The Coronation has hastened the Police State
JVL Introduction
The Public Order Act implementation was speeded up just before the Coronation and on the day itself as well as unjustly arresting leaders of the organisation “Republic”* other people were arrested because they were wearing T Shirts with the slogan “Just Stop Oil”.
The police operation involved the biggest live use of facial recognition technology yet. As the Morning Star notes: “States cannot be trusted with this technology, the use of which to automate oppression in occupied Palestine formed the basis of a detailed investigation by Amnesty International published last week. Amnesty’s call for a global ban on the use of facial recognition technology for surveillance purposes should be taken up across the left.” (The full report can be read here)
The Public Order Act is an affront to the most limited idea of democracy and a sign of increasing authoritarianism. The Public Order Act allows the police to impose conditions if anyone may be “hindered to more than a minor degree”, to stop and search anyone “in case”. – and we know who is more likely to be stopped by the police. The UN has called the prison sentences that can be imposed disproportionate.
To date it is not clear that a Labour government under Starmer would repeal the Act with David Lammy (Shadow Home Secretary) saying: “We can’t come into office, picking through all the conservative legislation and repealing it,…It would take up so much parliamentary time. We need a positive agenda.” And Shadow Health Minister, Andrew Gwynne agreeing that the policing was heavy handed but did not commit to repealing the Act.
This article was originally published by Morning Star Editorial on Sun 7 May 2023. Read the original here.
The coronation crackdown signposts Britain's authoritarian future in important respects
Loading article text…
Is there a connection between all of this and the requirement for voters to have photographic ID? How long before every-one must carry such ID for every circumstance involving contact with the public and social services? How long before it is a legal requirement to carry such ID at all times, with the clear implication that a British citizen (sorry, ‘subject’) who is not able to produce it on demand can be arrested and charged? And what has to happen for all those people who fawned so cringingly over the Royals on Saturday to realise what kind of state his Majesty King Charles III is going to rule over when the police finally become a fully-fledged arm of government? What will they do when they do realise?
does this mean citizens can defend themselves against police armed with batons and tasers on the assumption thet were about to be physically attacked?
The irony.
The words of Pastor Martin Niemoller ring more true and as the days go by.
The authoritarian deep-state and its mouthpieces has clearly an agenda to attack civil liberties, particularly the right to protest, and to silence dissent. Its use of pre-emptive acts on the flimsiest of grounds is no surprise. When Labour politicians like David Lammey make excuses it means they are complicit in taking our rights away. The experience of Republic, Just Stop Oil and Palestine Action is merely an extension of the process of creeping repression which has been imposed by stealth on ordinary people. Some have described the process of “creeping fascism” and there may be some credibility in that assertion. We have to link together all those fighting for human rights and against occupation and racism. We live in dangerous times, where any semblance of “democracy” is being dismantled as we speak and breath.
First they came for the Communists
And I did not speak out
Because I was not a Communist
Then they came for the Socialists
And I did not speak out
Because I was not a Socialist
Then they came for the trade unionists
And I did not speak out
Because I was not a trade unionist
Then they came for the Jews
And I did not speak out
Because I was not a Jew
Then they came for me
And there was no one left
To speak out for me
One way to subvert the facial recognition surveillance is to wear masks depicting the establishment.These are cheap to produce and hopefully will confuse the high tech gizmos.We can beat them and on the cheap.
A lot of stern warnings of police “overreach” following the coronation. In Sunday’s “Observer” Sonia Sodha warns of police crackdown on those it characterises as transphobic. The Lib-Dems and Greens criticise Labour’s refusal to commit to repealling the recent increase in police powers. But where are the voices criticising the actions being against those protesting against Elbit?
Fascist dictatorship not far behind when the opposition hides behind Tory law and judges strangely quiet on the erosion of democracy and liberty
It does not look as if the possible future home secretary Lammy will change much
The irony is that the idealistic notions affirmed
by the monarch of human rights and dignity, justice etc
were contravened by the actions of the police ..
These are ideals supposedly adopted by those in ALL
positions of governance in the UK (and not just the
monarch who has no power). I wondered as I
watched the Coronation service how many of those
taking part had considered these matters?
I agree with Keith Russell, we are heading towards a full Fascist Government, they are introducing Laws against our Human Rights and we should all be worried. Starmer is not condemning these Laws, let alone stating that Labour will repeal any Tory Laws that takeaway our Human Rights.
Remember Thatcher’s Anti Union Laws, they truly weakened the Unions ability to fight back, Blair failed to repeal them. The Tories want to weaken the Unions even further, with a Law that says you cannot go on strike.
I say, this is where our attacks should be aimed, at Starmer and the present Labour Party.
The 1st thing Boris Johnson did on becoming Mayor of London was to order water canon. Tony Blair stated that his worst mistake was the ‘Freedom of Information Act’ as Julian Assange remains in a British prison for the crime of journalism and Sir Keir Starmer states that any future Labour gov’t would not ‘un-pick’ any Tory legislation (so reminiscent of Blair). The cost of living crisis is killing people and will get worse as inflation becomes stagflation and real poverty bites; but the convenient war has to be paid for as the Tory gov’t prints money and the profits of energy companies increase.
The usual narrative that wage increases cause inflation can again be heard as MSM unite in attacking workers terms and conditions of employment as the Labour Party plays Pontius Pilate and refuses to defend worker’s rights. As the price of food and other basics continues to rise, we may be entering a new era of public unrest. The authorities are well aware of this. ‘We live in interesting times’.