George Monbiot is insisting that protest should be costless. That’s not how it works at all.
But the ruling classes granted one small concession: the right to protest against the decisions they make. Since the Peterloo massacre in 1819, they knew the system had to bend if it were not to break, and upheld “the undoubted right of Englishmen to assemble together”. Nonviolent protest has long been recognised as a legitimate means of challenging and improving our political settlement. Were it not for protest, the franchise would never have been extended in the first place, and the thing we call democracy would not exist.
Yep, we all get to stand in a field in Manchester and listen to speeches. We’re all allowed to give speeches in a field in Manchester. Without the mounted Yeomanry charging us sabres drawn even. We’re also able to harangue from Hyde Park Corner and so on.
The most extreme case so far – indeed the longest sentences for peaceful protest handed out in British history – was the prosecution of two climate protesters called Morgan Trowland and Marcus Decker. In October 2022, they climbed on to the Queen Elizabeth II Bridge, which crosses the Thames at Dartford, and unveiled a banner. They received, respectively, sentences of three years, and two years and seven months.
Quite right too. Further, as Decker is not a UK citizen - nor fully settled as a non but allowed to stay here such - he’s getting deported at the end of that portion of his sentence he’s going to serve. Quite right too.
They planned the action carefully, to minimise disruption (starting very early in the morning so traffic could easily be diverted into the Dartford tunnel, as it is routinely when the bridge is closed due to bad weather) and maximise media coverage of their call for an end to the licensing of new oil and gas extraction. They stayed on the bridge for 37 hours, before agreeing to be brought down.
Their prison terms were massively out of line with any sentencing that had gone before.
Well, yes. But then so was their action massively out of line. Worth reading the appeal against the sentences.
The protesters were charged with the offence of intentionally or recklessly causing a public nuisance contrary to s. 78(1) of the Police, Crime, Sentencing and Courts Act 2022. On 4 April 2023 they were convicted following a seven-day trial before HHJ Collery KC (“the judge”) and a jury in Basildon Crown Court. On 21 April 2023 the judge sentenced Mr Trowland to three years’ imprisonment, and Mr Decker to two years and seven months’ imprisonment.
Causing a public nuisance is not a new crime.
Data from the National Highways System based on the Strategic Road Network revealed the following. As a result of the protest, a minimum of 564,942 vehicles were delayed, with a minimum period of delay of 60,547 hours. At 8.30am on 17 October, there was a queue of over eight miles long at junction 4 of the M25, south of the bridge, and a seven-mile queue north of the bridge. The delay for vehicles at this time was in the order of two hours. In rough terms, the economic impact of this disruption was valued at around £917,000. There was also very considerable disruption caused on roads that were not part of the Strategic Road Network.
A million quid’s worth of damage just in driver time wasted.
Loss of revenue. By way of example only, one business lost around £14,000 (including VAT) due to deliveries being missed and orders not being fulfilled. Staff still had to be paid and reputational damage was caused. Another business lost around £25,000 due to being unable to complete deliveries. Another (printing) business lost £4,000 to £5,000 in revenue.
With further direct damages.
Seems like a fairly big issue if we’re to be honest about it, no?
There’s also this:
Mr Trowland was a civil engineer, with experience of bridge construction. He was of good character until 2019, when he started protest offending, initially for Extinction Rebellion and latterly for Just Stop Oil. He had seven previous convictions all committed in the context of protests as set out below
And:
Mr Decker was an experienced climber with two degrees who ran the family business, a music school. He had one previous conviction for aggravated trespass in 2019, for which he received a two-month conditional discharge, having pleaded guilty. He was on police bail at the time of the index offending for another protest-related offence under investigation.
Repeat offenders, both on police bail at the time.
Book ‘Em, Danno? No?
So, that’s that. Except there’s another level to this.
The entire point of protesting at the above shouting at strangers at Hyde Park Corner level is to say “Look what I’m willing to risk for my beliefs!”. We may, probably do, think the guy burning himself to death is a nutter. But there’s no doubt about the commitment going on there. So too with demonstrations like this. Being on a bridge for two days doesn’t quite suit me but it’s also not that immense a protesting activity. Being willing to break the law, risk imprisonment, for one’s beliefs is that commitment.
That is, the value of protest isn’t the bridge sitting, the walking down the road. It’s the risk of a damn good jugging being taken by doing it.
And, given that’s so, then whingeing about the jugging is showing a less than solid commitment to the cause.
If there ain’t jugging then it’s not an important protest. And if it’s an important protest you can’t complain about the jugging. To do so is to reduce the import of the protest back to that HP Corner level and saving the planet’s far more than that, right?