Scottish Green MSP Maggie Chapman has urged the Scottish Government to make clear that new UK-wide anti-protest laws will not be enforced in Scotland.
Her comments follow proposals by UK Labour Home Secretary Shabana Mahmood to strengthen police powers to restrict public protest, measures that Chapman described as “repressive” and “undemocratic.”
The right to protest, Chapman said, must remain protected in Scotland regardless of the direction taken by the UK Government.
“The right to protest is fundamental to our democracy and not something that should be traded away opportunistically by a government that is collapsing in front of our eyes,” said the North East Scotland MSP.
She warned that devolved governments must now set out clearly that such powers will not be adopted or used within their jurisdictions.
“Anyone who cares about democracy should take a stand against these repressive and ridiculous changes,” she said.
“Devolved governments must make it clear that they will not be applied and that freedom to protest will be protected.”
Chapman also criticised Labour’s recent move to proscribe the group Palestine Action, calling the decision part of a broader political shift that could restrict peaceful dissent.
“With this crackdown and the proscription of Palestine Action, Labour is making clear that it would rather criminalise peaceful protest and dissent than end its complicity in Israel’s genocide against Palestinians,” she said.
She raised concerns about the long-term consequences of such legislation being introduced at UK level, particularly if political control were to shift further to the right.
“With the polls showing a far-right Reform government as a possibility, do Labour MPs really want to give them the powers and the tools to silence their critics?”
Chapman accused Labour of pushing even further than the previous Conservative government in limiting public freedoms.
“It is shocking that Labour is prepared to go even further than the Tories in removing our basic democratic rights,” she said.
“I urge the Scottish Government to make clear that peaceful protest is safe here and that we will not see these authoritarian restrictions replicated in Scotland.”
The Scottish Government has not yet commented on whether any of the proposed UK-wide powers would be introduced north of the border.
The new measures, announced this week by Labour’s Home Secretary, include expanded police powers over static protests and the possible banning of groups considered “extreme.”
Civil liberties groups have voiced growing concern that such laws risk criminalising peaceful protest and silencing political opposition.
