Manifesto Club

On-the-spot fines

Defra bans fining for profit: a campaigner’s guide

After over a decade of our campaigning, Defra has released new statutory guidance on litter enforcement powers. The guidance, which came into force in April 2026, was the subject of a Guardian exclusive. This is the statutory guidance we have been seeking. It is not perfect and could have gone further, but it contains several provisions that – if enforced – should put an end to the worst practices of the private enforcement industry. Here are the key gains. 1. Private firms must not profit from increasing the volume of fines. This is the crucial provision. For years, the standard model has been for private companies…

On-the-spot fines • PSPOs

Over 25,000 ‘busybody’ penalties issued in 2025

This week, the Crime and Policing Bill is passing through the ping pong stage in the Commons and Lords. This bill will increase the penalties for Public Spaces Protection Orders – which ban activities such as standing in groups, feeding birds, or loitering – from £100 to £500. Most of these penalties are currently issued by private companies on commission – the company is paid a portion (normally 80-90%) of penalty income, and therefore has a direct incentive to issue as many penalties as possible. The Liberal Democrat peer Tim Clement Jones introduced an amendment to prevent private companies from directly profiting…

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…