Print

Please login or register.
1 Hour 1 Day 1 Week 1 Month Forever
Login with username, password and session length

[notquitethere]

How this is defined is crucial to interpreting this bill.

That's the main problem with this kind of sweeping legislation, it gives a lot of power with vaguely limits. "Serious disruption" can mean whatever is most convenient for the Home Secretary at any given time. Though in theory it could be contested later in the courts, which could set a limit to this.

[EuchreJack]

How this is defined is crucial to interpreting this bill.

That's the main problem with this kind of sweeping legislation, it gives a lot of power with vaguely limits. "Serious disruption" can mean whatever is most convenient for the Home Secretary at any given time. Though in theory it could be contested later in the courts, which could set a limit to this.

And you can be sure that the vagueness is intentional.

People should protest this bill, while they still can...

[Great Order]

This is the government that's trying to ban effective protest across various areas of the public and private sector too, so I don't think they're too hot on this thing known as "Free speech"

[Starver]

A brief reminder of why we Americans broke off from you lot...

Blocking roads is a commonly accepted protest tactic in the US. Nobody likes it, but the cops generally don't get into a fight over it.

Except that blocking roads is traditionally a French tactic. And often livestock farmers rather than vegans. On that basis alone, I'm not sure why it isn't de facto banned already. At least outside of Scotland.

[Great Order]

Westminster's moving to block the Scottish GRA reform bill.

Congratulations, you just handed the SNP an amazing win and piece of propaganda. Unless that's the point, to try and put pressure on Labour when they come in.

[hector13]

Funny how they only ignore democracy in Scotland when it suits them.

Where was this when Scotland voted overwhelmingly against Brexit? Oh wait the Tories wanted that.

The Scottish Secretary has said UK ministers would work with the Scottish government if they put forward an amended bill, conveniently ignoring the fact this didn’t just come full formed from the ether. There was months of news reports in it before the vote, a government minister resigned in protest over the legislation, there were days of debate (coupled with protests for and against the legislation outside parliament) before the vote.

If they were worried about it clashing with current law, that was the time to work with the Scottish government, not a month after the legislation was overwhelmingly passed in the Scottish parliament 86 to 39.

Utterly ridiculous.

[GadgetPatch]

One nationalism-fueled economic crisis and several replacement PMs deep into the ongoing farce, and I struggle to imagine competent, coherent governance here. Not that I was expecting it. But this is still a bit of a surprise, somehow.

A naive little part of me hopes it's fuel for independence. In a sensible world, maybe threatening the dissolution of the UK would be enough for a vote of no confidence even. One can dream.

[Maximum Spin]

Except that blocking roads is traditionally a French tactic. And often livestock farmers rather than vegans. On that basis alone, I'm not sure why it isn't de facto banned already. At least outside of Scotland.

I think the reason it's considered acceptable is that it helps save governments money on speedbumps.

[Loud Whispers]

How this is defined is crucial to interpreting this bill.

That's the main problem with this kind of sweeping legislation, it gives a lot of power with vaguely limits. "Serious disruption" can mean whatever is most convenient for the Home Secretary at any given time. Though in theory it could be contested later in the courts, which could set a limit to this.

Serious disruptions defined by the home secretary, minimum service levels for strikers defined by the business & industrial secretary, we're reaching the point where technically any form of civil obedience is illegal if the government feels like it

[Great Order]

Which is gonna suck sooner or later, because once you make any outlet illegal then why not go to the most extreme? It makes you feel better, you're more likely to get change, and the punishment's pretty much the same either way.

How long until workers are dragging managers and CEOs out of their houses and beating them to death?

[EuchreJack]

Which is gonna suck sooner or later, because once you make any outlet illegal then why not go to the most extreme? It makes you feel better, you're more likely to get change, and the punishment's pretty much the same either way.

How long until workers are dragging managers and CEOs out of their houses and beating them to death?

Attempted murder is punishable by life imprisonment. They might even bring back the Death Penalty. I mean, who's gonna protest it?

[hector13]

Which is gonna suck sooner or later, because once you make any outlet illegal then why not go to the most extreme? It makes you feel better, you're more likely to get change, and the punishment's pretty much the same either way.

How long until workers are dragging managers and CEOs out of their houses and beating them to death?

Pretty sure one of the (many, many) times Ineos tried to force massive cuts to the workforce wages and benefits some of the strikers set up picket lines around the homes of the managers and executives.

[EuchreJack]

The funny thing, of course, is that most protesting tends to be a tad illegal, regardless of the laws. 
It's more about hindering the law-abiding citizen's ability to organize, since the rabble rousers don't much care about getting arrested. God bless 'em.

[Loud Whispers]

I swear to god I'm ready to smash my head against the wall. Got boomer docs non-stop complaining about how junior docs, nurses, teachers et. al need to stop striking because they had it so tough and just need to go get a masters or PhD to get a pay rise. The thought that they had free education and a junior nurse would get paid training and a starting salary equal to >£45k today adjusted for inflation is unable to penetrate their thick pensions, which are again, also unavailable to current gens. But yeah nah just spend another £20-50k and 3-5 years just to get a £2k pay rise that'll help surely

[EuchreJack]

I swear to god I'm ready to smash my head against the wall. Got boomer docs non-stop complaining about how junior docs, nurses, teachers et. al need to stop striking because they had it so tough and just need to go get a masters or PhD to get a pay rise. The thought that they had free education and a junior nurse would get paid training and a starting salary equal to >£45k today adjusted for inflation is unable to penetrate their thick pensions, which are again, also unavailable to current gens. But yeah nah just spend another £20-50k and 3-5 years just to get a £2k pay rise that'll help surely

Yeah, that sucks.
Not much you can do but just ignore 'em as best as you can.
Words certainly aren't going to change their self-interest.