Author: Ashlea-Jay Abbs

Introduced in 2022, the Public Order Bill is set to destroy foundations of a democratic right to be heard. We reveal tips on protesting after the passing of the bill in early 2023

The Public Order Bill, that is still moving through Parliament, aims to introduce a series of measures that, detractors argue, intend to destroy the foundations of a democratic society. Aiming to take away our freedom to voice our opinions with noise restrictions and much more, consequently the purpose behind protesting. With a huge increase of protests over the years across the United Kingdom, the policy taken our right to be heard and silence criticism against the government.  

If the bill should pass, police would have extended powers to impose conditions onto protests and protesters, stop and search anyone attending a protest (even without suspicion), restrict the amount of people who attend and even decide who can attend and now what you do online surrounding the protests. 

Previous protests such as the Black Lives Matter movement in 2020 to more recent protests from ‘Just Stop Oil’ that utilise disruption in the form of blocking motorways, access to buildings, chaining themselves to each other or objects and noise disruption level to protest are now all being used as main targets under the new law.  

Whilst this all makes it seem impossible to get your voice heard, here are seven things we’ve been chatting about over dinner… 

One- For starters, if we are thinking about organising a protest, we’d better tell the police. 

Though it is still legal to protest under the European Convention of Human Rights despite the U.K. leaving the EU. 

The decision to notify the police beforehand means you can establish ground rules for the protest, you just make sure everyone follows them.  

Two- We must know what conditions the police can impose on protests too 

As well as being allowed to stop and search anyone attending a protest, the police are allowed to impose conditions onto the protest and protesters. Conditions include a restriction to location, the duration and the number of participants allowed to part-take and the time a protest can go on for.  

three- There is also the thing about space… 

You cannot protest on private property, without being considered trespassing and can be arrested for this, as well as aggravated trespassing. If you are now considered to be disrupting an organisation or two or more persons, the police would have powers to impose conditions (tip 2) onto your protest, fine protesters and even arrest organisers.  

The current state of the bill identifies ‘tunnelling’ as protesting on any construction site. Under the new bill this will no longer be allowed, maybe due to health and safety reasons more than disruption. 

Police would also prohibit protests in a specific area, and up to a five-mile radius, for up to three months but only if they believe that due to circumstances in the area, such as overcrowding during rush hour, conditions would be insufficient to prevent serious public disorder.   

four- This is kind of silly but… the noise we make is also about to change 

Though this is the main point of a protest, the bill doesn’t agree, and neither will the police. If they consider the noise to be of disruption to people or organisations nearby, you can be fined and arrested.  

It is currently noted on GOV.UK that imposing conditions based on noise will vary. How long a protest goes on for and even if the buildings they are protesting in front of feature double-glazed architectural features that block out noise are all factors on what and if conditions can be imposed on your protest.  

These rules also apply to static protests.  

Controlled areas based on the noise disruption means that government is looking to restrict protests in or around Parliament.  

Five- Penalties and imprisonment 

As well as being fined up to £1,000 for failing to comply to a stop and search you could be fined £1,000 for participating in static, prohibited and trespassory protests, £2,500 for organising or inciting others to join into these protests and/or 3 months imprisonment.  

Six- Legal observers may be a good idea 

You can arrange for a legal observer to be present and monitor the police as well as protesters, to provide legal information and support to protesters. You can find access to legal observers through the Independent Legal Observer Network. 

Legal observers may even be volunteer law student, surprisingly not everything comes with a price.  

Seven- Know who can support you! 

Whilst being able to afford a legal observer may only be for larger organisations, it is helpful to know where you can access support. Across the U.K. there are many solicitors that offer 24/7 support in London. These include: 

Commons Legal: 020 3865 5403 
ITN Solicitors: 020 3909 8100 
Hodge Jones & Allen: 0844 848 0222
Bindmans: 020 7305 5638

Link to the government website bill 

Further support

All images, Ⓒ unsplash.

Ant-Man and the Wasp: Quantumania quickly became one of Marvel’s worst films released but it is only the beginning of a new phase of years’ worth of content from the company’s Cinematic Universe.

Ant-man and the Wasp: Quantumania kicked off phase 5 of Marvel’s Cinematic Universe (MCU), further dividing the fanbase and leaving the future of the superhero universe on a questionable streak all within its 125-minute runtime.  
 

Despite Marvel’s frivolous cinematic history with the likes of ‘Avengers: Infinity war’ and ‘Civil War’, recent projects such as ‘Eternals’ and Quantumania raise the doubt of whether the franchise is running out of steam and rather prioritising quantity over quality.  
 

The sequel hit our screen over four years after the release of ‘Ant-Man and the Wasp’, with Paul Rudd returning as Scott Lang (Ant-Man), Evangeline Lilly as Hope van Dyne (Wasp), Michael Douglas as Hank Pym, and Michelle Pfeiffer as Janet van Dyne. The movie also featured new star Kathryn Newton as Cassie Lang, after Marvel recast previous Cassie Lang actress, Emma Fuhrmann who played the role throughout previous Ant-Man films.  
 

Ant-Man and the Wasp: Quantumania’s synopsis follows the characters, as they explore the Quantum Realm, a universe that was not mapped out in great detail until recently, subsequently introducing new civilisations never seen before within the MCU. 

This time, the Quantum Realm triggers the fifth instalment of the MCU. Known as the ‘multiverse saga’, the new stage is set to see releases up until late 2025. 

Flashbacks in the film to Janet van Dyne’s 30 years of being stuck in the Quantum Realm show that she found Kang the Conquer when he was exiled by the Council of Kangs for becoming too powerful and longing to be the only version of Kang in the multiverse.  

Upon reveal who Kang truly was, Janet destroyed the power source using Pym Particle, ending with both Janet and Kang still being stuck in the Quantum Realm. Despite destroying any chance of Kang refuelling his ship, she gave him back his suit and some of his powers back.  

Kang, who is a time warlord, holds superhuman strength, speed and endurance alongside energy projections and of course, time travel. 

Films released throughout phase 5 will see superheroes gaining new powers and relationships with one another. These will build up over the phase, as well as tensions between the superheroes and Kang until ‘Avengers: The Kang Dynasty’, where viewers will see the last huge battle between the new Avengers and Kang.  

With films scheduled for release across the next three years, we wonder: what does the future of the MCU look like? 

Well, screenwriter Jeff Loveness’s abilities have come under controversy after Quantumania received scathing reviews and became one of the worst rated Marvel films to ever be released.  

Fans are left wondering if Loveness is up to the job, as he is also set to write for ‘Avengers: The Kang Dynasty’, possibly the biggest film to release in phase 5 of the MCU.  

The cringeworthy, often boring, and annoying screenwriting comes with Marvel’s recent downfall in quality, most notably in the form of bad CGI such as the depictions of comic book character MODOK, that clearly shows the company’s recent admiration to quantity over quality.  

Marvel is churning out a disproportionate number of characters into the MCU currently. Many speculate that there are too many storylines happening at once, meaning important figures become background personalities and their storylines downsized or missed opportunities.  

Next on the Marvel movie release line up:

All images, Ⓒ Disney.