The Draconian Future of Britain

Democracy in the UK has for years now been undermined by our mainstream media, who time and time again fail to hold power to account. But more recently, our democracy and freedom have been put under serious threat by the proposed Police, Crime, Sentencing & Courts Bill and Official Secrets Act, not to mention the Online Safety Bill. If even just one of these bills becomes law, the UK will be one huge step closer to its more than likely draconian future. With every new policy and decision, the Tories reinforce their position as an authoritarian government, steering further away from not only democracy but overall modern-day life.

Where to even begin with the Police, Crime, Sentencing & Courts Bill? It is a direct attack on our civil rights, empowering police while simultaneously restricting our right to protest and so much more. The bill was first introduced in March of this year, according to the Ministry of Justice and the Home Office the bill is supposed to “strengthen police powers to tackle non-violent protests that have a significant disruptive effect on the public or on access to Parliament”. But in reality, it is the perfect recipe for putting more people in prison, an uncanny coincidence when you take into consideration the 3 mega prisons the government is building.

The Police, Crime, Sentencing & Courts Bill, or better known as the Policing Bill will not only pose a threat to our fundamental right to protest, but also increase prison sentences, and police power. For example, under the new bill you can face up to 10 years in prison for damaging what the government described as a memorial, but to many of us are nothing more than statues of slave owners and racist leaders. Ten years is the same amount of time you risk facing sexual assault and that is if you even manage to make it to court. Aside from all this, the bill criminalises the lifestyle of the traveller communities. This is a bill designed to elevate state control.

Let’s not forget that UK institutions, such as the police are still largely if not fully racist. Thus increasing police power, “will increase the unjust criminalisation of Black, Asian and minority ethnic communities.”

The Official Secrets Act although has no direct impact on the general public, it has a vast impact on our media and journalists. The government wants to reform the current Official Secrets Act, to make it a criminal offence for current or former government employees to leak any information that is considered "damaging". This places whistleblowers under direct threat of prosecution, prohibits the investigative work of journalists and goes against our right to information as a society. Any journalists who publish information that is covered by the bill, without the privilege of a public interest defence. A draconian move like no other, restricting our access to information while reinforcing a state of secrecy within the government. Although the mainstream media in the UK fails to hold the government responsible for its lies and corruption, the legislation will ensure the government’s deepest secrets never see the light of day.

Last but most certainly not least, the Online Safety Bill, as described by the government, “a new regulatory framework to tackle harmful content online”. Under the new bill, social media platforms are required to regulate and remove harmful content of their sites, with the exception of ‘recognised news publishers’, who would be fully exempt. Of course, it is logical to have news publishers be exempt from such regulation as it would limit their ability to report honestly and accurately. However, the problem here lies in how the government has defined the criteria for a ‘recognised news publisher’. The bill provides an extensive list of things a publisher must be doing to be awarded this privilege, all things that are more doable for the mainstream media who are financially stable and flooding with staff than it is for the independent media sector. A large majority of indy media organisations are understaffed and rely on grants and donations thus unable to fulfil the government’s irrational criteria.

As tweeted by the Independent Media Association, “The Online Safety Bill will exempt the social media accounts of the corporate press including the likes of the @MailOnline, while hundreds of independent publishers will face extra regulation. This Govt is handing out favours to the corporate press and failing to stand up for the indie media.”

The government is trying to push a series of draconian laws through parliament, all during a time where most of us are still coming to terms with normal life again. So while we distract ourselves with what social interaction feels like again, the government advances its authoritarian regime. Over the last few months, there have been countless attempts by the Tories to distract us from what was really at play. For example, the Matt Hancock affair video was leaked in the same week that Priti Patel bought the Policing Bill back to parliament. It is essential that we remain aware of what the government is trying to do and not get steered away by something as trivial as Nicki Minaj arguing with Boris Johnson.