Bristol: The New Post-Brexit Chapter
The United Kingdom has been seeking a change in its domestic policy for years. Since 2013, many studies have been conducted on the subject, Brexit has been seriously studied, and over 5,000 studies in the form of books, articles, and conferences have been indexed in reputable scientific databases to date, including Scapus.
In fact, Britain’s plan to leave the European Union and its widespread media coverage on immigration, and the rise in crime due to increased immigration, created a terrifying atmosphere.
The propaganda was effective and people voted to secede from the European Union. The results of the show that the regions wanting to secede from the United Kingdom, including Scotland , had the highest number of votes to stay in the European Union.
The consequences of Brexit have been studied for years and the UK has prepared solutions for it. It also anticipated its upcoming challenges and even offered to solve the problems of farmers and industrialists after the general election.
- Boris Johnson and Immigration
The UK election of 12 December 2019–the third election in five years and the second snap election in a row–returned a majority Conservative government to power led by Boris Johnson.
Johnson’s decisions are based on modernity in the UK, but so far many of his cabinet ministers have opposed him and some have resigned. Also, the problems of foreign relations that have arisen since Brexit, including immigration, have remained unresolved.
Boris Johnson openly defended immigration before the election. During the election, he spoke vaguely of it in his debates and interviews, and now he clearly stands against immigration. Immigration was not an internal issue as it affected the foreign relations of many countries, especially the European Union. It is, therefore, facing serious challenges in EU countries.
- Post-Brexit
With the exit from the European Union, there are many issues for which new laws have to be put in place. First, the level of income in Britain must increase. Immigration can improve the UK economy, but not every immigrant can pay much in taxes, including low-income immigrants, because the tax structure of the United Kingdom is such that more income leads to more taxes. As a result, plans were devised to prevent the immigration of low-skilled workers, such as construction workers, farm workers and social workers, and accept skilled workers instead to cover tax revenues. This has raised concerns for some business owners and the elderly due to a shortage of labourers.
- 4. The New Concern: Social Conflict in the UK
The study of social conflicts is one of the cases on which an average of 250-500 articles and books have been published annually in reputable scientific databases around the world. Since 1970, the United Kingdom has had the highest number of studies on the subject after the United States.
The University of Cambridge and the University of Oxford are ranked sixth and seventh, respectively, reaching a maximum level of studies in recent years. It shows that the UK has anticipated and prepared for many of these clashes; so, with the ratification of the new police bill, it seeks to suppress such protests more quickly.
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- Police, Crime, Sentencing and Courts Bill 2021
In 1986, the Metropolitan Police Commissioner stated that the police had no control over protesters who could take control of the city. So, the intellectual space was set to create laws that would increase the power of the police to suppress protesters. With the new decisions made following Brexit, there will certainly be protests; therefore, laws must be passed to increase police power.
The Police, Crime, Sentencing And Courts Bill, which is over 300 pages long, includes major proposals by the Johnson government to reform the criminal justice system. As criminal justice is largely a devolved matter, the provisions of the bill primarily only extend to England and Wales, although some provisions apply to Scotland and Northern Ireland.
Part 3 of the bill gives the police broad authority to place restrictions on protests and public assemblies. Under previous UK legislation, the police had to show that a protest may cause “serious public disorder, serious damage to property or serious disruption to the life of the community” before imposing any restrictions. Under the provisions of the new bill, the police force will be allowed to criminalise protests they believe constitute a “public nuisance”, including imposing starting and finishing times and noise limits, and will be able to consider the actions of just one individual to apply the rules to the entire demonstration.
5.1. Bristol: Another Protest Point
Social protests had long been taking place in cities, particularly London, before the lockdown restrictions. But after the killing of Sarah Everard in Bristol by a policeman, the focus shifted to a new police bill which was passed despite protests. Legal And civil activists in Bristol reported on police violence and this took place with some delay in other cities and counties in England, including, Leeds, Sheffield, London and Cambridge, in which protests to police brutality in Bristol took place.
5.2. Protest Groups
Activists from a number of movements, including Black Lives Matter, Extinction Rebellion, Stop HS2, feminist groups, and various antifascist groups, were the initiators. They came to protest the violence of men against women, plus other motivations which spread the protests to create other civic and legal movements alongside them.
Conclusion
Since the UK withdrew from the EU, it has faced many problems, some of which were anticipated, but some of which, have been a serious obstacle for the UK to advance its lofty goals, especially the coronavirus pandemic, although there was little restrictions to begin with. As time went by and the pandemic worsened, the British government imposed more restrictions. At the same time, the new police bill was put on the agenda by the Home Office. The bill was voted in the House for the fourth time and was passed despite much opposition, especially in Bristol where a woman was killed by a police officer. Earlier, people also protested against Covid restrictions. Despite voices against the bill, people did not oppose it widely, but other civil and legal issues, including violence against women and police violence, were raised. These other civil issues can still expand the scope of the protests. But for a greater coherence and coordination of the protests, a dominant discourse is needed.
