8th October 2025
Freedom of speech and the right to protest are key parts of maintaining a democracy. The following is from the Joseph Rowntree Reform Trust.
“A healthy society contains a diversity of views, lifestyles, and beliefs. Individuals need to be able to freely discuss political issues, criticise their government, and express dissenting views – including assembling to challenge the government of the day – without censorship or reprisal. Both of these rights are enshrined in the Human Rights Act, which gives statutory force to the European Convention on Human Rights.” (1)
Yet these important rights are being eroded. Whilst in terms of policing this erosion comes through increasing amounts of legislation, the political will that sees such legislation being introduced comes from changes in our society – and these are changes we as Christians should counter, bringing to the fore the Gospel message that there is a better way of living together.
Again from the JRRT:-
“In the UK, as in other democracies, freedom of expression is under threat in new and complex ways, caught up in the battleground between different conceptions of offence and harm, debates around cancel culture, no platforming, ‘safe space’, online harms and academic freedom. Suppressing free speech is a core part of the authoritarian playbook, while at the same time invoked by populists in order to tap into resentment against elites, ‘wokeness’, and vulnerable communities such as migrants.” (1)
See also https://www.amnesty.org.uk/protest-isahumanright
And also this article article I rewrote earlier in the year about protest – https://www.jcfj.ie/article/the-importance-of-a-healthy-ecology-of-protest/
The Green Tau 