New polling undertaken by Opinium on behalf of Best for Britain shows that 79% of people asked think peaceful protests should be allowed outside the Houses of Parliament including 75% of people who voted Conservative at the last election and 76% of people who voted Leave at the EU referendum. Only 15% of people asked disagree with this.
This new poll comes as Peers prepare to vote on amendments to the Government's Policing Bill which contains provisions within Clause 59 of the Bill to effectively ban any demonstrations in and around the highest seat of power in Britain. Unamended, the Bill would prohibit large scale demonstrations around Parliament, Whitehall and outside Downing Street.
Peers will be voting today on Amendment 133B, co-ordinated by Best for Britain, to protect citizens’ right to protest, ensuring that legal avenues for people to apply to hold demonstrations will continue to be available. You can find out more here.
The vote is expected to be at 20:00. If successful the amendment will be voted on by the House of Commons when the Bill is next debated by MPs.
Protecting the right to protest in Parliament Square is supported by Conservative voters as well as those who vote for Labour and the Liberal Democrats.
And people who voted both Leave and Remain in teh 2016 EU Referendum agree Parliament Square should continue to be the venue for protests, demonstrations and political events.
THE POLL DETAILS
Polling undertaken by Opinium on behalf of Best for Britain between 11th-13th January 2022 asked a representative sample of 1,999 people,
"Do you think that peaceful protests should or should not be allowed to take place outside Parliament?"
The results were:
Total
Definitely should - 46 %
Probably should - 32 %
Probably should not - 11 %
Definitely should not - 4 %
Don’t know - 6 %
NET: Should - 79 %
NET: Should not - 15 %
*Disparity between Net Should and breakdown explained by fractional results.
The data tables are available to download here.
Sign the petition today
Make sure your voice can still be heard, add your name to the pressure on the Government to accept the amendments and show Members of the House of Lords that people really do care about their rights to protest.