Protecting our right to protest is vital - Dan Heap
Edinburgh has a long and proud history of protest. From resistance to the unfair Edinburgh Annuity Tax in the 1860s which forced citizens to pay the stipends of Church of Scotland ministers, to anti-Vietnam war rallies of the 1960s and 70s, to the climate and anti-racists protests of today, the people of Edinburgh have always spoken up against injustice and for what they believe to be right.
In many cases, these protests are organised quite quickly. In June, I was heartened to see the people of Leith come together soon after the horrendous racist stabbings there to make clear that everyone, no matter where they have come from and whatever the colour of their skin, is welcome in Edinburgh.
That kind of spontaneous and organic protest could have ended had Edinburgh Council pressed ahead with ill thought through plans to ban “unauthorised political activity”. The council proposed to use new Public Space Management Rules originally devised to deal with busking to also control a whole raft of other activities, including protests, vigils and other similar political activities.
There was no plan for how this would work in practice, but the basic intention appeared to require anyone planning a protest, of any size, anywhere in a city street or public space to notify the Council in advance and perhaps even pay a fee. So, three people on a street corner holding placards without going through the necessary bureaucracy would potentially have faced conviction and a fine.
Those wanting to stand up against racism and fascism or demand action to tackle the climate emergency would not be able to protest until they had applied, paid a fee, and waited however long it took for the Council to give the OK.
Greens sought to defeat these proposals, and, after some last-minute changing of positions from other parties, I’m glad to say that four parties came together to block the plans, with only the Conservatives in support.
In an age when the UK Government has introduced increasingly restrictive laws on protest, local councils should be defending democratic freedoms, not eroding them.
Edinburgh should be a city where people can speak out against injustice, stand up for their communities and hold those in power to account and thanks to the Greens, it will continue to be.
Cllr Dan Heap is the Green councillor for Sighthill/Gorgie and Edinburgh Greens communities spokesperson