Labour is under pressure to say whether it would repeal new anti-protest laws, after calls from all the main Westminster opposition parties and concerns expressed privately by some Labour MPs.
Restrictions on the right to protest are in the spotlight after much-criticised arrests by the Metropolitan police of republican campaigners before Saturday’s coronation of King Charles.
Two shadow ministers have refused to say if Labour would scrap the powers. Speaking on his phone-in show on LBC radio, David Lammy, the shadow foreign secretary, was asked by a caller if a Labour government would repeal the Public Order Act, which was given royal assent four days before the coronation.
“We can’t come into office, picking through all the conservative legislation and repealing it,” Lammy replied. “It would take up so much parliamentary time. We need a positive agenda.”
Andrew Gwynne, the shadow public health minister, told Sky News that a Labour government would “look very carefully at this legislation” and that police appeared to have been “heavy-handed” in their approach on Saturday.
But he refused to commit to scrapping the act, which gives police powers to shut down protests before disruption, outlaws tactics such as “slow marching” and allows six-month prison sentences and unlimited fines for demonstrators who lock on to others, objects or buildings.
Gwynne said: “We need to see how it’s working. And if it’s not working in the way the government say it’s intended to work then that’s something that needs addressing.”
Alistair Carmichael, the Liberal Democrats’ home affairs spokesperson, said the new powers were “dangerous and unnecessary”, adding: “Any party happy to support them is no supporter of civil liberties and should think again.
“The Conservative government’s anti-democratic attempts to silence any opposition to its policies is deeply troubling and the Liberal Democrats will fiercely resist them, as all progressive parties should do.”
The Green party MP Caroline Lucas said: “If Labour isn’t going to stand up for fundamental human rights, then that is really chilling and we’re in a very serious place …
“If Labour gets the majority they tell us they’re on course for, they could overturn this in a day. If they’re a minority government they can be very sure that the smaller parties will back them. The bill is deeply illiberal and we’ve seen the danger of it over this last weekend.”
The SNP MP Chris Stephens said Labour was being “spineless”, adding: “Instead of taking the fight to those who have the right to protest, both the Tories and Labour should follow the Scottish government’s lead and always commit to getting round the table and negotiating with those involved.”
Some Labour MPs expressed unease, saying they would seek clarification. One said: “David Lammy is right that you could spend five years unpicking every bit of legislation. What you need to do is prioritise what you’re going to overturn and replace it with a positive vision. And in a democracy, the right to protest is fundamental.”
One complication is that the bulk of the protesters arrested before the coronation appear to have been held under an earlier piece of Conservative legislation rather than the Public Order Act.
The Police, Crime, Sentencing and Courts Act, which became law last year, sets out an offence of creating or conspiring to cause a public nuisance, under which 32 of the 64 people arrested on Saturday were detained.
Labour officials argue that a refusal to commit to repeal does not necessarily imply support for a measure, or a veto on action, just a refusal to overly tie the party’s hands after an election.
A Labour spokesperson said: “Labour will ensure that the historic right to peaceful protest is protected alongside action to prevent dangerous protests or serious disruption. We opposed the public order bill – we continue to believe that the police already had the powers they need to prevent serious disruption and we continue to believe that things like the measures on suspicionless stop and search are not right.
“Under a Labour government, new Home Office legislation will be needed in a series of different areas to implement key labour policies and undo the damage that the Tories have done on issues ranging from violence against women to policing to the chaos in the asylum system. We will look at the detail of what legislation is needed to address these issues.”
