Protest in Parliament Square - Why It Matters

Depressingly, police moved in this morning to deal with the Democracy Village on Parliament Square. Many people will welcome this, hiding behind the "oh, well, it was an illegal protest" line. Although judging by the comments at Dale's place - and Iain's clear delight at anything that makes life difficult for the protestors - this isn't so much about the protest, more that the dirty hippies in Parliament Square were ruining the view for everyone. Which is both pathetic and very short-sighted.

At the heart of this issue is the nature of protest in this country. If the protest on Parliament Square was illegal, then the law is an ass. And the law needs to be changed.

Yeah, the Square is very pretty and a tourist attraction. And yeah, a camp on the nice green bit in the middle of the Square is far from attractive. But the whole point of Parliament is that it is meant to be the heart of a thriving democracy - not a desiccated museum in a quiet part of town. And part of democracy means that people have a right to protest - so why not in front of the building where our MPs make our laws?

And there's more to it than just that. Our MPs, and in particular the senior ones, exist in a security bubble - one that does everything within its power to keep them from the ordinary people that they are supposed to represent. You want to know what was so great about the protest on Parliament Square? It was a constant reminder to those in power that there are people who feel passionately enough about what is happening in and to our country to stand up and shout about it. To move onto Parliament Square and protest about it. So of course MPs don't want protests within a mile of Parliament. Out of sight, out of mind.

This is the point - if you believe that people have a right to protest, then you have to support that right even if the protest isn't that photogenic and isn't in a location that is ideal for you. You should also want to change the law if it restricts the right to protest at the very heart of democracy in this country. So this is the litmus test - if you actually believe in the right to protest, and therefore in freedom, you should want to see this protest in Parliament Square go on until the people running it decide to stop it. If you don't agree, then that's fine - but you're no friend of freedom, and you may as well sod off and join the social conservatives like Dale, or the Nu Labourites with their intrinsic distrust of the people.