The Public Order Act is primarily about restricting the right to protest, or, depending on your political views, it’s about preventing campaign groups from interrupting your daily life. Naturally, Ministers have told us repeatedly that the Bill is necessary. But there’s one part of it that I want to draw your attention to.
Clause Ten means that significant restrictions are now in place on what people can and cannot do within a radius of an abortion facility. It introduces across England and Wales a national ‘buffer zone’ policy. It’s the exact same policy idea that was roundly rejected in 2018 by the then Home Secretary, Sajid Javid. At that time, the government did a data collection exercise and concluded that instances of genuine harassment outside abortion facilities were in the minority. Most pro-life vigils, it concluded, were peaceful and prayerful.
Although the Home Secretary has changed (along with most government posts!), it’s still, nominally at least, the same party in power. So, what’s changed since 2018? How come we’ve got buffer zones across the country when only five years ago it was being rejected? Has new evidence come forward to persuade the government to change its mind?
The idol of autonomy in the West
If I asked you to name one of the great cultural idols of the secular Western world, what would you …