almatwari. To read the original, click here .