Protestors in Ludlow thank the House of Lords for 'boosting democracy' in vote on protest bill
Protestors in Ludlow have thanked the House of Lords following their votes against a controversial piece of proposed legislation.
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Members of the sustainability group Ludlow 21 joined Ludlow Quakers, Extinction Rebellion South Shropshire, South Shropshire Green Party and others at Ludlow Castle to display their thanks.
A spokesperson for the groups said the House of Lords rejection of most of the amendments in the Police, Crime, Sentencing and Courts Bill last week was a "boost to democracy" and campaigners and activists in Ludlow felt such heartfelt gratitude that it needed to be expressed.
The bill would strengthen police powers when dealing with peaceful protests.
The spokesperson added: "Ludlow is a very active town with many interest and campaigning groups.
"Some of these groups have held local demonstrations or protests and at times participated in regional and national ones.
"All the people in this photo have participated in protest so the repressive nature of the Police, Crime, Sentencing and Courts Bill was, and still is, of deep concern.
"But the ‘House of Lords’ rejection of most of the Police Bill’s amendments last Monday was a real lift and we wanted to thank the Lords for recognizing the Police Bill’s real threat to democracy."
A letter of thanks has also been sent to the Lords.
Campaigners believe that the Police, Crime, Sentencing and Courts Bill had been hurried through the House of Commons without sufficient scrutiny or time for deliberation and debate.
They object to what they call excessive discretionary powers.
"The Government’s addition of 18 pages of 11 new offences after the Bill had left the Commons was shocking," said the spokesperson. "Those amendments were unnecessarily repressive would have severely restricted our democratic rights."