Free speech • PSPOs

Campaigners defy council ban on campaigning

We are working with political campaigners in Leicester, who are opposing the council’s ban on political campaigning (a new law prohibits displaying banners or flags, amplification, and setting up political stalls). Here is news from campaigners about their recent protest, when they set up campaign tables in defiance of the ban. We have written to the council, asking them to remove this restrictive and undemocratic law. Six different campaigning groups defied Leicester City Council’s ban on campaign tables and set up close to each other in the city centre on 7 February. While the event was happening City Wardens made no attempt…

On-the-spot fines • PSPOs

Victory on ‘busybody’ fines in House of Lords

On 25 February, peers passed an amendment to the Crime and Policing Bill to ban fining for profit for ‘busybody’ offences. The amendment states that companies ‘must not receive, directly or indirectly, any financial benefit that is contingent upon the (a) issuing of a fixed penalty notice, or (b) the number or value of fixed penalty notices issued’. This would mean that ‘payment per fine’ contracts – under which over 14,000 penalties are issued each year – would be declared invalid. Council ‘busybody’ powers (Public Spaces Protection Orders, and Community Protection Notices) have led to new bans on activities such as feeding…

Blog • On-the-spot fines • PSPOs

Lords debate ‘fining for profit’ for ‘busybody’ offenses

The Crime and Policing Bill will increase penalties for ‘busybody’ offences from £100 to £500 (clause 4). On-the-spot penalties for Public Spaces Protection Orders (PSPOs) and Community Protection Notices (CPNs) are currently issued at a rate of over 20,000 a year (in 2023 there were 19,000 FPNs for PSPOs, and 1,200 for CPNs). This price hike will therefore affect substantial numbers of people. These orders are issued on a low benchmark and have been subject to widespread misuse, including bans on gathering in groups or sleeping in public, and individuals banned from looking at their neighbours or ordered to cut their grass.…

PSPOs

‘Excessive honking’ and other new car-crimes

Tandridge District Council is considering a ban on ‘excessive horn honking’, which means drivers could be fined £100 pounds (soon to be £500) if they are judged to be honking their horn too much. According to new research, 39 other councils have seen fit to bring through a similar ban on honking, under new laws designed to stop ‘car cruising’. Vicky Heap from Sheffield Hallam University, and Clare Farmer from Deakin University in Australia, analysed the 69 active Public Spaces Protection Orders (PSPOs) that include ‘car cruising’ prohibitions. Although the justification for car cruising orders is to tackle car events including racing…

Free speech • PSPOs

Leicester Council denies political party right to campaign in city centre

Leicester City Council has a draconian Public Spaces Protection Order, which bans political groups from putting up banners or holding campaigning stalls in the city centre. So far, dozens of religious groups have been given warnings, and at least one political campaigner was fined when she refused to take down her ‘unauthorised’ campaigning table. (She has refused to pay the fine and is challenging the council to prosecute her). In theory, people can apply for permission from the council to hold a political stall, use amplification, or display a flag or banner. Leicester activist Michael Barker recently applied to hold a stall…

CPN case studies

Woman banned from reporting crime to Cornwall council and police

We recently received this email from a mother in Cornwall, who was issued with an ASB warning and two Community Protection Warnings banning her from reporting stalking incidents to the council or police. This case shows how authorities are using these powers to silence people, including people trying to report crimes. Because ASB powers are so open-ended, they can be used to suit the convenience of local authorities and the police where they perceive a member of the public to be ‘difficult’. This shows that the powers are not serving victims of offences – or those trying to report offences – but…

Public space

Guidance for Councils: How to keep your public squares open

This guidance is based on the Manifesto Club report, Gatekeepers: How Councils are Controlling Access to the Public Square, which found that restrictions on political stalls are now the norm across England and Wales. This guidance is to help councils work towards a more liberal approach to local campaigning, which encourages local engagement and democracy as well as respects free speech. The importance of the public square Public squares, pavements and pedestrianised areas have traditionally been venues where citizens, campaigners, political parties, community groups and others can engage with the public, hand out leaflets, show banners, run street stalls and talk with…

Privacy

Big Brother hits the road in Hammersmith and Fulham

(Guest post by Brian Mooney) My borough of Hammersmith and Fulham (H&F) has decided to spend millions on Artificial Intelligence (AI)-linked CCTV cameras and Live Facial Recognition that can pick out individuals – which are controversial due to concerns over accuracy. The council’s Cabinet report also proposed to use AI-linked cameras to enable automatic vehicle tracking and GPS tagging. It also pushes for surveillance drones, even though the whole borough sits within a congested ‘restricted flight zone’ with special permission needed. The stated purpose of all this tech is to work with the police (eg ‘identifying the routes taken by criminals’), even…

Public space • Take action!

Campaign: Free speech under threat in town squares

A decade ago, anyone could set up a table in the town square and engage passers-by. Now, councils are replacing open public space with ‘event zones’ that must be booked and approved. Our new report found that out of 321 councils surveyed in England & Wales: Only 19 councils (8%) allowed genuinely informal campaigning without fees or prior vetting — the vast majority impose red-tape, fees, licensing or outright bans. How control works 1. ‘Licensed’ event spaces replace the public square Councils now designate specific locations as ‘events’ or ‘promotions’ zones, which people have to apply to use. Everywhere else is off-limits.…

Briefings • PSPOs

Lords debate hike in ‘busybody’ fines

Clause 4 of the Crime and Policing Bill includes a substantial increase in penalties for breach of Public Spaces Protection Orders (PSPO) and Community Protection Notices (CPNs), from £100 to £500. The main result of this change will be more people getting massive fines for dubious non-offences such as having a messy garden, begging, standing in groups and ‘idling’. These penalties will be largely issued by dodgy private enforcement companies who are paid per fine. The Bill is now in the Lords, and two peers – Lord Tim Clement Jones and Baroness Claire Fox – have introduced Committee Stage amendments to remove…