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 for a new national political party. The council’s rejection of his request shows that there is a de facto ban on political campaigning, at least for anyone independent of the council.
The council even rejected one application for a one-hour stall at 5am, which couldn’t possibly be deemed to cause any ‘anti-social behaviour’. Michael’s account of his exchanges with the council are below. He will be joining other activists in early February to oppose the council’s restrictions on political campaigning and free speech.
Guest post by Michael Barker:
This year Leicester’s Labour City Council introduced a new Public Spaces Protection Order (PSPO) to prevent political parties from using small tables while campaigning in the city centre. An effective ban on such democratic campaigning now seems to be in place as it remains impossible to actually gain official authorisation to book spots in the city centre.
Campaigners now have to seek authorisation from our Labour-run Council to oppose Labour Party austerity. This is a nonsense. What Labour is really scared of is political opposition, especially from the socialists. This seems to be why council authorities blocked the two recent attempts of my local Your Party branch from booking anti-austerity stalls in the city centre.
My first experience of rejection took place on 7 November, when I completed the lengthy application on the council’s website for ‘event organisers’ and requested that I be able to hold a two-hour lunchtime ‘Your Party’ stall nearby the Clock Tower on Saturday 15 November. (There was a convoluted process to find the way to request permission, since this is not advertised on the council website.)
I was slightly put off by the fact that the application process asked me to ‘upload a copy of your insurance policy’, as surely it can’t be necessary to be insured to hold a small campaigning stall. It was also a little disconcerting to find out that the ‘site hire pricing schedule’ indicated that there was always a cost attached to hiring ‘public space in Leicester city centre’ – and the proposed cost for hiring space on a Saturday at the Clock Tower was an eyewatering £900!
I did not hear back from the council until 17 November, two days after the proposed stall, and they informed me that I had not been authorised to undertake the stall.
On my second try at booking a ‘Your Party’ political stall in the city centre I lowered my ambitions somewhat. On 7 December, I submitted another application requesting to run a stall for just one hour by the Clock Tower, but at a time when I knew such a stall could not be deemed to cause any anti-social behaviour. The time I chose was Sunday morning from 5am to 6am on the proposed date of 4 January 2026. Although the council responded more quickly (this time on December 11) they again denied me authorisation to hold the proposed stall.
Although they came from different council departments, the rejection emails used the same text:
Thank you for your enquiry regarding erecting a table within the City Centre. The PSPO in place across the city centre is aimed at reducing anti-social behaviour and is in response to complaints of anti-social behaviour the council have received, temporary structures is just one of them. There will be no permissions granted for any form of temporary structure unless this is part of the exemption: Unauthorised structures: Setting up structures such as gazebos, tents, marquees, tables, stalls, banners, or promotional flags is not allowed. Exemptions apply: Individuals with council consent or a valid licence; Events or activities authorised by the council; Emergency services and responders. I can confirm that unfortunately your application does not on this occasion meet the exemptions as stated above. Please understand this does not replace your right to freedom of speech or to distribute free literature but you are unable to do so from a table, any continued use of a temporary structure may be in breach of the Public Spaces Protection Order.
When Leicester City Council introduced their antidemocratic PSPO earlier this year they said it was to stop anti-social behaviour, but campaigners and trade unionists from across Leicestershire are not stupid and we rallied around to oppose its introduction. These rejections of applications will only build popular resistance to Labour’s latest attempt to silence dissent.
- Michael Barker is a trade union and political activist from Leicester. Some of this article was previously posted on his website.