Reading Trades Union Council was proud to stand shoulder to shoulder will other protesters to say to the Government: "KILL THE BILL!"
On 17 January 2022, Reading Trades Union Council joined fellow trade unionists in Broad Street, Reading, for a day of action in the #KillTheBill protests. The Police, Crime, Sentencing and Courts Bill is a blatant attempt to provide police forces with authoritarian powers, where the voices of ordinary people, particularly those most marginalised and disadvantaged, will be silenced by state-sanctioned penalties.
On the impetus of the People's Assembly's mobilisation of local actions around the country, Tanya Wills, James Parker and Kathy McCubbing (all members of Unite Community) joined Helen Caney, John Oversby (both of UCU) and Steve Snook and Sue Taylor (both of PCS) to raise awareness of the horrors of the bill.
Other protesters also assembled alongside RTUC, where placards and posters were displayed identifying the harm the bill would do to Gypsy, Roma and Traveller communities. trade union and other protesters and even social events in the community.
The event raised awareness of the bill's draconian reach, through speeches and conversations with the passing public. It followed a series of earlier events throughout 2020 in Reading and around the country, pressuring parliamentarians to think again over the powers being bestowed upon the police by this bill and the civil liberties it will infringe.
A particular focus of attention is Clause 59 of the bill which would make it a crime to “intentionally or recklessly” cause public nuisance without a reasonable excuse and be punishable with a year in jail from magistrates or up to 10 years in the worst cases convicted at crown court. The bill would also expand stop and search powers and new laws against residing on land without authorisation with a vehicle would effectively criminalise Gypsy, Roma and Traveller communities.
Amendments added to the bill by the Government in the House of Lords in November 2021 make obstructing major transport works a criminal offence and would equip police with the power to ban named people from demonstrating.
As the bill continues to be debated in parliament, the protests will continue in the streets - aiming to humanise is illiberal tendencies or SEE IT THROWN OUT ENTIRELY!
